Status
Available
Call number
Call number
FIC NIC
Collection
Description
"Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time is an anthology of science fiction and urban fantasy stories starring First Nations and Metis characters with a LGBT and two-spirit theme."--
Publication
Bedside Press (2016), 120 pages
Original publication date
2016-09-30
Original language
English
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member greeniezona
This was an uneven collection with which I have a few bones to pick, but it finished up strong enough that I'm quite glad that I read it.
Complaints first: I wish they'd titled this a speculative fiction anthology rather than a sci-fi anthology, as this collection contained much more urban fantasy
Once we get to the actual stories, like I said, some were weaker than others, and some I probably would have liked better had I not been waiting for the sci-fi elements to emerge. The first story that I really liked was "Né łe!" (not coincidentally, one of the two actual sci-fi stories in the collection), a charming story of a lesbian Apache veterinarian caring for a bunch of dogs whose stasis units failed on the way to Mars. Good characters and intriguing world-building. The other sci-fi story was "Imposter Syndrome," which I also enjoyed, despite remaining confused about some details. It is a fairly ambitious story examining "passing" through the lenses of gender identity, android/biosynthetic versus "natural" humans, and citizenship.
I don't want to get really into individually reviewing every story, so let's just say I did find something I liked in each of the stories, but my two favorites that weren't sci-fi were "Transitions" and "Valediction at the Star view Motel."
Complaints first: I wish they'd titled this a speculative fiction anthology rather than a sci-fi anthology, as this collection contained much more urban fantasy
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and only a few stories I'd actually call sci-fi. Plus, this tiny little book effectively had three introductions, only one of which was actually labelled as such. I wish the editor had been a little clearer communicating where the non-fiction left off and the fiction began.Once we get to the actual stories, like I said, some were weaker than others, and some I probably would have liked better had I not been waiting for the sci-fi elements to emerge. The first story that I really liked was "Né łe!" (not coincidentally, one of the two actual sci-fi stories in the collection), a charming story of a lesbian Apache veterinarian caring for a bunch of dogs whose stasis units failed on the way to Mars. Good characters and intriguing world-building. The other sci-fi story was "Imposter Syndrome," which I also enjoyed, despite remaining confused about some details. It is a fairly ambitious story examining "passing" through the lenses of gender identity, android/biosynthetic versus "natural" humans, and citizenship.
I don't want to get really into individually reviewing every story, so let's just say I did find something I liked in each of the stories, but my two favorites that weren't sci-fi were "Transitions" and "Valediction at the Star view Motel."
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LibraryThing member munchie13
I loved this collection. It was unlike anything I had ever read before. Also I am not used to reading queer or indigenous fiction is so positive which I really need sometimes.
LibraryThing member pwaites
If you can’t tell from the title, Love Beyond Body, Space and Time is a short story collection focused on LGBT and two-spirit science fiction and fantasy and written by all indigenous authors. I always have an eye out for queer SFF, and I also haven’t read much by Native American authors. I
The only author in the anthology I’d heard of before was Daniel Heath Justice, although this was my first chance to read his work. As I’d hoped, I enjoyed several short stories in this collection and will seek out more of those author’s work.
The collection had several introductions which took up a hefty chunk of the page count. In retrospect, I wish I’d skipped them and headed straight for the stories instead. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the first story, “Aliens” by Richard van Camp. The experimentation with POV didn’t work for me, and I don’t know how well it fit in with the theme of the collection. It also has some iffy treatment of intersex people as plot points.
“Legends are Made, Not Born” by Cherie Dimaline was an improvement over the first story, but I still felt like it was missing something. I think the core idea was interesting, but the story could have used more development. Perhaps expanding it some?
Daniel Heath Justice’s story, “The Boys Who Became the Hummingbirds,” was all right but not really what I was looking for – it was very much in the style of a myth. The writing however was lovely, and I still plan to read more by Justice.
My favorite story of the collection was “Né łe” by Darci Little Badger. This story was adorable! A vet travels to a new life on Mars, but she’s woken up partway through the journey to take care of some dogs whose sleep pods have malfunctioned. Basically, this story has a f/f romance and dogs in space. It’s no wonder I loved it so much.
My second favorite of the collection was probably “Impostor Syndrome” by Mari Kurisato, which tells the tale of a cyborg who wishes to be human. The story was excellently constructed and managed to combine classic tropes with a modern feel.
Other stories in the collection include “Transitions” by Gwen Benaway, “Perfectly You” by David A. Robertson, “Valediction at the Star View Motel” by Nathan Adler, and a poem, “Parallax” by Cleo Keahna. These stories were all perfectly decent but didn’t stand out much to me one way or the other.
While I think the beginning of the collection was weak, I’m glad that I ultimately stuck with Love Beyond Body, Space and Time.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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want to correct this flaw in my reading, and this anthology looked like it would introduce me to a number of relevant authors.The only author in the anthology I’d heard of before was Daniel Heath Justice, although this was my first chance to read his work. As I’d hoped, I enjoyed several short stories in this collection and will seek out more of those author’s work.
The collection had several introductions which took up a hefty chunk of the page count. In retrospect, I wish I’d skipped them and headed straight for the stories instead. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the first story, “Aliens” by Richard van Camp. The experimentation with POV didn’t work for me, and I don’t know how well it fit in with the theme of the collection. It also has some iffy treatment of intersex people as plot points.
“Legends are Made, Not Born” by Cherie Dimaline was an improvement over the first story, but I still felt like it was missing something. I think the core idea was interesting, but the story could have used more development. Perhaps expanding it some?
Daniel Heath Justice’s story, “The Boys Who Became the Hummingbirds,” was all right but not really what I was looking for – it was very much in the style of a myth. The writing however was lovely, and I still plan to read more by Justice.
My favorite story of the collection was “Né łe” by Darci Little Badger. This story was adorable! A vet travels to a new life on Mars, but she’s woken up partway through the journey to take care of some dogs whose sleep pods have malfunctioned. Basically, this story has a f/f romance and dogs in space. It’s no wonder I loved it so much.
My second favorite of the collection was probably “Impostor Syndrome” by Mari Kurisato, which tells the tale of a cyborg who wishes to be human. The story was excellently constructed and managed to combine classic tropes with a modern feel.
Other stories in the collection include “Transitions” by Gwen Benaway, “Perfectly You” by David A. Robertson, “Valediction at the Star View Motel” by Nathan Adler, and a poem, “Parallax” by Cleo Keahna. These stories were all perfectly decent but didn’t stand out much to me one way or the other.
While I think the beginning of the collection was weak, I’m glad that I ultimately stuck with Love Beyond Body, Space and Time.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member lydia1879
The LGBTIQA community is often described as a minority. And while this is true, a world population of 7.5 billion people means that we are not as small as we sometimes feel. In fact, the Intersex Society of North America estimates that 1 in 2000 babies are born intersex, so there is a higher
We are a clamouring of colour and a clamouring of voices. We are as diverse as we are numerous. And sometimes, in media, I get frustrated when a single queer character is represented. I know as many queer people as I do straight people and I meet more people every day.
… enter Love Beyond Body, Space and Time, the indigenous LGBTIQA anthology. I love queer anthologies because they have a multitude of queer stories that I experience every day.
I loved this collection. It feels authentic. These first nations writers (like Richard Van Camp, Darcie Little Badger, Gwen Benaway and Daniel Heath Justice) bring their characters to life with such care and gentleness. I felt safe reading this collection, because I knew that queerness would not be trivialised, undermined or sexualised.
My heart ached for Emma and Cassie to find each other. Benaway’s story, “Transitions” was visceral and sensual in that I felt it, saw it, touched it, smelled it, tasted it. Darcie Little Badger’s story was slow to build but ultimately satisfying, a quiet triumph amongst the stars.
There were so, so many beautiful and articulate voices, how can I describe them all to you? Reading this collection felt like looking up at the stars. An ocean of little lights, and I wanted to read them all.
The best part about this collection (apart from the idea that a young, LGTBIQA Two-Spirit person might read this and recognise themselves in a way they can feel to the marrow of their bones) is the fact that I now have an army of First Nations authors to recommend people.
There is a future for indigenous, two-spirit people and what a glittering beast it is.
Now, if someone could pluck a second volume from thin air, that would be perfect. ❤
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population of intersex people in the world than there are Jewish people. And that’s just for intersex people.We are a clamouring of colour and a clamouring of voices. We are as diverse as we are numerous. And sometimes, in media, I get frustrated when a single queer character is represented. I know as many queer people as I do straight people and I meet more people every day.
… enter Love Beyond Body, Space and Time, the indigenous LGBTIQA anthology. I love queer anthologies because they have a multitude of queer stories that I experience every day.
I loved this collection. It feels authentic. These first nations writers (like Richard Van Camp, Darcie Little Badger, Gwen Benaway and Daniel Heath Justice) bring their characters to life with such care and gentleness. I felt safe reading this collection, because I knew that queerness would not be trivialised, undermined or sexualised.
My heart ached for Emma and Cassie to find each other. Benaway’s story, “Transitions” was visceral and sensual in that I felt it, saw it, touched it, smelled it, tasted it. Darcie Little Badger’s story was slow to build but ultimately satisfying, a quiet triumph amongst the stars.
There were so, so many beautiful and articulate voices, how can I describe them all to you? Reading this collection felt like looking up at the stars. An ocean of little lights, and I wanted to read them all.
The best part about this collection (apart from the idea that a young, LGTBIQA Two-Spirit person might read this and recognise themselves in a way they can feel to the marrow of their bones) is the fact that I now have an army of First Nations authors to recommend people.
There is a future for indigenous, two-spirit people and what a glittering beast it is.
Now, if someone could pluck a second volume from thin air, that would be perfect. ❤
Show Less
ISBN
0993997075