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tricapra's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent short story collection, that took me an impossibly long time to read (no fault of the author). I'll be reading more from Ms. Shawl in the future.
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
Do yourself a favor and check out this beautiful, moving set of diverse (in theme, character, voice, and genre) short stories. Shawl brings to life various mythologies of the African diaspora in highly original ways. This is speculative fiction in the best sense of the phrase. My favorites were the touching, heartbreaking "Wallamelon", as well as the intriguing sci-fi tale "Good Boy" in which characters blur the lines between mental illness and divine possession while a space colony is trying to cope with a pandemic. Highly recommended.
ratkingmebitch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
5.0
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ana_banana_'s review against another edition
2.75
Some of the stories were very good. Some were meh.
essinink's review against another edition
4.0
I waited a night to review this collection, mostly because I wasn't entirely certain how to review it. Nisi Shawl is a talented writer of speculative fiction, and she showcases it here with a collection so diverse that it was necessary to read slowly to avoid genre-whiplash.
These fourteen stories, connected by themes of life, (balance of) power, race, mysticism, ancestry, and the threshhold between girlhood and womanhood are startlingly diverse. They range from folk-tale to horror story; from hard sci-fi, to fairy-tale.
My favorites, for different reasons, are probably "The Huts of Ajala", "Bird Day", "Deep End" (which I first read in While We Were Dreaming), and "Good Boy".
"Wallamellon", "The Pragmatical Princess", "Shiomah's Land" and "But She's Only a Dream" were also excellent.
These fourteen stories, connected by themes of life, (balance of) power, race, mysticism, ancestry, and the threshhold between girlhood and womanhood are startlingly diverse. They range from folk-tale to horror story; from hard sci-fi, to fairy-tale.
My favorites, for different reasons, are probably "The Huts of Ajala", "Bird Day", "Deep End" (which I first read in While We Were Dreaming), and "Good Boy".
"Wallamellon", "The Pragmatical Princess", "Shiomah's Land" and "But She's Only a Dream" were also excellent.
misssusan's review against another edition
4.0
this is an impressive collection, there's not a single story here that didn't work for me. like some definitely worked better than others -- shout out to wallamelon, the pragmatical princess, and good boy! -- but i'd put off sleep to read any one of them.
the stories are a mix of sci fi and fantasy -- i guess you could stick them all under the umbrella of spec fic? -- and usually commenting on power in some way. i think it'll work best for sff fans because they mostly jump into the world with minimal explanation and in my experience sff readers are a lot more used to sitting back and rolling with the punches till explanations pop up (true story: i was in a class discussion once with a group of primarily non-sff readers and there was like an hour's back and forth on whether the fantastical events of a particular story were real or metaphorical or a commentary on the perceptions of childhood and meanwhile i was like '...welp, and here i was just thinking cool magical talking doll like a nerd')
4 stars
the stories are a mix of sci fi and fantasy -- i guess you could stick them all under the umbrella of spec fic? -- and usually commenting on power in some way. i think it'll work best for sff fans because they mostly jump into the world with minimal explanation and in my experience sff readers are a lot more used to sitting back and rolling with the punches till explanations pop up (true story: i was in a class discussion once with a group of primarily non-sff readers and there was like an hour's back and forth on whether the fantastical events of a particular story were real or metaphorical or a commentary on the perceptions of childhood and meanwhile i was like '...welp, and here i was just thinking cool magical talking doll like a nerd')
4 stars
novelinsights's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great collection of stories which varied from light fantasy that bordered on the realistic to science fiction and everything in between. Despite the variation in worlds, these stories shared the theme of focusing on the African American experience, which is something that I feel is seen far too little in speculative fiction.
I always try to give short story collections the most representative rating that I can, and a lot of these stories were 5-star reads for me. The only complaint I really had with any of them was that some could be a bit vague or unclear about what was going on with the fantastical or sci-fi elements.
I always try to give short story collections the most representative rating that I can, and a lot of these stories were 5-star reads for me. The only complaint I really had with any of them was that some could be a bit vague or unclear about what was going on with the fantastical or sci-fi elements.
msjoanna's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful collection of short stories. It's hard to believe that all of these stories are by the same author--they range from folk tales to fairy tales to magical realism to hard science fiction. There's issues of power and race threading through most of the stories, but just as part of the fabric of the story, not as a way to smash the reader over the head with moralizing. With nearly every story, I wanted it to be longer--the worlds were so interesting, the characters intriguing.
I really want to read a book set in the world of "Maggies". This was probably the most truly science fiction story of the collection, set in a near future or perhaps other planet, with terraforming work of a most clever description.
I also especially liked "The Pragmatical Princess" - a wonderful twist on the fairy tale trope of a dragon who captures a princess.
Thanks go to my mother, who picked out this collection for me.
I really want to read a book set in the world of "Maggies". This was probably the most truly science fiction story of the collection, set in a near future or perhaps other planet, with terraforming work of a most clever description.
I also especially liked "The Pragmatical Princess" - a wonderful twist on the fairy tale trope of a dragon who captures a princess.
Thanks go to my mother, who picked out this collection for me.