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quietbookbird's review against another edition
3.0
I was given a free copy of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.
Big Cat is a collection of short stories from Gwyneth Jones. It’s a versatile anthology, so there’s something here for everyone. They are all prefaced by short notes, which makes it easier to skip through to the ones that appeal to your taste. The themes are a mix of dystopia, aliens, AI, gaming and technology. The stories are very concept-driven, rather than character-driven or plot-driven. It makes sense for science fiction, but I would have liked to see a little more of the other elements. There was only one story that I thought was fully complete as a short story, Stella and the Adventurous Roots. The tale of a bloodthirsty alien plant was chilling and accessible, with a touch of poetry at the end.
I felt like all of the other stories needed more room to breathe, to unfold. That there was something more to be said. It’s in the nature of science fiction to tease and leave things mysterious, but in this case I usually found myself wanting just a dash more character insight, a few more steps in the plot, some more background. They could have easily been longer short stories or novellas. The explanatory notes mentioned that many of the stories were written for other anthologies, so there might have been word limits at play. I still enjoyed most of the stories as they are, but I was often vaguely dissatisfied and felt that there was some unfulfilled potential there.
The title story, Big Cat, wasn’t the best way to start off the collection. It’s a short story related to her novel, Bold as Love. It doesn’t work very well as a standalone story. The impression I got from it was of an edgy dystopia where musicians are part of the government. It was a confusing read, but it did really showcase Gwyneth’s creativity.
The only story I actively disliked was A Planet Called Desire, about a man that is sent to Venus. The main character was a creep and the world-building felt incoherent. There was some exotic alien sex in it that made me cringe.
If I were to cherry-pick my favourites, the first would be Bricks, Sticks, Straw. It was a clever story that was a bit ambiguous. As far as I can tell, it was about disordered personalities, stranded in space, that are confused over their humanity or lack thereof. I would love to read an expanded version.
The two gaming stories that finish off the collection, The Seventh Gamer and Cheats were fun reads. They are the most accessible to read and ask some interesting questions. If aliens or AIs were acting as players in a game, how would we know? How far can gaming technology go, even into the depths of space?
The Big Cat anthology is a bit patchy and uneven, but it’s worth reading for the good parts. Your idea of the good parts might be different than mine, but some of the fun of reading the short story collection is finding that out. It’s easy to skip between stories until you find something that works for you and I think everyone will find at least one story that they enjoy.
Big Cat is a collection of short stories from Gwyneth Jones. It’s a versatile anthology, so there’s something here for everyone. They are all prefaced by short notes, which makes it easier to skip through to the ones that appeal to your taste. The themes are a mix of dystopia, aliens, AI, gaming and technology. The stories are very concept-driven, rather than character-driven or plot-driven. It makes sense for science fiction, but I would have liked to see a little more of the other elements. There was only one story that I thought was fully complete as a short story, Stella and the Adventurous Roots. The tale of a bloodthirsty alien plant was chilling and accessible, with a touch of poetry at the end.
I felt like all of the other stories needed more room to breathe, to unfold. That there was something more to be said. It’s in the nature of science fiction to tease and leave things mysterious, but in this case I usually found myself wanting just a dash more character insight, a few more steps in the plot, some more background. They could have easily been longer short stories or novellas. The explanatory notes mentioned that many of the stories were written for other anthologies, so there might have been word limits at play. I still enjoyed most of the stories as they are, but I was often vaguely dissatisfied and felt that there was some unfulfilled potential there.
The title story, Big Cat, wasn’t the best way to start off the collection. It’s a short story related to her novel, Bold as Love. It doesn’t work very well as a standalone story. The impression I got from it was of an edgy dystopia where musicians are part of the government. It was a confusing read, but it did really showcase Gwyneth’s creativity.
The only story I actively disliked was A Planet Called Desire, about a man that is sent to Venus. The main character was a creep and the world-building felt incoherent. There was some exotic alien sex in it that made me cringe.
If I were to cherry-pick my favourites, the first would be Bricks, Sticks, Straw. It was a clever story that was a bit ambiguous. As far as I can tell, it was about disordered personalities, stranded in space, that are confused over their humanity or lack thereof. I would love to read an expanded version.
The two gaming stories that finish off the collection, The Seventh Gamer and Cheats were fun reads. They are the most accessible to read and ask some interesting questions. If aliens or AIs were acting as players in a game, how would we know? How far can gaming technology go, even into the depths of space?
The Big Cat anthology is a bit patchy and uneven, but it’s worth reading for the good parts. Your idea of the good parts might be different than mine, but some of the fun of reading the short story collection is finding that out. It’s easy to skip between stories until you find something that works for you and I think everyone will find at least one story that they enjoy.
joemurphy's review
3.0
I'm realizing that, much as I love short stories, it's been a long while since I read a single-author collection, and in most of the single-author collections I can think of, the author pretty much stays in their stylistic lane. As a result, I'm finding it interesting to think about why I responded well to some of the stories in this diverse collection, and poorly to others. I note that in every case, it's the characters which drew me into the world, most especially in "Big Cat" and "Bricks, Sticks, Straw" and "The Vicar of Mars" (and to a lesser extent, "The Ki-Anna"). In each of those stories, the struggles of the characters kept me engaged with the possibilities of the world. The conflicts seemed, for want of a better word, "human."
With the very notable exception of "Bricks, Sticks, Straw", I also note that I didn't respond as well to the "hard sci-fi" elements of stories like "The Flame is Roses" or "Emergence" or "The Seventh Gamer." To me, these felt more like the technologies were being explored than the characters were, and I just didn't find myself drawn into the puzzle as well.
Some of the stories are in very clear genres. "Stella and the Adventurous Roots" is a charming fable, and I like fables. "The Old Schoolhouse" is probably a pretty good horror story in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, but I don't care for Lovecraft. "Cheats" is the first chapter of a young adult book. It's not supposed to be a self-contained story, and it's not for my old eyes.
With the very notable exception of "Bricks, Sticks, Straw", I also note that I didn't respond as well to the "hard sci-fi" elements of stories like "The Flame is Roses" or "Emergence" or "The Seventh Gamer." To me, these felt more like the technologies were being explored than the characters were, and I just didn't find myself drawn into the puzzle as well.
Some of the stories are in very clear genres. "Stella and the Adventurous Roots" is a charming fable, and I like fables. "The Old Schoolhouse" is probably a pretty good horror story in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, but I don't care for Lovecraft. "Cheats" is the first chapter of a young adult book. It's not supposed to be a self-contained story, and it's not for my old eyes.
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