#ReadShortStories (36 to 40)

A mixed bag here, from flash to long novella to getting back into New Suns to starting a new (to me) issue of Uncanny. I really enjoyed "Geometries of Belonging" by Rose Lemberg and I am definitely going to read more stories set in that universe. On the other hand, I was stuck part way through "Blood and Bells" for a long time which is one reason why my progress on New Suns has been so slow of late. The book is already out so I will try to get through the last few stories quickly and get my full review written up and posted soon.

Please [redacted] My Last E-mail by Kurt Pankau — A flash in the form of an email about an earlier email that was definitely not full of factual information about a robot army. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00797-4

Geometries of Belonging by Rose Lemberg 

Although I was warned, I was still surprised at how long this story was. It’s a novelette but it must be close to the upper limit. It took me a few days of reading in short- to medium-sized bursts to get through it. But I really enjoyed it. 

The world building is quite substantial so it did take me a little bit to get fully immersed in the world, but once I did I was hooked. The attitudes of the main character are deftly used to highlight the way the world works and even allow us to learn about other countries in this world. There were significant elements of both trans and autistic (I think) experiences, though not named as such, because fantasy world. I found these were presented in a very compelling way that left much scope to empathise with the protagonist. 

I gather there are other stories set in the same world and I am now very keen to read them and plan to track down what I can. 

Source: http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/geometries-of-belonging/

Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee — This story was a slog to get into and I ended up setting it aside for quite a while. When I came back to it and read further it was more interesting (to see the actual plot develop). Gang warfare and a father trying to protect his kid in the middle of a murder investigation. Source: New Suns edited by Nisi Shawl

Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — An enticing story about a witch living in a city and attempting to lead a normal life. I enjoyed the time and writing style especially. Source: New Suns edited by Nisi Shawl

The House on the Moon by William Alexander — A mostly fun story but an unsubtle one. A kid with a cane on the moon, a field trip to a castle, some depressing recent (future) history. Quite readable, though the ending was a little confusing, with an element out of left field. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-house-on-the-moon/

Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a near-future novella that has been sitting in my TBR for a surprisingly long time, although the release date is this month. (The reason is that the review copies were sent out close to the crowdfunding campaign for the book.)

Amelia dreams of Mars. The Mars of the movies and the imagination, an endless bastion of opportunities for a colonist with some guts. But she’s trapped in Mexico City, enduring the drudgery of an unkind metropolis, working as a rent-a-friend, selling her blood to old folks with money who hope to rejuvenate themselves with it, enacting a fractured love story. And yet there’s Mars, at the edge of the silver screen, of life. It awaits her.

This book was kind of bleak, albeit not completely devoid of hope. Set in a future Mexico City so near that, aside from the colonies on Mars, it could be tomorrow. Amelia, our main character, has a shitty life living on the poverty line and dreaming of moving to Mars.

The story is mostly about her trying to make ends meet and save up enough to buy a ticket to Mars in a very gig-based economy (at least for the not-wealthy). Her main job is working as a sort of rent-a-friend (via an app) and, among other things, listening to an old lady talk about her life as a movie starlet in pulpy science fiction movies (especially the one set on Mars).

This wasn't a terrible story but I didn't love it. It was a very mundane kind of bleak which wasn't particularly what I expected from the cover art. I also thought there'd be more experiences of Mars in it, but Amelia doesn't see it for herself during the novella. We just hear a lot of different things about how much better or worse it is there which doesn't give much of a feeling of hope. I mean, I think that was what the author was going for, but it wasn't really what I was hoping to read.

I recommend Prime Meridian to fans of near-future and mundane SF who don't mind reading something that isn't too cheerful. I wasn't a huge fan, but I will probably check out some of the author's other work in the future (for example Signal To Noise, a novel I bought on sale some time ago).

4 / 5 stars

First published: July 2018 (backer copies December 2017),  Innsmouth Free Press
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley