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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
Soul Jar is a wide-ranging collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories by disabled authors. Most of the stories feature openly disabled and/or neurodivergent characters and some deal with ableism, but mainly they feature many kinds of people in the kind of SFF stories I love to read. They vary widely in tone and topic, meaning that there's something for everyone, probably several stories to catch your fancy.
I love stories which completely immerse the reader and leave me to figure out the setting with either little or very sly guidance, something that "Which Doctor" by Lane Chasek does materfully, flipping the assumptions of "traditional" and "alternative" therapies in a way which highlights the absurdities of real-world ableism and institutional issues. "Spore, Bud, Bloody Orchid" by Jaye Viner is an excellent tale which wouldn't be out of place in a horror anthology but which fits perfectly here. "Song of Bullfrogs, Cry of Geese" by Nicola Griffith is about stubbornness, grief, and what it takes to come to terms with a new reality. I'm a singlet, but I like the way "The Things I Miss the Most" by Nisi Shawl engages with a kind of plurality and the aftermath of loss. "A Broke Young Martian Atop His Busted Scooter" by K.G. Delmare is a Mars-based story of classism with a very cool setting and immersive worldbuiding. I also like two completely different stories thinking about clothing, presentation, and rules with "The Definition of Professional Attire" by Evergreen Lee and "Wardrobe of the Worlds" by Jennifer Lee Rossman. "Cranberry Nightmare" by Kit Harding uses a maze of unspoken social rules in a great way with an ending that made me wish it was the start of a book rather than just a short story.
If you like sci-fi and fantasy, don't miss this excellent collection!
I love stories which completely immerse the reader and leave me to figure out the setting with either little or very sly guidance, something that "Which Doctor" by Lane Chasek does materfully, flipping the assumptions of "traditional" and "alternative" therapies in a way which highlights the absurdities of real-world ableism and institutional issues. "Spore, Bud, Bloody Orchid" by Jaye Viner is an excellent tale which wouldn't be out of place in a horror anthology but which fits perfectly here. "Song of Bullfrogs, Cry of Geese" by Nicola Griffith is about stubbornness, grief, and what it takes to come to terms with a new reality. I'm a singlet, but I like the way "The Things I Miss the Most" by Nisi Shawl engages with a kind of plurality and the aftermath of loss. "A Broke Young Martian Atop His Busted Scooter" by K.G. Delmare is a Mars-based story of classism with a very cool setting and immersive worldbuiding. I also like two completely different stories thinking about clothing, presentation, and rules with "The Definition of Professional Attire" by Evergreen Lee and "Wardrobe of the Worlds" by Jennifer Lee Rossman. "Cranberry Nightmare" by Kit Harding uses a maze of unspoken social rules in a great way with an ending that made me wish it was the start of a book rather than just a short story.
If you like sci-fi and fantasy, don't miss this excellent collection!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, War, Cancer, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Vomit, Xenophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, and Self harm
Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, Abortion, Excrement, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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