A review by kateywumpus
Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention by dave ring, Rhiannon Rasmussen

4.0

Short story compilations have always been hit or miss with me. It's really a dice roll as to whether or not any particular story is any good. I've read compilations where the majority are pretty lackluster with only a few gems in it to ones where everything is pretty damn good. Fortunately, this is one of the latter ones. All of the stories contained within are good, although some I really wish they had fleshed out into a full-fledged novel (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) like the one where you've got the biker and her kaiju girlfriend, and the evil rebel (who isn't really evil) and the suits of armor made of wood and wire she had inscribed her soul upon.

I'm also not really one for sci-fi all that much anymore. When I was a kid I was really into it. I owned *all* the Johnathan Swift novels, had an active subscription to Analog magazine, and had a library full of Jack L. Chalker books amongst other things. I don't know when or why I pivoted to urban fantasy as my main genre of choice, but I usually don't get much out of sci-fi. Unless, of course, we're talking giant mecha. Evangelion? Mobile Suit Gundam? Gurran Lagann? Yes, please! There's plenty of that here, for any giant mecha fan.

There's something intrinsically linked between transhumanism and queerness, especially when it comes to trans identities. The idea of becoming more than what your mortal flesh allows is such a trans experience that makes it easy to identify why slipping into a cockpit and becoming a bigger, stronger body appeals to us. Not all of these stories are trans stories, mind you, but since that's what I am, that's what I identify with.

All in all I'm glad that I backed this book on kickstarter. It's a really good read. Four stars.