A review by josb
Distant Gardens: Ten Stories of Exploration, Biodiversity, and Found Family by J.S. Fields, Heather Tracy
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
This one was a bit of a miss for me. Many of these stories took me over an hour to read and felt like the pacing was a little off. There were a number of stories that were from a previously established world by that author, I found that it was hard to connect with these the most. Individual star counts are below beside the title names.
Radiant - N.L Bates ****
Superhero story with a "super" that works in waste management tasked to remove some hazardous waste in the ocean. Interesting take and kept my attention.
Jellyfish Lovepotion - J.S. Fields ****
Carpenter gets a spot on the next ship leaving for a hospitable planet but the morning of the flight strange occurrences take place that threaten to delay the departure. The story is a little cliche but had a range of emotions and a bittersweet classic sci fi feel.
Thorns and Fur - William C. Tracy **
Two factions, one resembling bears and one resembling humans, fight over control of an uninhabited island. A warrior and scientist, on opposite sides fight, a growing attraction with one another. Just a little too weird for me. The one character was described with bear features, such as paws, but then also referred to as having fingers. There was also a scene where the characters were drugged to the point of not fully remembering they had sex before. Not my cup of tea.
Dew Diligence - Robin C.M Duncan **
Woman who recently suffered a breakup is transported to a fae realm where her grandmothers jam is stolen. Fearful of the effects of the jam on the fairyland inhabitants she teams up with another fairy to collect the sweet concoction. It felt like the story could have been refined a bit more. There were so many scene transitions that basically ended with "go here to continue your journey". I would have liked to see those cut down a bit and instead focus on the chemistry brewing between the two main characters. As it was signals seemed mixed the attraction seemed rushed, and the physical affection moved way too fast for me.
Killer Trees and Second Chances - Sara Codair ***
A demon hunter must team up with her ex to find her cousin, the source of her power, while navigating a cannibalistic forest. The second chance romance was a bit weak but there was a bunch of action that made the story move fairly quickly. It was part of a previous series so getting used to the history of the established world was a bit slow.
How to Steal a Planet - N.L Bates **
Captain steers her crew to a planet that supports life. This one had an odd issue with pacing. The story started off way too far back before they find the planet. The tension is resolved very quickly at the end that it just did not feel satisfying.
Brie and the Marsh Kraken - Sara Codair ***
Woman teams up with a cryptid to stop an evil corporation from conducting experiments in the marshland in their hometown. This was the spiciest story in the whole collection and features tentacles in the steamy parts. The story overall was fine however there was an issue with some of the pacing. The car chase scene did not seem to add to the excitement at the end and could have been summarized for the same amount of effectiveness.
Down Among the Mushrooms - William C. Tracy **
Construction worker is behind on building an expansion for their colony and teams up with another scientist to solve the problem. The pacing felt off on this one, there was lots of description of this colony and how it worked and then the end just kind of happened. Felt like I was reading an allegory to boomers in society and how society no longer needs them.
The Bibliothek Betrayal - Robin C.M. Duncan *
A professor continues the mission started by her lover in hopes they might reunite. There was too much happening here. When were were not following the professor's perspective we were following a person named Quirk hired to help complete the mission. I had no interest in the Quirk perspective and the "twist" for the professor perspective was too convoluted. The story itself was not terrible after I got the whole picture, but it could have benefited from a little less is more.
Rings - J.S. Fields ***
A glimpse of what happens 3 years after the Tales from Ardulum's Final Chapter. This was more of a catchup story that I probably would have appreciated if I was aware of the series. As a standalone it was a bit heavy on the lore that I had no prior reference for. The story was simple and sweet.
Radiant - N.L Bates ****
Superhero story with a "super" that works in waste management tasked to remove some hazardous waste in the ocean. Interesting take and kept my attention.
Jellyfish Lovepotion - J.S. Fields ****
Carpenter gets a spot on the next ship leaving for a hospitable planet but the morning of the flight strange occurrences take place that threaten to delay the departure. The story is a little cliche but had a range of emotions and a bittersweet classic sci fi feel.
Thorns and Fur - William C. Tracy **
Two factions, one resembling bears and one resembling humans, fight over control of an uninhabited island. A warrior and scientist, on opposite sides fight, a growing attraction with one another. Just a little too weird for me. The one character was described with bear features, such as paws, but then also referred to as having fingers. There was also a scene where the characters were drugged to the point of not fully remembering they had sex before. Not my cup of tea.
Dew Diligence - Robin C.M Duncan **
Woman who recently suffered a breakup is transported to a fae realm where her grandmothers jam is stolen. Fearful of the effects of the jam on the fairyland inhabitants she teams up with another fairy to collect the sweet concoction. It felt like the story could have been refined a bit more. There were so many scene transitions that basically ended with "go here to continue your journey". I would have liked to see those cut down a bit and instead focus on the chemistry brewing between the two main characters. As it was signals seemed mixed the attraction seemed rushed, and the physical affection moved way too fast for me.
Killer Trees and Second Chances - Sara Codair ***
A demon hunter must team up with her ex to find her cousin, the source of her power, while navigating a cannibalistic forest. The second chance romance was a bit weak but there was a bunch of action that made the story move fairly quickly. It was part of a previous series so getting used to the history of the established world was a bit slow.
How to Steal a Planet - N.L Bates **
Captain steers her crew to a planet that supports life. This one had an odd issue with pacing. The story started off way too far back before they find the planet. The tension is resolved very quickly at the end that it just did not feel satisfying.
Brie and the Marsh Kraken - Sara Codair ***
Woman teams up with a cryptid to stop an evil corporation from conducting experiments in the marshland in their hometown. This was the spiciest story in the whole collection and features tentacles in the steamy parts. The story overall was fine however there was an issue with some of the pacing. The car chase scene did not seem to add to the excitement at the end and could have been summarized for the same amount of effectiveness.
Down Among the Mushrooms - William C. Tracy **
Construction worker is behind on building an expansion for their colony and teams up with another scientist to solve the problem. The pacing felt off on this one, there was lots of description of this colony and how it worked and then the end just kind of happened. Felt like I was reading an allegory to boomers in society and how society no longer needs them.
The Bibliothek Betrayal - Robin C.M. Duncan *
A professor continues the mission started by her lover in hopes they might reunite. There was too much happening here. When were were not following the professor's perspective we were following a person named Quirk hired to help complete the mission. I had no interest in the Quirk perspective and the "twist" for the professor perspective was too convoluted. The story itself was not terrible after I got the whole picture, but it could have benefited from a little less is more.
Rings - J.S. Fields ***
A glimpse of what happens 3 years after the Tales from Ardulum's Final Chapter. This was more of a catchup story that I probably would have appreciated if I was aware of the series. As a standalone it was a bit heavy on the lore that I had no prior reference for. The story was simple and sweet.