(no subject)
I had been meaning to read Nisi Shawl's Filter House for ages, but did not actually get around to it until I came to the realization that it looked like I was actually going to be in an anthology with her and this was a sign that IT WAS TIME if anything was!
And man, I am now really glad for two reasons that she's appearing in Steam-Powered II, because it was an awesome kick in the pants to read these startling, gorgeous stories. I kept turning pages and thinking 'all right, this one is my favorite,' and then I'd turn a page and like the next one just as well, and then I would think 'WELL SO MUCH FOR THAT PLAN.' (But for the record, my actual favorites were "Wallamelon," "The Raineses'," "The Water Museum," and "The Beads of Ku.")
So, story-by-story:
At the Huts of Ajala: This is a very nifty folktale about consciousness; starting with this, I knew I was in good hands.
Wallamelon: Kids! Kids being responsible and having friendships and taking care of each other and learning about magic and then paying quiet but heartbreaking prices for it. ALL MY WEAK SPOTS.
The Pragmatical Princess: A sensible princess is left as a sacrifice to a sensible dragon; events unfold as one might expect. Probably my least favorite -- it was perfectly pleasant, but didn't stand up against the originality of everything else.
The Raineses': So I guess I just really like it when Nisi Shawl writes kids? Um. Southern Gothic; there's the big house, and the white owners and the black servants, and the old injustice, and the housekeeper's granddaughter sees ghosts.
Bird Day: Short magical realism that walks the line between story and prose poem. Conceptually nifty, but didn't particularly talk to me.
Maggies: A teenager living with her father on a survey/terraforming ship forms a bond with one of the aliens working on the project. On the surface a coming-of-age tale, this is really about the dynamics between the humans and the aliens, which is never explicit but clearly very dark and colonialist and not okay.
Momi Watu: A mother and her little girl and the small sacrifices you make to survive in a quiet sort of dystopia. This one is great for how grounding the details are and how much you believe in the day-to-day life of the protagonist.
Deep End: If I'm not mistaken, this one got an in-depth reading at WisCon last year? Convicts are being taken on a prison ship to a planet; to labor their consciousness is downloaded into new bodies, not theirs, and not chosen by them. Really interesting take on slavery, colonialism, identity.
Good Boy: How do you solve an epidemic on a spaceship? By summoning a voodoo god with the power of COMPUTER SCIENCE and having a party, obviously! :D
Little Horses: You could call this noir, I think. A woman who's lost her child and the white little boy she takes care of are kidnapped; the question is what she'll do to save him.
Shiomah's Land: A girl loses her mother and gets picked up and raised by a goddess. Dysfunctional relationships ensue!
The Water Museum: A cranky lady who has made a lot of people angry by getting the rights to divert water for a gorgeous museum picks up a hitchhiker who was sent to assassinate her and proceeds to play with him like a cat with a mouse. I just fell for the voice in this one. I don't actually think I like the protagonist, and yet I love her.
But She's Only A Dream: Jazz music in Harlem, and identity, and life-changing wishes. I liked this one when I read it, but when writing this review I couldn't remember anything about it until I went to look it up.
The Beads of Ku: Another folktale, about a lady who is such an awesome merchant that she regularly travels to the land of the dead and makes a tidy profit off it. This felt like pretty much just a perfect story, which is a good way to end a collection!
In other Steam-Powered news: hey, I have an interview up at Jaymee Goh's excellent steampunk blog Silver Goggles about it! Jaymee - who also has a great story in the collection - is putting up an interview every other day, and they are ALL GREAT. Or, for the condensed version, go over to Tor.com to read the roundtable discussion.
(I think Nicole Kohrner-Stace wins the Best Summary award. MIDWIFE VS. PINKERTONS. I would read that story! - oh wait I already did and it was awesome. :D BUT SO WAS EVERYTHING ELSE.)
This entry is cross-posted at Livejournal from http://skygiants.dreamwidth.org/260860.html. Please feel free to comment here or there! There are currently
comments on Dreamwidth.
And man, I am now really glad for two reasons that she's appearing in Steam-Powered II, because it was an awesome kick in the pants to read these startling, gorgeous stories. I kept turning pages and thinking 'all right, this one is my favorite,' and then I'd turn a page and like the next one just as well, and then I would think 'WELL SO MUCH FOR THAT PLAN.' (But for the record, my actual favorites were "Wallamelon," "The Raineses'," "The Water Museum," and "The Beads of Ku.")
So, story-by-story:
At the Huts of Ajala: This is a very nifty folktale about consciousness; starting with this, I knew I was in good hands.
Wallamelon: Kids! Kids being responsible and having friendships and taking care of each other and learning about magic and then paying quiet but heartbreaking prices for it. ALL MY WEAK SPOTS.
The Pragmatical Princess: A sensible princess is left as a sacrifice to a sensible dragon; events unfold as one might expect. Probably my least favorite -- it was perfectly pleasant, but didn't stand up against the originality of everything else.
The Raineses': So I guess I just really like it when Nisi Shawl writes kids? Um. Southern Gothic; there's the big house, and the white owners and the black servants, and the old injustice, and the housekeeper's granddaughter sees ghosts.
Bird Day: Short magical realism that walks the line between story and prose poem. Conceptually nifty, but didn't particularly talk to me.
Maggies: A teenager living with her father on a survey/terraforming ship forms a bond with one of the aliens working on the project. On the surface a coming-of-age tale, this is really about the dynamics between the humans and the aliens, which is never explicit but clearly very dark and colonialist and not okay.
Momi Watu: A mother and her little girl and the small sacrifices you make to survive in a quiet sort of dystopia. This one is great for how grounding the details are and how much you believe in the day-to-day life of the protagonist.
Deep End: If I'm not mistaken, this one got an in-depth reading at WisCon last year? Convicts are being taken on a prison ship to a planet; to labor their consciousness is downloaded into new bodies, not theirs, and not chosen by them. Really interesting take on slavery, colonialism, identity.
Good Boy: How do you solve an epidemic on a spaceship? By summoning a voodoo god with the power of COMPUTER SCIENCE and having a party, obviously! :D
Little Horses: You could call this noir, I think. A woman who's lost her child and the white little boy she takes care of are kidnapped; the question is what she'll do to save him.
Shiomah's Land: A girl loses her mother and gets picked up and raised by a goddess. Dysfunctional relationships ensue!
The Water Museum: A cranky lady who has made a lot of people angry by getting the rights to divert water for a gorgeous museum picks up a hitchhiker who was sent to assassinate her and proceeds to play with him like a cat with a mouse. I just fell for the voice in this one. I don't actually think I like the protagonist, and yet I love her.
But She's Only A Dream: Jazz music in Harlem, and identity, and life-changing wishes. I liked this one when I read it, but when writing this review I couldn't remember anything about it until I went to look it up.
The Beads of Ku: Another folktale, about a lady who is such an awesome merchant that she regularly travels to the land of the dead and makes a tidy profit off it. This felt like pretty much just a perfect story, which is a good way to end a collection!
In other Steam-Powered news: hey, I have an interview up at Jaymee Goh's excellent steampunk blog Silver Goggles about it! Jaymee - who also has a great story in the collection - is putting up an interview every other day, and they are ALL GREAT. Or, for the condensed version, go over to Tor.com to read the roundtable discussion.
(I think Nicole Kohrner-Stace wins the Best Summary award. MIDWIFE VS. PINKERTONS. I would read that story! - oh wait I already did and it was awesome. :D BUT SO WAS EVERYTHING ELSE.)
This entry is cross-posted at Livejournal from http://skygiants.dreamwidth.org/260860.html. Please feel free to comment here or there! There are currently
comments on Dreamwidth.