Reviews
Consolation Songs: Optimistic Speculative Fiction For A Time of Pandemic by Iona Datt Sharma
barefootsong's review
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
wunder's review
5.0
Just what I needed now. One of the reasons I picked it up was the contribution from Aliette de Bodard—I'll read anything she writes. But all the stories were well-written and with one of them, I stopped in the middle and went back to check the author, because they could actually write (that was Iona Datt Sharma).
The stories have differing degrees and even definitions of optimism. A couple are making the best of a bad lot or a silver lining in storm cloud that is still destructive, but most are pleasant in a satisfying way.
Knowing that all proceeds are donated to charity is icing on the cake, but this is a very good cake that can stand on its own.
The stories have differing degrees and even definitions of optimism. A couple are making the best of a bad lot or a silver lining in storm cloud that is still destructive, but most are pleasant in a satisfying way.
Knowing that all proceeds are donated to charity is icing on the cake, but this is a very good cake that can stand on its own.
snazel's review
Storm Story, by Llinos Cathryn Thomas:
Absolutely joyous, story of making it through a horrific storm, prototypical optimistic SF.
Girls who Read Austen, by Tansy Rayner Roberts:
I love everything Tansy Rayner Roberts writes, and this school story (of a saga of horrible roommates) is no different— it's funny and ends delightfully upbeat.
Upside the Head, by Marissa Lingen:
The story itself is only slightly optimistic, but the PREMISE (of an ability to regrow the amygdala after head trauma) is so exciting I caught myself doing the opposite of catastrophizing, just spiralling through positive futures, after I read it.
Bethany, Bethany, by Lizbeth Myles:
Changelings, what makes sisterhood, and loyalty.
CW: for child death at the beginning.
Seaview on Mars, by Katie Rathfelder:
Gentle, quiet story about moving into a retirement community, and about what makes a life well-lived.
A Hundred and Seventy Storms, by Aliette de Bodard:
Oof. Definitely kicking off a stretch of stories that are less optimistic in the "cheery tale" way and more optimistic in the "I refuse to go down and give up and you can't make me" way. A mind-ship survives a harrowing.
Low Energy Economy, by Adrian Tchaikovsky:
Claustrophobic little story about someone who's given up his whole life in the hope that it'll make things better for others, and who is semi-convinced that it was for nothing, for him at least, and the ending hits like a RELIEF, let me tell you.
Four, by Freya Marske:
A pair of friends inherit a house on a fractured street in a broken world.
St Anselm-by-the-Riverside, by Iona Datt Sharma:
Okay so people waking up from a coma is a cliche of hope, but that doesn't mean it isn't really freaking effective. Also this is a super cute romance and I ship it (and part of me is sulky that we got the Global Warming bad future instead of this one, where everything Chilled and people skate everywhere?)
This Is New Gehesran Calling, by Rebecca Fraimow:
WELL NOW I HAVE ALL THESE FEELINGS ABOUT A RADIO SHOW I AM PART OF THE FANDOM FOR AND AHHH. Delightful, joyful story about isolation, diaspora, and no-budget radio stations.
Of A Female Stranger, by Jeannelle M. Ferreira:
It's a selkie story!
Love, Your Flatmate, by Stephanie Burgis:
It's epistolatory, it's a tiny enemies-to-lovers romance, it's SO CUTE— I loved it.
Overall the anthology was a great buy and great to read (i'm really tempted to have another anthology on the go on my phone so I can read it in small downtime moments), and I had an excellent time. I think my favourites stories were Storm Story, This Is New Gehesran Calling, and Love, Your Flatmate, they were pure joy.
Absolutely joyous, story of making it through a horrific storm, prototypical optimistic SF.
Girls who Read Austen, by Tansy Rayner Roberts:
I love everything Tansy Rayner Roberts writes, and this school story (of a saga of horrible roommates) is no different— it's funny and ends delightfully upbeat.
Upside the Head, by Marissa Lingen:
The story itself is only slightly optimistic, but the PREMISE (of an ability to regrow the amygdala after head trauma) is so exciting I caught myself doing the opposite of catastrophizing, just spiralling through positive futures, after I read it.
Bethany, Bethany, by Lizbeth Myles:
Changelings, what makes sisterhood, and loyalty.
CW: for child death at the beginning.
Seaview on Mars, by Katie Rathfelder:
Gentle, quiet story about moving into a retirement community, and about what makes a life well-lived.
A Hundred and Seventy Storms, by Aliette de Bodard:
Oof. Definitely kicking off a stretch of stories that are less optimistic in the "cheery tale" way and more optimistic in the "I refuse to go down and give up and you can't make me" way. A mind-ship survives a harrowing.
Low Energy Economy, by Adrian Tchaikovsky:
Claustrophobic little story about someone who's given up his whole life in the hope that it'll make things better for others, and who is semi-convinced that it was for nothing, for him at least, and the ending hits like a RELIEF, let me tell you.
Four, by Freya Marske:
A pair of friends inherit a house on a fractured street in a broken world.
St Anselm-by-the-Riverside, by Iona Datt Sharma:
Okay so people waking up from a coma is a cliche of hope, but that doesn't mean it isn't really freaking effective. Also this is a super cute romance and I ship it (and part of me is sulky that we got the Global Warming bad future instead of this one, where everything Chilled and people skate everywhere?)
This Is New Gehesran Calling, by Rebecca Fraimow:
WELL NOW I HAVE ALL THESE FEELINGS ABOUT A RADIO SHOW I AM PART OF THE FANDOM FOR AND AHHH. Delightful, joyful story about isolation, diaspora, and no-budget radio stations.
Of A Female Stranger, by Jeannelle M. Ferreira:
It's a selkie story!
Love, Your Flatmate, by Stephanie Burgis:
It's epistolatory, it's a tiny enemies-to-lovers romance, it's SO CUTE— I loved it.
Overall the anthology was a great buy and great to read (i'm really tempted to have another anthology on the go on my phone so I can read it in small downtime moments), and I had an excellent time. I think my favourites stories were Storm Story, This Is New Gehesran Calling, and Love, Your Flatmate, they were pure joy.
dreadfulsorry's review
5.0
I think this is one of the first short story collections I've ever read where I enjoyed every single story.
Standouts: This Is New Gehesran Calling (Rebecca Fraimow) was so comforting and fun and bittersweet - it was definitely my favorite of the stories in this book.
Four (Freya Marske), St Anselm-by-the-Riverside (Iona Datt Sharma) and Of a Female Stranger (Jeannelle M. Ferreira) all left me desperate for more. I really do hope at least one is expanded into a longer work - and preferably all three. I love everything Aliette de Bodard writes, and A Hundred and Seventy Storms was no exception.
I bought this book on a whim and it was well worth it.
Standouts: This Is New Gehesran Calling (Rebecca Fraimow) was so comforting and fun and bittersweet - it was definitely my favorite of the stories in this book.
Four (Freya Marske), St Anselm-by-the-Riverside (Iona Datt Sharma) and Of a Female Stranger (Jeannelle M. Ferreira) all left me desperate for more. I really do hope at least one is expanded into a longer work - and preferably all three. I love everything Aliette de Bodard writes, and A Hundred and Seventy Storms was no exception.
I bought this book on a whim and it was well worth it.
cormorant's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sadie_slater's review
5.0
Consolation Songs is billed as an anthology of optimistic speculative fiction for a time of pandemic. It's being sold in aid of the University College London Hospitals charity and features stories from two of my favourite comfort-reading authors (Tansy Rayner Roberts and Stephanie Burgis), two of my favourite podcasters (Lizbeth Myles of Verity!* and Freya Marske of Be The Serpent) and several other authors whose work I've read and enjoyed (Aliette de Bodard, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Iona Datt Sharma, who also edited the anthology), and given that optimistic fiction is definitely what I want to read right now I preordered it and started it fairly soon after it arrived on my kindle last week.
The twelve stories in the anthology range in settings from the past to the far future; many of them feature queer characters and relationships, which was an added delight. Normally I find that anthologies have one or two stories I'm less keen on, but I really enjoyed all of these. I was going to mention a few particular favourites, but realised that was going to end up being pretty much every story in the anthology, so I'll just say that it's a lovely book, and if you are looking for cheerful reading material I definitely recommend it.
*which Tansy Rayner Roberts is also one of the hosts of
The twelve stories in the anthology range in settings from the past to the far future; many of them feature queer characters and relationships, which was an added delight. Normally I find that anthologies have one or two stories I'm less keen on, but I really enjoyed all of these. I was going to mention a few particular favourites, but realised that was going to end up being pretty much every story in the anthology, so I'll just say that it's a lovely book, and if you are looking for cheerful reading material I definitely recommend it.
*which Tansy Rayner Roberts is also one of the hosts of
suzig's review
4.0
Enjoyable anthology. I found some stories more hopeful than others, but I suppose a matter of perspective. I was already familiar with a number of the authors included, although I'd only read one of the stories previously, and I look forward to checking out the work of those new to me.
siclarke's review
5.0
Storm Story by Llinos Cathryn Thomas
Quote: For a while, we just slept or ate or told stories when it wasn't too loud. The only way to know time was passing was by how hungry we got.
First-person tale with a nameless narrator, who seems very young. Dark times, with a hint of a light at the end of the erm… storm on a water-logged world.
Girls Who Read Austen by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Quote: All Scylla wanted from a college roommate was someone who wasn't too messy or too tidy. Maybe, if she was really lucky, she might get someone she could hang out with.
Scylla’s an absolute monster. But she’s a monster who reads books.
Upside the Head by Marissa Lingen
Quote: The sweetest patient we have and the most law-abiding cop I've ever met got into a fight in the patients' lounge today.
Hmmm… I didn’t really understand the point of this story.
Bethany, Bethany by Lizbeth Myles
Quote: There was a strangeness about Beth, but it was a strangeness that only Emily noticed.
Nice little story about two sisters, one of whom is adopted.
Seaview on Mars by Katie Rathfelder
Quote: Lulu lives in a world where restaurants are a possibility; a world where food is relatively plentiful and people might go somewhere to eat, just because they can.
Having lived on Mars and raised two children to adulthood, Miyu and her wife are ready to retire. I loved this heartwarming story so much. I’m really hoping Rathfelder develops a longer story in this world.
A Hundred and Seventy Storms by Aliette de Bodard
I adore de Bodard’s writing — her elaborate world-building, her intricate characters. But I’m not sure that lends itself easily to short stories. There’s too much I didn’t understand. It left me needing more, which is different than wanting more.
Low Energy Economy by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Quote: But then all of our experiences are, when you get down to it, just in our head. That's how experience works.
Tobler is a contract claim-staker. He’s been crammed into a tiny shop for hundreds of years. Doing this work is a one-way trip — but at least the company will look after his family. Sort of a cyberpunk tale — sort of a micro space opera. I really enjoyed this one.
Four by Freya Marske
Quote: 'Then what?' Felicity demands.
Molly shrugs, aware of the smallness of her offerings. 'Donate money. Donate your time. Organise. March.'
Molly and Tahlia move into a house Molly inherited from her grandmother. I’m not really sure what I just read, but it was an enjoyable ride.
St Anselm-by-the-Riverside by Iona Datt Sharma
Quote: For all Audrey was content with where life had taken her, there was a small voice in the back of her head that wondered if … she'd just turned out unlovable.
Audrey is a nurse in a hospital that isn’t Guy’s. She’s happy with her life — but then she meets new people. I thought I knew what was going on in this story, but it threw me for a loop. A lovely story.
This Is New Gehesran Calling by Rebecca Fraimow
Quote: This is New Gehesran calling, so don't change the channel, because we're bringing you the freshest tunes, hottest issues, furious debates.
This story was tough — too much background, way too many characters, and not enough details. I like the writing; I was fascinated by the world in which it exists. What I saw of the many characters, I liked. It was just too much in too few pages.
Of a Female Stranger by Jeannelle M. Ferreira
Quote: What'll you have me say, that I fished you up, I dragged you, I stole you from Lady Death? Met is more polite, is it not?
Theo reinvented herself after she was the lone survivor of a deadly shipwreck. And then she meets an enigmatic stranger.
Love, Your Flatmate by Stephanie Burgis
Quote: I understand that you didn't actually believe there would be a lockdown when you agreed to let your friend's daughter stay at my flat for just a week.
Emmeline is frustrated by her inhuman houseguest — and rightfully so. Maxi is equally frustrated by Emmeline. Can they find common ground?
Quote: For a while, we just slept or ate or told stories when it wasn't too loud. The only way to know time was passing was by how hungry we got.
First-person tale with a nameless narrator, who seems very young. Dark times, with a hint of a light at the end of the erm… storm on a water-logged world.
Girls Who Read Austen by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Quote: All Scylla wanted from a college roommate was someone who wasn't too messy or too tidy. Maybe, if she was really lucky, she might get someone she could hang out with.
Scylla’s an absolute monster. But she’s a monster who reads books.
Upside the Head by Marissa Lingen
Quote: The sweetest patient we have and the most law-abiding cop I've ever met got into a fight in the patients' lounge today.
Hmmm… I didn’t really understand the point of this story.
Bethany, Bethany by Lizbeth Myles
Quote: There was a strangeness about Beth, but it was a strangeness that only Emily noticed.
Nice little story about two sisters, one of whom is adopted.
Seaview on Mars by Katie Rathfelder
Quote: Lulu lives in a world where restaurants are a possibility; a world where food is relatively plentiful and people might go somewhere to eat, just because they can.
Having lived on Mars and raised two children to adulthood, Miyu and her wife are ready to retire. I loved this heartwarming story so much. I’m really hoping Rathfelder develops a longer story in this world.
A Hundred and Seventy Storms by Aliette de Bodard
I adore de Bodard’s writing — her elaborate world-building, her intricate characters. But I’m not sure that lends itself easily to short stories. There’s too much I didn’t understand. It left me needing more, which is different than wanting more.
Low Energy Economy by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Quote: But then all of our experiences are, when you get down to it, just in our head. That's how experience works.
Tobler is a contract claim-staker. He’s been crammed into a tiny shop for hundreds of years. Doing this work is a one-way trip — but at least the company will look after his family. Sort of a cyberpunk tale — sort of a micro space opera. I really enjoyed this one.
Four by Freya Marske
Quote: 'Then what?' Felicity demands.
Molly shrugs, aware of the smallness of her offerings. 'Donate money. Donate your time. Organise. March.'
Molly and Tahlia move into a house Molly inherited from her grandmother. I’m not really sure what I just read, but it was an enjoyable ride.
St Anselm-by-the-Riverside by Iona Datt Sharma
Quote: For all Audrey was content with where life had taken her, there was a small voice in the back of her head that wondered if … she'd just turned out unlovable.
Audrey is a nurse in a hospital that isn’t Guy’s. She’s happy with her life — but then she meets new people. I thought I knew what was going on in this story, but it threw me for a loop. A lovely story.
This Is New Gehesran Calling by Rebecca Fraimow
Quote: This is New Gehesran calling, so don't change the channel, because we're bringing you the freshest tunes, hottest issues, furious debates.
This story was tough — too much background, way too many characters, and not enough details. I like the writing; I was fascinated by the world in which it exists. What I saw of the many characters, I liked. It was just too much in too few pages.
Of a Female Stranger by Jeannelle M. Ferreira
Quote: What'll you have me say, that I fished you up, I dragged you, I stole you from Lady Death? Met is more polite, is it not?
Theo reinvented herself after she was the lone survivor of a deadly shipwreck. And then she meets an enigmatic stranger.
Love, Your Flatmate by Stephanie Burgis
Quote: I understand that you didn't actually believe there would be a lockdown when you agreed to let your friend's daughter stay at my flat for just a week.
Emmeline is frustrated by her inhuman houseguest — and rightfully so. Maxi is equally frustrated by Emmeline. Can they find common ground?