Scan barcode
mariocomputer's review against another edition
4.0
Some of these are 5-star stories, and some are 3-star, so I'm averaging it out. Johnson excels at world-building, and she can write in many different styles and voices. My favourites were The Horse Raiders, The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, The Man Who Bridged the Mist, and At the Mouth of the River of Bees. I would read full-length novels of all of those (except maybe River of Bees, which would work better as a short story).
reasie's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous, exquisite, and humbling writing. GAWGEOUS. I mean, like... wow. Read this book, read it now. I'll be over in a corner sobbing about my inability to ever write such breathtakingly beautiful short stories. K?
Um... details? Right. So there were a couple Japanese folk-tale-like things that were what I cared for least in the book, though I did like the one about The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles. It paired nicely with the last story in the book, which was about the stories dogs tell after they gain the ability to speak. The titular story, "At the Mouth of the River of Bees" is also gorgeous and about human-animal companionship. I would love to write a story like that, though I wouldn't be able to have it not have a scientific explanation. Maybe that's my big problem as a writer. I've got this snotty 12-year-old in the back of my mind shouting, "But what's the REAL reason this would happen?"
There are some more science-fictiony tales, and of course I liked those best. The longest is a novella about a man building a bridge on another world where a mysterious, caustic mist, peopled by man-eating ray-sharks, covers certain water bodies. I'm a total sucker for bridges, so they had me at the first use of the word "pylon". Though I kinda wish they'd had electricity and cars and stuff. It's oddly pre-modern engineering. Another story also had pre-modern humans on a strange world - a world where the day lasts years and Noon is boiling and Night a frozen waste and the people are nomads traveling forever in the habitable strip of Morning. Such wonderful worlds!
Johnson peoples her stories with strong, competent women and men of varying races and I like that a lot, too. Almost without exception, her stories end powerfully with a one-sentence climax/ending - the magic of unexpected yet inevitable.
Um... details? Right. So there were a couple Japanese folk-tale-like things that were what I cared for least in the book, though I did like the one about The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles. It paired nicely with the last story in the book, which was about the stories dogs tell after they gain the ability to speak. The titular story, "At the Mouth of the River of Bees" is also gorgeous and about human-animal companionship. I would love to write a story like that, though I wouldn't be able to have it not have a scientific explanation. Maybe that's my big problem as a writer. I've got this snotty 12-year-old in the back of my mind shouting, "But what's the REAL reason this would happen?"
There are some more science-fictiony tales, and of course I liked those best. The longest is a novella about a man building a bridge on another world where a mysterious, caustic mist, peopled by man-eating ray-sharks, covers certain water bodies. I'm a total sucker for bridges, so they had me at the first use of the word "pylon". Though I kinda wish they'd had electricity and cars and stuff. It's oddly pre-modern engineering. Another story also had pre-modern humans on a strange world - a world where the day lasts years and Noon is boiling and Night a frozen waste and the people are nomads traveling forever in the habitable strip of Morning. Such wonderful worlds!
Johnson peoples her stories with strong, competent women and men of varying races and I like that a lot, too. Almost without exception, her stories end powerfully with a one-sentence climax/ending - the magic of unexpected yet inevitable.
jonmhansen's review against another edition
4.0
Well written, many of them sad. I liked "The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles" and "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" the best.
not_mike's review against another edition
4.0
Paperback.
Kij Johnson's short fiction involving animals is a mix of wit, magic, and charm.
Kij Johnson's short fiction involving animals is a mix of wit, magic, and charm.
saguaros's review against another edition
4.0
Could almost be a 5 stars, tbh. It was lovely, with such diverse and varied stories.
Favourites:
26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
The Horse Raiders
Dia Chjerman's Tale
The Empress Jingu Fishes
At the Mouth of the River of Bees (<333)
Story Kit
Ponies
The Man Who Bridged the Mist
The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dog of North Park After the Change
(the only story I didn't finish was The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, only because I am not a fan of animal protagonists/POVs)
Favourites:
26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss
The Horse Raiders
Dia Chjerman's Tale
The Empress Jingu Fishes
At the Mouth of the River of Bees (<333)
Story Kit
Ponies
The Man Who Bridged the Mist
The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dog of North Park After the Change
(the only story I didn't finish was The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, only because I am not a fan of animal protagonists/POVs)
zquill's review against another edition
4.0
For as clear an animal-lover Johnson is, this collection is difficult to read for fellow animal-lovers. The casual inclusion of violence and sex throughout comes across mostly genuine, but there are a few overt moments where the desire to shock is the main motivation behind a scene. But for all that, the moments of honest grief and surprisingly joy made this a beautiful collection.
kevinjfellows's review
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
This is a collection of short stories and as with any collection, some stories are better than others. But this is a fascinating collection of speculative stories.
radicalrachelreads's review against another edition
1.0
If you like animals and respect them, I would not recommend this book. In many of the stories the animals are used as props - as representations of emotions or ideas. This left me feeling detached from the characters and the stories.
kiramke's review against another edition
2.0
I liked a handful of these stories, although maybe not enough that I'll refer back to them for years; and I really didn't like quite a few. I can't quite articulate why, sometimes I just wasn't interested in the point being made, or I felt exhausted picking up so much world building for one short story that didn't wow me. And a few times I felt like the story was eating up the references, like there wasn't a point to taking over that tradition, the story didn't need it and was just using it. I don't love the taking of folklore, and I also didn't love those stories, they didn't feel true or important. One or two longer stories felt fleshed-out and worthwhile.