Day: March 26, 2023

“Transcendent” Review

Posted on by Jen

Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction edited by K.M. Szpara

There are fantastical stories with actual transgender characters, some for whom that is central and others for whom that isn’t. And there are stories without transgender characters, but with metaphors and symbolism in their place, genuine expressions of self through such speculative fiction tropes as shapeshifting and programming. Transgender individuals see themselves in transformative characters, those outsiders, before seeing themselves as human protagonists. Those feelings are still valid. Cisgender people can never quite understand this distancing. But though the stories involve transformation and outsiders, sometimes the change is one of self-realization. This anthology will be a welcome read for those who are ready to transcend gender through the lens of science fiction, fantasy, and other works of imaginative fiction.

Review

I love anthologies! Several awesome stories and new authors to discover every tine – what more can you ask for? Doesn’t matter if I like all of them or not – they’re always interesting to read and explore different stories and ideas. This one was no different. Some stories I didn’t really understand but that’s okay – others probably will get more out of them. I’m still going to check out every author and find out who they are and what else they’ve written because that’s always fun.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for Transcendent.

Book Details

Book cover of Transcendent showing a black person with a head scarf with their back towards the cover with their head turned to the right. They are wearing a colorful out fit and a head scarf with the words of the title in it and the words fantasy and community and many other words

Editor’s Website
K.M. Szpara
Publisher / Date
Lethe Press, September 2016
Genre
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories
Page Count
255
Completion Date
March 26, 2023

“Seeds for the Swarm” Review

Posted on by Jen

“Seeds for the Swarm” by Sim Kern

Rylla McCracken dreams of escaping her family’s trailer in the Dust States to go to college, but on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, her mother demands she drop out of school to work for Lockburn chemical refinery instead. When Rylla learns Lockburn is planning to dam the Guadalupe River-the last flowing water in Texas-she defies her mother to protest in the state capital. The protest ends in disaster, but her ensuing viral infamy gains Rylla an acceptance to the mysterious Wingates University.

Review

First I want to say I really enjoyed this book. However I wish I had known going in that it was actually part one in a series and the ending doesn’t actually resolve any of the various plot points that come up in the story. It’s not a hard cliffhanger where someone is about to die horribly, but it is a story that needs resolution that won’t happen until the next book. This is more about me though – when I read a series I like it best when each book mostly stands on its own with a resolved plot at the end. Anything else is just frustrating – especially when I don’t know when the next part is coming. I may have gone ahead and read the book anyway knowing this but I would have liked to know what I was getting into.

However all that said – the book is worth reading, especially if you don’t mind unresolved endings, because the characters are great. Sure they’re teenagers and the main character Rylla, makes some ridiculous choices but she is a teenager, and going through a lot of changes. It should be noted I was always a rule follower so don’t have any awareness of what is actually reasonable when it comes to teenage shenanigans. It’s also a book where kids or teenagers have to save the world which I’ve gotten a bit tired of but it felt realistic given our current world. The book may be set in the future with even worse damage from climate change but it’s a future we could very easily end up in. The emphasis on how rich white people will always able to survive comfortably while everyone else suffers is exactly how it is now.

And yes, it’s likely I’ll read the next book as soon as it comes out…

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Seeds for the Swarm”.

Book Details

Book cover for Seeds for the Swarm. a person with shaggy light brown hair and white skin is on the cover sideways looking up in. In the background are various colors and green flying bugs at the top of the cover.

Author’s Website
Sim Kern
Publisher / Date
Stelliform Press, March 2023
Genre
Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Page Count
440
Completion Date
March 26, 2023