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lyndajdickson's review against another edition
5.0
UnCommon Lands is a collection of 20 short stories from 20 different authors, each featuring a fantastical place or alien landscape. This review is for the story "Ecumenical Outpost 732" by P. K. Tyler, a story set in the Jakkattu world.
Eleven-year-old T’se is a blue-eyed Mezna-human hybrid who lives on Station Cassiopeia with her mother, father, and baby sister. She spends her days staring out her window for a glimpse of Peritha, the red planet below, where the Jakkatu prisoners work the mines. She dreams of living on a planet, and feeling the ground beneath her feet, but Peritha is not safe for women, as the Jakkattu prisoners are far too violent. She also wonders about the Earth she has heard of in stories. All she has to look forward to from the age of twelve is a shaven head and a life sorting the minerals mined on the planet below. Until she meets a mysterious stowaway and begins questioning her life ...
"Ecumenical Outpost 732" further explores aspects of life in the Jakkattu world, introduced in earlier stories and the novel, The Jakkattu Vector. The story highlights the persecution and discrimination that seem inherent in all societies. This is a simple narrative of friendship with another heartbreaking ending, a skill the author has perfected.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (22 August): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/08/uncommon-lands-by-p-k-tyler.html
Eleven-year-old T’se is a blue-eyed Mezna-human hybrid who lives on Station Cassiopeia with her mother, father, and baby sister. She spends her days staring out her window for a glimpse of Peritha, the red planet below, where the Jakkatu prisoners work the mines. She dreams of living on a planet, and feeling the ground beneath her feet, but Peritha is not safe for women, as the Jakkattu prisoners are far too violent. She also wonders about the Earth she has heard of in stories. All she has to look forward to from the age of twelve is a shaven head and a life sorting the minerals mined on the planet below. Until she meets a mysterious stowaway and begins questioning her life ...
"Ecumenical Outpost 732" further explores aspects of life in the Jakkattu world, introduced in earlier stories and the novel, The Jakkattu Vector. The story highlights the persecution and discrimination that seem inherent in all societies. This is a simple narrative of friendship with another heartbreaking ending, a skill the author has perfected.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (22 August): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/08/uncommon-lands-by-p-k-tyler.html
scifi_rat's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
2.0
The Creaser - 1.5 stars
Gators In Kansas And Other Hazards Of Modern Farming - 0.5 stars
Rakka Surprise - 1.5 stars
The Crater - 0.75 stars
Galileo’s Dog - 2 stars
Exhibit D - 3 stars
Ecumenical Outpost 732 - 2.5 stars
The Pillars Of Theonasa - 1 stars
The Rite - 3 stars
Silicon Oar - 3.5 stars
Carcerem - 1 stars
Somewhere I Belong - 1.25 stars
A Trap In Eshwar - 3 stars
Dreamsolution - 1.25 stars
ConseQuent - 2 stars
Dragomir - 2.75 stars
The Last Immaculate - 2 stars
Anderson’s Necessaries - 0.75 stars
Walker Between The Worlds - 3 stars
Gators In Kansas And Other Hazards Of Modern Farming - 0.5 stars
Rakka Surprise - 1.5 stars
The Crater - 0.75 stars
Galileo’s Dog - 2 stars
Exhibit D - 3 stars
Ecumenical Outpost 732 - 2.5 stars
The Pillars Of Theonasa - 1 stars
The Rite - 3 stars
Silicon Oar - 3.5 stars
Carcerem - 1 stars
Somewhere I Belong - 1.25 stars
A Trap In Eshwar - 3 stars
Dreamsolution - 1.25 stars
ConseQuent - 2 stars
Dragomir - 2.75 stars
The Last Immaculate - 2 stars
Anderson’s Necessaries - 0.75 stars
Walker Between The Worlds - 3 stars
laffingkat's review against another edition
4.0
If you enjoy speculative fiction short stories, this is a great collection. The stories are well-written, original, often surprising, and sometimes challenging. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, I appreciated the variety of settings, styles, and themes. One thing I would have preferred would be more optimistic stories. To be fair, it's not as though these stories are without hope or filled with overwhelming doom, gloom, and violence, but at the same time, there aren't too many laughs and happy endings.
"Anderson's Necessaries" by [a:Jon Etter|15000329|Jon Etter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] was probably my favorite story in this collection. This was a sweet, whimsical romantic fantasy in a small town setting that reminded me of a Rockwell painting. The characters (which include the titular shop) were charming and funny, and I was genuinely delighted by the ending.
"Rakka Surprise" by [a:Bey Deckard|7855471|Bey Deckard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496688582p2/7855471.jpg], a humorous space opera, also deserves special mention. The banter here was really cute, and the ending was sweet.
[a:P.K. Tyler|14678447|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448410086p2/14678447.jpg]'s "Ecumenical Outpost 732" was probably the most emotional read for me. I was quickly drawn in to this short scifi story set in Tyler's Jakkattu Universe, and I felt gutted by the ending. This story works just fine as a stand-alone read, but if you want to learn more about this setting, I highly recommend the first novel, [b:The Jakkattu Vector|31393528|The Jakkattu Vector (Jakkattu, #1)|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470764747s/31393528.jpg|52083267], or the first of her Jakkattu shorts, [b:Avendui 5ive|31328100|Avendui 5ive (Jakkattu shorts, #1)|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470756938s/31328100.jpg|52002160].
The story I found most thought-provoking and have been discussing with many of my friends is the cyberpunk short "The Rite" by [a:Christopher Godsoe|5126629|Christopher Godsoe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314143842p2/5126629.jpg]. I was intrigued by the dilemma the heroine of this story faces, and I suspect I'll continue to think about this story for a long time to come.
I received a free ARC of this book from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was generally well written, well edited, and cleanly formatted. I noticed only a few typos.
"Anderson's Necessaries" by [a:Jon Etter|15000329|Jon Etter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] was probably my favorite story in this collection. This was a sweet, whimsical romantic fantasy in a small town setting that reminded me of a Rockwell painting. The characters (which include the titular shop) were charming and funny, and I was genuinely delighted by the ending.
"Rakka Surprise" by [a:Bey Deckard|7855471|Bey Deckard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496688582p2/7855471.jpg], a humorous space opera, also deserves special mention. The banter here was really cute, and the ending was sweet.
[a:P.K. Tyler|14678447|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448410086p2/14678447.jpg]'s "Ecumenical Outpost 732" was probably the most emotional read for me. I was quickly drawn in to this short scifi story set in Tyler's Jakkattu Universe, and I felt gutted by the ending. This story works just fine as a stand-alone read, but if you want to learn more about this setting, I highly recommend the first novel, [b:The Jakkattu Vector|31393528|The Jakkattu Vector (Jakkattu, #1)|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470764747s/31393528.jpg|52083267], or the first of her Jakkattu shorts, [b:Avendui 5ive|31328100|Avendui 5ive (Jakkattu shorts, #1)|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470756938s/31328100.jpg|52002160].
The story I found most thought-provoking and have been discussing with many of my friends is the cyberpunk short "The Rite" by [a:Christopher Godsoe|5126629|Christopher Godsoe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314143842p2/5126629.jpg]. I was intrigued by the dilemma the heroine of this story faces, and I suspect I'll continue to think about this story for a long time to come.
I received a free ARC of this book from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was generally well written, well edited, and cleanly formatted. I noticed only a few typos.
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