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robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
I'll admit that usually when I hear solar punk I think more sci fi, and when I hear dragons I think fantasy, so it should not be a surprise that this was a mix of sci fi and fantasy, and if you've picked up on my reading taste, that I also wish it had leaned more sci fi. Similar subjective critique, there was a mix of adult and YA stories, and the YA fare didn't really grab me.
The reading experience felt similar to exploring a new fandom's fanfic, there will be the full range of writing quality, and some of it won't feel ready for publication. Many of the author bios indicate this as their first published work, and yeah, it shows.
I really want to read more in the solar punk subgenre, and I feel like part of seeing more published is hyping up what is already out there, but I struggled to get through this collection for two different library loan periods.
It's probably a misinterpretation of the genre, but just in case anybody else is the same level of noob as me, I'll warn that not all these stories are happy ones.
Enjoyed:
In the Hearts of Dragons - Stephanie Wagner
The Shape of the Sun - Marianne L D Drolet
Lost and Found by Brenda J. Pierson ♥️
Community Outreach with Reluctant Neighbors (Alternatively, How To Avoid Cults) by Kat Lerner
⚠️ Animal death
The reading experience felt similar to exploring a new fandom's fanfic, there will be the full range of writing quality, and some of it won't feel ready for publication. Many of the author bios indicate this as their first published work, and yeah, it shows.
I really want to read more in the solar punk subgenre, and I feel like part of seeing more published is hyping up what is already out there, but I struggled to get through this collection for two different library loan periods.
It's probably a misinterpretation of the genre, but just in case anybody else is the same level of noob as me, I'll warn that not all these stories are happy ones.
Enjoyed:
In the Hearts of Dragons - Stephanie Wagner
The Shape of the Sun - Marianne L D Drolet
Lost and Found by Brenda J. Pierson ♥️
Community Outreach with Reluctant Neighbors (Alternatively, How To Avoid Cults) by Kat Lerner
⚠️ Animal death
saphirablue's review
5.0
I love, love, love this one.
There isn't a single story in there that I didn't like. I love, love, love some and am itching to re-read them already.
There is so much hope in this stories. Yes, some of them are sad but they still have hope!
There are dragons in so many shapes and sizes and everything. <3
So many POVs - young, old, human, dragon - and settings - past, future, fantasy, sci-fi.
I love it!
nightjar656's review
DNF at 32%
I really, really wanted to like this one. And honestly, I didn't think a lot of the stories were that bad, but this didn't feel like the right anthology for a lot of them. I felt like a lot of them were connecting really well with the 'dragons' part of the concept, and not really as much with the 'solarpunk' part of the concept- some touched on solarpunk themes, but others just kind of seemed like pure fantasy that maybe mentioned trees or solar panels, if that makes sense?
Also, a lot of the stories in this were just kind of ok. I didn't really enjoy this, but if you're looking for an anthology with a lot of stuff on dragons, it might be the right thing for someone else.
I really, really wanted to like this one. And honestly, I didn't think a lot of the stories were that bad, but this didn't feel like the right anthology for a lot of them. I felt like a lot of them were connecting really well with the 'dragons' part of the concept, and not really as much with the 'solarpunk' part of the concept- some touched on solarpunk themes, but others just kind of seemed like pure fantasy that maybe mentioned trees or solar panels, if that makes sense?
Also, a lot of the stories in this were just kind of ok. I didn't really enjoy this, but if you're looking for an anthology with a lot of stuff on dragons, it might be the right thing for someone else.
maria_hossain's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first short story anthology I’ve ever finished (and loved). This is also my first time reading anything literary about Solarpunk. Quite frankly, Solarpunk is such a new punk style that it still has a long way to go and lots of recognition to achieve. It’s a very cool punk, IMO, much cooler than steampunk or dieselpunk. The main aim of solarpunk is to cultivate nature and nurture, and sow the seeds of hope.
This anthology has got 22 short stories, each one more unique and quirkier and cooler than the other. Each story features solarpunk aspects and aesthetics, as well as dragons in some way.
Confession: I mostly picked up this anthology since my current novel has solarpunk setting and dragons in it. But though I picked it up for research and creative inspiration, I stuck to it only because the core of the anthology fascinated me. I loved every story, though my bias heart loves a few more than the rest. But I’d recommend this book 100% if you are looking for a fresh taste in SciFi and fantasy, and need to cleanse your palate from the grim-dark dystopian and nihilistic cyberpunk SciFi books.
This anthology has got 22 short stories, each one more unique and quirkier and cooler than the other. Each story features solarpunk aspects and aesthetics, as well as dragons in some way.
Confession: I mostly picked up this anthology since my current novel has solarpunk setting and dragons in it. But though I picked it up for research and creative inspiration, I stuck to it only because the core of the anthology fascinated me. I loved every story, though my bias heart loves a few more than the rest. But I’d recommend this book 100% if you are looking for a fresh taste in SciFi and fantasy, and need to cleanse your palate from the grim-dark dystopian and nihilistic cyberpunk SciFi books.
ginnikin's review against another edition
The stories are all pretty clearly by authors just starting out. There's some potential there, but the storytelling is not great. :-/
readeatgamerepeat's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
Honestly a bit of a mixed bag for me - some stories were really good and I'll definitely be looking into more works by some authors, and other stories were honestly 1 stars or DNFs which I generally don't do, since they are short stories you'd think it'd be easy to finish but then I just couldn't even get through them.
bibi33's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0