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A review by crloken
A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers by Victor LaValle
3.0
The official description of this collection of short stories reads as follows:
What if America's founding ideals finally became reality? A future of peace, justice, and love comes to life in original speculative stories that challenge oppression and embrace inclusiveness--from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more.
I genuinely wonder if the person who wrote this read the book. That description makes it sound like this is a collection of stories dreaming of a better future. It isn't. This is a collection of dark predictions of a dystopic future America. There are some exceptions, some are hopeful and a couple of the stories are downright positive, but overall this isn't a dream of a better tomorrow. This is a cautionary tale of where the authors fear we are headed. And sometimes it isn't even that, but more of a lament of today. It often feels like a cry of pain in the form of science-fiction stories.
I have trouble rating short story collections because rarely are they all perfect or even all good, and this isn't an exception to that. Some of these really didn't work and some are really just too silly or too over-the-top or not over-the-top enough. But there were quite a few that I really liked. There were some that I will reread more than once and a couple that will stick in my mind for awhile. It also helps that two of my favourites were the first and last stories.
Finally, I feel a need to mention that I listened to the audible version of this and I was really impressed by the production values on display; some stories switched readers mid story to good effect, others had slight sound effects and music, and a few used voice modulation very effectively. The performers were also all very good.
What if America's founding ideals finally became reality? A future of peace, justice, and love comes to life in original speculative stories that challenge oppression and embrace inclusiveness--from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more.
I genuinely wonder if the person who wrote this read the book. That description makes it sound like this is a collection of stories dreaming of a better future. It isn't. This is a collection of dark predictions of a dystopic future America. There are some exceptions, some are hopeful and a couple of the stories are downright positive, but overall this isn't a dream of a better tomorrow. This is a cautionary tale of where the authors fear we are headed. And sometimes it isn't even that, but more of a lament of today. It often feels like a cry of pain in the form of science-fiction stories.
I have trouble rating short story collections because rarely are they all perfect or even all good, and this isn't an exception to that. Some of these really didn't work and some are really just too silly or too over-the-top or not over-the-top enough. But there were quite a few that I really liked. There were some that I will reread more than once and a couple that will stick in my mind for awhile. It also helps that two of my favourites were the first and last stories.
Finally, I feel a need to mention that I listened to the audible version of this and I was really impressed by the production values on display; some stories switched readers mid story to good effect, others had slight sound effects and music, and a few used voice modulation very effectively. The performers were also all very good.