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A review by greeniezona
The Trans Space Octopus Congregation by Bogi Takács
5.0
I had been following Bogi online for months, appreciating eir commentary on trans/nb/intersex issues and representation in science fiction and fantasy. So when I saw e had a book coming out with this FANTASTIC title and cover, of course I had to jump on eir Patreon to sign up for a personally autographed copy.
I didn't know at the time that I would get the chance to see Bogi in person at ConFusion shortly after finishing this book, and get to hear eir read from one of my favorite stories in the book!
Anyway, I know I have a tendency to be super critical of short story collections, but something about this collection just worked for me, even when a few individual stories left me feeling nonplussed or unmoved (sometimes it felt like my unfamiliarity with Judaism/Hebrew was a significant barrier -- but only for a few stories). I enjoyed the themes of body modification and integration/community issues with "alien" species, as well as relationships with power differentials, some of which had BDSM elements (nothing really explicitly sexual or erotic, though). Many of these stories had real staying power in my head, and I can bring many scenes easily to mind months later.
Some favorite stories: "Forest spirit Forestspirit" in which a conscious cluster of automata decides to protect a bit of forest from a networked intelligence which has decided to destroy it, and "Standing on the Floodbanks" a longer piece (the one I heard Bogi read from) about magic, control, and respect.
I didn't know at the time that I would get the chance to see Bogi in person at ConFusion shortly after finishing this book, and get to hear eir read from one of my favorite stories in the book!
Anyway, I know I have a tendency to be super critical of short story collections, but something about this collection just worked for me, even when a few individual stories left me feeling nonplussed or unmoved (sometimes it felt like my unfamiliarity with Judaism/Hebrew was a significant barrier -- but only for a few stories). I enjoyed the themes of body modification and integration/community issues with "alien" species, as well as relationships with power differentials, some of which had BDSM elements (nothing really explicitly sexual or erotic, though). Many of these stories had real staying power in my head, and I can bring many scenes easily to mind months later.
Some favorite stories: "Forest spirit Forestspirit" in which a conscious cluster of automata decides to protect a bit of forest from a networked intelligence which has decided to destroy it, and "Standing on the Floodbanks" a longer piece (the one I heard Bogi read from) about magic, control, and respect.