A review by nonesensed
Wings of Renewal: A Solarpunk Dragon Anthology by Claudie Arseneault
3.0
This collection was a mixed bag. Dragons and solarpunk showed up in all stories, so there was no break in the theme, but some of the stories felt...incomplete? They had a beginning and a set-up, and then they sort of just ended. None of the stories were bad, they just left me a little confused.
That said, the cover art alone is worth getting this book because Agata Jędrychowska did an amazing job with it! Just gorgeous!
My favorite stories of this collection are In the Hearts of Dragons by Stephanie Wagner (love me some telepathy and bonding drama in space!), The Shape of the Sun by Marianne L. D. Drolet (starts out very bleak but builds to bittersweet), Solarium by Kimberly Kay & A. N. Gephart (good build-up and pay-off, had a nice part about loyalty that I'm always a fan of), Refuge by Mindi Briar (an interesting scifi take on dragons and emotional connections, gonna keep an eye out for the book this is part of), The Dragon of Kou by Caroline Bigaiski (had a nice fairy tale feel to it), The Witch's Son by Diane Dubas (powerful last line; would love to know how this continues but it also feels complete as a story), Wings of the Guiding Suns by M. Pax (post-apocalyptic space dragon ships, I'm all for it!) and Community Outreach with Reluctant Neighbors (alternatively, How to Avoid Cults) by Kat Learner (funny and cute).
I over all enjoyed this anthology and would recommend it to people who really like dragons, solarpunk, or both.
That said, the cover art alone is worth getting this book because Agata Jędrychowska did an amazing job with it! Just gorgeous!
My favorite stories of this collection are In the Hearts of Dragons by Stephanie Wagner (love me some telepathy and bonding drama in space!), The Shape of the Sun by Marianne L. D. Drolet (starts out very bleak but builds to bittersweet), Solarium by Kimberly Kay & A. N. Gephart (good build-up and pay-off, had a nice part about loyalty that I'm always a fan of), Refuge by Mindi Briar (an interesting scifi take on dragons and emotional connections, gonna keep an eye out for the book this is part of), The Dragon of Kou by Caroline Bigaiski (had a nice fairy tale feel to it), The Witch's Son by Diane Dubas (powerful last line; would love to know how this continues but it also feels complete as a story), Wings of the Guiding Suns by M. Pax (post-apocalyptic space dragon ships, I'm all for it!) and Community Outreach with Reluctant Neighbors (alternatively, How to Avoid Cults) by Kat Learner (funny and cute).
I over all enjoyed this anthology and would recommend it to people who really like dragons, solarpunk, or both.