Reviews

The Best of World SF, Volume 1 by Lavie Tidhar

jeand's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

jeripearl's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I enjoyed this collection. I especially enjoyed the diversity of writers, as they were from all over the world and the writing styles varied quite a bit. It was a wonderful read. 

greattomato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

gabe_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Overall mean rating of 6.19/10. There was a lot of good stuff in these, and it is interesting to see how science fiction is written around the world. Though obviously you’ve also got the issue that it’s all going through Lavie Tidhar as the editor. There was a very blurred line between sci-fi and fantasy, which was fun but I think it’d have probably preferred more sci-fi on balance. The book started and ended very strong but had quite a few I felt were duds. I did find it difficult to rate them however as they were often so different from each other. I'm glad I read it and would recommend to broaden your reading in the SF space but I don't think I'll buy volume 2. I will probably seek out some of the individual authors however! I've reviewed each story individually but there are spoilers throughout.

Immersion - Aliette de Bodard 9/10

I'm always impressed by how quickly a good short story can get you invested in the characters, world and plot. This is about an immersion technology that implants cultural norms and customs for tourism purposes. But it's typically used by people from outside the dominant culture to conform to the Galactic “norm”. And then specifically about someone from the station they're on who left to go to the big city and wears an Immerser all the time (originally out of shame and to fit in) so she can barely recognise the place she came from. A very interesting look at cultural colonialism and the pressure on “unusual” cultural groups.

Debtless - Chen Qiufan 7/10

Really cool idea of indentured servants operating a space mining facility to pay off debts, with their memories locked away so they can't remember their old lives. I loved the realisation that something was wrong and that the facility was growing clones so that after someone died and the others’ memories of them were locked away, they could come out again. What kind of lost me was the whole stuff once the main guy got home. The whole explanation of how the system works. Would have probably preferred it to end on the shock realisation, or some other cliffhanger.

Fandom For Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad 9/10

Actually really funny and charming. About a robot who gets sucked into an anime fandom and ends up colab-ing on slash fiction. Has a lot of good quirks with it being a robot and it's funny interaction with people. Felt like the perfect type of story for the short format too.

Virtual Snapshots - Tlotlo Tsamaase 4/10

Never really got into this one. I'm not sure if that's because there's a context or something else that I'm not picking up on or because I'm not meant to ‘’get it”, but I was confused. It was intriguing though, and had a touching ending. I just wanted more.

What the Dead Man Said - Chinelo Onwualu 6/10

A moving story about family trauma set against the backdrop of an Afro-futurist state that is in decline after a global environmental collapse. I liked the subtlety of the background and the stress of the family protagonist's view on family ties and obligations.

Delhi - Vandana Singh 4/10

A man who's life was saved by a stranger who gave him a business card now works for the same organisation saving others while looking for a specific woman he has a picture of. He can also see and interact with transient phantoms from the past and future of the city. I liked his transient existence and thoughts on the nature of the city as a giant, ancient organism. But there wasn't really much to this story for me.

The Wheel of Samara - Han Song 3/10

A version of mysticism that turns out to be science fiction. A lot of these stories seem to bridge the SF/fantasy divide. Apart from that I just didn't think it was hugely compelling.

Xingzhou - Ng Yi-Sheng 6/10

A very fun story written in the style of a tale, like that of The Silmarilion. I liked the different perspectives from the very different beings from incredibly varied origins. It points to such a vast, detailed universe that all came together in the City in the Stars.

Prayer - Taiyo Fujii 3/10

Always fun to see aspects of classical psychology be central to a story. I liked how it used it to show how the androids were like living animals. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was much else to the story really.

The Green Ship - Francesco Verso 3/10

A future solution to the migrant crisis based on technology and luck. But it isn't even really a solution, there is still a global crisis and this is just something to stem the tide. Like the one before it I just didn't feel there was a huge amount there, besides a mediocre central concept.

Eyes of the Crocodile - Malena Salazar Maciá 6/10

Cool concept of nanobots gone awry, who were able to reprogram themselves and thereby cause massive destruction. I also liked her mission and race against time, though thought it could have explored more the bots effects on her body/mind. There was a kind of resignation to circumstances which doesn't feel very Western. Though don't get me wrong she definitely still fights.

Bootblack - Tade Thompson 2/10

A kind of weird story about someone in post WW1 Cardiff who's visited by a time traveller. To be honest I just didn't think there was a huge amount there. I'm not sure why it included the details that it did, I suppose because that's what the main character would have experienced. But it just didn't feel that good.

The Emptiness in the Heart of All Things - Fabio Fernandes 7/10

That was very cool. Again, felt more like fantasy than sci-fi. About a detective investigating a woman who lives alone in the jungle and is suspected of vigilante murders on men in the area. I liked how the story unwound and progressed, their coded talk about life and art and stuff. It felt reminiscent of classic literature, like The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was slightly confused at why exactly the protagonist made certain choices at the end, but enjoyed the resolution besides that.

The Sun From Both Sides - R. S. A. Garcia 9/10

This was brilliant! To be honest, I would have been pretty satisfied if it had just been the first half, with the Sister rescuing her husband. I found that very fun, with cool tech, action, character and suspense. But then you had the massive second section where the husband’s past life catches up to him. I really enjoyed how you were given information without the world really being explained. It made the world feel real and didn’t bog the story down, especially how in a short story like this it ultimately doesn’t really matter if you completely understand the dynamics of the world. I liked the chess motifs, and the lore underlying the trees and the history of his planet, along with the extra information you get about his wife. It was similar to The Player of Games, in shorter form. I think this confirms that I generally prefer novella-length stories over shorter ones. Or novelette length? Or longer short story at least!

DUMP - Cristina Jurado 7/10

A really cool post-apocalyptic world that felt very real and lived in. I liked the rough way the society they lived in maintained life on the massive scrap heap. I enjoyed the parallel voices thing, but wasn't really sure what the ending meant. Was the second voice her prosthetic arm?? Or some other parasite like I'd originally thought.

Rue Chair - Gerardo Horacio Porcayo 1/10

Wasn't very impressed. It was essentially just two people walking around while he described the area. Very snapshot, rather than having any kind of plot. And I wasn't hugely impressed by the roided-out dark-eldar-style sex city dialed up to 12. Partly because, given it was just description, I didn't feel like he told us very much.

His Master’s Voice - Hannu Rajaniemi 7/10

Another fun post-human narrative, but slightly less good than the earlier one. It had a lot of interesting science and tech and did explore how all that happened would be filtered through the narrator's lens. Also I do love a heist.

Benjamin Schneider’s Little Greys - Nir Yaniv 6/10

Probably the first of the weird surrealist ones that I've really vibed with. Has an element of body horror that reminds me of SCP-3003. I liked the progression of the story, and the relationship between the characters. I also thought the conclusion worked decently well. Which is saying something for the weirder ones.

The Cryptid - Emil Hjörvar Petersen 7/10

Again, more fantasy than SF in my opinion. About the hunt for an underwater lake monster. Pretty good, and I like the background world of a research institute for fantasy creatures, and the protagonists need for funding.

The Bank of Burkina Faso - Ekaterina Sedia 6/10

Another slightly weird one, but I quite liked it. It felt like a SF/fantasy reimagining of the Nigerian Prince scam. Not a huge amount happened in retrospect but it did keep me engaged.

An Incomplete Guide to Understanding the Rose Petal Infestation Associated with EverTyphoid Patients in the Tropicool IcyLand Urban Indian Slum - Kuzhali Manickavel 8/10

Really funny description of a disease and it's effect on people, reminded me of the more humorous SCPs. Only thing I needed was more!

The Old Man with the Third Hand - Kofi Nyameye 8/10

A really interesting story about two people who don't really belong. With the SF elements mixed together with the worrying realisation that it all might be a lie. I liked the progression of the story, how it rose and fell, and I thought the ending was good.

The Green - Lauren Beukes 8/10

Very yucky and scary! Similar to the second story, where you're trapped by some corporation on a foreign planet. Was an interesting look at the forefront of technology and discovery, like mining towns in the Western USA. The complete control and disregard for human life over discovery and, ultimately, profit. I liked her backstory. The resolution at the end was really good I thought, set up and executed well.

The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir - Karin Tidbeck 8/10

A quite moving story about the isolation and exploitation of being trapped in space and in a position you don't really belong in. And about making a place for yourself there. Reminded me about the doctor who episode about spaceship Britain. I liked the characters, particularly Skidbladnir.

Prime Meridian - Silvia Moreno-Garcia 9/10

One of the longer stories and one that really got to dive into the difficulty of being poor in the modern (or futuristic) world. About what life must be like for a sizeable majority in most of the sci-fi worlds in media. Amelia has a hopes, dreams, and ambitions that are dragged down by the crushing practicalities of life. I liked how the world worked, and the relationship Amelia had with the actress Lucia, her friend Pili, or her ex Elias. It all just felt very real and mundane in a rather depressing way. About largely treading water and trying to make ends meat, while dealing with the dramas of your personal life.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again - Zen Cho 8/10

A really funny and light-hearted ending to this book, about a imugi trying to become a Dragon, which it can only do every thousand years. And about each effort, and how it starts to make a life for itself on earth. 

 

kaitalytic's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

whatcarlaread's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.5

rhall19's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

teanahk's review against another edition

5.0

Stop what you’re doing and go read this right now. Every single tale in this anthology was a well crafted piece of wonder. I highly recommend it.

ag11's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I don’t think I ever read a collection of short stories so diverse and so good. The authors are from all over the world. The themes go from hard SF to pure fantasy to speculative climate fiction. All this diversity could lead to a lack of unity and uneven quality, but, as a reader, I was never let down as I finished a story and dove right into the next one. Pure joy.

klibri's review against another edition

3.0

"What the Dead Man Said" by Chinelo Onwualu ★★★
"Delhi" by Vandana Singh ★★★★
"The Wheel of Samsara" by Han Song ★★
"Xingzhou" by Ng Yi-Sheng ★★★
"Prayer" by Taiyo Fujii ★★
"The Green Ship" by Francesco Verso ★★½
"Eyes of the Crocodile" by Malena Salazar Maciá ★★★
"Bootblack" by Tade Thompson ★★★½
"An Incomplete Guide to Understanding the Rose Petal Infestation Associated With EverTyphoid Patients in the Tropicool IcyLand Urban Indian Slum" by Kuzhali Manickavel ★★★½
"Prime Meridian" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ★½
"If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again" by Zen Cho ★★★★★