dan_ackerman's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
5.0
Let me start by saying I don’t like short story collections. Yes, some authors excel in the genre, masters of the difficult craft that is short fiction, and I can appreciate short stories as a one-off, quick read. I very much love having them read to me on podcasts like LeVar Burton Reads. But usually, I find that sitting down to read collections of short fiction falls a little flat for me. It’s nothing against short stories. There’s something about the genre that eludes me. I can’t write them either.
With all that said, I loved this collection. Each story of the seven stories felt unique and had tight, well-written language and plots, good style, and a few had characters that I wanted so much more about. They all felt like they contained an entire world and I wanted more from each world. I also liked that the characters spanned different races, cultures, genders, and sexual identities without feeling ham-fisted about how much diversity they could cram into one collection.
This is my first read from Leibowitz (which is sort of a crime, I’m starting to realize) and I’ll definitely seek out more from this author. I would recommend this to anyone who’s still yearning for the fall and isn’t quite reading to let the winter holidays take over (like me), or to anyone who wants a couple of sweet, short reads that will generally make you feel better than you did going into it.
With all that said, I loved this collection. Each story of the seven stories felt unique and had tight, well-written language and plots, good style, and a few had characters that I wanted so much more about. They all felt like they contained an entire world and I wanted more from each world. I also liked that the characters spanned different races, cultures, genders, and sexual identities without feeling ham-fisted about how much diversity they could cram into one collection.
This is my first read from Leibowitz (which is sort of a crime, I’m starting to realize) and I’ll definitely seek out more from this author. I would recommend this to anyone who’s still yearning for the fall and isn’t quite reading to let the winter holidays take over (like me), or to anyone who wants a couple of sweet, short reads that will generally make you feel better than you did going into it.
More...