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N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.… (more)
User reviews
The ability to take a way out there idea, spin a tiny little tale around it, and surprise you with the ending is genius.
No need to fill in
I can't wait to read more of her work.
I must give a shout out to my daughter: this was a father's day present. Quite wonderful.
I really enjoyed this collection, the variety in the stories, the inventiveness of the
I recommend these stories if you like to be surprised and made to think.
A quibble: the book title, rather than the title of each story, heads every page, leaving the reader with no method of tracking each individual story by name or by length. I hope this does not become a trend.
Quotes: "The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by those concealing ill intent, of insisting that people already suffering should be afflicted with further, unnecessary pain."
"Blue sky hard as a cop's eyes."
Standouts for me were the fun steampunk adventure "The Effluent Engine", the creepy and satisfying "The Brides of Heaven" and "The Evaluators", and the viscerally disturbing but moving "Walking Awake".
My
Gosh
10/10
This collection of short stories will blow the skull off your brain. Amazing, vivid descriptions, and beautiful stories.
A must-read.
"The City Born Great" was a powerful story with a great main character, and the premise of the young street kid giving birth to the soul of New York was wonderful. There were also some laugh-out-loud moments for me in this story as it really came alive for me. "Red Dirt Witch" was another story that had a very powerful message, and I loved all of the detail in the story, along with the struggle depicted, not only between Black and white, but between new and old. "L'Alchimista" and "Cuisine de M moires" were both fun reads as both dealt with food but in very different ways, and both had great character development and character struggles which really allowed me to connect with them.
I recommend this collection for anybody interested in many different sci-fi stories, styles, and themes, all from one of the best contemporary sci-fi authors.
Some are clearly trying out ideas: you see a couple of her books getting their start here. And others are simply gems, fully realized and moving. I was in tears (a not
That
My author-crush on Jemisin is blooming into full-fledged love.
STORY BY STORY
The Ones Who Stay and Fight
5 stars
A powerful science fiction tale written in response to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas that examines the truth of utopia.
The City Born Great
5 stars
A thrilling paranormal horror story with a Lovecraftian feel and a chase scene that left me both holding my breath and winded at the end.
Red Dirt Witch
5 stars
A witch faces down a fairy in a battle for her people in this historical paranormal tale.
L'Alchimista
5 stars
A charming tale of modern cookery and ancient witchcraft.
The Effluent Engine
4 stars
A woman from Haiti finds more than she is expecting in slavery-era New Orleans in this alternate history short.
Cloud Dragon Skies
5 stars
A vision of a far distant post-apocalyptic future revealing the relationship between those of us who fled and those who remained.
The Trojan Girl
5 stars
A science fiction tale focusing on the social lives and desires of A.I. born in the Internet.
Valedictorian
4 stars
In a dystopian post-war society, a girl flaunts social expectations in the face of dreadful consequences.
The Storyteller's Replacement
4.5 stars
A dark fantasy reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights that leaves one faintly disturbed yet intrigued.
The Brides of Heaven
5 stars
A chilling science-fiction short where interplanetary colonists face hopeless odds including the madness of one of their own.
The Evaluators
5 stars
A first contact story that reveals a startling societal arrangement which could change humanity forever.
Walking Awake
5 stars
A dystopian short with themes of collaboration through ignorance, the self-destructive nature of humankind, and the pain of awakening.
The Elevator Dancer
5 stars
A dark and dystopian short about temptation, oppression, and perception of reality.
Cuisine des Mémoires
4 stars
A melancholy short fantasy centered around food and memories. It may leave you hungry as well as wondering about your choices in life.
Stone Hunger
4.5 stars
This is the story that eventually became the Broken Earth series. The story itself has a complete arc, yet it feels somehow incomplete. I suppose the author felt much the same. Perhaps it’s less that it’s incomplete and more that it leaves one eager to know more about this universe of magic, destruction, and, above all, hunger.
On the Banks of the River Lex
5 stars
In which the question is asked—what happens to our gods and incarcerations once humankind has finally self-destructed.
The Narcomancer
4.5 stars
One man struggles to find the path of righteousness when faced with a temptation that is both a sacred obligation and a violation of faith.
Henosis
5 stars
A dark examination of what it truly means to honor an artist. Written in an unusual sequence which may be read in two ways, which I highly recommend doing.
Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows
5 stars
In a fragmented universe, with the survivors existing in isolated quantum islands, what makes the difference between survival and extinction?
The You Train
4 stars
A haunting tale of one woman’s journey of self-discovery in the subways of New York.
Non-Zero Probabilities
4 stars
When probability spirals out of control making both the best and worst kind of luck an everyday occurrence, a young woman finds her life entirely changed.
Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters
5 stars
A man finds he has to battle more than he expected as he fights for survival after the levee breaks in New Orleans.