A review by inkdrunkmoth
An Alphabet of Embers, by R.B. Lemberg
4.0
This collection of stories were as the description calls it - magical. It was unique and left you feeling like you've never heard stories like it before. The stories come from a diverse cast of writers from around the world, giving you a diverse collection of stories and characters. One of my favourite stories had to do with an idea of genderfluidness, which I happen to be. This was the first story I ever read with a genderfluid set of characters and I honestly can't get enough of it. I'll probably end up holding that story close to me for that reason, and the fact it was so well written that it made me so happy for this progress.
As I've mentioned before, it's hard to really critique short stories, more so ones that are relatively short, only a page or two, which a few were. For the most part, these stories were done in a way that was prose or lyrical. Which is something I always love. However, there were a few that felt like simply words thrown together to creative something, but I couldn't seem to see the story in it. It's possible that when I read it, my brain was too tired to comprehend what they were about or it just went over my head, but I struggled to find stories in them, which was really disappointing in comparison to the overall beautifully done stories that were stories that were actually stories. There were also a few stories that weren't long enough in my opinion to actually make it a full story. I felt like the plot was just shortly brushed over and it didn't have the same impact as some of the others.
However, I HIGHLY recommend this book for people who want sci-fi/fantasy stories created by a diverse cast of writers that touch on their own cultures.
As I've mentioned before, it's hard to really critique short stories, more so ones that are relatively short, only a page or two, which a few were. For the most part, these stories were done in a way that was prose or lyrical. Which is something I always love. However, there were a few that felt like simply words thrown together to creative something, but I couldn't seem to see the story in it. It's possible that when I read it, my brain was too tired to comprehend what they were about or it just went over my head, but I struggled to find stories in them, which was really disappointing in comparison to the overall beautifully done stories that were stories that were actually stories. There were also a few stories that weren't long enough in my opinion to actually make it a full story. I felt like the plot was just shortly brushed over and it didn't have the same impact as some of the others.
However, I HIGHLY recommend this book for people who want sci-fi/fantasy stories created by a diverse cast of writers that touch on their own cultures.