spikespiegel's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
joecam79's review
4.0
Nina Allan is best known as a writer of speculative fiction, but her stylistic references and inspirations are surprisingly varied. The Art of Space Travel is a collection of stories written over a period of about fifteen years, providing an interesting cross-section of Allan’s oeuvre for fans and newcomers alike.
The title piece suggests that it is a work of science fiction. In actual fact, the references to space travel and the speculative elements are less important than the human relationships at the heart of the novella. The narrator, Emily, is a head of housekeeping at a hotel where two astronauts will be staying. Besides her work, the centre of her life is her mother, a sufferer from dementia, whom Emily cares for. As the excitement for the astronauts’ visit mounts, Emily also discovers further details about the identity of her (unknown) father. Space travel is also referenced in Flying in the Face of God which features references to “fliers”, space travellers who undergo physical transformation to enable them to travel in space.
An emphasis on human relationships is evident in the earliest stories in this collection. Amethyst, a story about aliens which also deals with the friendship between two girls and Heroes is based on an unlikely but strong bond between a boy and a man who keeps homing pigeons.
Other works are closer to traditional horror stories – for instance, A Thread of Truth about a “spider gene” which runs in the family of the narrator’s friend. Four Abstracts, which is also featured in this collection, is a sort of sequel, where the subject matter is addressed through a description of four artworks. Some of the stories are closer to mainstream horror and weird, although with a twist of the surreal and absurd. The Science of Chance and Marielena are based on a “timeslip” concept, whereas Fairy Skulls is a comedic description of a fairy infestation, with a romantic subplot.
The most recent stories in the collection show that Allan’s preoccupations have remained surprisingly consistent, although there has been a noticeable shift towards a Sebaldian blurring of fact and fiction. In The Gift of Angels, middle-aged writer Vincent tries to come to terms with the fact that his mother left him to undertake a one-way voyage to Mars. There are plenty of allusions to the classic film La Jetée – the comments and analysis of the movie are grounded in fact, the story itself is, of course, pure fiction. Cinema once again lies at the basis of A Princess of Marsan uncategorisable story which doubles as an essay about an aborted adaptation by Andrei Tarkovsky of the Aleksey Tolstoy’s science fiction novel Aelita.
This collection has a cohesive feel to it with the featured pieces having common elements and, on occasion, shared characters. At the same time, it reveals an accomplished writer’s developing style. These stories have intrigued me enough to lead me to seek out Nina Allan’s novels.
This is a full list of the stories featured in this collection:
Amethyst
Heroes
A Thread of Truth
Flying in the Face of God
Microcosmos
Fairy Skulls
The Science of Chance
Marielena
The Art of Space Travel
Neptune’s Trident
Four Abstracts
The Common Tongue, the Present Tense, the Known
The Gift of Angels: An Introduction
A Princess of Mars: Svetlana Belkina and Tarkovsky’s Lost Movie Aelita
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-art-of-space-travel-nina-allan.html
The title piece suggests that it is a work of science fiction. In actual fact, the references to space travel and the speculative elements are less important than the human relationships at the heart of the novella. The narrator, Emily, is a head of housekeeping at a hotel where two astronauts will be staying. Besides her work, the centre of her life is her mother, a sufferer from dementia, whom Emily cares for. As the excitement for the astronauts’ visit mounts, Emily also discovers further details about the identity of her (unknown) father. Space travel is also referenced in Flying in the Face of God which features references to “fliers”, space travellers who undergo physical transformation to enable them to travel in space.
An emphasis on human relationships is evident in the earliest stories in this collection. Amethyst, a story about aliens which also deals with the friendship between two girls and Heroes is based on an unlikely but strong bond between a boy and a man who keeps homing pigeons.
Other works are closer to traditional horror stories – for instance, A Thread of Truth about a “spider gene” which runs in the family of the narrator’s friend. Four Abstracts, which is also featured in this collection, is a sort of sequel, where the subject matter is addressed through a description of four artworks. Some of the stories are closer to mainstream horror and weird, although with a twist of the surreal and absurd. The Science of Chance and Marielena are based on a “timeslip” concept, whereas Fairy Skulls is a comedic description of a fairy infestation, with a romantic subplot.
The most recent stories in the collection show that Allan’s preoccupations have remained surprisingly consistent, although there has been a noticeable shift towards a Sebaldian blurring of fact and fiction. In The Gift of Angels, middle-aged writer Vincent tries to come to terms with the fact that his mother left him to undertake a one-way voyage to Mars. There are plenty of allusions to the classic film La Jetée – the comments and analysis of the movie are grounded in fact, the story itself is, of course, pure fiction. Cinema once again lies at the basis of A Princess of Marsan uncategorisable story which doubles as an essay about an aborted adaptation by Andrei Tarkovsky of the Aleksey Tolstoy’s science fiction novel Aelita.
This collection has a cohesive feel to it with the featured pieces having common elements and, on occasion, shared characters. At the same time, it reveals an accomplished writer’s developing style. These stories have intrigued me enough to lead me to seek out Nina Allan’s novels.
This is a full list of the stories featured in this collection:
Amethyst
Heroes
A Thread of Truth
Flying in the Face of God
Microcosmos
Fairy Skulls
The Science of Chance
Marielena
The Art of Space Travel
Neptune’s Trident
Four Abstracts
The Common Tongue, the Present Tense, the Known
The Gift of Angels: An Introduction
A Princess of Mars: Svetlana Belkina and Tarkovsky’s Lost Movie Aelita
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-art-of-space-travel-nina-allan.html
rara2018's review against another edition
5.0
Something about this collection just stuck with me. The stories were all deeply profound and complicated and left me grappling with a vast range of emotions after each and every one. Some were more extraterrestrial than others, but all served as a brilliant homage to science fiction as a whole. The protagonists were all complex and the overall collection flowed seamlessly from one story to the next. Some left me wildly unsettled while others seemed to blossom with hope. I loved reading this short story collection and will definitely be reading more by Allan in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
veroni's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
wordsofapaige's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For some unknown reason when I picked this up I thought I was getting a collection of Sci-Fi stories, perhaps due to the title and the cover. However, this is a lot more a collection of character-driven stories that explore memory, loss and human connection. So, while there are some talks of space travel and sci-fi elements, these aren't your typical sci-fi short stories.
In the authors note at the very beginning Nina Allan talks about her journey as a writer, and about the stories that are within the book. She lets you know that the first three are very early stories, and that she has mostly left the stories untouched, except for some minor edits and clean up. The first three stories are definitely different to the rest, they show huge potential and give you a lot less answers than the rest of the stories. They're ones that leave you wondering just what was going on, and to be honest it wasn't my favourite. However, where they really shone was to show just how much Allan's writing has grown and developed over the years.
There's definitely cross-overs between stories, even if they aren't obviously signalled or confirmed. People with a better attention to detail than me will surely pick up on much more than I did, and be able to make connections that I will have missed. I'm sure this is a collection that can be read again and again to see all of these things.
Some of my favourite stories are to do with space travel, but seen from Earth and those left behind rather than those who are flying off into the stars. It explores the ideas of those left behind, of supporting someone as they make the choice to leave forever and to be a pioneer. These stories really piqued my interest, and they were the ones where I think I saw connections between them.
These stories don't give you answers, they don't come with plots that connect the dots. Sometimes they just end and I wasn't entirely sure what the 'point' of them was, but this is me. I know I'm not the best at making connections unless they're obvious. So please take this with a pinch of salt.
If this sounds like something you will enjoy pick it up. Nina Allan is clearly a wonderful writer and the strength in this collection is seeing her grow and develop over the years.
For some unknown reason when I picked this up I thought I was getting a collection of Sci-Fi stories, perhaps due to the title and the cover. However, this is a lot more a collection of character-driven stories that explore memory, loss and human connection. So, while there are some talks of space travel and sci-fi elements, these aren't your typical sci-fi short stories.
In the authors note at the very beginning Nina Allan talks about her journey as a writer, and about the stories that are within the book. She lets you know that the first three are very early stories, and that she has mostly left the stories untouched, except for some minor edits and clean up. The first three stories are definitely different to the rest, they show huge potential and give you a lot less answers than the rest of the stories. They're ones that leave you wondering just what was going on, and to be honest it wasn't my favourite. However, where they really shone was to show just how much Allan's writing has grown and developed over the years.
There's definitely cross-overs between stories, even if they aren't obviously signalled or confirmed. People with a better attention to detail than me will surely pick up on much more than I did, and be able to make connections that I will have missed. I'm sure this is a collection that can be read again and again to see all of these things.
Some of my favourite stories are to do with space travel, but seen from Earth and those left behind rather than those who are flying off into the stars. It explores the ideas of those left behind, of supporting someone as they make the choice to leave forever and to be a pioneer. These stories really piqued my interest, and they were the ones where I think I saw connections between them.
These stories don't give you answers, they don't come with plots that connect the dots. Sometimes they just end and I wasn't entirely sure what the 'point' of them was, but this is me. I know I'm not the best at making connections unless they're obvious. So please take this with a pinch of salt.
If this sounds like something you will enjoy pick it up. Nina Allan is clearly a wonderful writer and the strength in this collection is seeing her grow and develop over the years.
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