A review by raspberryjam
Diverse Energies by Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo, Paolo Bacigalupi

4.0

Wow! What a strong collection. A few felt like great concepts that really needed more space to breathe, but I think that's difficult to avoid in a short form dystopia.

I was initially a little turned off by the first two stories, which are incredibly gruesome

Spoiler

and seemed to be playing into the trope of people of color sacrificing themselves to save others

, but none of the other were nearly as grisly. I particularly loved the stories by K Tempest Bradford, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon and Rajan Khanna. Ursula K Le Guin's was saved for last, with good reason. It was amazing. I know this makes me a terrible queer nerd, but this is the first thing by her I've ever read. I suppose I have vague memories of Catwings.

I feel like this book has not gotten as much love as it should because it's hard to tell from the cover and summary what exactly it's about. It is collection of short stories set in dystopian worlds with diverse protagonists. It is an awesome showcase of dystopian fiction by and about people of color.

It should also be noted that part of the proceeds go to the Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship, which extends important opportunities to writers of color. I got this at the library, but I might go out and buy a copy for myself!