A review by nebulots
After, by Jane Yolen, Garth Nix, Cecil Castellucci, Ellen Datlow, Matthew Kressel, Katherine Langrish, Sarah Rees Brennan, Steven Gould, N.K. Jemisin, Carolyn Dunn, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Beth Revis, Gregory Maguire, Genevieve Valentine, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Carrie Ryan, Nalo Hopkinson, Richard Bowes, Carol Emshwiller, Terri Windling, Jeffrey Ford
4.0
I don't normally read anthologies for a few different reasons. It's always such an eclectic mix of good, bad, meh and confusion. I always end up skipping parts. I never know how to rate and review these things properly. But this is a DYSTOPIAN(!!) anthology and it came highly recommended to me from a friend who lent it to me (thanks, Liz). So I read it. And I enjoyed it. Mostly.
My favorite stories in this book were The Segment by Genevieve Valentine (corporate created news media), Rust With Wings (metal eating bugs) by Steven Gould and Faint Heart (warrior Queen Roz) by Sarah Rees Brennan. These three stories made me wish they were full books and not just short stories, especially Faint Heart. I feel like Faint Heart ended, while giving closure to the short story, is just getting started in Faint Heart: THE BOOK.
There were three stories that I skipped entirely because they didn't interest me or I didn't like how they were written. I won't call out which stories I didn't like but if you feel the same way about them that I did, you will skip them, too.
Lastly I would like to mention the single poem, Gray by Jane Yolen, that was included in this anthology. I don't like poems but more than that, it certainly didn't feel like it belonged in this book. I read it, thought I missed something so I read it again. I didn't miss anything, it was just sort of pointless in comparison to the rest of the book. It should have been included in a book of poetry instead.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in dyslit, but don't expect to like everything this book has to offer.
My favorite stories in this book were The Segment by Genevieve Valentine (corporate created news media), Rust With Wings (metal eating bugs) by Steven Gould and Faint Heart (warrior Queen Roz) by Sarah Rees Brennan. These three stories made me wish they were full books and not just short stories, especially Faint Heart. I feel like Faint Heart ended, while giving closure to the short story, is just getting started in Faint Heart: THE BOOK.
There were three stories that I skipped entirely because they didn't interest me or I didn't like how they were written. I won't call out which stories I didn't like but if you feel the same way about them that I did, you will skip them, too.
Lastly I would like to mention the single poem, Gray by Jane Yolen, that was included in this anthology. I don't like poems but more than that, it certainly didn't feel like it belonged in this book. I read it, thought I missed something so I read it again. I didn't miss anything, it was just sort of pointless in comparison to the rest of the book. It should have been included in a book of poetry instead.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in dyslit, but don't expect to like everything this book has to offer.