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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I just don’t like short stories, I want to be invested but It’s impossible. My favorite story in this was “the man who bridges the mist”, but that might just be because it was the longest. Honorable mention to “the cat who walked 1,000 miles.” Every story was melancholy. The abstract-ness easy to connect to most times- not the alien sex one though.
Though I didn’t love it as much as the dream quest there were some beautiful shining moments here! The namesake story was by far the best!
There are some great stories here, especially The Man Who Bridged the Mist and the titular story. Unfortunately, there are some extremely cringey stories that ruined my enjoyment of the collection -- the last one talks of dogs as slaves, clearly trying to make a statement and commentary, but extremely poorly thought out. There's also several stories based on East Asian mythology and history, and the mimicking of those translations and storytelling techniques ended up as frail façades and feeling appropriative (which would not had happened, perhaps, if the style had not tried so hard to accomplish "Asian-ness"). I full on skipped one of the longer stories in the middle because I couldn't handle more of that.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
Sci-fi that requires world-building isn't super my bag, and about half the stories in this collection are heavily in that camp. However, I loved the stories that weren't as reliant on world-building, and would recommend this book to others.
There were two things about this collection that I didn't realize when I picked it up: 1) Kij Johnson is well-known and has a long career both writing and editing (at one of my favorite publishers, Tor!) speculative fiction and 2) the anthology was loosely themed, with most stories featuring some animal or another as a major character.
The first was great discovery. I bought this because I'd read Johnson's story "Spar" in Clarkesworld a few years back and when I discovered Small Beer Press had published an anthology, I was sold. And it was an excellent buy! Thanks to one of my local indie stores (Kramerbooks ) for carrying it because otherwise I wouldn't have known!
The collection reminds me a lot of Lisa Tuttle. Very solid SF work with interesting ideas, with one or two stories that blew me away. I think Johnson's SF premises are more modern and well-rounded - complex alternate worlds, a tight focus on characters, and a literary prose style. I'm writing this review almost a year later and I still think about "Ponies" anytime I think about character-driven SF with a world I'd give an arm to explore. "Spar" remains one of my favorites (though it's not for the faint of heart - and having just reviewed "The Stars Are Legion" I'm realizing I have a bit of a thing for weird body horror fiction).
Anyway, Small Beer Press publishes some great books and this is one of them. This collection is very smart (which makes sense - Johnson has my alternate-reality dream job of teaching sci-fi at the college level) and engaging.
The first was great discovery. I bought this because I'd read Johnson's story "Spar" in Clarkesworld a few years back and when I discovered Small Beer Press had published an anthology, I was sold. And it was an excellent buy! Thanks to one of my local indie stores (Kramerbooks ) for carrying it because otherwise I wouldn't have known!
The collection reminds me a lot of Lisa Tuttle. Very solid SF work with interesting ideas, with one or two stories that blew me away. I think Johnson's SF premises are more modern and well-rounded - complex alternate worlds, a tight focus on characters, and a literary prose style. I'm writing this review almost a year later and I still think about "Ponies" anytime I think about character-driven SF with a world I'd give an arm to explore. "Spar" remains one of my favorites (though it's not for the faint of heart - and having just reviewed "The Stars Are Legion" I'm realizing I have a bit of a thing for weird body horror fiction).
Anyway, Small Beer Press publishes some great books and this is one of them. This collection is very smart (which makes sense - Johnson has my alternate-reality dream job of teaching sci-fi at the college level) and engaging.
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2016: Kij Johnson knows how to write short stories, oh my gosh. Even if I didn't particularly like one of her stories, it wasn't because it was poorly written or unfinished. Mostly it was because I wasn't fond of the themes in the stories. But, here are the ones I loved:
26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
Fox Magic
Names for Water
Chenting, in the Land of the Dead
The Empress Jingu Fishes
The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles
I will be reading The Fox Woman and Fudoki by this author in 2016. It's happening and it's going to be glorious!
2020: my favorites this time we’re The Empires Jingu Fishes, Story Kit and 26 Monkeys Also the Abyss. I didn’t enjoy a handful of the other stories, including the novella, so slight demotion from 5 to 4 stars.
26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
Fox Magic
Names for Water
Chenting, in the Land of the Dead
The Empress Jingu Fishes
The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles
I will be reading The Fox Woman and Fudoki by this author in 2016. It's happening and it's going to be glorious!
2020: my favorites this time we’re The Empires Jingu Fishes, Story Kit and 26 Monkeys Also the Abyss. I didn’t enjoy a handful of the other stories, including the novella, so slight demotion from 5 to 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence
Minor: Rape
This review from my blog: http://lostinstory.weebly.com/home/review-of-at-the-mouth-of-the-river-of-bees
This is a collection of science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism short stories. This is easily one of the best collections I have read in a long time. So many of the stories were outstanding and unusual. They occasionally reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s writing, but they are very much their own thing. I also liked that her stories are not “about” any one thing but encapsulate whole feelings and experiences.
Below I summarize some of my favorites from this collection and what I liked about each.
“Fox Magic” - A fox sees a samurai and falls in love. Her family uses their magic to bewitch him into believing that she is human. They begin an affair and a new life together until his family begins to try to find him. I loved the magic and romance in this story; I also liked the way it focused on their relationship/affair being founded on illusion and how the fox rationalizes all of this.
“Names for Water” - A very short story about a girl who gets a call from water, which she tries to name. I liked that everything in this story came together and wrapped up in a way I never would have predicted.
“My Wife Reincarnated as a Solitaire” - This piece is a gorgeous piece of comedy and satire. The narrator is a whiny, stuffy, prudish man who does not value his wife or try to keep her happy. His wife meets a vicar who takes an interest in her and their less than subtle affair begins. It is a very satisfying read if you are tired of the hyper romanticized views of women and if you love seeing characters get what they deserve.
“At the Mouth of the River of Bees” - The title story, this focuses on a woman who takes her aging dog on a trip to find the mouth of the River of Bees. I liked the quest elements of the story and the ending of the story was very striking.
“Story Kit” - In this, a narrator goes between writing about Dido and talking about her own experiences with loss and love. It comments on and focuses on the ways in which we use our own experiences in writing and how we deal with out pain in writing.
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” - My overall favorite, the main character is a bridge builder who comes to two towns to build a bridge between them. The bridge is over a lethal mist that holds large and horrifyingly huge sea creatures. The main character grows close to a woman who crosses the mist on a boat and finds her identity and sense of self in doing so. This really focuses on the cost of changes we make, even changes with great benefit, and the things we lose in advancements and change.
I would highly recommend this book! I find myself still thinking about and talking about these stories which is always a good sign!
This is a collection of science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism short stories. This is easily one of the best collections I have read in a long time. So many of the stories were outstanding and unusual. They occasionally reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s writing, but they are very much their own thing. I also liked that her stories are not “about” any one thing but encapsulate whole feelings and experiences.
Below I summarize some of my favorites from this collection and what I liked about each.
“Fox Magic” - A fox sees a samurai and falls in love. Her family uses their magic to bewitch him into believing that she is human. They begin an affair and a new life together until his family begins to try to find him. I loved the magic and romance in this story; I also liked the way it focused on their relationship/affair being founded on illusion and how the fox rationalizes all of this.
“Names for Water” - A very short story about a girl who gets a call from water, which she tries to name. I liked that everything in this story came together and wrapped up in a way I never would have predicted.
“My Wife Reincarnated as a Solitaire” - This piece is a gorgeous piece of comedy and satire. The narrator is a whiny, stuffy, prudish man who does not value his wife or try to keep her happy. His wife meets a vicar who takes an interest in her and their less than subtle affair begins. It is a very satisfying read if you are tired of the hyper romanticized views of women and if you love seeing characters get what they deserve.
“At the Mouth of the River of Bees” - The title story, this focuses on a woman who takes her aging dog on a trip to find the mouth of the River of Bees. I liked the quest elements of the story and the ending of the story was very striking.
“Story Kit” - In this, a narrator goes between writing about Dido and talking about her own experiences with loss and love. It comments on and focuses on the ways in which we use our own experiences in writing and how we deal with out pain in writing.
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” - My overall favorite, the main character is a bridge builder who comes to two towns to build a bridge between them. The bridge is over a lethal mist that holds large and horrifyingly huge sea creatures. The main character grows close to a woman who crosses the mist on a boat and finds her identity and sense of self in doing so. This really focuses on the cost of changes we make, even changes with great benefit, and the things we lose in advancements and change.
I would highly recommend this book! I find myself still thinking about and talking about these stories which is always a good sign!
The quality of Johnson's writing removes any temptation to patrol the boundaries of genre.
This is simply suburb storytelling.
Highlights include:
- 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
- Fox Magic
- The Bitey Cat
- The Horse Raiders
- At the Mouth of the River of Bees
This is simply suburb storytelling.
Highlights include:
- 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
- Fox Magic
- The Bitey Cat
- The Horse Raiders
- At the Mouth of the River of Bees
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes