A review by thisotherbookaccount
Ambiguity Machines, and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
3.0
I feel like I have to repeat myself every time I review a short story collection, but it's true. Ambiguity Machines, like every other short story collection that I have read, is a collection of hits and misses. It almost always comes down to the ratio of hits to misses, and rarely does one rise above to become a great read.
I think there are some interesting concepts and ideas being introduced in Singh's short stories. I also have to commend her for creating very unique and interesting worlds, coming close to some of the universes created by China Mieville, the master of turning locations into characters. With that said, it is a shame that we are only reading about these worlds in short stories, and they are never allowed to exist beyond that.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, some stories obviously worked better than others. My favourite comes early in the collection.
A Handful of Rice is a great tale of revenge set in a steampunk fantasy world. This is the universe that I really want to read about, with final confrontation that is intense and surprising. I think this story also showcases just how economical Singh can be with her storytelling, the way she's able to build a world and a cast of characters within just a few pages.
Peripeteia is a story that did not work when I first read it, but it slowly grew on me. I love how the main character leans into science to explain the chaos of the real world.
Oblivion: A Journey is another revenge tale, and it is a lot more straightforward than her other stories, which I love. This one also features a universe that I would love for Singh to explore further.
I think Are You Sannata3159? is the story that surprised me the most, because it seems almost off-brand. This is straight up horror, or something you only expect from a Stephen King short story collection. I am honestly quite shocked at the direction that Singh takes the story, but it's an impressive middle-of-the-book shocker that gives you just enough fuel for the rest of the book.
Sailing the Antarsa reminds me of old school, silver-age science fiction stories, the kind that are less about the space battles and the aliens and more about the spirit and wonders of exploration. It's a slow story with an ambiguous ending, but this one is really about the journey rather than the destination.
Then there are the stories that just didn't quite work with me. I don't want to come across as a hater of slow, contemplative stories, but these stories involve a little too much introspection and contemplation on, er, human relationship. Stories like Ambiguity Machine, Indra's Web, Requiem just did not work for me on any level. Then there are the stories that I skipped outright, because the attempts at creating stories within stories within stories just made me feel impatient.
I think there are some interesting concepts and ideas being introduced in Singh's short stories. I also have to commend her for creating very unique and interesting worlds, coming close to some of the universes created by China Mieville, the master of turning locations into characters. With that said, it is a shame that we are only reading about these worlds in short stories, and they are never allowed to exist beyond that.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, some stories obviously worked better than others. My favourite comes early in the collection.
A Handful of Rice is a great tale of revenge set in a steampunk fantasy world. This is the universe that I really want to read about, with final confrontation that is intense and surprising. I think this story also showcases just how economical Singh can be with her storytelling, the way she's able to build a world and a cast of characters within just a few pages.
Peripeteia is a story that did not work when I first read it, but it slowly grew on me. I love how the main character leans into science to explain the chaos of the real world.
Oblivion: A Journey is another revenge tale, and it is a lot more straightforward than her other stories, which I love. This one also features a universe that I would love for Singh to explore further.
I think Are You Sannata3159? is the story that surprised me the most, because it seems almost off-brand. This is straight up horror, or something you only expect from a Stephen King short story collection. I am honestly quite shocked at the direction that Singh takes the story, but it's an impressive middle-of-the-book shocker that gives you just enough fuel for the rest of the book.
Sailing the Antarsa reminds me of old school, silver-age science fiction stories, the kind that are less about the space battles and the aliens and more about the spirit and wonders of exploration. It's a slow story with an ambiguous ending, but this one is really about the journey rather than the destination.
Then there are the stories that just didn't quite work with me. I don't want to come across as a hater of slow, contemplative stories, but these stories involve a little too much introspection and contemplation on, er, human relationship. Stories like Ambiguity Machine, Indra's Web, Requiem just did not work for me on any level. Then there are the stories that I skipped outright, because the attempts at creating stories within stories within stories just made me feel impatient.