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rebeccacider's review
4.0
Didn't read every story, but enjoyed what I read. This collection skews toward horror, not always my cup of tea, but my two favorite stories were about cannibalism so I'm not sure I have grounds to complain.
Favorites were: "The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant," a story of cyborg chefs run amok. This story is absolutely gross, yet bleakly hilarious. Then there's "Cannibal Acts," which was oddly not gross at all, but the kind of understated human drama that only Maureen McHugh can deliver. It's a short one, but the characters and dystopian setting are completely realized, and the story ends with a private, heartbreaking moment that stayed with me for some time.
Another wonderful story was "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" by Charlie Jane Anders, whose podcast I follow but whose writing I had not read before. This story reminded me of Margaret Atwood, not only in subject matter but in voice; it had the same lively, satirical quality.
I also surprised myself by enjoying Samuel R. Delany's "The Hermit of Houston," which was a bit surrealistic for me, but possibly objectively the best story in the collection, an unflinching exploration of finding love and security and identity as an outsider (and probably some other things, I am not convinced I am bright enough to understand Delany).
The audacious storytelling award probably goes to Maria Dahvana Headley for "Black Powder," which is your typical queer Weird West school shooting fairy tale. That's a genre, right? The mood was pleasingly reminiscent of classic Neil Gaiman, if more lyrical and literary.
Oh oh oh, and I can't leave out "Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities," which was science fiction doing what science fiction does best, and on point since I've been listening to the latest season of Serial. In her biographical statement, the author talks about leaving a prestigious career in the criminal justice system, a decision informed in part (as I recall) by the self-reflective practice of writing fiction.
Finally, N.K. Jemisin gets a thumbs-up for, in her introduction, delivering a one-sentence close reading of the Harry Potter series that kind of blew my mind.
This best of anthology is a decent thumbnail portrait of 2017. The stories are upsetting but not nihilistic. Most aren't exactly hopeful—except in the sense that looking, recording, naming is an intrinsically hopeful act. Well done to both editors.
Favorites were: "The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant," a story of cyborg chefs run amok. This story is absolutely gross, yet bleakly hilarious. Then there's "Cannibal Acts," which was oddly not gross at all, but the kind of understated human drama that only Maureen McHugh can deliver. It's a short one, but the characters and dystopian setting are completely realized, and the story ends with a private, heartbreaking moment that stayed with me for some time.
Another wonderful story was "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" by Charlie Jane Anders, whose podcast I follow but whose writing I had not read before. This story reminded me of Margaret Atwood, not only in subject matter but in voice; it had the same lively, satirical quality.
I also surprised myself by enjoying Samuel R. Delany's "The Hermit of Houston," which was a bit surrealistic for me, but possibly objectively the best story in the collection, an unflinching exploration of finding love and security and identity as an outsider (and probably some other things, I am not convinced I am bright enough to understand Delany).
The audacious storytelling award probably goes to Maria Dahvana Headley for "Black Powder," which is your typical queer Weird West school shooting fairy tale. That's a genre, right? The mood was pleasingly reminiscent of classic Neil Gaiman, if more lyrical and literary.
Oh oh oh, and I can't leave out "Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities," which was science fiction doing what science fiction does best, and on point since I've been listening to the latest season of Serial. In her biographical statement, the author talks about leaving a prestigious career in the criminal justice system, a decision informed in part (as I recall) by the self-reflective practice of writing fiction.
Finally, N.K. Jemisin gets a thumbs-up for, in her introduction, delivering a one-sentence close reading of the Harry Potter series that kind of blew my mind.
This best of anthology is a decent thumbnail portrait of 2017. The stories are upsetting but not nihilistic. Most aren't exactly hopeful—except in the sense that looking, recording, naming is an intrinsically hopeful act. Well done to both editors.
enbyglitch's review
5.0
From the deeply disturbing - "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue", "The Wretched and the Beautiful" - to those with hard-won hope - "Brightened Star, Ascending Dawn", "Rivers Run Free" - this collection was endlessly fascinating.
Editor N.K. Jemisin sums it up well when she explains the deep emotional and cultural feelings behind these 2017 short stories, which run toward horror more than I might have otherwise expected.
Few if any of these stories are perfect, but they are deeply engaging as a reminder of the fear we lived in only four years ago, and which still pervades our world.
Editor N.K. Jemisin sums it up well when she explains the deep emotional and cultural feelings behind these 2017 short stories, which run toward horror more than I might have otherwise expected.
Few if any of these stories are perfect, but they are deeply engaging as a reminder of the fear we lived in only four years ago, and which still pervades our world.
jessicamathieu's review
3.0
Too political. There was one really interesting story about the possibilities of what justice could look like, which I really liked. Jemisin is explicit about writing being revolution for her, and her specific viewpoint is represented exclusively. I used to be interested in politics, but I don’t think the answers are that easy anymore. Not what I was looking for in my fiction. I actually love N.K. Jemisin and even wrote her a heartfelt fan-letter after reading 100,000 kingdoms (which I never sent), and I loved the next in the trilogy (still need to get the third). It’s incredibly beautiful. I was disappointed that the authors she chose for this book couldn’t manage allegory as well as she does.
I don’t begrudge the representation of her viewpoint in mainstream SFF. It’s just not what I’m looking for in my fiction. I’m more interested in the exploration of spiritual realities, not socio-political realities, which is why I was amazed by and loved 100,000 Kingdoms. Ten years ago I would have loved this book, and maybe next year or in ten years I’ll love it.
I don’t begrudge the representation of her viewpoint in mainstream SFF. It’s just not what I’m looking for in my fiction. I’m more interested in the exploration of spiritual realities, not socio-political realities, which is why I was amazed by and loved 100,000 Kingdoms. Ten years ago I would have loved this book, and maybe next year or in ten years I’ll love it.
lyriclorelei's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I was surprised at how many of these I had already managed to read in their various collections and now I have more to look up, particularly <i>The Djinn Falls in Love</i>.
ericrobien's review
4.5
My favorite stories were You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych by Kathleen Kayembe, The Last Cheng Beng Gift by Jaymee Goh, The Resident by Carmen Maria Machado, and Carnival Nine by Caroline M. Yoachim.
itsmebee's review
3.0
An enjoyable collection! These books are really nice to see what’s happening in a genre, especially when you like the editor. A lot of the pieces in here relied heavily on world/adventure, which isn’t a surprise considering Jemisin put it together, but in reading it I realized these typically aren’t my favorite sci fi fantasy short stories. My favorite story was Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities. Maria Dahvana Headley’s stories we’re also great, Black Powder in particular feeling like an Appalachian fairy tale. A good read overall!
roquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thefriendlyabyss's review
3.0
Some of these stories are a bit too abstract for my liking. I need my stories grounded, even the extravagant SciFi ones. That being said, there are still a handful of gems that make it just about worth the read.
My favorites:
Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities
The Greatest One-Star Restaurant
Don’t Press Charges And I Won’t Sue
ZeroS
Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance
My favorites:
Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities
The Greatest One-Star Restaurant
Don’t Press Charges And I Won’t Sue
ZeroS
Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance
vdarcangelo's review
3.0
Faves:
Kate Alice Marshall, "Destroy the City with Me Tonight"
Lettie Prell, "Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel"
Carmen Maria Machado, "The Resident"
E. Lily Yu, "The Wretched and the Beautiful"
Maureen McHugh, "Cannibal Acts"
Kate Alice Marshall, "Destroy the City with Me Tonight"
Lettie Prell, "Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel"
Carmen Maria Machado, "The Resident"
E. Lily Yu, "The Wretched and the Beautiful"
Maureen McHugh, "Cannibal Acts"
darylnash's review against another edition
4.0
These are usually a mixed bag, but there were a couple stories that I loved and several very good ones.
5 stars: Kate Alice Marshall, Destroy the City with Me Tonight; Peter Watts, ZeroS
4 stars: Cadwell Turnbull, Loneliness is in Your Blood; Samuel R Delany, The Hermit of Houston; Rachael K Jones, The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant; Charlie Jane Anders, Don’t Press Charges and I won’t Sue; Maureen McHugh, Cannibal Acts
5 stars: Kate Alice Marshall, Destroy the City with Me Tonight; Peter Watts, ZeroS
4 stars: Cadwell Turnbull, Loneliness is in Your Blood; Samuel R Delany, The Hermit of Houston; Rachael K Jones, The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant; Charlie Jane Anders, Don’t Press Charges and I won’t Sue; Maureen McHugh, Cannibal Acts