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agrotera's review against another edition
5.0
a love letter to folklore and mythology and sci-fi and things i will never understand personally.
rmkg's review against another edition
Not my favorite collection, but I really enjoyed “Fade to White” and “Silently and Very Fast”—the former a Lottery-esque mystery and the later a classic Valente gorgeous dream.
sydtheflowerkid's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
tomasthanes's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting collection of short stories. "Fade to White" was a very interesting alternate 1950s. I'd read "Silently and Very Fast" before somewhere else; pleasantly an almost William Gibson-ish AI. While the last story (Catherynne Valente's autobiography) wrapped up the stories nicely, I didn't know enough about Japanese pagan mythology to understand a lot of it.
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
My luck with short story (and a teeny bit of poetry) collections written by ONE author continues, I found a lot to enjoy here. I wasn't sure what the ratio would be, but I'd say two thirds fantasy, one-third sci fi. I think in future I'd be happy to investigate any sci fi or sci fi/fantasy mixes by this author under a certain length. I would hesitste to pick up anything purely fantasy for the same reason I would hesitate to pick up a full length novel...Valente can get very into the surreal and prioritizing unique word choice paragraphs over plot. You can get a real sense of the vibes and be bowled over by a description you've never encountered before, but you can also feel pretty lost, landing in a cul de sac of occurences without a point. Some stories are more straightforward than others. The collection ends in a novella and for the first half I was riveted (after I figured out what was going on) as it discussed the relationship between burgeoning AI and the humanity around it and all the possible outcomes and how communication was fostered, and then it seemed to get bogged down trying for a ' reveal'.
I should also mention a sprinkling of heavy subject matter and a liberal amount of dark/sad tones.
I can definitely see trying out other works from this author but I reserve the right to be picky about it.
Introduction and afterword are helpful in understanding the context of this work, I recommend reading both.
⚠️ Miscarriage
I should also mention a sprinkling of heavy subject matter and a liberal amount of dark/sad tones.
I can definitely see trying out other works from this author but I reserve the right to be picky about it.
Introduction and afterword are helpful in understanding the context of this work, I recommend reading both.
⚠️ Miscarriage
magicalb1tch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0