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A review by yevolem
Where the Stars Rise: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy by Karin Lowachee, Priya Sridhar, Rati Mehrotra, Lucas K. Law, Elsie Chapman, Gabriela Lee, Minsoo Kang, Naru Dames Sundar, Tony Pi, Regina Kanyu Wang, Shaoyan Hu, Deepak Bharathan, S.B. Divya, Fonda Lee, Anne Carly Abad, Ruhan Zhao, Jeremy Szal, Joyce Chng, Diana Xin, Melissa Yuan-Innes, E.C. Myers, Calvin D. Jim, Derwin Mak, Miki Dare, Samantha Beiko, Angela Yuriko Smith, Amanda Sun, Pamela Q. Fernandes
3.0
The subtitle is somewhat misleading. Maybe half of these twenty-three stories could reasonably be called SFF. Speculative fiction would be more accurate. All of the stories are Asian influenced. The influences are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Indian, and Turkish. Social justice was the focus for several of the stories. Several of the Ok stories were close to being Enjoyable, but I had problems with each of them that were a bit too much.
Spirit of Wine - Tony Pi
A spirit of Wine possess two sworn brothers and causes mischief. Ideogram-play follows.
Meh
The dataSultan of Streets and Stars - Jeremy Szal
A dataSultan (programmer) is hired to steal the newest djinn (AI). Naturally it doesn't go planned.
Meh
Weaving Silk - Amanda Sun
Two children in Tokyo struggle to survive following a catastrophic earthquake.
Meh
Vanilla Rice - Angela Yuriko Smith
A pregnant woman of asian descent in a western country has fully internalized white beauty standards and purchases a chip that will change the phenotype of her daughter so that she will not have to suffer the indignity of not being white.
Blah
Looking Up - S. B. Divya
A woman with a physical disability who has a traumatic past and is estranged from her family has been selected for a one-way mission to Mars. All that's left is telling everyone goodbye then going on her way.
Ok
A Star Is Born - Miki Dare
This is about the interment of Japanese-Canadians. It's about the racism and oppression that non-whites have endured in Canada, whose evils are similar to those of the United States, though overshadowed by the severity of the latter due to population size and factors. I'm not sure what to make of the narrative, mostly as to whether it is what it says it is or not.
Blah
My Left Hand - Ruhan Zhao
A scientist visits a palmreader who warns him of disaster, but what does l matter when there's science to do, and who believes that nonsense anyway, ha ha.
I didn't enjoy this as much as I otherwise would because I don't have sufficient Chinese cultural knowledge to turn what seem to be the implications into definite conclusions.
Meh
DNR - Gabriela Lee
A doctor living in the Philippine Protectorate on Mars spends most of her time on autopsies and extracting the final memories of the deceased from their visual cortex to present to the bereaved.
Ok
A Visitation for the Spirit Festival - Diana Xin
A mother who thought she'd never return to China does so to convince her daughter that her activism is too dangerous. The mother carries with her the ghosts of her past.
Meh
Rose's Arm - D. Jim
In racist steampunk Canada, a teenage girl's mother has died and her father is no longer able to provide due to anti-Japanese sentiment. A white doctor has offered to solve her problems, though his help would come at a great personal cost to her.
Meh
Back to Myan - Regina Kanyu Wang, translated by Shaoyan Hu
Kaya is a refugee saved by the Union. She returns to her desolate homeworld where her merfolk people once lived and discovers the truth, which dispels all the false narratives that were put upon her.
Meh
Meridian - Karin Lowachee
A four year old boy watches his family be killed by space pirates and his station be wrecked. He's picked up by scavengers, but they don't know how to raise such a traumatized child. The years pass by, but the memories don't fade.
Ok
Joseon Fringe - Pamela Q. Fernandes
A historical fantasy about how hangul and much else was developed by King Sejong and Jang Young Sil. It's also about hoping changing the past will fix the present.
Meh
Wintry Hearts of Those Who Rise - Minsoo Kang
The heir to a grand estate seeks an inheritance denied to him by father's second wife through legal maneuvering and deceit. His scholar friend decides to beat her at her own game.
Ok
Udātta Śloka? - Deepak Bharathan
A mythological origin story for a major Hindu deity.
Meh
Crash - Melissa Yuan-Innes
The colonists of the lunar colony escaped Earth and want nothing to do with it. A crashed space vessel threatens to upend their established balance.
Ok
Memoriam - Priya Sridhar
A robotictist has created a replica of his deceased father and everyone is worried for him, scared of what he's done, or both.
Ok
The Observer Effect - E. C. Myers
After a school shooting in California, a disabled Chinese woman wants to know why her co-worker, who is a superhero, didn't do anything about it. Superheroes are common in this world, as are supervillians. Thus ensues a conversation about racism against Asians, the importance of representation, and what it truly means to be a superhero.
Ok
Decision - Joyce Chng
A young woman from a race of mythical spider people who eat humans decides it's time to leave the family nest.
Meh
Moon Halves - Anne Carly Abad
The forests of Barangay Mangangasu are filled with spirits. It's time for the hunting rite to determine a new chieftan.
Ok
The Bridge of Dangerous Longings - Rati Mehrotra
A young girl wants to wants to cross the bridge that no one has survived crossing since it was built. All is shrouded in mist, but the gruesome death that befalls crossers is in full view. Life isn't going so well for her though.
Ok
Old Souls - Fonda Lee
A woman who remembers all of her past lives, seven currently, meets an immortal woman who asks of her a favor.
Ok
The Orphans of Nilaveli - Naru Dames Sundar
Nearly seventy years have passed since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. Tamils remain discriminated against by the Sinhalese who literally aren't able to see them any longer due to their implants erasing them from sight. Even so, following a catastrophic earthquake two Tamil orphans are adopted by a Sinhalese family. Their lives take drastically different paths.
Ok
Spirit of Wine - Tony Pi
A spirit of Wine possess two sworn brothers and causes mischief. Ideogram-play follows.
Meh
The dataSultan of Streets and Stars - Jeremy Szal
A dataSultan (programmer) is hired to steal the newest djinn (AI). Naturally it doesn't go planned.
Meh
Weaving Silk - Amanda Sun
Two children in Tokyo struggle to survive following a catastrophic earthquake.
Meh
Vanilla Rice - Angela Yuriko Smith
A pregnant woman of asian descent in a western country has fully internalized white beauty standards and purchases a chip that will change the phenotype of her daughter so that she will not have to suffer the indignity of not being white.
Blah
Looking Up - S. B. Divya
A woman with a physical disability who has a traumatic past and is estranged from her family has been selected for a one-way mission to Mars. All that's left is telling everyone goodbye then going on her way.
Ok
A Star Is Born - Miki Dare
This is about the interment of Japanese-Canadians. It's about the racism and oppression that non-whites have endured in Canada, whose evils are similar to those of the United States, though overshadowed by the severity of the latter due to population size and factors. I'm not sure what to make of the narrative, mostly as to whether it is what it says it is or not.
Blah
My Left Hand - Ruhan Zhao
A scientist visits a palmreader who warns him of disaster, but what does l matter when there's science to do, and who believes that nonsense anyway, ha ha.
I didn't enjoy this as much as I otherwise would because I don't have sufficient Chinese cultural knowledge to turn what seem to be the implications into definite conclusions.
Meh
DNR - Gabriela Lee
A doctor living in the Philippine Protectorate on Mars spends most of her time on autopsies and extracting the final memories of the deceased from their visual cortex to present to the bereaved.
Ok
A Visitation for the Spirit Festival - Diana Xin
A mother who thought she'd never return to China does so to convince her daughter that her activism is too dangerous. The mother carries with her the ghosts of her past.
Meh
Rose's Arm - D. Jim
In racist steampunk Canada, a teenage girl's mother has died and her father is no longer able to provide due to anti-Japanese sentiment. A white doctor has offered to solve her problems, though his help would come at a great personal cost to her.
Meh
Back to Myan - Regina Kanyu Wang, translated by Shaoyan Hu
Kaya is a refugee saved by the Union. She returns to her desolate homeworld where her merfolk people once lived and discovers the truth, which dispels all the false narratives that were put upon her.
Meh
Meridian - Karin Lowachee
A four year old boy watches his family be killed by space pirates and his station be wrecked. He's picked up by scavengers, but they don't know how to raise such a traumatized child. The years pass by, but the memories don't fade.
Ok
Joseon Fringe - Pamela Q. Fernandes
A historical fantasy about how hangul and much else was developed by King Sejong and Jang Young Sil. It's also about hoping changing the past will fix the present.
Meh
Wintry Hearts of Those Who Rise - Minsoo Kang
The heir to a grand estate seeks an inheritance denied to him by father's second wife through legal maneuvering and deceit. His scholar friend decides to beat her at her own game.
Ok
Udātta Śloka? - Deepak Bharathan
A mythological origin story for a major Hindu deity.
Meh
Crash - Melissa Yuan-Innes
The colonists of the lunar colony escaped Earth and want nothing to do with it. A crashed space vessel threatens to upend their established balance.
Ok
Memoriam - Priya Sridhar
A robotictist has created a replica of his deceased father and everyone is worried for him, scared of what he's done, or both.
Ok
The Observer Effect - E. C. Myers
After a school shooting in California, a disabled Chinese woman wants to know why her co-worker, who is a superhero, didn't do anything about it. Superheroes are common in this world, as are supervillians. Thus ensues a conversation about racism against Asians, the importance of representation, and what it truly means to be a superhero.
Ok
Decision - Joyce Chng
A young woman from a race of mythical spider people who eat humans decides it's time to leave the family nest.
Meh
Moon Halves - Anne Carly Abad
The forests of Barangay Mangangasu are filled with spirits. It's time for the hunting rite to determine a new chieftan.
Ok
The Bridge of Dangerous Longings - Rati Mehrotra
A young girl wants to wants to cross the bridge that no one has survived crossing since it was built. All is shrouded in mist, but the gruesome death that befalls crossers is in full view. Life isn't going so well for her though.
Ok
Old Souls - Fonda Lee
A woman who remembers all of her past lives, seven currently, meets an immortal woman who asks of her a favor.
Ok
The Orphans of Nilaveli - Naru Dames Sundar
Nearly seventy years have passed since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. Tamils remain discriminated against by the Sinhalese who literally aren't able to see them any longer due to their implants erasing them from sight. Even so, following a catastrophic earthquake two Tamil orphans are adopted by a Sinhalese family. Their lives take drastically different paths.
Ok