anaya13's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
hflh's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a really solid collection. 8 stories that reimagine the past, present, and future from Chelsea Vowel’s Métis worldview that will encourage readers to look at the world and speculative fiction in different ways.
These stories are meant to exist outside conventional SF but to give some perspective on what to expect – The first half (Buffalo Bird to Maggie Sue) swing more to the side of magical realism/supernatural while the last half (A Lodge Within Her Mind to Unsettled) explore technology in a near-future setting (if you liked Black Mirror, you might like these). Unsettled feels more like post climate disaster sci-fi dystopian.
I would say the first story – Buffalo Bird – is one of the weaker entries and would encourage readers to continue if they are thinking of stopping. I would recommend reading all the stories in order as they build on each other thematically and later stories reference earlier ones.
Vowel uses footnotes throughout, and each story is followed by a discussion. Some may find this distracting or frustrating, but it helps you catch anything from Vowel’s perspective you might have missed and often times add necessary cultural context. These are important to ensure readers are understanding the stories through Vowel’s worldview vs. interpreting them from a white dominant, colonial lens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Grief
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Genocide, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Suicide, Blood, Fatphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual harassment
gitli57's review
adventurous
informative
3.5
This is a collection of eight stories that began life as a Master's Thesis. Perhaps not surprisingly, the writing is sometimes undermined by the self-aware posturing and performative validating necessary to get the project past an academic committee.
I have to question the choice to include extensive footnotes in the body of the stories and explanatory essays after each story. While they are sometimes informative, they are at best a distraction for the reading experience and sometimes border on the condescending. There is no doubt that the writer is ready for their committee defense...
Take away the academic self-justification and you are left with eight interesting, at times compelling speculative stories from a talented, young post-colonial Indigenous writer. Vowel is an agenda driven writer and secondary characters are sometimes two-dimensional targets, plot points sometimes feel forced and dialogue sometimes clunks as characters are reduced to being mouthpieces for the author's "teaching points".
Vowel has the potential to become a really fine writer of fiction. She also has the potential to become tediously academic. I will hope for the former because we really need more great young Indig writers doing this kind of work.
Full disclosure - I am Indig, though from a different culture than the author. I totally vibe with most of her world view and her political stance. But please, just tell me your stories. I'd be happy to read your footnotes and essays afterwards.
I have to question the choice to include extensive footnotes in the body of the stories and explanatory essays after each story. While they are sometimes informative, they are at best a distraction for the reading experience and sometimes border on the condescending. There is no doubt that the writer is ready for their committee defense...
Take away the academic self-justification and you are left with eight interesting, at times compelling speculative stories from a talented, young post-colonial Indigenous writer. Vowel is an agenda driven writer and secondary characters are sometimes two-dimensional targets, plot points sometimes feel forced and dialogue sometimes clunks as characters are reduced to being mouthpieces for the author's "teaching points".
Vowel has the potential to become a really fine writer of fiction. She also has the potential to become tediously academic. I will hope for the former because we really need more great young Indig writers doing this kind of work.
Full disclosure - I am Indig, though from a different culture than the author. I totally vibe with most of her world view and her political stance. But please, just tell me your stories. I'd be happy to read your footnotes and essays afterwards.
artstitute's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
0ri's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
saloninareads's review
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Oh boy, what a fun collection! Vowel is a really talented writer, some of these short stories were top notch SFF. I, Bison, Unsettled, and Meggie Sue in particular were such fun rides. The author's notes at the end of each story also really helped highlight themes and ideas I as the reader may not be familiar with (I love theory though so this spoke to my old Anthropology/History student soul). If you're looking for new speculative SFF or want to read more by indigenous authors definitely give this a read!
Now I'm off to find Vowel's podcast!
Now I'm off to find Vowel's podcast!
embee3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0