Worlds Seen in Passing – Irene Gallo

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I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read this anthology, as I frequently feeling lazy towards short stories: most of the time I have to make an effort to begin a new story and, for a very short one, I may be frustrated by its shortness if I liked it or disgruntled to have spent some time and efforts for nothing if I didn’t. This was the very occasion to make acquaintance with some unknown authors, to read more of others I like, or to try again with some I didn’t appreciated in the past.

It’s  very difficult to put a note down for so many stories. I chose arbitrarily 4 out of 5 (even if my own would average around 3) because with so many various stories any reader is sure to have some very good surprises in the whole. I did!

I’ve written some very brief reviews for each story to explain why I did like it, or didn’t, or didn’t and even ďidnt finish it. Here they are:

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« Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders: DNF 1*/5

To be honest this kind of theme doesn’t interest me much and I rarely appreciate its use as a story plot (as an exception the glorious « Spoon Benders » by  Daryl Gregory, in which it’s absolutely not the only theme). I wouldn’t have read this novella spontaneously, to be sure. But I was all for trying! Well it’s was confusing, not convincing (the characters were so nearly normal, so implausible!) and, the worse, boring. I didn’t care for the characters and wasn’t intrigued by the end, so I stopped reading.

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“Damage” by David D. Levine: 4*/5

I liked very much this story, loved the duality between what the main character knew and what it was feeling, forced by its programming. The tone is sad, melancholic and suits this heart-rending story.

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“The Best We Can” by Carrie Vaughn: 3*/5

I liked the main idea: making a story about finding the proof of extra terrestrial intelligence in a way that couldn’t make any story. The wear and tear of the situation for the main character was thoroughly and cleverly exposed. But the end was quite disappointing. I was ready for something less pseudo educational…

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“The City Born Great” by N. K. Jemisin DNF 2*/5

Well written with a strong voice but not to my liking! I was swimming in incoherent esoteric oneiric flights of fancy and was lost before to the end of the story and, consequently, stop to read. I absolutely don’t mind this kind of tale when I can find a coherent reason for it (as for instance the wonderful « Challenger deep » by  Neal Shusterman) but there it seems gratuitous, and I wasn’t touched by the…urban fantasy fairytale? and decided the novella a lost cause for me.

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“A Vector Alphabetof Interstellar Travel” by Yoon Ha Lee DNF 1*/5

I’ve read one book by the author (« Ninefox gambit ») . I rather appreciated it, even if it was very foggy (strange fantasish science, action which seemed to be happening… nowhere), because the characters were great and the story was interesting. In this novella there are no characters and no story either. It’s just a list, author’s notes, ideas… I tried to read through but finally gave up: unintelligible for the reader I am.

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“Waiting on a Bright Moon” by JY Yang 2,5 */5

I liked the writing and the atmosphere, I read this novella easily. I appreciated less the fantasy-science (magic, not science), the end, which doesn’t end anything, and the impression (maybe false but here I am) that the author used their story to make a point about feminine homosexuality. I’m all in favour of diversity in matters of love, it should be naturally broached in all stories. But in this short story this theme is central and, if beautifully expressed, over developed. The romance wasn’t very convincing, it seemed more like two people searching and finding comprehension and affection. Sweet but not dreamy!

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“Elephants and Corpses” by Kameron Hurley 5*/5

I loved everything about this story: the writing, immersive and smart, the characters who managed to be so touching in such a short time, the main idea and how it was developed, the humour, the humanity, the beautiful conclusion. I hadn’t read anything by the author, but realised that her book « The stars are legion » is in my possession, waiting to be read! It’ll be soon