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secret_gardens_in_my_m1nd's review
5.0
Wandering Realities is a collection of Mormonish short stories by Steven Peck. My favorite one, I think, was Two Dog Dose. It was really sad, but I loved the way that it was written. My favourite thing about this collection is that it’s not a lot of feel-good, hyper religious stories like the Mormon fiction that I’ve seen before (and I say this as a Mormon). The characters weren’t perfect, so it didn’t feel like it was crazy and made up (at least the Our World section didn’t). Overall, I really liked this book.
scobo's review
4.0
A great collection of stories that helps to get away from Mormon stereotypes and take some fun (and some serious) "what if?..." journeys.
rachelhelps's review
5.0
I am a Steven Peck fangirl and I loved all of these stories. They were funny, poignant, creative, and resonant. A few stories were written in different styles; one was in the style of a 19th-century ghost story, and another was hard-boiled detective style. I was afraid "in the style of" would be gimmicky, but it made for an interesting variety in the types of stories in this collection. Many of the stories have clever background details that come up in amusing ways.
I especially enjoyed the stories where faithful characters felt discouraged in their faith (...most of them). Their doubts in themselves and in God felt real to me. I identified with that cycle of receiving a prompting or revelation, acting on it for some time, and then doubting if it was real after you've forgotten that feeling.
There are still other Steven Peck stories out there that I really enjoyed that aren't in a collection yet, so I wonder if there will be another collection later (I hope so!). If not I might have to start collecting more earnestly and make my own collection!
I especially enjoyed the stories where faithful characters felt discouraged in their faith (...most of them). Their doubts in themselves and in God felt real to me. I identified with that cycle of receiving a prompting or revelation, acting on it for some time, and then doubting if it was real after you've forgotten that feeling.
There are still other Steven Peck stories out there that I really enjoyed that aren't in a collection yet, so I wonder if there will be another collection later (I hope so!). If not I might have to start collecting more earnestly and make my own collection!
andrewhall's review
5.0
A great collection of stories, 4.5 stars.
The stories are split into two groups, "Other Worlds" (speculative stories) and "This World" (not speculative, mostly). You could also divide his stories into short-shorts, that would fit into the Mormon Lit Blitz, and longer stories. The shorter speculative stories are usually "what if" about a technology, especially how that technology would effect future Mormons (AI, virtual reality available to kids, gene engineering, time travel). The short non-speculative stories are mostly about some kind of breakdown in the accepted/conservative Mormon world order (a Carol King song at a funeral, a Bishop killing dogs, pinewood derby anarchy, banker husband secretly quitting his job).
I enjoyed the shorter stories (especially "Avek, Who Is Distributed", about an AI wanting to get baptized), but I find the longer stories, that are less dependent on a gimmick, more satisfying.
"Let the Mountains Tremble for Adoniha Has Fallen" and "Two Dog Dose", both longer stories, were my favorites. "Let the Mountains Tremble" takes a fascinating premise and does an excellent job of world building. It imagines a Mormon colony on Mars which has decided to separate itself from the what it sees as the decadence of Earth. Sealed off from the earth for many centuries (science reasons are given, with some hand waving), the Mars Mormons (on purpose?) lost much of their technology, and have turned into a feudalistic and extremely patriarchal society. The story involves a renewed contact with Earth, and the revelation of an army of genetically engineered, but intellectually stunted, super soldier/believers. The characters struggle with tensions between faith and reason. "Two Dog Dose" is the story of two older men who made a pact to help the other die if they ever became incapacitated through dementia. An excellent portrayal of the pain of that situation.
"A Strange Report from the Church Archives", which is also semi-long, is another favorite. It features a magical devise that allows the people of St. George to change the past and present by wishing it. The story follows a character who experiences those changes in real time, which is real entertaining.
"When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs" and "The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" are both very funny short pieces, about Utah Mormons under stress doing extreme things.
The longest story, "The Gift of the King's Jeweler", is a novella, set in the time of Old Testament Jeremiah. It is the most Mormon-friendly. It is filled with uniquely (and somewhat dubious) Mormon ideas about Old Testament-era religion, like Jews believing that God's Son would be Messiah, baptism, Book of Moses material in their scriptures, etc. It also has God working clearly and actively in the protagonist's life, pushing him on an important mission. Is is very orthodox, much more than the other stories. But also has great writing.
The stories where common LDS assumptions are challenged are the ones that resonate with me the most. A prophet working from wrong assumptions, and needing to be tricked in "Adoniha", and hope that the mercy killing of a man going into dementia is forgivable in "Two Dog Dose".
"The Sacrifice" a new story not in the collection, is perhaps my favorite Peck story. While speculative, it is not science fiction, as most of the "Other World" stories in this collection are. It has contemporary characters placed in a mysterious fantasy-like place, and then a post-life realm. What if we find that the post-life world is not what we expected? It is similar to "Short Stay in Hell" in that way. But while "Short Stay in Hell" is based on the idea that Christianity is totally wrong, "The Sacrifice" is less clear. Some of the ideas of LDS Christianity are right, but then there is other stuff that goes in a very different direction. I assume that we are going to be very surprised by some of what we encounter in the next life. "The Sacrifice" appeared in Dialogue in 2019, you can read it here:
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V52N03_fiction.pdf
The stories are split into two groups, "Other Worlds" (speculative stories) and "This World" (not speculative, mostly). You could also divide his stories into short-shorts, that would fit into the Mormon Lit Blitz, and longer stories. The shorter speculative stories are usually "what if" about a technology, especially how that technology would effect future Mormons (AI, virtual reality available to kids, gene engineering, time travel). The short non-speculative stories are mostly about some kind of breakdown in the accepted/conservative Mormon world order (a Carol King song at a funeral, a Bishop killing dogs, pinewood derby anarchy, banker husband secretly quitting his job).
I enjoyed the shorter stories (especially "Avek, Who Is Distributed", about an AI wanting to get baptized), but I find the longer stories, that are less dependent on a gimmick, more satisfying.
"Let the Mountains Tremble for Adoniha Has Fallen" and "Two Dog Dose", both longer stories, were my favorites. "Let the Mountains Tremble" takes a fascinating premise and does an excellent job of world building. It imagines a Mormon colony on Mars which has decided to separate itself from the what it sees as the decadence of Earth. Sealed off from the earth for many centuries (science reasons are given, with some hand waving), the Mars Mormons (on purpose?) lost much of their technology, and have turned into a feudalistic and extremely patriarchal society. The story involves a renewed contact with Earth, and the revelation of an army of genetically engineered, but intellectually stunted, super soldier/believers. The characters struggle with tensions between faith and reason. "Two Dog Dose" is the story of two older men who made a pact to help the other die if they ever became incapacitated through dementia. An excellent portrayal of the pain of that situation.
"A Strange Report from the Church Archives", which is also semi-long, is another favorite. It features a magical devise that allows the people of St. George to change the past and present by wishing it. The story follows a character who experiences those changes in real time, which is real entertaining.
"When the Bishop Started Killing Dogs" and "The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" are both very funny short pieces, about Utah Mormons under stress doing extreme things.
The longest story, "The Gift of the King's Jeweler", is a novella, set in the time of Old Testament Jeremiah. It is the most Mormon-friendly. It is filled with uniquely (and somewhat dubious) Mormon ideas about Old Testament-era religion, like Jews believing that God's Son would be Messiah, baptism, Book of Moses material in their scriptures, etc. It also has God working clearly and actively in the protagonist's life, pushing him on an important mission. Is is very orthodox, much more than the other stories. But also has great writing.
The stories where common LDS assumptions are challenged are the ones that resonate with me the most. A prophet working from wrong assumptions, and needing to be tricked in "Adoniha", and hope that the mercy killing of a man going into dementia is forgivable in "Two Dog Dose".
"The Sacrifice" a new story not in the collection, is perhaps my favorite Peck story. While speculative, it is not science fiction, as most of the "Other World" stories in this collection are. It has contemporary characters placed in a mysterious fantasy-like place, and then a post-life realm. What if we find that the post-life world is not what we expected? It is similar to "Short Stay in Hell" in that way. But while "Short Stay in Hell" is based on the idea that Christianity is totally wrong, "The Sacrifice" is less clear. Some of the ideas of LDS Christianity are right, but then there is other stuff that goes in a very different direction. I assume that we are going to be very surprised by some of what we encounter in the next life. "The Sacrifice" appeared in Dialogue in 2019, you can read it here:
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V52N03_fiction.pdf
lizbusby's review
5.0
This collection of short stories is divided into two sections, one for speculative fiction, one for realistic fiction. You would assume that I would enjoy the SF section more, given my tastes, but really, both sides are equally interesting. Every story contains some element that is uniquely Mormon, but none are superficial in their treatment. Even the funny stories like "When the Bishop Started Shooting Dogs" give pause to think about just how our church impacts our culture. This collection argues for the need for stories that are *about* Mormons, not simply mainstream fiction that happens to be by Mormons or deals with Mormon themes.
Some of my favorites from this collection:
"A Strange Report from the Church Archives" - A combination between "be careful what you wish for" and a fascinating alternate history. The rising confusion of the reader works perfectly and is resolved in a satisfactory way.
"Remade in His Image" - Very short, but interesting sci-fi about the implications of Mormon doctrines about the sanctity of the body.
"Two Dog Dose" - A mournful contemplation of aging and dementia that resolves in a way I didn't expect. I got into an argument with my husband about the morality of the protagonist's actions. A great portrayal of Mormon concerns surrounding death.
"The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" - Exactly what it says on the tin, this story is both nostalgia and wish-fulfillment for anyone who ever went through the whole Pinewood Derby process. I'm not personally sad to see scouting gone from the church, but certainly part of our cultural memory will be poorer for it.
"The Gift of the King's Jeweler" - I haven't ever seen anyone tackle the scriptural conundrum that this story takes on. I really enjoyed trying to guess exactly how it was going to connect up with the narrative in question. (Can't say more for spoiler reasons.) This novella fits into the same tradition as Orson Scott Card's Women of Genesis in trying to rationalize and expand the scriptural account.
Some of my favorites from this collection:
"A Strange Report from the Church Archives" - A combination between "be careful what you wish for" and a fascinating alternate history. The rising confusion of the reader works perfectly and is resolved in a satisfactory way.
"Remade in His Image" - Very short, but interesting sci-fi about the implications of Mormon doctrines about the sanctity of the body.
"Two Dog Dose" - A mournful contemplation of aging and dementia that resolves in a way I didn't expect. I got into an argument with my husband about the morality of the protagonist's actions. A great portrayal of Mormon concerns surrounding death.
"The Best Pinewood Derby Ever" - Exactly what it says on the tin, this story is both nostalgia and wish-fulfillment for anyone who ever went through the whole Pinewood Derby process. I'm not personally sad to see scouting gone from the church, but certainly part of our cultural memory will be poorer for it.
"The Gift of the King's Jeweler" - I haven't ever seen anyone tackle the scriptural conundrum that this story takes on. I really enjoyed trying to guess exactly how it was going to connect up with the narrative in question. (Can't say more for spoiler reasons.) This novella fits into the same tradition as Orson Scott Card's Women of Genesis in trying to rationalize and expand the scriptural account.
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