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drjagrier's review
5.0
Nearly Perfect. This amazing collection doesn't have a clunker in the bunch. Yes, some are stronger than others but they all work together to provide a look at how speculative fiction can promote resistance and hope. I want to read more stories like this, where well-constructed characters celebrate triumphs big and small, and uplift people in their wake. That does not mean I want happy rainbows; some of these tales are dark. But they reflect a truth and a kind of emotional roadmap for maintaining fortitude. Oh, and it was really entertaining, too!
metawidget's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book sweet and strident. There is a range of tones and feels among the stories and not-quite-gratuitous dinosaurs and dragons. It feels topical and it also feels like younger me reading Tesseracts 3 — that sci-fi feel and that good-sci-fi will to address social issues and still allow you to doubt the good folks.
rivqa's review
No star rating because I have a story in this, but it sure is in some good company. Personal favourites are "3.4 oz" (stuffing magic in carry-on compliant bottles for dystopian travel), "Ask Me About My Book Club" (witches use book club to fight dragon overlords), and "Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge" (dinosaurs help fight Franco).
theblerdnewsletter's review
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is very short and sweet. The reason why character development isn't a huge deal, is because it's all about resisting fascism. That's the plot of the entire anthology, framed around a sci-fi/fantasy world full of witches, dragons, a Elysian Fields sort of vibe (as far as people on the surface vs people in the sky). It's a great read that introduces the context and use of rebellion to overthrow oppressors. It's not really for people under 10, because of swearing and violence, but they aren't very graphic.
coskob's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
This was a great anthology. I love the depth and creativity in these stories. There is a lot of variation between the stories; in tone and structure as well as in length, which I just appreciate from a practical sitting-down-to-read level.
joannerixon's review
5.0
Mariame Kaba says, "Hope is a discipline."
This slim collection of nine short stories from Crossed Genres Publications is both timely and hopeful. The stories are quite different from one another but coalesce nicely around the goal of the book, which is to address the real-world resurgence of fascism by "exploring the many and varied ways people can fight back."
My favorites:
R. K. Kalaw's "3.4 oz:" crossing borders under the oppressive eye of a totalitarian state that looks a lot like US Customs and Border Patrol in 2018 (with slightly better tech) is easier when you can literally bottle the emotions that raise suspicion. Likes: complicated family relationships, anger
Tiffany E. Wilson's "Meet Me at State Sponsored Movie Night:" New York City-esque youths disrupt the stream of state propaganda and avoid the booted heel of an urban police force. Likes: propaganda in the form of cartoons so badly made you have to wonder if the cartoonists are members of the resistance, those meddling kids
Izzy Wasserstein's "Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge:" In Spain in the 1930s, an international crew of anarchists and communists battle fascists in an attempt to stem the rising tide of rightwing authoritarianism sweeping Europe, and one soldier befriends refugees from another time. Likes: the epistolary style, gay soldiers in love, raptors with feathers
Hope is a discipline; it's something you can do on purpose. The writers who contributed to this book are doing hope, on purpose, and although I didn't always feel like these stories found the answer to the question of how to defeat fascism, I was profoundly grateful to read and feel like part of a community that is trying to find that answer.
This slim collection of nine short stories from Crossed Genres Publications is both timely and hopeful. The stories are quite different from one another but coalesce nicely around the goal of the book, which is to address the real-world resurgence of fascism by "exploring the many and varied ways people can fight back."
My favorites:
R. K. Kalaw's "3.4 oz:" crossing borders under the oppressive eye of a totalitarian state that looks a lot like US Customs and Border Patrol in 2018 (with slightly better tech) is easier when you can literally bottle the emotions that raise suspicion. Likes: complicated family relationships, anger
Tiffany E. Wilson's "Meet Me at State Sponsored Movie Night:" New York City-esque youths disrupt the stream of state propaganda and avoid the booted heel of an urban police force. Likes: propaganda in the form of cartoons so badly made you have to wonder if the cartoonists are members of the resistance, those meddling kids
Izzy Wasserstein's "Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge:" In Spain in the 1930s, an international crew of anarchists and communists battle fascists in an attempt to stem the rising tide of rightwing authoritarianism sweeping Europe, and one soldier befriends refugees from another time. Likes: the epistolary style, gay soldiers in love, raptors with feathers
Hope is a discipline; it's something you can do on purpose. The writers who contributed to this book are doing hope, on purpose, and although I didn't always feel like these stories found the answer to the question of how to defeat fascism, I was profoundly grateful to read and feel like part of a community that is trying to find that answer.
tsana's review
4.0
Resist Fascism edited by Bart R. Leib and Kay T. Holt is a mini-anthology of stories about exactly what the title advertises. I backed it on Kickstarter because a friend who's in it (Rivqa Rafael) drew my attention to it. It made for an interesting read.
These stories were all good reads and, as usual, I've written some notes about each one at the end of this review. Taken as a whole, this anthology definitely delivered on what it promised. I enjoyed most of the stories individually, but I did find that overall there was a very strong US-ian vibe and maybe more small rebellions than I would have preferred. My favourite stories were "Ask Me About My Book Club" by M. Michelle Bardon, which was fun to read as well as being powerful and "Meg's Last Bout of Genetic Smuggling" by Santiago Belluco which wasn't without its flaws, but backed a powerful punch. Also, I can't not mention "Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge" by Izzy Wasserstein for being so different from the rest, and also containing dinosaurs.
Overall, I recommend this short anthology to anyone that finds the theme appealing. Aside from the Americanism mentioned above, I didn't find the stories repetitive and, unexpectedly, read the whole anthology through, without reading other stories in between.
~
To Rain Upon One City by Rivqa Rafael — A story set in a future on another world, where the poor aren’t even allowed fresh water that rains outside, but must drink recycled water as they barely scrape by. The main character, despite her youth, spends most of her time looking after her mother. I liked this story and I thought the martial arts aspect was a nice distinguishing touch.
3.4 oz by R.K. Kalaw — A story set in a dystopian world where airport security scanners check for emotions as well as liquids etc. To seem as compliant and unthreatening as possible, put protagonist must use magic to hide emotions. It’s also a story about family, love, and risk.
In the Background by Barbara Krasnoff — A story of small resistance in a world where rights have been eroded away. I liked it, although it leaves a lot unsaid.
The Seventh Street Matriarchy by Marie Vibbert — This story is about a housing estate and the new case worker who notices something odd when she’s assigned there. The story is about resisting corruption as much as actual fascism, but, either way, I liked it.
We Speak in Tongues of Flame by J L George — This story was rather more fantastical than lose of those that went before it. It has clear fantasy elements and a less obvious context. It’s definitely about resisting, though.
Meet Me at State Sponsored Movie Night by Tiffany E. Wilson — Young women briefly hijack the state-sponsored movie night to show some old cartoons instead of propaganda. It was a very minor form of resistance do while the story was clearly building up to something more off the page, I didn’t enjoy this story as much as some of the others. It felt like a very American take on the problem. (Also, if they have frequent blackouts, why not go back to cheap analogue watches instead of wasting precious smartphone battery just to check the time?)
Ask Me About My Book Club by M. Michelle Bardon — This is probably my favourite story in this anthology so far. After literal dragons take over the US government, a book club of witches form a resistance, posting coded photos of their brunch online while discussing books. I kind of guessed part of the ending, but it was still a very solid story. Recommended for fans of Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge by Izzy Wasserstein — Quite a different tone for this one. An epistolary story set during World War II in which a solder writing to his sweetheart back home talks about fighting fascists and also discovering and befriending some dinosaurs in Spain (they sounded like velociraptor to me). A welcome change of pace in this collection.
Meg's Last Bout of Genetic Smuggling by Santiago Belluco — This was a really solid story and a good way to end the anthology. It’s about a girl from Mars smuggling culture and information to Texas/Earth, where such things are banned. It took an interesting angle, sociologically as well as scientifically, and the ending packed a powerful punch. My only quibble was with the small issues that arose from the male author writing the female protagonist and getting a few details off. Disappointing but it wasn’t enough to ruin the story for me.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
These stories were all good reads and, as usual, I've written some notes about each one at the end of this review. Taken as a whole, this anthology definitely delivered on what it promised. I enjoyed most of the stories individually, but I did find that overall there was a very strong US-ian vibe and maybe more small rebellions than I would have preferred. My favourite stories were "Ask Me About My Book Club" by M. Michelle Bardon, which was fun to read as well as being powerful and "Meg's Last Bout of Genetic Smuggling" by Santiago Belluco which wasn't without its flaws, but backed a powerful punch. Also, I can't not mention "Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge" by Izzy Wasserstein for being so different from the rest, and also containing dinosaurs.
Overall, I recommend this short anthology to anyone that finds the theme appealing. Aside from the Americanism mentioned above, I didn't find the stories repetitive and, unexpectedly, read the whole anthology through, without reading other stories in between.
~
To Rain Upon One City by Rivqa Rafael — A story set in a future on another world, where the poor aren’t even allowed fresh water that rains outside, but must drink recycled water as they barely scrape by. The main character, despite her youth, spends most of her time looking after her mother. I liked this story and I thought the martial arts aspect was a nice distinguishing touch.
3.4 oz by R.K. Kalaw — A story set in a dystopian world where airport security scanners check for emotions as well as liquids etc. To seem as compliant and unthreatening as possible, put protagonist must use magic to hide emotions. It’s also a story about family, love, and risk.
In the Background by Barbara Krasnoff — A story of small resistance in a world where rights have been eroded away. I liked it, although it leaves a lot unsaid.
The Seventh Street Matriarchy by Marie Vibbert — This story is about a housing estate and the new case worker who notices something odd when she’s assigned there. The story is about resisting corruption as much as actual fascism, but, either way, I liked it.
We Speak in Tongues of Flame by J L George — This story was rather more fantastical than lose of those that went before it. It has clear fantasy elements and a less obvious context. It’s definitely about resisting, though.
Meet Me at State Sponsored Movie Night by Tiffany E. Wilson — Young women briefly hijack the state-sponsored movie night to show some old cartoons instead of propaganda. It was a very minor form of resistance do while the story was clearly building up to something more off the page, I didn’t enjoy this story as much as some of the others. It felt like a very American take on the problem. (Also, if they have frequent blackouts, why not go back to cheap analogue watches instead of wasting precious smartphone battery just to check the time?)
Ask Me About My Book Club by M. Michelle Bardon — This is probably my favourite story in this anthology so far. After literal dragons take over the US government, a book club of witches form a resistance, posting coded photos of their brunch online while discussing books. I kind of guessed part of the ending, but it was still a very solid story. Recommended for fans of Tansy Rayner Roberts.
Pelecanimimus and the Battle for Mosquito Ridge by Izzy Wasserstein — Quite a different tone for this one. An epistolary story set during World War II in which a solder writing to his sweetheart back home talks about fighting fascists and also discovering and befriending some dinosaurs in Spain (they sounded like velociraptor to me). A welcome change of pace in this collection.
Meg's Last Bout of Genetic Smuggling by Santiago Belluco — This was a really solid story and a good way to end the anthology. It’s about a girl from Mars smuggling culture and information to Texas/Earth, where such things are banned. It took an interesting angle, sociologically as well as scientifically, and the ending packed a powerful punch. My only quibble was with the small issues that arose from the male author writing the female protagonist and getting a few details off. Disappointing but it wasn’t enough to ruin the story for me.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
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