Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History
This book is in a Controlled Release!
3 journalers for this copy...
When I heard that this collection was being published, I jumped at the chance to back the Kickstarter. I had really enjoyed Long Hidden and was excited to read a bunch of diverse fic by authors I know and discover some new ones.
I wasn't as fond of this collection as the previous one. Most of the stories were solid, but didn't grip me, which made the book a slower read than I had anticipated. Most of the pieces had great characters, but a lot also had shaky pacing, which is hard to ignore in a short story. The target audience also felt a bit fuzzy, with some seeming more YA and others aimed at adult readers. Reading the author bios, there are a number of first-time or minimally-published authors, which I think is really great. I hope to encounter more of some of their works in the future.
My favorite stories were:
"The Promised Land" by J.S. Hawthorne, which plays with traditional myths and magic which giving a memorable pair of characters.
"How I Saved Athens from the Stone Monsters" by Erik Jensen had me laughing, but is also a fast-paced adventure tale.
"Genius Jones and the Rolling Rifle" by Michael Ezell did a great job of twisting history just enough to subtly steampunk this 'verse, while letting the reader's knowledge of the time period help fill in the details.
"North" by Imani Josey is a slightly unsettling tale with a slowly revealed backstory.
"In His Own Image" by E.C. Myers was one of the stories I found the most emotionally involving, and it has a interesting setting.
I wasn't as fond of this collection as the previous one. Most of the stories were solid, but didn't grip me, which made the book a slower read than I had anticipated. Most of the pieces had great characters, but a lot also had shaky pacing, which is hard to ignore in a short story. The target audience also felt a bit fuzzy, with some seeming more YA and others aimed at adult readers. Reading the author bios, there are a number of first-time or minimally-published authors, which I think is really great. I hope to encounter more of some of their works in the future.
My favorite stories were:
"The Promised Land" by J.S. Hawthorne, which plays with traditional myths and magic which giving a memorable pair of characters.
"How I Saved Athens from the Stone Monsters" by Erik Jensen had me laughing, but is also a fast-paced adventure tale.
"Genius Jones and the Rolling Rifle" by Michael Ezell did a great job of twisting history just enough to subtly steampunk this 'verse, while letting the reader's knowledge of the time period help fill in the details.
"North" by Imani Josey is a slightly unsettling tale with a slowly revealed backstory.
"In His Own Image" by E.C. Myers was one of the stories I found the most emotionally involving, and it has a interesting setting.
Sent out as part of a book swap. Tracking number is 9114 9999 4431 4715 9752 09
The package arrived safely today; many thanks! This one looks like an entertaining collection.
Later: I enjoyed the mix of settings here, and the varying ethnicities and gender-identities of the characters. My favorite stories included:
"A Name to Ashes", set in 1874 Cuba and dealing with the fates of Chinese immigrants there.
"The Bread-Thing in the Basket", set in 1750 Poland, and dealing with a dough-based golem that has some vaguely Lovecraftian elements. There's a wry tone to this one that I liked.
"How I Saved Athens from the Stone Monsters", set in Athens in 415 BC, pits a pair of courtesans against some animated phallic statues.
"In His Own Image," from 1907 Korea, is about a young blind boy who's a skilled artificer, rummaging through metal-collection bins for the materials he needs. I liked the clockpunk vibe in this one.
"The Mouser of Peter the Great", set in 1704 Muscovy, has some rather creepy fun with familiar fairy-tale elements.
Later: I enjoyed the mix of settings here, and the varying ethnicities and gender-identities of the characters. My favorite stories included:
"A Name to Ashes", set in 1874 Cuba and dealing with the fates of Chinese immigrants there.
"The Bread-Thing in the Basket", set in 1750 Poland, and dealing with a dough-based golem that has some vaguely Lovecraftian elements. There's a wry tone to this one that I liked.
"How I Saved Athens from the Stone Monsters", set in Athens in 415 BC, pits a pair of courtesans against some animated phallic statues.
"In His Own Image," from 1907 Korea, is about a young blind boy who's a skilled artificer, rummaging through metal-collection bins for the materials he needs. I liked the clockpunk vibe in this one.
"The Mouser of Peter the Great", set in 1704 Muscovy, has some rather creepy fun with familiar fairy-tale elements.
I'm putting this into the Otherworldly bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Enjoy!
*** Released for the 2017 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2017 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***
Took out of the Otherworldly box.
I read this over the past few days and enjoyed a handful of the stories(I tend to skip around anthologies). I liked “Throwaway Children” (kind of reminded me of “Rodzina”), “Not a Witch” and “The Girl, The Devil and the Coal Mine.”
Mailed in the To the Stars sci-fi box
