A review by mimosaeyes
Distant Gardens: Ten Stories of Exploration, Biodiversity, and Found Family by J.S. Fields, Heather Tracy
3.0
Here's the thing about short story collections: I usually like the stories to differing degrees, and so my overall rating often averages out to a middling 3 stars. Which feels very mean to the stories I liked! And there are several of those in this particular anthology.
My absolute favourite is probably "Jellyfish Lovepotion". It has such a great atmosphere of suspense, balanced out by the flirty dynamic between the two characters - which is in turn shot through with emotional weight, given the context of what's happening on Earth and how it has affected them. Also I just love space fungi and 'faulty' AIs, I guess. (The latter is definitely a symptom of having listened to Wolf 359.)
On the other hand, most of the other stories are just middling to me, and I actively dislike a couple of them. The introduction promises that the stories have been edited to avoid "fall[ing] into any 'her breasts breasted boobily' traps", yet "Thorns and Fur" seems to have gotten through the cracks. Honestly, as a bisexual woman, that one doesn't even read queer to me.
I often found it more difficult to feel invested in the stories set in fictional universes that the author has already developed in a book or a whole series. The exception to this rule is the last story, "Rings" - I don't know these two characters and I don't already ship them, but it's just so cute! Ending off on this story was definitely a good call by the editors.
Honourable mentions to "Radiant" (superpowers put to mundane yet important work is such a concept) and "How to Steal a Planet" (be gay, do crimes - in space!) as well as the thread of eco-terrorism running through several other stories.
I realise the two stories I like most are by the same author, J. S. Fields, while the two runners-up are by N. L. Bates. I'm not familiar with any of the writers featured in this collection, and I didn't pay attention to the names as I was reading. So I've inadvertently done a blind test and maybe discovered a new writer or two to check out, thanks to this collection!
I received an advance review copy via BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
My absolute favourite is probably "Jellyfish Lovepotion". It has such a great atmosphere of suspense, balanced out by the flirty dynamic between the two characters - which is in turn shot through with emotional weight, given the context of what's happening on Earth and how it has affected them. Also I just love space fungi and 'faulty' AIs, I guess. (The latter is definitely a symptom of having listened to Wolf 359.)
On the other hand, most of the other stories are just middling to me, and I actively dislike a couple of them. The introduction promises that the stories have been edited to avoid "fall[ing] into any 'her breasts breasted boobily' traps", yet "Thorns and Fur" seems to have gotten through the cracks. Honestly, as a bisexual woman, that one doesn't even read queer to me.
I often found it more difficult to feel invested in the stories set in fictional universes that the author has already developed in a book or a whole series. The exception to this rule is the last story, "Rings" - I don't know these two characters and I don't already ship them, but it's just so cute! Ending off on this story was definitely a good call by the editors.
Honourable mentions to "Radiant" (superpowers put to mundane yet important work is such a concept) and "How to Steal a Planet" (be gay, do crimes - in space!) as well as the thread of eco-terrorism running through several other stories.
I realise the two stories I like most are by the same author, J. S. Fields, while the two runners-up are by N. L. Bates. I'm not familiar with any of the writers featured in this collection, and I didn't pay attention to the names as I was reading. So I've inadvertently done a blind test and maybe discovered a new writer or two to check out, thanks to this collection!
I received an advance review copy via BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.