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kristamccracken's review
5.0
Favorite pieces from this issue:
Fiction:
-"A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde
-"Poems Written While" by Natalia Theodoridou
-"The Thing, With Feathers" by Marissa Lingen
Poetry:
-"A Letter from One Woman to Another" by Cassandra Khaw
Essays:
-"How to Make a Paper Crane" by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
Fiction:
-"A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde
-"Poems Written While" by Natalia Theodoridou
-"The Thing, With Feathers" by Marissa Lingen
Poetry:
-"A Letter from One Woman to Another" by Cassandra Khaw
Essays:
-"How to Make a Paper Crane" by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
tui_reads's review
2.0
Two stars is actually pretty harsh and may just reflect the fact that this is very well reviewed and yet left me absolutely cold. You know sometimes you can read a story that doesn't explain anything that happens but you don't mind at all? I felt the opposite, nothing was explained and I HATED that. Hugo 2020 reading.
anna_hepworth's review
4.0
Read because it was nominated for a Hugo
This story is in that uncanny valley of 'is this literature'. Not entirely sure about it, whether I like the idea and not the story. And how much it is the literary conceit that is irritating me, not the story per se.
This story is in that uncanny valley of 'is this literature'. Not entirely sure about it, whether I like the idea and not the story. And how much it is the literary conceit that is irritating me, not the story per se.
mdpenguin's review
3.0
I'm rounding up to 3 stars just because there is some decent emotional expression in the writing. This is a story about a time when the weather has become so severe -- and possibly sentient -- that society struggles to survive it. Some people, "weathermen", develop the ability to fight against the weather and ultimately because elements of the weather themselves. Think of the folks who are able to control orogenesis when Earth has waged its war against the humans in Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy but take away the allegorical depth and you'll be pretty close. It's told in the second person by the younger sibling of a child who becomes a weatherman. Honestly, I thought the whole thing was a bit hokey, but it wasn't without charm.
cathepsut's review
2.0
Review of A Catalog of Storms by FRAN WILDE
Climate fic. About storms, wind, sisters and mothers. It went right over my head, couldn‘t get into it.
Can be read for free here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-catalog-of-storms/
————
2020 Hugo Award Finalist
Best Short Story
* “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019) ★★★☆☆
* “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
* “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
* “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
* “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
* “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)
Climate fic. About storms, wind, sisters and mothers. It went right over my head, couldn‘t get into it.
Can be read for free here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-catalog-of-storms/
————
2020 Hugo Award Finalist
Best Short Story
* “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019) ★★★☆☆
* “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
* “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
* “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
* “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
* “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)
crunden's review
4.0
I'm definitely on a poetry kick. There are some seriously wonderful poems published by Uncanny! I read all four and definitely recommend giving them all a chance. I do find there's not enough poetry these days. Which is such a shame. Poetry's so fantastic. #poetrystan
'Steeped in Stars' by Hal Y. Zhang was beautiful. Some great turns of phrase!
Read it for yourself here.
Jennifer Crow's 'Red Berries' was also wonderful.
Read it for yourself here.
Cassandra Khaw's 'A Letter from One Woman to Another' was fantastic. This one was probably my favourite from this collection! There's something very raw and brutal about it.
Read it for yourself here.
I also read 'The Watchword' by Sonya Taaffe.
That line really struck me. I kept rereading it. Read the whole poem for yourself here.
'Steeped in Stars' by Hal Y. Zhang was beautiful. Some great turns of phrase!
but the ghost
of the old stone wall still
streams your meteor shower
Read it for yourself here.
Jennifer Crow's 'Red Berries' was also wonderful.
Tell me what the winter whispered to you
Read it for yourself here.
Cassandra Khaw's 'A Letter from One Woman to Another' was fantastic. This one was probably my favourite from this collection! There's something very raw and brutal about it.
not love he proffers, but lies
by the dozen, semen-thick and
serpent-slick.
Read it for yourself here.
I also read 'The Watchword' by Sonya Taaffe.
a song must outlive its singer
or it dims bitter in a land of milk and honey
That line really struck me. I kept rereading it. Read the whole poem for yourself here.
alexvb's review
3.0
I read this because it's part of the Hugo 2020 Short Story Shortlist.
I enjoyed this. I loved the imagery that it managed to create in such a short amount of time. It quickly built the characters, setting, relationships and conflict. But I felt it was in an area of fantastical that is just a tad difficult for me to grasp. Especially with it being so short, I was unable to really get into the whole concept of weathermen, fighting the weather and this family who have family members literally becoming weather. I would definitely want a whole book about this so we could really get into the lore and the fantastical elements.
I enjoyed this. I loved the imagery that it managed to create in such a short amount of time. It quickly built the characters, setting, relationships and conflict. But I felt it was in an area of fantastical that is just a tad difficult for me to grasp. Especially with it being so short, I was unable to really get into the whole concept of weathermen, fighting the weather and this family who have family members literally becoming weather. I would definitely want a whole book about this so we could really get into the lore and the fantastical elements.
ortija's review
4.0
Read:
"A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde
"The Duke of Riverside" by Ellen Kushner
"A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde
"The Duke of Riverside" by Ellen Kushner
sahibooknerd's review
3.0
My review is only for the story “The Catalog of Storms” by Fran Wilde.
Interesting as well as confusing, the writing in this story was beautiful but I wish I had understood it properly too. But I won’t deny that I truly felt the grief of the family on seeing their child fight the weather and give the ultimate sacrifice.
Interesting as well as confusing, the writing in this story was beautiful but I wish I had understood it properly too. But I won’t deny that I truly felt the grief of the family on seeing their child fight the weather and give the ultimate sacrifice.
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