Reviews

Speculative Los Angeles by Denise Hamilton

tyyne's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Really enjoyed this though was definitely challenged by some of the stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

salimah's review against another edition

5.0

An engaging collection of dystopian, post-apocalyptic, paranormal, quantum tales that kept me engaged from beginning to end. Each story simultaneously captured the inherent creepiness and magic of the City of Angels and its surrounding environs.

adelheid's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

3.0

cedrics_mom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

There are 14 stories in this collection. If you can read only one story, make it Garbo on the Skids.

mayacatherinecreative's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

michael_gallipo's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

jaedoodly's review against another edition

5.0

AMAZING. Really every story in this is so solid. What a phenomenal collection of POC, indigenous, and social justice tinged imagination.
Favs:
Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz - Lisa Morton
Detainment - Alex Espinoza
Peak TV - Ben H. Winters
Where There Are Cities, These Dissolve Too - S. Qiouyi Lu
Sailing That Beautiful Sea - Kathleen Kaufman

pussreboots's review against another edition

5.0

Speculative Los Angeles edited by Denise Hamilton is a collection of fourteen short stories of speculative fiction set in Los Angeles county. As the Los Angeles locales are key to the tone of each story, the book includes a map pinpointing the setting of each one. There's a diverse selection of authors which in turn translates well to representation on the page.

The stories also each sit on the road narrative spectrum, making picking a single spot for the book as a whole tricky. I ended up averaging each of the three pieces that make up the final placement: traveler, destination, and route.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comments_02/speculative_los_angeles.html

Average of all the stories for the book's placement in the RNS: Marginalized Wild lands Maze 6699CC


Last one: FFCC33

sophial's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

tonstantweader's review

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 

Speculative Los Angeles seems like the start of another fabulous Akashic series. I hope it is. Akashic publishes a series of noir anthologies focused on different cities around the world. Speculative Los Angeles is a similar anthology focused on speculative and science fiction stories centered on L.A.

There are fourteen stories grouped into four sections: Changelings, Ghosts, and Parallel Worlds; Steampunks, Alchemists, and Memory Artists; A Tear in the Fabric of Reality; and Cops and Robots in the Future Ruins of LA. The section titles give you a good idea of the sort of stories you will find.

The first story, “Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz” by Lisa Morton is also excellent and sets our expectations high, a dangerous and risky thing, but it pays off because the stories remained excellent and memorable throughout. There is the strangely satisfying “Past the Mission” by Denise Hamilton, the series editor. The final story, “Sailing That Beautiful Sea” by Kathleen Kaufman, devastated me. If it were the only worthy story, the anthology would be worth your time, but it is just one of many.

“Detainment” by Alex Espinoza seems like tomorrow’s story while others are more fantastical, such as “Love, Rocket Science, and the Mother of Abominations” and “Purple Panic” by Francesca Lia Block. “Jaguar’s Breath” by Luis J. Rodriguez was too frighteningly real. “Garbo on the Skids” by A.G. Lombardo was a wonderful vindication.

Speculative Los Angeles was a wonderful book and I hope the beginning of a new series that will take us on a speculative tour of the world. What is so profound about this anthology is whether we go to an alternative universe, a future Los Angeles, or a multiverse city, the essential ingredients of the story are the human imperatives remain the same, love, family, and survival, and maybe a touch of vengeance here and there.

I received an ARC of Speculative Los Angeles from the publisher through LibraryThing.

• Speculative Los Angeles at Akashic Books
• Denise Hamilton author site 

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/9781617758560/