REVIEW: Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures Edited by Francesco Verso
I did not realise that I was in for such a treat from the moment I cracked this one open. Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures is an anthology edited by Francesco Verso, and I was so intrigued from the very beginning. The anthology features borderless stories from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Italy, Spain, the UK and North America. It was refreshing to read from so many diverse voices, including that of Ken Liu, and perspectives focusing on countless ways to navigate the loss of identity, gentrification, and the environmental crises, to name a few. The anthology reminded me of how fiction can pave the way to revolutions and necessary change simply by telling stories.
Verso’s introduction to Solarpunk was inspiring and uplifting. As someone fairly new to the sub-genre, it was easy to understand its principles and history. Verso outlines when the sub-genre was born, where it was made popular and how it contrasts from both cyberpunk and steampunk. I can safely say now that I am convinced. Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures is a remarkable, much-needed anthology in the current state of the world that speaks of a future with renewable energy, de-urbanisation and biomimicry.
Out of the 14 short stories, two resonated with me the most: Ken Liu’s Byzantine Empathy and Renan Bernardo’s Anticipation of Hollowness. Originally published in 2018 and 2021 respectively, I’m thrilled to see them brought together in this anthology!
Byzantine Empathy follows two former college roommates: Tang Jianwen, a jaded programmer who created ‘Empathium’ – a cryptocurrency that drives a new social blockchain, and Sophia Ellis, the Executive Director of an NGO ‘Refugees Without Borders’ – the world’s biggest refugee aid organisation.
The cryptocurrency Emphatium is based on the emphatic reactions of users and thereby determines which humanitarian projects to prioritise. Beneath the technical jargon, the story is a philosophical conversation about the rightful distribution of humanitarian aid. What I enjoyed most about this story was the sheer imaginative reality of it. Liu pits East against West personified by the two main characters, Jianwen and Sophia. Something that I would change about this story is the thick blocks of dialogue at the end, which almost feel a little teaching and felt jarring from the narrative.
The second story that stood out to me, Anticipation of Hollowness, would probably resonate a lot with fans of Ted Chiang’s The Lifecycle of Software Objects – in which they both engage deeply with themes of artificial intelligence and human-AI relationships. Set in the distant future, Anticipation of Hollowness takes place in a seemingly utopian, sustainable city that is heavily gentrified, rendering it inaccessible to lower and middle-class residents. The story follows Janet and her obsolete android companion, Lyria, as they grapple with loss and challenge the deep-seated inequalities lurking beneath the city’s polished facade. Like Chiang’s The Lifecycle of Software Objects, this story is an emotional and thought-provoking one, guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.
Solarpunk Short Stories from Many Futures outlines the genre seamlessly, and the diverse voices within its pages present provocative worlds, stories and characters ready to fight the world.
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