Scan barcode
samdalefox's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I adored every single story. I adore Tiptree's insight and writing style. She was truly a trailblazer in fusing “hard” science fiction (physics, technology, biology) with the sociological and psychological ideas of “soft” science fiction. Tiptree was also a master in exploring the vantage point of the other, the female, and the alien. Her work is insightful and prophetic and we can continue to learn from her.
Tiptree’s science fiction stories tend to be dark and pessimistic, often exploring the inexorable force of biological determinism and the futility of existence as self-aware individuals. Her tales force me to wonder: Are we as human beings ultimately slaves to our biology? Despite our intelligence, are we doomed to behave like other creatures, to overwhelm the carrying capacity of our surroundings until we experience precipitous plunges in population as a species? Her stories carry consistent themes exploring climate crisis, human exceptionalism, and feminism and is intersectional in surprising ways for the time period Tiptree was writing in.
Each short story is completely unique, and I can see direct influences upon more recently written science fiction stories. No matter their length, I always feel like I've been dropped right into the middle of a complete and vivid world, and I'm just trying to catch up and understand what I'm witnessing. Many stories I was shocked at, a few I cried, all were impactful and will stay with me in some way. They are certainly not easy reads, each have several points that prompt thought and discussion.
I won't bore everyone with my extensive notes list on each short story, I'll merely post a list of the titles included in this collection. I can't specify my favourites because they truly all are spectacular. If you love science fiction and/or feminism, I beg you to read this collection.
Her Smoke Rose up Forever collection includes the following short stories:
Tiptree’s science fiction stories tend to be dark and pessimistic, often exploring the inexorable force of biological determinism and the futility of existence as self-aware individuals. Her tales force me to wonder: Are we as human beings ultimately slaves to our biology? Despite our intelligence, are we doomed to behave like other creatures, to overwhelm the carrying capacity of our surroundings until we experience precipitous plunges in population as a species? Her stories carry consistent themes exploring climate crisis, human exceptionalism, and feminism and is intersectional in surprising ways for the time period Tiptree was writing in.
Each short story is completely unique, and I can see direct influences upon more recently written science fiction stories. No matter their length, I always feel like I've been dropped right into the middle of a complete and vivid world, and I'm just trying to catch up and understand what I'm witnessing. Many stories I was shocked at, a few I cried, all were impactful and will stay with me in some way. They are certainly not easy reads, each have several points that prompt thought and discussion.
I won't bore everyone with my extensive notes list on each short story, I'll merely post a list of the titles included in this collection. I can't specify my favourites because they truly all are spectacular. If you love science fiction and/or feminism, I beg you to read this collection.
Her Smoke Rose up Forever collection includes the following short stories:
- The last flight of Doctor Ain
- The screwfly solution
- And I awoke and found me here on the cold hill's side
- The girl who was plugged in
- The man who walked home
- And I have come upon this place by lost ways
- The women men don't see
- Your faces, O my sisters! Your faces filled with light!
- Houston, Houston, do you read?
- With delicate mad hands
- A momentary taste of being
- We who stole the dream
- Her smoke rose up forever
- Love is the plan, the plan is death
- On the last afternoon
- She waits for all men born
- Slow music
- And so on, and so on
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Classism, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Rape
More...