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brogan7's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
Such a diverse group of stories, exploring aspects of disability, human relationships both personal and political, environmental issues in the broadest sense of how we relate to and understand the world around us, such a rich, rich collection!
Enjoyed almost every bit of it.
Enjoyed almost every bit of it.
katsmedialibrary's review
It’s excellent I just take so long with physical books and the library needed it back. I’ll check it out again.
seawarrior's review
4.0
Accessing the Future is a wildly creative and clever anthology of stories by disabled authors. The stories vary in tone and theme, some are more playful, while others are tragic. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, I felt that each of the authors adeptly captured their experiences as disabled people within the narratives. I hope a second volume is on the horizon.
joiceeg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lmjones's review
A couple of good stories in here, but I didn’t find that most of them held my attention. I wanted to like this, but it just wasn’t great.
kailawil's review against another edition
4.0
I could go on and on about how refreshing it is to read about disability without reading about disability--that is, these stories are so good on their own, the characters are great, and their disabilities are a facet of their character, not the single defining trait.
Creative, well-written, and the illustrations are great too.
Creative, well-written, and the illustrations are great too.
briannadasilva's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting idea for an anthology! Short stories that are all (a) science fiction and (b) focus on disability? It is good that this exists.
Shout-out to several stories I especially appreciated:
Shout-out to several stories I especially appreciated:
essinink's review against another edition
3.0
Accessing the Future: A Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction is one of those anthologies that is thematically important, but uneven in execution. I usually read a couple of anthologies or short story collections per year, so I’m used to their mixed-bag nature.
There are 15 stories in this volume, addressing a range of visible and invisible disabilities. There are protagonists that most readers aren’t used to seeing. (e.g. a young woman with spina bifida in “Pirate Songs”, a blind pilot “A Sense all its Own”, and an aging HOH executive officer on a generation ship in “In Open Air”)
There’s also a lot of focus on assistive technology: who owns it, who uses it, and how that which is developed and tested for the disabled may later be marketed to able-bodied consumers as enhancement. (Sarah Pinsker’s “Pay Attention” is one of my favorite stories in this volume.) Rachel K. Jones’ “Courting the Silent Sun” also makes a case for agency in the use of assistive technology, rather than universal enforcement of a ‘cure’ that not everyone may want.
Finally, some of these stories address privacy concerns relating to technological assistance. (“Screens” by Samantha Rich, “Invisible People” by Margaret Killjoy, and “Morphic Resonance” by Toby MacNutt).
However uneven it is as a collection, I’m glad that I read it. Disability in fiction is often ‘inconvenient’-- it tends to be brushed aside, ignored, or compensated for in such a way that it no longer makes a difference in the way that the story is told. But in sweeping visible and invisible disabilities under the rug, creators and consumers reinforce societal taboos rather than facing up to differential experience of the world.
Full Table of Contents:
Props to The Future Fire for compiling these stories. They gave me a lot to think about, and that’s worth a fair bit.
A Note About the Art:
There are eight illustrations in this volume, each with a carefully-written image description on the reverse. With a couple of exceptions, I preferred the concept of each piece over the execution, but it was still a nice inclusion.
There are 15 stories in this volume, addressing a range of visible and invisible disabilities. There are protagonists that most readers aren’t used to seeing. (e.g. a young woman with spina bifida in “Pirate Songs”, a blind pilot “A Sense all its Own”, and an aging HOH executive officer on a generation ship in “In Open Air”)
There’s also a lot of focus on assistive technology: who owns it, who uses it, and how that which is developed and tested for the disabled may later be marketed to able-bodied consumers as enhancement. (Sarah Pinsker’s “Pay Attention” is one of my favorite stories in this volume.) Rachel K. Jones’ “Courting the Silent Sun” also makes a case for agency in the use of assistive technology, rather than universal enforcement of a ‘cure’ that not everyone may want.
Finally, some of these stories address privacy concerns relating to technological assistance. (“Screens” by Samantha Rich, “Invisible People” by Margaret Killjoy, and “Morphic Resonance” by Toby MacNutt).
However uneven it is as a collection, I’m glad that I read it. Disability in fiction is often ‘inconvenient’-- it tends to be brushed aside, ignored, or compensated for in such a way that it no longer makes a difference in the way that the story is told. But in sweeping visible and invisible disabilities under the rug, creators and consumers reinforce societal taboos rather than facing up to differential experience of the world.
Full Table of Contents:
Nicolette Barischoff “Pirate Songs”
Sarah Pinsker “Pay Attention”
Margaret Killjoy “Invisible People”
Joyce Chng “The Lessons of the Moon”
Samantha Rich “Screens”
Sara Patterson “A Sense All its Own”
Kate O'Connor “Better to Have Loved”
Toby MacNutt “Morphic Resonance”
Louise Hughes “Losing Touch”
Jack Hollis Marr “into the waters i rode down”
Petra Kuppers “Playa Song”
A.C. Buchanan “Puppetry”
A.F. Sanchez “Lyric”
Rachael K. Jones “Courting the Silent Sun”
David Jón Fuller “In Open Air”
Props to The Future Fire for compiling these stories. They gave me a lot to think about, and that’s worth a fair bit.
A Note About the Art:
There are eight illustrations in this volume, each with a carefully-written image description on the reverse. With a couple of exceptions, I preferred the concept of each piece over the execution, but it was still a nice inclusion.
shonatiger's review against another edition
3.0
Very pleased with this anthology, not because it’s particularly fantastic — it’s just pretty good — but because there’s so much nuance, and realism, and room for failure, both for characters and also for the authors. This isn’t one of your pandering anthologies, and definitely isn’t here for your inspiration; it’s just here to exist, and I love it for that.
That said, the stories were a mix of really good, not-so-great, and meh. But that’s because I enjoyed some concepts, was completely confused by others, and found a few that really didn’t impress me. That’s a good thing! This anthology is disability-themed, it’s not about disability.
My favourites:
• Better To Have Loved, by Kate O’Connor. I seem to really like stories about loss, going by recent reviews
That said, the stories were a mix of really good, not-so-great, and meh. But that’s because I enjoyed some concepts, was completely confused by others, and found a few that really didn’t impress me. That’s a good thing! This anthology is disability-themed, it’s not about disability.
My favourites:
• Better To Have Loved, by Kate O’Connor. I seem to really like stories about loss, going by recent reviews
casshroom's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25