Scan barcode
A review by lyndajdickson
UnCommon Lands: A Collection of Rising Tides, Outer Space, and Foreign Realms by Michael K. Schaefer, P.K. Tyler, Levi Jacobs, Ralph Walker, Roslyn Cay, Tom O'Brien, Chris Godsoe, Michael J.P. Whitmer, Ashleigh Gauch, Jon Etter, E.E. Giorgi, Shebat Legion, Brent Meske, Daniel Arthur Smith, Jeremy Rodden, Kenneth Robbins, Tausha Johnson, Bey Deckard, Karen Gemma Brewer
5.0
UnCommon Lands is a collection of 20 short stories from 20 different authors, each featuring a fantastical place or alien landscape. This review is for the story "Ecumenical Outpost 732" by P. K. Tyler, a story set in the Jakkattu world.
Eleven-year-old T’se is a blue-eyed Mezna-human hybrid who lives on Station Cassiopeia with her mother, father, and baby sister. She spends her days staring out her window for a glimpse of Peritha, the red planet below, where the Jakkatu prisoners work the mines. She dreams of living on a planet, and feeling the ground beneath her feet, but Peritha is not safe for women, as the Jakkattu prisoners are far too violent. She also wonders about the Earth she has heard of in stories. All she has to look forward to from the age of twelve is a shaven head and a life sorting the minerals mined on the planet below. Until she meets a mysterious stowaway and begins questioning her life ...
"Ecumenical Outpost 732" further explores aspects of life in the Jakkattu world, introduced in earlier stories and the novel, The Jakkattu Vector. The story highlights the persecution and discrimination that seem inherent in all societies. This is a simple narrative of friendship with another heartbreaking ending, a skill the author has perfected.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (22 August): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/08/uncommon-lands-by-p-k-tyler.html
Eleven-year-old T’se is a blue-eyed Mezna-human hybrid who lives on Station Cassiopeia with her mother, father, and baby sister. She spends her days staring out her window for a glimpse of Peritha, the red planet below, where the Jakkatu prisoners work the mines. She dreams of living on a planet, and feeling the ground beneath her feet, but Peritha is not safe for women, as the Jakkattu prisoners are far too violent. She also wonders about the Earth she has heard of in stories. All she has to look forward to from the age of twelve is a shaven head and a life sorting the minerals mined on the planet below. Until she meets a mysterious stowaway and begins questioning her life ...
"Ecumenical Outpost 732" further explores aspects of life in the Jakkattu world, introduced in earlier stories and the novel, The Jakkattu Vector. The story highlights the persecution and discrimination that seem inherent in all societies. This is a simple narrative of friendship with another heartbreaking ending, a skill the author has perfected.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (22 August): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/08/uncommon-lands-by-p-k-tyler.html