A review by chirson
The Underwater Ballroom Society by Tiffany Trent, Stephanie Burgis
4.0
I received the ARC of this collection from one of the editors, Stephanie Burgis, for review purposes. My opinion is entirely my own.
TL;DR version: I loved two of these stories, enjoyed most; the collection was centred around an idea that resulted in varied interpretations that were a pleasure to read. Some stories were less successful, but didn't ruin the overall positive impression. Recommended (with slight reservations).
When reading any collection of short stories, and particularly an edited anthology of stories from different authors, I expect to find some of the stories more to my liking than others. This was also the case with The Underwater Ballroom Society, and while some stories didn't particularly grip me, the strength of the ones that did was enough to make this a collection I truly enjoyed. I think any reader who enjoyes variety and new voices will enjoy it as well.
The idea behind the collection is imaginative and it was a pleasure seeing all the underwater ballrooms in all their different iterations. My fandom history makes me enjoy prompt-based writing all the more, and I firmly believe a good prompt leads to interesting creative places: this collection confirms my opinion. From fairy tales to urban fantasy, to alternative magical histories to science-fictional versions of history, this collection showcases variety and imagination.
The opening story, Ysabeau S Wilce's "The Queen of Life", takes on subjects that don't particularly interest me - bohemian musicians and faery abduction. However, what bought me was the perspective: one of an older woman re-evaluating her life and wanting more ("The Queen of Life" is the guitar, but it's also the protagonist who becomes one). The writing was powerful and confident, making the story and the characters convincing. I enjoyed it far more than I'd expected.
Y.S. Lee's "Twelve Sisters" comes with a content warning for "implied domestic violence". In fact, domestic violence takes center stage in this retelling of the famous fairy tale from Brothers Grimm, in which, in the aftermath of the tale's ending, the sisters need to protect their eldest from her abusive soldier husband. The outright violence is arguably not even its most disturbing element; there is some biological horror to go with it. But over all, the story had charm and the sisterly relations were a pleasure to read about.
The third story, Iona Datt Sharma's "Penhallow Amid Passing Things" (how beautiful is this title, by the way?) was one of my favourites in the collection, and a story that has stayed with me. This queer tale of smuggler ring with a woman leader and the dashing (woman) officer chasing them had an amazing voice and mood, and some of my (everyone's) favourite tropes (). The ballroom here was not terribly ballroom-like or that significant to the story, but the worldbuilding of a disappearing magic was fascinating and full of potential for further stories which I hope Sharma will write.
Unfortunately, I didn't find Tiffany Trent's "Mermaids, Singing" particularly memorable. The inspiration found in history of Asian migrants to London was interesting, but the story felt squeezed in: there was far too much of it to fit into the wordcount, which resulted in fragments that felt more like summaries than part of a story (particularly the backstories, recited breathlessly). Part of it may be my dislike for carnivalesque, but I've read a few circus stories in my day, and this wasn't even one of the better ones. In addition, I found the attraction between the protagonists to be fairly bland and there were a few turns of phrase (particularly related to the young woman's Chinese heritage) that turned me off in particular.
The next story, Jenny Moss's "A Brand New Thing" made a mixed impression on me. The story of a young woman who is transported to an underwater ballroom where she can be more freely herself among shadows of important intellectual figures of the era felt original and interesting on a certain level: the location in time and place, in particular, but also the characterisation of bookworm, neuroatypical protagonist Eve, who was rendered very sympathetically and convincingly. At the same time, however, the same humanity wasn't afforded to other characters in the story, particularly the other female characters - her sister is the villain, understandably, but overall it feels like understanding for Eve comes only from men).
The very short poetic text of "Four Revelations from the Rusalka Ball" by Cassandra Khaw grew on me after reading, but for a story so concerned with beauty of language and metaphor (and so proficient at making use of it), I must say this: seeing English pluralisations of Slavic nouns bothers me. "Rusalkas" takes me out of a story (and as far as I know, translations of Propp and wikipedia both recognise "rusalki").
The next text in the collection was a novella or a novellette by Stephanie Burgis, "Spellswept" and another favourite. Set in the world of Burgis's [b:Snowspelled|34913546|Snowspelled (The Harwood Spellbook, #1)|Stephanie Burgis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499436670s/34913546.jpg|56176342], this prequel focuses on the romantic connection between aspiring politician Amy Standish and her mentor's black sheep of a son, historian Jonathan Harwood. This story combined some gender role reversal in a familiar historical romance setting with interesting character work. And it was simply charming and pleasant to read, funny and peopled with likeable and complex characters: predictable, but enjoyable all the same. It definitely convinced me to check out Snowspelled soon.
I'm not sure I quite got Laura Anne Gilman's "The River Always Wins", a story ostensibly about the last party organised in a club and really about the friendship between the characters and how it helps them deal with difficult issues. All the same, to me it felt squeezed, lacking the space to develop fully. I found the plot twist unsatisfying and the characters never grew on me; there was too much darkness in it and not enough space for that darkness to be explored. But I think other readers might enjoy it far more.
Shveta Thakrar's "The Amethyst Deceiver" was a fun short story about a family conflict, mushroom-y superheroes and the fight for the environment. The plot wasn't terribly complex (and the underwater ballroom felt incidental to it) but the story was fun and full of energy, just as the title suggested.
The last text in the collection, Patrick Samphire's "A Spy in the Deep" (set in the world of his [b:The Dinosaur Hunters|30228726|The Dinosaur Hunters (The Casebook of Harriet George, Volume 1)|Patrick Samphire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522536191s/30228726.jpg|50688303] was also the longest, taking over approximately 1/4 of the available pagecount. I had my reservations going in: I felt like there were some warning signs in the opening pages, but the book largely avoided the pitfalls. The protagonist, Harriet George, is a young woman training to be a spy for the "British-Martian Intelligence Service". I enjoyed the Napoleon-era Martian politics and the ideas behind them, and found both Harriet and her brother-in-law to be enjoyable characters, but felt like the female protonist was surrounded with just a few too many men and relatively few women with any characterisation (I wish her sister could actually have made an on-page appearance). The plot was actually quite well constructed, and the climactic scene made good use of the locale, but I would have liked slightly fewer moments where Harriet learns men can be useful and clever. Still, the mystery was better than I'd expected, and I think the whole series would make a very enjoyable cozy sf/mystery read for a fan with more interest in that genre.
Overall, I was very happy to spend a few hours exploring different underwater ballrooms, in many different places and times. And I look forward to reading more fiction from Burgis and Sharma.
TL;DR version: I loved two of these stories, enjoyed most; the collection was centred around an idea that resulted in varied interpretations that were a pleasure to read. Some stories were less successful, but didn't ruin the overall positive impression. Recommended (with slight reservations).
When reading any collection of short stories, and particularly an edited anthology of stories from different authors, I expect to find some of the stories more to my liking than others. This was also the case with The Underwater Ballroom Society, and while some stories didn't particularly grip me, the strength of the ones that did was enough to make this a collection I truly enjoyed. I think any reader who enjoyes variety and new voices will enjoy it as well.
The idea behind the collection is imaginative and it was a pleasure seeing all the underwater ballrooms in all their different iterations. My fandom history makes me enjoy prompt-based writing all the more, and I firmly believe a good prompt leads to interesting creative places: this collection confirms my opinion. From fairy tales to urban fantasy, to alternative magical histories to science-fictional versions of history, this collection showcases variety and imagination.
The opening story, Ysabeau S Wilce's "The Queen of Life", takes on subjects that don't particularly interest me - bohemian musicians and faery abduction. However, what bought me was the perspective: one of an older woman re-evaluating her life and wanting more ("The Queen of Life" is the guitar, but it's also the protagonist who becomes one). The writing was powerful and confident, making the story and the characters convincing. I enjoyed it far more than I'd expected.
Y.S. Lee's "Twelve Sisters" comes with a content warning for "implied domestic violence". In fact, domestic violence takes center stage in this retelling of the famous fairy tale from Brothers Grimm, in which, in the aftermath of the tale's ending, the sisters need to protect their eldest from her abusive soldier husband. The outright violence is arguably not even its most disturbing element; there is some biological horror to go with it. But over all, the story had charm and the sisterly relations were a pleasure to read about.
The third story, Iona Datt Sharma's "Penhallow Amid Passing Things" (how beautiful is this title, by the way?) was one of my favourites in the collection, and a story that has stayed with me. This queer tale of smuggler ring with a woman leader and the dashing (woman) officer chasing them had an amazing voice and mood, and some of my (everyone's) favourite tropes (
Spoiler
antagonists combining forces to fight a bigger threatUnfortunately, I didn't find Tiffany Trent's "Mermaids, Singing" particularly memorable. The inspiration found in history of Asian migrants to London was interesting, but the story felt squeezed in: there was far too much of it to fit into the wordcount, which resulted in fragments that felt more like summaries than part of a story (particularly the backstories, recited breathlessly). Part of it may be my dislike for carnivalesque, but I've read a few circus stories in my day, and this wasn't even one of the better ones. In addition, I found the attraction between the protagonists to be fairly bland and there were a few turns of phrase (particularly related to the young woman's Chinese heritage) that turned me off in particular.
The next story, Jenny Moss's "A Brand New Thing" made a mixed impression on me. The story of a young woman who is transported to an underwater ballroom where she can be more freely herself among shadows of important intellectual figures of the era felt original and interesting on a certain level: the location in time and place, in particular, but also the characterisation of bookworm, neuroatypical protagonist Eve, who was rendered very sympathetically and convincingly. At the same time, however, the same humanity wasn't afforded to other characters in the story, particularly the other female characters - her sister is the villain, understandably, but overall it feels like understanding for Eve comes only from men
Spoiler
(the mother is worse than the father, the female servant less understanding than the male; hope comes in the guise of a romantic connection with a guyThe very short poetic text of "Four Revelations from the Rusalka Ball" by Cassandra Khaw grew on me after reading, but for a story so concerned with beauty of language and metaphor (and so proficient at making use of it), I must say this: seeing English pluralisations of Slavic nouns bothers me. "Rusalkas" takes me out of a story (and as far as I know, translations of Propp and wikipedia both recognise "rusalki").
The next text in the collection was a novella or a novellette by Stephanie Burgis, "Spellswept" and another favourite. Set in the world of Burgis's [b:Snowspelled|34913546|Snowspelled (The Harwood Spellbook, #1)|Stephanie Burgis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499436670s/34913546.jpg|56176342], this prequel focuses on the romantic connection between aspiring politician Amy Standish and her mentor's black sheep of a son, historian Jonathan Harwood. This story combined some gender role reversal in a familiar historical romance setting with interesting character work. And it was simply charming and pleasant to read, funny and peopled with likeable and complex characters: predictable, but enjoyable all the same. It definitely convinced me to check out Snowspelled soon.
I'm not sure I quite got Laura Anne Gilman's "The River Always Wins", a story ostensibly about the last party organised in a club and really about the friendship between the characters and how it helps them deal with difficult issues. All the same, to me it felt squeezed, lacking the space to develop fully. I found the plot twist unsatisfying and the characters never grew on me; there was too much darkness in it and not enough space for that darkness to be explored. But I think other readers might enjoy it far more.
Shveta Thakrar's "The Amethyst Deceiver" was a fun short story about a family conflict, mushroom-y superheroes and the fight for the environment. The plot wasn't terribly complex (and the underwater ballroom felt incidental to it) but the story was fun and full of energy, just as the title suggested.
The last text in the collection, Patrick Samphire's "A Spy in the Deep" (set in the world of his [b:The Dinosaur Hunters|30228726|The Dinosaur Hunters (The Casebook of Harriet George, Volume 1)|Patrick Samphire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522536191s/30228726.jpg|50688303] was also the longest, taking over approximately 1/4 of the available pagecount. I had my reservations going in: I felt like there were some warning signs in the opening pages, but the book largely avoided the pitfalls. The protagonist, Harriet George, is a young woman training to be a spy for the "British-Martian Intelligence Service". I enjoyed the Napoleon-era Martian politics and the ideas behind them, and found both Harriet and her brother-in-law to be enjoyable characters, but felt like the female protonist was surrounded with just a few too many men and relatively few women with any characterisation (I wish her sister could actually have made an on-page appearance). The plot was actually quite well constructed, and the climactic scene made good use of the locale, but I would have liked slightly fewer moments where Harriet learns men can be useful and clever. Still, the mystery was better than I'd expected, and I think the whole series would make a very enjoyable cozy sf/mystery read for a fan with more interest in that genre.
Overall, I was very happy to spend a few hours exploring different underwater ballrooms, in many different places and times. And I look forward to reading more fiction from Burgis and Sharma.