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evelikesbooks's review
3.0
I read it for my feminist sci-fi book club; I might not have finished otherwise. Some of the stories were pretty good, so between the ones I really liked and the ones I really didn't like I give it 3 stars. It's too bad; I expected this to be a lot better than it was.
futurememory's review
3.0
A really odd, interesting collection of stories, steeped in sensuality and strangeness.
Ancient, Ancient feels completely alien, especially towards the beginning. The first half's stories are almost slippery in their execution, fever-dreamy and poetic. They feel fairly literary in their embrace of the surreal.
I think "Marie" and "Pod Rendezvous" made this collection for me. I do prefer my short fiction to have a little more meat on its bones, and these two delivered.
Ancient, Ancient feels completely alien, especially towards the beginning. The first half's stories are almost slippery in their execution, fever-dreamy and poetic. They feel fairly literary in their embrace of the surreal.
I think "Marie" and "Pod Rendezvous" made this collection for me. I do prefer my short fiction to have a little more meat on its bones, and these two delivered.
theybedax's review
4.0
This book was an interesting ride. The toughest part was understanding these alien languages and the oftentimes strange transitions. It was still glorious throughout. Salaam sure has a beautiful way with words and punching you in the gut with feeling.
Read "Rosamojo" just so you know true horror in this world and the fact that it's always humans perpetrating these atrocities. Usually those we should be able to trust to protect us above all us too.
Or read for beautiful gems like this: "Marie had an encounter that would have destroyed her had she not pushed it away in a tight compartment and left it suffocating in the dark crevices of forgetting."
Or maybe this quote will beckon you to read more: "The idea of releasing my grip on life is seductively sweet, 'But we have not yet tasted each other,' you whisper. A small sound that doesn't know if it wants to be a laugh or a sob pops in my throat. Not even your voice-with its melodies and catches-can stop me from thinking about committing my body to the earth. I want you, but I also want to break into a million pieces and melt into the sand."
Read "Rosamojo" just so you know true horror in this world and the fact that it's always humans perpetrating these atrocities. Usually those we should be able to trust to protect us above all us too.
Or read for beautiful gems like this: "Marie had an encounter that would have destroyed her had she not pushed it away in a tight compartment and left it suffocating in the dark crevices of forgetting."
Or maybe this quote will beckon you to read more: "The idea of releasing my grip on life is seductively sweet, 'But we have not yet tasted each other,' you whisper. A small sound that doesn't know if it wants to be a laugh or a sob pops in my throat. Not even your voice-with its melodies and catches-can stop me from thinking about committing my body to the earth. I want you, but I also want to break into a million pieces and melt into the sand."
tregina's review
4.0
There was something really captivating about this, a combination of the cerebral and the sensual, science fiction with a mythic feel to it.
crowyhead's review
4.0
This one's between three and four stars for me. The thing about spec fic short stories is that the author has to dump you in midstream -- there's no time to tell you about the culture or the situation, so they have to let you discover it in the middle, and hopefully they've done a good enough job of it that you're not left completely adrift. Some of these stories accomplish this better than others; some of them are so beautifully written that it doesn't quite matter. The real standout for me was the final story in the collection, "Pod Rendezvous." It's a fantastic science-fictional coming of age story and I adored it.
octavia_cade's review
5.0
What a wonderful collection of fiction! And though there's a wide range in the stories, most are linked by - as the introduction states - a focus on sensuality that's very welcome in genre fiction. I liked all the stories, but the stand-outs for me were "Desire", which I actually read in an anthology a few weeks back; "Pod Rendezvous", which creates an almost hive-like sense of alien community without being the least bit insectile; and the absolute best, "Rosamojo", which is going on my list of favourite shorts ever, about a girl who kills her sexually abusive father and has to grapple with issues of forgiveness and hurt when his ghost comes along to, among other things, apologise for his actions. It's short and punchy and that mix of sad-angry that turns up sometimes. It's fantastic.
It's all just a really well put together collection. There's a little sort of sub-series of stories in there, of alien creatures who come to Earth to feed on humans and be seduced by them, and how Salaam uses language, in these stories particularly, is just so interesting. Language, of course, is a way of defining (and distancing) the foreign, and simultaneously making connections with that foreign, and how it's used here to echo the themes of alienation and coming together is so clever. The whole book's just so inventive and imaginative, I'm really glad I've got my own copy.
It's all just a really well put together collection. There's a little sort of sub-series of stories in there, of alien creatures who come to Earth to feed on humans and be seduced by them, and how Salaam uses language, in these stories particularly, is just so interesting. Language, of course, is a way of defining (and distancing) the foreign, and simultaneously making connections with that foreign, and how it's used here to echo the themes of alienation and coming together is so clever. The whole book's just so inventive and imaginative, I'm really glad I've got my own copy.
andreablythe's review
4.0
In Ancient, Ancient, Kiini Ibura Salaam presents one of the most inventive and creative collection of science fiction and fantasy stories that I’ve read in a long time. I hardly even know how to describe some of these stories without giving everything away, the worlds and universes presented are so unique. Salaam’s writing often has a sensuality to it, which is quite lovely.
While I didn’t connect with all of the stories, here are the ones I loved.
"Pod Rendezvous" was my favorite story in the collection. Laki feels trapped by her fate of having to join a mother-unit and decides to throw a last hurrah party in the Velvet Stretch, while her sister Se-Se works feverishly to help Laki find an escape. It’s a smart and moving coming of age story in set a strange future (or maybe an alternate world altogether). I resonated quite a bit with both Laki and Se-Se.
“Desire" is the story of a woman named Sené who has an encounter with the god of desire, Faru. As with any encounter with the gods, it has wonderful and dangerous results. This is a poetically written and superbly sensual tale.
I also loved "Debris," in which a family skeletal beings take a visit to the earth during Día de Los Muertos celebrations. I can’t say more without giving the entire story away, so I’ll just say that I loved it.
The titular story, "Ancient, Ancient," is one of the shortest in the collection. It tells the story of an ancient being awakening through the body of a young woman. Though short, it is packed with layers of imagery in a rather poetic fashion, making it just as fulfilling as many a longer tale.
"Battle Royale" is the story of a young man who is punished by his grandfather for taking part in a semi-dangerous set of games involving dancing through a mock battle. The punishment involves the young man being forced to experience the lives and deaths of several people faced with subservience and slavery in history, each one stranger and more brutal than the last. This was so strange, powerful, moving, and I wanted so much more. I found myself both loving the story and being unsatisfied with the ending. All I can say is that I hope she continues the story elsewhere.
While I didn’t connect with all of the stories, here are the ones I loved.
"Pod Rendezvous" was my favorite story in the collection. Laki feels trapped by her fate of having to join a mother-unit and decides to throw a last hurrah party in the Velvet Stretch, while her sister Se-Se works feverishly to help Laki find an escape. It’s a smart and moving coming of age story in set a strange future (or maybe an alternate world altogether). I resonated quite a bit with both Laki and Se-Se.
“Desire" is the story of a woman named Sené who has an encounter with the god of desire, Faru. As with any encounter with the gods, it has wonderful and dangerous results. This is a poetically written and superbly sensual tale.
I also loved "Debris," in which a family skeletal beings take a visit to the earth during Día de Los Muertos celebrations. I can’t say more without giving the entire story away, so I’ll just say that I loved it.
The titular story, "Ancient, Ancient," is one of the shortest in the collection. It tells the story of an ancient being awakening through the body of a young woman. Though short, it is packed with layers of imagery in a rather poetic fashion, making it just as fulfilling as many a longer tale.
"Battle Royale" is the story of a young man who is punished by his grandfather for taking part in a semi-dangerous set of games involving dancing through a mock battle. The punishment involves the young man being forced to experience the lives and deaths of several people faced with subservience and slavery in history, each one stranger and more brutal than the last. This was so strange, powerful, moving, and I wanted so much more. I found myself both loving the story and being unsatisfied with the ending. All I can say is that I hope she continues the story elsewhere.
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