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Power to Yield and Other Stories
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Power to Yield is a collection of speculative tales exploring gender identity, neurodivergence, and religion from author Bogi Takács, who deftly blends sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction.
An AI child discovers Jewish mysticism. A student can give no more blood to their semi-sentient apartment and plans their escape. A candidate is rigorously evaluated for their ability to be a liaison to alien newcomers. A young magician gains perspective from her time as a plant. A neurodivergent woman tries to survive on a planetoid where thoughts shape reality . . .
These are stories about the depth and breadth of the human condition—and beyond—identifying future possibilities of conflict and cooperation, identity and community.
PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR
“A seamless juxtaposition of intricate truths and bold fictions, these stories mesmerize.” (Nicky Drayden, author of Escaping Exodus and The Prey of Gods)
“It’s rare to find an author that truly deepens the speculative genre and human experience simultaneously but Takács is clearly one of them. E deftly unravels our preconceived notions of the self, society, culture, desire, power and the other and re-braids them in new insightful ways in each story. As you move through each richly-crafted story, you are challenged and transformed whether you realize it or not. This intimate yet expansive collection is not one to miss.” (Sloane Leong, author of Prism Stalker, Graveneye, and A Map to the Sun)
“Bogi Takács’s stories never fail to awe with their breadth and depth of thought, precise prose, and fascinating characters. In Power to Yield and Other Stories, Takács reveals emself to be a masterful gardener, cultivating these tales of science and magic, of immigrants and exiles, of deep loss and abiding hope. Whether you’re new to eir work or know it well, this collection will welcome you, for it is expertly tended and blooming with glorious sights, its roots stretching across cultures, bodies, worlds, and ages.” (Izzy Wasserstein, author of All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From)
“[“Power to Yield”] is a fascinating take on aspects of power, history, personal obsession, and sadism, the latter all taking place within an asexual framework that removes those questions from their normal sexual-overtone-laden context.” (Karen Burnham, Locus Magazine)
“[“Power to Yield”] is laced with pain and with the fractured lines of a people stitched together from trauma and systemic abuse, who come together out of necessity and the need for freedom to make something powerful and beautiful. [...] And it’s a lovely, rending read that I definitely recommend people check out immediately!” (Charles Payseur, Quick Sip Reviews)
Power to Yield is a collection of speculative tales exploring gender identity, neurodivergence, and religion from author Bogi Takács, who deftly blends sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction.
An AI child discovers Jewish mysticism. A student can give no more blood to their semi-sentient apartment and plans their escape. A candidate is rigorously evaluated for their ability to be a liaison to alien newcomers. A young magician gains perspective from her time as a plant. A neurodivergent woman tries to survive on a planetoid where thoughts shape reality . . .
These are stories about the depth and breadth of the human condition—and beyond—identifying future possibilities of conflict and cooperation, identity and community.
PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR
“A seamless juxtaposition of intricate truths and bold fictions, these stories mesmerize.” (Nicky Drayden, author of Escaping Exodus and The Prey of Gods)
“It’s rare to find an author that truly deepens the speculative genre and human experience simultaneously but Takács is clearly one of them. E deftly unravels our preconceived notions of the self, society, culture, desire, power and the other and re-braids them in new insightful ways in each story. As you move through each richly-crafted story, you are challenged and transformed whether you realize it or not. This intimate yet expansive collection is not one to miss.” (Sloane Leong, author of Prism Stalker, Graveneye, and A Map to the Sun)
“Bogi Takács’s stories never fail to awe with their breadth and depth of thought, precise prose, and fascinating characters. In Power to Yield and Other Stories, Takács reveals emself to be a masterful gardener, cultivating these tales of science and magic, of immigrants and exiles, of deep loss and abiding hope. Whether you’re new to eir work or know it well, this collection will welcome you, for it is expertly tended and blooming with glorious sights, its roots stretching across cultures, bodies, worlds, and ages.” (Izzy Wasserstein, author of All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From)
“[“Power to Yield”] is a fascinating take on aspects of power, history, personal obsession, and sadism, the latter all taking place within an asexual framework that removes those questions from their normal sexual-overtone-laden context.” (Karen Burnham, Locus Magazine)
“[“Power to Yield”] is laced with pain and with the fractured lines of a people stitched together from trauma and systemic abuse, who come together out of necessity and the need for freedom to make something powerful and beautiful. [...] And it’s a lovely, rending read that I definitely recommend people check out immediately!” (Charles Payseur, Quick Sip Reviews)
203 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2024
3 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
About the author
Bogi Takács
64 books661 followersBogi Takács is a Hungarian Jewish author who writes short-form speculative fiction, poetry, nonfiction and weird unclassifiables. Eir work has been published in a variety of venues like Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Apex, Lightspeed and more.
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October 10, 2023My new short story collection, coming on Nov 7 2023 in both paperback and hardcover! Let me know if you'd like a review copy. :)
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Source of the book: I wrote it
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Source of the book: I wrote it
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January 11, 2024 🌟10 speculative fictions I read and loved in 2023🌟
Since the moment I opened “Power to Yield and Other Stories” by Bogi Takács, I would wait, each day, for evening to come so I could read another one of the stories. This didn’t happen to me in a while with short story collections, so what was the reason I was so pulled towards it? Probably the unique combination of speculative fiction from a particularly queer, neurodivergent, Jewish point-of-view, which added multiple layers to each and every story. We’ve got an AI with a soul who reads the Torah; a mother-turned-plant as her non-binary child is dealing with their bar mitzvah; a queer mage couple separated by a war; riots started from mysterious reasons; living vampire-like houses and their tenants; an intergalactic interspecies Pride parade in Győr (in Hungary!) and a planet that asks too much of some of its residents – just to name a few!
“Plantiness” is one of the first states I observed as particular to this collection, the recurrent theme of plant-being finding itself in at least three stories. One of them is “Folded into Tendril and Leaf”, which I loved. It tells the story of queer love between two mages, of whom one becomes a water caltrop for much too long: “I gradually eased into the days and into my new existence. The pain not so acute, the pain in the soul. The lesson being learned deep in the body.” I can’t help but think of Natasha Myer’s work on the Planthroposcene and her concept of “becoming sensor”, “vegetalizing” and plant-feeling, which I encountered working on this video-essay on plants. Plant-time and plant-feeling are touched upon, again, in the stories “And I Entreated” (which delves into family dynamics with a Jewish non-binary child) and the very short, poetic and fantastical “The Third Extension”.
Another main theme is difference and identity of multiple kinds – in culture, sex, gender, class, language, body/mind. Neurodivergence as we know it is a close cousin to what is fittingly termed “cognotype distribution” in a universe of multiple species. This attention to the different ways the mind might work pops up a lot, as does the experience of being Jewish and/or queer and being perceived as such by others (who might look upon with recognition or judgment, as is the case in “On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young”).
In “Volatile Patterns” we have a clash of cultures – a couple who are called māwalēni in their own language and “wizards” otherwise, investigate the causes of a mysterious riot. It turns out to be both a disturbing and fascinating case of cultural appropriation. The difficulties of intercultural communication are further explored in “The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade”, where after multiple alien(s) invasions, a call for peace and discussion is made, brought forth by a disabled character and an extraterrestrial sphere – in the fields of future Hungary! I loved reading such a story set in Eastern Europe, and only wish that “interspecies solidarity” would include non-human animals as well.
One of the most interesting stories, to me, was “A Technical Term, Like Privilege”, which intersects class, species, status and gender in such an interesting manner that it would prove a striking discussion start for a study group. Within this story-world, house-beasts feed on the blood of their tenants – until one of them rebels, not wishing to give up all of his life-energy just to have a roof above his head. What a metaphor, right? Staring into your face is a scream against the housing crisis, but a beastly sort of scream, with the house and the tenant in unison against the profit-makers.
The collection ends with short content notices as some difficult themes are touched upon and bonus notes about the author’s inspiration for each story – which I always like reading, ever since I first found them in one of Ted Chiang’s books. I was very excited to be able to read “Power to Yield and Other Stories” before its publication as I was sent a digital copy from the author for an honest review, which is a small price to pay for such a queer wonder of a book!
You’ll like this if: You love short speculative fiction written with attention to difference, identity and power, and are totally into reading what’s written from a queer neurodivergent Jewish perspective. Also if you wonder what it would be like to be a plant. And you hate paying rent.
Since the moment I opened “Power to Yield and Other Stories” by Bogi Takács, I would wait, each day, for evening to come so I could read another one of the stories. This didn’t happen to me in a while with short story collections, so what was the reason I was so pulled towards it? Probably the unique combination of speculative fiction from a particularly queer, neurodivergent, Jewish point-of-view, which added multiple layers to each and every story. We’ve got an AI with a soul who reads the Torah; a mother-turned-plant as her non-binary child is dealing with their bar mitzvah; a queer mage couple separated by a war; riots started from mysterious reasons; living vampire-like houses and their tenants; an intergalactic interspecies Pride parade in Győr (in Hungary!) and a planet that asks too much of some of its residents – just to name a few!
“Plantiness” is one of the first states I observed as particular to this collection, the recurrent theme of plant-being finding itself in at least three stories. One of them is “Folded into Tendril and Leaf”, which I loved. It tells the story of queer love between two mages, of whom one becomes a water caltrop for much too long: “I gradually eased into the days and into my new existence. The pain not so acute, the pain in the soul. The lesson being learned deep in the body.” I can’t help but think of Natasha Myer’s work on the Planthroposcene and her concept of “becoming sensor”, “vegetalizing” and plant-feeling, which I encountered working on this video-essay on plants. Plant-time and plant-feeling are touched upon, again, in the stories “And I Entreated” (which delves into family dynamics with a Jewish non-binary child) and the very short, poetic and fantastical “The Third Extension”.
Another main theme is difference and identity of multiple kinds – in culture, sex, gender, class, language, body/mind. Neurodivergence as we know it is a close cousin to what is fittingly termed “cognotype distribution” in a universe of multiple species. This attention to the different ways the mind might work pops up a lot, as does the experience of being Jewish and/or queer and being perceived as such by others (who might look upon with recognition or judgment, as is the case in “On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young”).
In “Volatile Patterns” we have a clash of cultures – a couple who are called māwalēni in their own language and “wizards” otherwise, investigate the causes of a mysterious riot. It turns out to be both a disturbing and fascinating case of cultural appropriation. The difficulties of intercultural communication are further explored in “The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade”, where after multiple alien(s) invasions, a call for peace and discussion is made, brought forth by a disabled character and an extraterrestrial sphere – in the fields of future Hungary! I loved reading such a story set in Eastern Europe, and only wish that “interspecies solidarity” would include non-human animals as well.
One of the most interesting stories, to me, was “A Technical Term, Like Privilege”, which intersects class, species, status and gender in such an interesting manner that it would prove a striking discussion start for a study group. Within this story-world, house-beasts feed on the blood of their tenants – until one of them rebels, not wishing to give up all of his life-energy just to have a roof above his head. What a metaphor, right? Staring into your face is a scream against the housing crisis, but a beastly sort of scream, with the house and the tenant in unison against the profit-makers.
The collection ends with short content notices as some difficult themes are touched upon and bonus notes about the author’s inspiration for each story – which I always like reading, ever since I first found them in one of Ted Chiang’s books. I was very excited to be able to read “Power to Yield and Other Stories” before its publication as I was sent a digital copy from the author for an honest review, which is a small price to pay for such a queer wonder of a book!
You’ll like this if: You love short speculative fiction written with attention to difference, identity and power, and are totally into reading what’s written from a queer neurodivergent Jewish perspective. Also if you wonder what it would be like to be a plant. And you hate paying rent.
February 20, 2024
4.5 rounded up, because I think the stories in this collection will stick with me. I've been a fan of Takács's writing for a while, and had previously read both "Four Point Affective Calibration" and "The Power to Yield", but all the other stories were new to me. I enjoyed that there were several Ereni stories here, as I hadn't previously realized that this was a larger continuity; now I really want a full collection of stories from this storyverse! Highly recommend this collection, both for readers who already enjoy Takács's work and for new readers who enjoy imaginative stories exploring themes of identity, communication, power, and resistance.
Thanks to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for providing an eARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for providing an eARC.
December 31, 2023
Absolutely fabulous. I’m going to make every parent I know read “And I Entreated”
January 7, 2024
Bogi Takács sent me a copy of eir book, and I'm totally stoked I got my (electronic) hands on it.
Takács writes in a variety of styles across these stories. Some are fantastical, some more science-y, and many refuse classification. There are a few themes that recur: the question of identity - how we think about our own, what it informs it, how it changes the way the world approaches us - was what stood out the most, to me. There's also a lot of questioning of authority and power, in terms of who has it, how it's used, how it can or should be controlled/mitigated/ challenged. All of which is show that Takács doesn't shy away from being provocative - but it's never about just being provocative: there's a purpose to it, because at heart it feels to me (an educator) that e is an educator - educating people about how the world and people do, could, and perhaps should function, through eir fiction. Which is not to say that the stories feel in the least bit didactic, or preachy, or anything like that! It's more the vibe I took away from the collection as a whole.
A few favourites, not exhaustive:
"A Technical Term, Like Privilege" - not the sort of story I expect to be grabbed by, because it does have body horror as a fairly integral idea (this is me avoiding phrases like "I was absorbed by this story" because... well, story-reasons). However, the way Takács uses the issues of class and other privilege as part of the discussion is totally up my alley, and works brilliantly.
"Power to Yield" - I haven't read any of Takács' other Eren stories (except those collected here), so there were a few moments where I felt a bit adrift; nonetheless, it didn't actually take away from my appreciation of the story and the characters. As with "A Technical Term," this has more violence/ bodily harm than I would generally expect a story that I was moved by to include. But it does, and I was moved; this is a story that will stay with me a for a long time. How to build a new society, how to deal with what's left from the old society, how to balance the needs/the good of the few and the whole... Takács doesn't offer any easy answers to such questions, but it's brilliant to see them confronted.
"Folded into Tendril and Leaf" - another one that includes bodily harm and warfare, and now I'm seeing an unexpected pattern! Anyway: magic, love, identity, dual perspectives; this is brilliant.
I read this collection quite slowly, because many of the stories require thinking and reflection and I didn't want to short-change them, or myself, by simply powering through. Some of them are quite heavy in terms of the issues discussed (violence, various types of discrimination), and some are on the denser side in style (in a good way!), so ditto on the short-changing.
Takács writes in a variety of styles across these stories. Some are fantastical, some more science-y, and many refuse classification. There are a few themes that recur: the question of identity - how we think about our own, what it informs it, how it changes the way the world approaches us - was what stood out the most, to me. There's also a lot of questioning of authority and power, in terms of who has it, how it's used, how it can or should be controlled/mitigated/ challenged. All of which is show that Takács doesn't shy away from being provocative - but it's never about just being provocative: there's a purpose to it, because at heart it feels to me (an educator) that e is an educator - educating people about how the world and people do, could, and perhaps should function, through eir fiction. Which is not to say that the stories feel in the least bit didactic, or preachy, or anything like that! It's more the vibe I took away from the collection as a whole.
A few favourites, not exhaustive:
"A Technical Term, Like Privilege" - not the sort of story I expect to be grabbed by, because it does have body horror as a fairly integral idea (this is me avoiding phrases like "I was absorbed by this story" because... well, story-reasons). However, the way Takács uses the issues of class and other privilege as part of the discussion is totally up my alley, and works brilliantly.
"Power to Yield" - I haven't read any of Takács' other Eren stories (except those collected here), so there were a few moments where I felt a bit adrift; nonetheless, it didn't actually take away from my appreciation of the story and the characters. As with "A Technical Term," this has more violence/ bodily harm than I would generally expect a story that I was moved by to include. But it does, and I was moved; this is a story that will stay with me a for a long time. How to build a new society, how to deal with what's left from the old society, how to balance the needs/the good of the few and the whole... Takács doesn't offer any easy answers to such questions, but it's brilliant to see them confronted.
"Folded into Tendril and Leaf" - another one that includes bodily harm and warfare, and now I'm seeing an unexpected pattern! Anyway: magic, love, identity, dual perspectives; this is brilliant.
I read this collection quite slowly, because many of the stories require thinking and reflection and I didn't want to short-change them, or myself, by simply powering through. Some of them are quite heavy in terms of the issues discussed (violence, various types of discrimination), and some are on the denser side in style (in a good way!), so ditto on the short-changing.
February 18, 2024
"I always told myself I was focusing on my studies, that was why I couldn't pay attention to politics. But politics had spattered me in blood and left people dying in my arms."
"Power to Yield" is a compelling collection of sci-fi works that introduces some interesting concepts while staying grounded in reality. You can clearly tell how Takács's lived experiences influence eir storytelling - subjects of gender, sexuality, religion, and culture are interwoven throughout, exploring how one's identity and attitude toward it would change (or stay the same) through the lens of alien life and technological developments.
The common thread in each of the short stories is community and communication, yet each approach is distinct, and Takács gives distinct voices to eir cast of characters, some being closer reflections of em than others. The stories lean more heavily to light sci-fi and I quite enjoyed the touch of likening what would typically be written as "superhuman powers" to magic, combining the futurism of sci-fi with tropes more common in fantasy. My favourite story from the bunch was "Folded into Tendril and Leaf", which was one of the few to lean into the magic of it all. The concepts were captivating enough that I'd love to read long-form stories set in the same universes, regardless if they'd follow the same cast of characters or explore different scenes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for the arc.
"Power to Yield" is a compelling collection of sci-fi works that introduces some interesting concepts while staying grounded in reality. You can clearly tell how Takács's lived experiences influence eir storytelling - subjects of gender, sexuality, religion, and culture are interwoven throughout, exploring how one's identity and attitude toward it would change (or stay the same) through the lens of alien life and technological developments.
The common thread in each of the short stories is community and communication, yet each approach is distinct, and Takács gives distinct voices to eir cast of characters, some being closer reflections of em than others. The stories lean more heavily to light sci-fi and I quite enjoyed the touch of likening what would typically be written as "superhuman powers" to magic, combining the futurism of sci-fi with tropes more common in fantasy. My favourite story from the bunch was "Folded into Tendril and Leaf", which was one of the few to lean into the magic of it all. The concepts were captivating enough that I'd love to read long-form stories set in the same universes, regardless if they'd follow the same cast of characters or explore different scenes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for the arc.
January 2, 2024
I've never dived into Bogi's work in depth, I've read an essay here and there, and a short story in a hungarian anthology, but that's about it. The cover got my attention on NetGalley, it's absolutely stunning, and clicking on it made me realise who the author was. I thought I didn't really have time to schedule it between the holidays, but here I am, finished with this being the last book of 2023. And it was amazing.
Its a really niche problem, but I always find the usage of Hungarian language, let it be names or "exotic magic spells" really weird in English language literature. It always felt like bonus diversity points. Here, I was proven that they actually are. Because if you touch them with understanding and care:
. you can have an extremely meaningful part amplified - like naming a character Sulyom, which is not a currently applicable name by hungarian standards, but might as well be, it fits extremely well with other plants used as names
. or you can have an absolutely hilarious crazy idea and it makes sense - like naming the local witch Sanyi, or the alien who gets compared to a cat Lukrécia - which I think is a reference to this black cat from an oldschool hungarian cartoon called Frakk, the Cats' Nightmare:
This collection is full of suprises. Sometimes, we get a story which is a rewarding puzzle to figure out what's going on, sometimes it's straightforward and emotional and I wish they would be longer. My favorite was "And I Entreated", which displays a little bit disfunctional family, where everybody wants to do the best and it just doesnt work, because we fail to listen - and teaching in a kind way that we can always strive for better.
Thank you to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for providing the ARC!
Its a really niche problem, but I always find the usage of Hungarian language, let it be names or "exotic magic spells" really weird in English language literature. It always felt like bonus diversity points. Here, I was proven that they actually are. Because if you touch them with understanding and care:
. you can have an extremely meaningful part amplified - like naming a character Sulyom, which is not a currently applicable name by hungarian standards, but might as well be, it fits extremely well with other plants used as names
. or you can have an absolutely hilarious crazy idea and it makes sense - like naming the local witch Sanyi, or the alien who gets compared to a cat Lukrécia - which I think is a reference to this black cat from an oldschool hungarian cartoon called Frakk, the Cats' Nightmare:
This collection is full of suprises. Sometimes, we get a story which is a rewarding puzzle to figure out what's going on, sometimes it's straightforward and emotional and I wish they would be longer. My favorite was "And I Entreated", which displays a little bit disfunctional family, where everybody wants to do the best and it just doesnt work, because we fail to listen - and teaching in a kind way that we can always strive for better.
Thank you to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for providing the ARC!
January 9, 2024
4.5, rounding up. Before picking up Power to Yield and Other Stories, I had read one story by Bogi Takács before in an anthology (Xenocultivars) and really enjoyed it - it was one of my favourites. When I saw the chance to read an entire collection of eirs I was really happy and requested it immediately. While inevitably, with any collection there are some stories that I liked more than others, there is no 'filler' here - the stories fit together without feeling repetitive and all are compelling in one way or another. I find Bogi Takács' work very thoughtful and thought-provoking, particularly around themes of identity and power. There is so much diverse representation here that I appreciate.
I will mention here some of my absolute favourites:"The First Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade," "Folded into Tendril and Leaf" (the story I'd read previously in Xenocultivars), "And I Entreated," "An Errand Holy Spark," and the first story in the collection "Four-Point Affective Calibration" which let me know I was in for a great read.
Content warnings: violence, war, imprisonment, self-harm, blood, injury detail, colonialism, harm to non-human animals, mentions of antisemitism, classism, cissexism / transphobia, ableism, S/M in a non-sexual context. NOTE: the author provides a list of content warnings story by story at the back of the book. I have here adjusted the terms slightly just so that my StoryGraph and Goodreads reviews are consistent, but please do consult the author's own list if you have concerns - e even bolds the titles of the stories that are most content-heavy, which is thoughtful and something I wish more authors bothered to do.
Thank you to Broken Eye Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
I will mention here some of my absolute favourites:"The First Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade," "Folded into Tendril and Leaf" (the story I'd read previously in Xenocultivars), "And I Entreated," "An Errand Holy Spark," and the first story in the collection "Four-Point Affective Calibration" which let me know I was in for a great read.
Content warnings: violence, war, imprisonment, self-harm, blood, injury detail, colonialism, harm to non-human animals, mentions of antisemitism, classism, cissexism / transphobia, ableism, S/M in a non-sexual context. NOTE: the author provides a list of content warnings story by story at the back of the book. I have here adjusted the terms slightly just so that my StoryGraph and Goodreads reviews are consistent, but please do consult the author's own list if you have concerns - e even bolds the titles of the stories that are most content-heavy, which is thoughtful and something I wish more authors bothered to do.
Thank you to Broken Eye Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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January 4, 2024This review first appeared on my blog BookishlyJewish Check it out for similar books and reviews.
I’d like to get something out of the way before I review Power To Yield, the most recent short story collection from Bogi Takács. I was insanely flattered when the author filled out the BookishlyJewish Suggest a Book Form, and even provided a brief explanation of eir work as if I was not already a raging fan of eirs. So I went into this reading feeling pretty pumped, but also having read some of the stories in their original venues. It was intriguing to see them laid out in this way and several stories were new to me as I did not have access to them prior. The forward by Ada Hoffmann is dead on about Takács employing perspective in a unique way. The reader will encounter human perspectives that are orthodox, queer, neurodivergent, disabled, and many other things. And that's before we get to the perspectives of AI, aliens, and plants. There are even humans that become plants ( twice!!!).
As a writer, I’ve long struggled with the fear that the perspective I write from may not be welcome, or that every sale is just a fluke, and the novelty will soon pass for editors. It doesn’t help that I once got a rejection calling the setting of the women’s mikvah “exotic." As if a tradition still practiced by millions of people worldwide is nothing more than an endangered species spotted in a zoo. So to see Takács in And I Entreated have the main character describe another character with the phrase “They davka looked Jewish,” was particularly special for me. Like choke on water going up my nose in surprise special. Because migration is another one of Takács's themes and that phrase is the language of home to me. It tells me that not only can I tell my stories, I should be doing so in my own words.
I suspect a lot of people will favor the title story Power to Yield, and for good reason. It includes aro/ace characters with varying cognotypes that we Earth dwellers would likely call neurodivergence, engaging in a magical form of BDSM for ethically complicated reasons. They acknowledge that their choices are flawed, but still the best they can make at this time because sometimes freedom requires certain compromises. It’s the type of story that you sink into and think about for a good long while after finishing it. But it was not my favorite. That particular award goes to An Errant Holy Spark.
An Errant Holy Spark, on it's surface is about an AI, the people that invent AI, and alien communication. This is all good stuff, but that’s not why it’s my favorite story from the collection. I really, really enjoyed the character of Dani, a trans Jew who teaches the AI about Torah and why G-d bestowed a divine spark upon an AI. When the arrtificial intelligence comments,
"Mother always tried to look “American,” as she put it. Dani looked American
and wore all this ethnic clothing. I could not figure this out for years."
- it really encapsulated why varying perspectives are valuable in story telling. I loved that line, but when Dani says -
“I was thrown out of an Orthodox synagogue, not all of
Judaism itself. That would be quite a feat! .... I’m too Orthodox still to be Reform, ....Too trans to be Orthodox, at least in their eyes. And I believe because it feels right.” (The ... represents text I removed for brevitys sake ).
- I felt a whole lot of feelings that are not easily quantified. It was like a dagger through the heart and a hug all at the same time. In a good way. I could see why the aliens chose to communicate with Dani specifically. I suspect I’d enjoy communicating with them too. Alas, they are fictional and rading the story is as close as I'll get.
This is a book that will challenge ones own perspective even as it validates it. There are things to laugh about, things to ponder, things to make a person wonder in the best sense of the world. Your favorites will be different than mine, and that's cool, because we each have our own perspective and voice that we bring to reading too. That's the real take away here. That all these different ways of seeing the are valid.
Note: BookishlyJewish received a free e-arc of this book from the author through our Suggest A Book form.
I’d like to get something out of the way before I review Power To Yield, the most recent short story collection from Bogi Takács. I was insanely flattered when the author filled out the BookishlyJewish Suggest a Book Form, and even provided a brief explanation of eir work as if I was not already a raging fan of eirs. So I went into this reading feeling pretty pumped, but also having read some of the stories in their original venues. It was intriguing to see them laid out in this way and several stories were new to me as I did not have access to them prior. The forward by Ada Hoffmann is dead on about Takács employing perspective in a unique way. The reader will encounter human perspectives that are orthodox, queer, neurodivergent, disabled, and many other things. And that's before we get to the perspectives of AI, aliens, and plants. There are even humans that become plants ( twice!!!).
As a writer, I’ve long struggled with the fear that the perspective I write from may not be welcome, or that every sale is just a fluke, and the novelty will soon pass for editors. It doesn’t help that I once got a rejection calling the setting of the women’s mikvah “exotic." As if a tradition still practiced by millions of people worldwide is nothing more than an endangered species spotted in a zoo. So to see Takács in And I Entreated have the main character describe another character with the phrase “They davka looked Jewish,” was particularly special for me. Like choke on water going up my nose in surprise special. Because migration is another one of Takács's themes and that phrase is the language of home to me. It tells me that not only can I tell my stories, I should be doing so in my own words.
I suspect a lot of people will favor the title story Power to Yield, and for good reason. It includes aro/ace characters with varying cognotypes that we Earth dwellers would likely call neurodivergence, engaging in a magical form of BDSM for ethically complicated reasons. They acknowledge that their choices are flawed, but still the best they can make at this time because sometimes freedom requires certain compromises. It’s the type of story that you sink into and think about for a good long while after finishing it. But it was not my favorite. That particular award goes to An Errant Holy Spark.
An Errant Holy Spark, on it's surface is about an AI, the people that invent AI, and alien communication. This is all good stuff, but that’s not why it’s my favorite story from the collection. I really, really enjoyed the character of Dani, a trans Jew who teaches the AI about Torah and why G-d bestowed a divine spark upon an AI. When the arrtificial intelligence comments,
"Mother always tried to look “American,” as she put it. Dani looked American
and wore all this ethnic clothing. I could not figure this out for years."
- it really encapsulated why varying perspectives are valuable in story telling. I loved that line, but when Dani says -
“I was thrown out of an Orthodox synagogue, not all of
Judaism itself. That would be quite a feat! .... I’m too Orthodox still to be Reform, ....Too trans to be Orthodox, at least in their eyes. And I believe because it feels right.” (The ... represents text I removed for brevitys sake ).
- I felt a whole lot of feelings that are not easily quantified. It was like a dagger through the heart and a hug all at the same time. In a good way. I could see why the aliens chose to communicate with Dani specifically. I suspect I’d enjoy communicating with them too. Alas, they are fictional and rading the story is as close as I'll get.
This is a book that will challenge ones own perspective even as it validates it. There are things to laugh about, things to ponder, things to make a person wonder in the best sense of the world. Your favorites will be different than mine, and that's cool, because we each have our own perspective and voice that we bring to reading too. That's the real take away here. That all these different ways of seeing the are valid.
Note: BookishlyJewish received a free e-arc of this book from the author through our Suggest A Book form.
January 8, 2024
This collection of stories contains both strong and average stories. The collection itself opens with Four-Point Affective Calibration, which, for me, sets the tone for the entire anthology.
I enjoyed some stories, some of them were good, and some were okay, but, overall, it was a good collection of stories and I would like to read more by Bogi Takács.
Thanks Netgalley and Broken Eye Books for the ARC of this book.
I enjoyed some stories, some of them were good, and some were okay, but, overall, it was a good collection of stories and I would like to read more by Bogi Takács.
Thanks Netgalley and Broken Eye Books for the ARC of this book.
March 7, 2025
this is for my dear friends who want
- a very cool rec for the #transrightsreadathon
- a sff short story collection
- a book rich in intersectionality, with a focus on queerness (and especially intersex and trans rep!!), emigration, jewish rep, neurodiversity
- a book on the locus recommended list
- a hidden gem
this book delivers on every single thing it promises. there are aliens who communicate with humans in different individualized ways. there are artificial intelligence beings who refuse to deny their own individuality. there are people who get transformed into plants and are shaped by both their humanity and plant experience. there's discussion on cultural appropriation. there's different degrees of acceptance by others - the father who wants to be supportive but fails the mark completely, the community who harasses, bullies and rejects otherness, the queernormative worlds.
I feel very emotional about several of the stories in Power to Yield. I find the writing incredibly powerful, both the more gentle tales and the harsher ones inspired deep empathy in me. most of all, I loved how unapologetic each story is.
my favourite stories would be A Holy Spark, for how it shows the beauty of each individual mind and ways to communicate and process information, and Folded Into Tendril and Leaf, a story full of queer longing, vivid descriptions and a unity with nature that I both love and envy (on my notes I wrote "this tale is alive").
I truly think this book was special and unique. Bogi Takács's voice is unmatched and this book really showcases eir incredibly creativity and talent to portray characters that are deeply real in gorgeous and expansive unreal worlds - that feel true, nonetheless.
I'm very thankful to Bogi Takács for sending me a review copy for such an inspiring book. I come out of this reading experience wishing to live as authentically as I can and with so many new ideas and the urge to create. I'm so full of joy <3
- a very cool rec for the #transrightsreadathon
- a sff short story collection
- a book rich in intersectionality, with a focus on queerness (and especially intersex and trans rep!!), emigration, jewish rep, neurodiversity
- a book on the locus recommended list
- a hidden gem
this book delivers on every single thing it promises. there are aliens who communicate with humans in different individualized ways. there are artificial intelligence beings who refuse to deny their own individuality. there are people who get transformed into plants and are shaped by both their humanity and plant experience. there's discussion on cultural appropriation. there's different degrees of acceptance by others - the father who wants to be supportive but fails the mark completely, the community who harasses, bullies and rejects otherness, the queernormative worlds.
I feel very emotional about several of the stories in Power to Yield. I find the writing incredibly powerful, both the more gentle tales and the harsher ones inspired deep empathy in me. most of all, I loved how unapologetic each story is.
my favourite stories would be A Holy Spark, for how it shows the beauty of each individual mind and ways to communicate and process information, and Folded Into Tendril and Leaf, a story full of queer longing, vivid descriptions and a unity with nature that I both love and envy (on my notes I wrote "this tale is alive").
I truly think this book was special and unique. Bogi Takács's voice is unmatched and this book really showcases eir incredibly creativity and talent to portray characters that are deeply real in gorgeous and expansive unreal worlds - that feel true, nonetheless.
I'm very thankful to Bogi Takács for sending me a review copy for such an inspiring book. I come out of this reading experience wishing to live as authentically as I can and with so many new ideas and the urge to create. I'm so full of joy <3
March 18, 2025
Disclaimer: I received an e-book copy by the author.
I haven’t read a lot of Bogi Takács work yet, besides their short stories in Transcendent and Nerve Endings, which I think served me well as a preparation for the titular Power to Yield, so if you have also read these short stories you at least know what to expect from that short story. But this anthology collects a lot more stories and in fact most of them are quite different than the three I’ve mentioned already, which was something I really enjoyed.
As the summary promises this is a collection of speculative short stories that explore gender identity, neurodivergence and religion. It also often focusses on various forms of escapism, communication, connection and cultural differences. All of this definitely made it the perfect sci-fi story for me and I really enjoyed it.
I also found it very interesting to see how the various short stories connected, sometimes because they are set on the same planet (Eren), while others explored similar topics in very different ways and settings, such as the first two short stories which focus on communication with aliens and alienation, the next two being changed into a plant and how that affects connection, two more about being visibly different and being persecuted for that). My favorite short stories where An Errant Holy Spark, On God Friday The Raven Washes Its Young, Volatile Patterns, The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade and A Technical Term, Like Privilege, but I enjoyed all stories and I think your favorites may definitely vary depending on which forms of sci-fi you prefer.
Despite the similarities in concepts sometimes, the stories never felt repetitive either and I was engaged for the entire collection. All in all, a really interesting collection, that does really interesting things with sci-fi, portrays multiple marginalized characters in fascinating and intriguing ways and was a joy to read.
Below you can find some further thoughts on each short story as well as trigger warnings, which are also provided in the book itself.
Four-Point Affective Calibration: A string of consciousness short story following a character as they are undergoing testing to measure their effectiveness in communicating with aliens. Interesting and exploring a variety of discriminations such as racism, transphobia and ableism as well as societal pressures regarding personal clothing choices.
TW: ableism, anti-muslim racism (mention), discrimination, violence
*FAV* An Errant Holy Spark: A really interesting story about a designed being, who has been abducted by somebody who wants to kill them, in a world where certain people (including said being) can communicate with aliens. For the most part we follow the memories of growing up from said designed being and get to know how they feel and think. I would love to read more about this world, I find the worldbuilding incredibly interesting and the way this short story is structured fascinating. Really interesting inclusion of religion and neurodiversity as well, I loved it.
TW: abduction, religious transphobia (mention), violence
And I Entreated: A Jewish mother is turned into a houseplant to gather intelligence as a spy. After her mission is over, no shapechanger can be spared to turn her back. As her kid’s bar mitzvah comes closer, she becomes more and more desperate to communicate with her family again. When a nonbinary translator is sent to their house to bridge the time until a shape-changer can be procured, things become interesting. I really enjoyed the overlap between their religious Jewish observance and the father not really understanding nonbinary identity and in particular how nonbinary identity can vary for different nonbinary people (seeing as his kid is also nonbinary). Reading this through the mother’s perspective (who cannot communicate with anybody but the translator) was really interesting!
TW: cissexism, transphobia
Folded into Tendril and Leaf: A heartbreaking story about two magic students and their teacher caught up in a war. I really enjoyed the use of plants and finding connection in nature. I also really liked the two magic students and the world that was presented here. It felt very rich. I also really enjoyed the dual POV included here to show both the thoughts and feelings of the intersex protagonist and the thoughts and feelings of their lover.
TW: injury, imprisonment, self-injury, war
The Third Extension: A very short story about strange beings making a life alongside humans and how gardening plays a role in fitting in. Would like to read more set in this world, so I can understand the rules governing this place better, but I did still find it interesting.
*FAV* On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young: An intersex protagonist feeds the ocean of a planet depleted by humanity. Their fellow humans on the planet do not appreciate their effort though, harassing them for being intersex instead. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Hungarian folk songs and rhymes, it made the story feel a lot more immersive. Very well written short story, heartbreaking to read though.
TW: acid attack, animal harm, cissexism, colonialism, environmental destruction, intersexism, street harassment, transmisogynistic language, violence
*FAV* Volatile Patterns: Two nonbinary (intersex?) investigators are hired to find out the source of magic running wild and causing havoc on an allied planet. I loved the combination of an intriguing magic system with the unexpected side effects of labor exploitation and cultural appropriation, and I really found the relationship between the two main characters to be very sweet.
TW: injury
The Ladybug, in Flight: A short story about a species of space ladybugs encountering a ship adrift in space and guiding it back home. Very sweet, quite short, but interesting and fun.
TW: injury
*FAV* The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade: In a world destroyed in the aftermath of an alien attack and later alien scavengers, a third party of aliens and their human interpreter are travelling through what used to be Hungary trying to connect people again. The story was really lovely and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t paint a utopian picture of the world or pretend that just because people try to work together it will immediately work out, but still leaves the story brighter than when it started.
TW: antisemitism, cissexism, classism, injury
*FAV* A Technical Term, Like Privilege: One of the more horror-based stories here. A poor mage-in-training is trapped in a rental situation that bleeds him dry – literally. Not only does he have to pay rent with the little income he has from teaching beside his studies, but he also has to feed the rental beast, a creature that lives off his magic and drains his blood to get to it. And to top it all off, he is refused help from people fighting against mages, due to his (supposedly) “privileged” mage status, while ignoring the many ways he is disadvantages. I found it really interesting how this story played with ideas of privilege and autonomy and who actually holds the power in a specific situation. The ending was really satisfying.
TW: body horror, blood, cissexism, classism, injury
Power to Yield: The titular story here is also the longest, taking up 25% of the collection. In it a student develops a new abuwen, which is similar to the term special interest, but connotated positively, on a historical (but still living) figure. He was an important part in the fight for independence on this planet and is often talked about derogatorily for being a “Falkoner” (which I think refers to another neurotype, presumable something with low Empathy?) and often called a sadist. When she finds out he has found a way to tap into the system of their planet and make it stronger, ensuring all their survival, through causing pain and dissociation, she becomes obsessed with joining. Weird and strange and really, really intriguing, especially in its look at aroace kink, in particular BDSM and sadism, but also its inclusion of various neurodivergences and ableism between different neurodivergent groups.
TW: ableism, death, grief, injury, sadism, war
I haven’t read a lot of Bogi Takács work yet, besides their short stories in Transcendent and Nerve Endings, which I think served me well as a preparation for the titular Power to Yield, so if you have also read these short stories you at least know what to expect from that short story. But this anthology collects a lot more stories and in fact most of them are quite different than the three I’ve mentioned already, which was something I really enjoyed.
As the summary promises this is a collection of speculative short stories that explore gender identity, neurodivergence and religion. It also often focusses on various forms of escapism, communication, connection and cultural differences. All of this definitely made it the perfect sci-fi story for me and I really enjoyed it.
I also found it very interesting to see how the various short stories connected, sometimes because they are set on the same planet (Eren), while others explored similar topics in very different ways and settings, such as the first two short stories which focus on communication with aliens and alienation, the next two being changed into a plant and how that affects connection, two more about being visibly different and being persecuted for that). My favorite short stories where An Errant Holy Spark, On God Friday The Raven Washes Its Young, Volatile Patterns, The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade and A Technical Term, Like Privilege, but I enjoyed all stories and I think your favorites may definitely vary depending on which forms of sci-fi you prefer.
Despite the similarities in concepts sometimes, the stories never felt repetitive either and I was engaged for the entire collection. All in all, a really interesting collection, that does really interesting things with sci-fi, portrays multiple marginalized characters in fascinating and intriguing ways and was a joy to read.
Below you can find some further thoughts on each short story as well as trigger warnings, which are also provided in the book itself.
Four-Point Affective Calibration: A string of consciousness short story following a character as they are undergoing testing to measure their effectiveness in communicating with aliens. Interesting and exploring a variety of discriminations such as racism, transphobia and ableism as well as societal pressures regarding personal clothing choices.
TW: ableism, anti-muslim racism (mention), discrimination, violence
*FAV* An Errant Holy Spark: A really interesting story about a designed being, who has been abducted by somebody who wants to kill them, in a world where certain people (including said being) can communicate with aliens. For the most part we follow the memories of growing up from said designed being and get to know how they feel and think. I would love to read more about this world, I find the worldbuilding incredibly interesting and the way this short story is structured fascinating. Really interesting inclusion of religion and neurodiversity as well, I loved it.
TW: abduction, religious transphobia (mention), violence
And I Entreated: A Jewish mother is turned into a houseplant to gather intelligence as a spy. After her mission is over, no shapechanger can be spared to turn her back. As her kid’s bar mitzvah comes closer, she becomes more and more desperate to communicate with her family again. When a nonbinary translator is sent to their house to bridge the time until a shape-changer can be procured, things become interesting. I really enjoyed the overlap between their religious Jewish observance and the father not really understanding nonbinary identity and in particular how nonbinary identity can vary for different nonbinary people (seeing as his kid is also nonbinary). Reading this through the mother’s perspective (who cannot communicate with anybody but the translator) was really interesting!
TW: cissexism, transphobia
Folded into Tendril and Leaf: A heartbreaking story about two magic students and their teacher caught up in a war. I really enjoyed the use of plants and finding connection in nature. I also really liked the two magic students and the world that was presented here. It felt very rich. I also really enjoyed the dual POV included here to show both the thoughts and feelings of the intersex protagonist and the thoughts and feelings of their lover.
TW: injury, imprisonment, self-injury, war
The Third Extension: A very short story about strange beings making a life alongside humans and how gardening plays a role in fitting in. Would like to read more set in this world, so I can understand the rules governing this place better, but I did still find it interesting.
*FAV* On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young: An intersex protagonist feeds the ocean of a planet depleted by humanity. Their fellow humans on the planet do not appreciate their effort though, harassing them for being intersex instead. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Hungarian folk songs and rhymes, it made the story feel a lot more immersive. Very well written short story, heartbreaking to read though.
TW: acid attack, animal harm, cissexism, colonialism, environmental destruction, intersexism, street harassment, transmisogynistic language, violence
*FAV* Volatile Patterns: Two nonbinary (intersex?) investigators are hired to find out the source of magic running wild and causing havoc on an allied planet. I loved the combination of an intriguing magic system with the unexpected side effects of labor exploitation and cultural appropriation, and I really found the relationship between the two main characters to be very sweet.
TW: injury
The Ladybug, in Flight: A short story about a species of space ladybugs encountering a ship adrift in space and guiding it back home. Very sweet, quite short, but interesting and fun.
TW: injury
*FAV* The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade: In a world destroyed in the aftermath of an alien attack and later alien scavengers, a third party of aliens and their human interpreter are travelling through what used to be Hungary trying to connect people again. The story was really lovely and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t paint a utopian picture of the world or pretend that just because people try to work together it will immediately work out, but still leaves the story brighter than when it started.
TW: antisemitism, cissexism, classism, injury
*FAV* A Technical Term, Like Privilege: One of the more horror-based stories here. A poor mage-in-training is trapped in a rental situation that bleeds him dry – literally. Not only does he have to pay rent with the little income he has from teaching beside his studies, but he also has to feed the rental beast, a creature that lives off his magic and drains his blood to get to it. And to top it all off, he is refused help from people fighting against mages, due to his (supposedly) “privileged” mage status, while ignoring the many ways he is disadvantages. I found it really interesting how this story played with ideas of privilege and autonomy and who actually holds the power in a specific situation. The ending was really satisfying.
TW: body horror, blood, cissexism, classism, injury
Power to Yield: The titular story here is also the longest, taking up 25% of the collection. In it a student develops a new abuwen, which is similar to the term special interest, but connotated positively, on a historical (but still living) figure. He was an important part in the fight for independence on this planet and is often talked about derogatorily for being a “Falkoner” (which I think refers to another neurotype, presumable something with low Empathy?) and often called a sadist. When she finds out he has found a way to tap into the system of their planet and make it stronger, ensuring all their survival, through causing pain and dissociation, she becomes obsessed with joining. Weird and strange and really, really intriguing, especially in its look at aroace kink, in particular BDSM and sadism, but also its inclusion of various neurodivergences and ableism between different neurodivergent groups.
TW: ableism, death, grief, injury, sadism, war
February 21, 2025
A spectacular speculative collection that highlights diverse, intersectional characters and unique worlds while exploring the human condition.
I love how so many of eir pieces center communication and conflict resolution as their central themes and focus on how the lives of each protagonist shape the narrative itself. You can see it in Four-Point Affective Calibration where our protagonist is frustrated by how much they have to compensate and pick themselves apart to be heard and accepted. Or how in Folded into Tendril and Leaf, one character is changing into a tree, both physically, and later on, mentally. Their neurodivergence, Jewish identity and physical difference shape their interactions with the world.
We also have several pieces where aliens are coming into contact with humans with varying degrees of success. From unwanted housing situations to unique consciousnesses and recourse-seekers, their interactions are all different but relatable. It's easy to understand where they are arguing from even if a solution might be harder to find.
Some of the stories (Four-Point Affective Calibration, An Errant Holy Spark)
also address a “you”, the reader or another person present in the text, something I always love and adds another meta-textual layer to a story.
Sometimes, worldbuilding can feel gimmicky when authors are trying to inclusitivity but Takács does it effortlessly, naturally. It's entwined with the narrative and not an afterthought. I particularly enjoyed that Jewish identity and practices were involved since (real-world) religions are often forgotten in SFF books.
As with all collections/anthologies, I read, I am always excited when a foreword or commentary is included to give an insight into the creation of the pieces or why they were chosen – this one has both!
Four-Point Affective Calibration | ★★★✩✩
about a person transcribing their thoughts through prompts for a screening, discussing the assumption of others and having to placate strangers, microaggressions and more.
An Errant Holy Spark | ★★★★✩
a kidnapping case where the protagonist thinks about his existence and which is addressed towards “you” the kidnapper.
And I Entreated | ★★★★✩
A mother turned houseplant navigating her temporary sedentary life with her child's upcoming bar mitzvah.
Folded into Tendril and Leaf | ★★★✩✩
About two mage students who are in love where one turns into a tree for two long to avoid an upcoming war
The Third Extension | ★★★★✩
A short piece about exclusion and trying to survive under scrutiny.
On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young | ★★★✩✩
An outsider finding kindship in an unexpected place.
Volatile Patterns | ★★★✩✩
A courthouse proceeding in which magic channelling clothing patterns are at the centre of discussion.
The Ladybug, In Flight | ★★★★✩
A hivemind meeting a human.
The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade | ★★★✩✩
An unlikely team are travelling through Hungary and hoping to start peaceful communications with the new aliens arriving while making friends along the way.
A Technical Term, Like Privelege | ★★★★✩
On the surface, it's about a blood-sucking sentient housebeast but it's also a discussion on perceived and true privilege while being stuck.
Power to Yield | ★★★★✩
A novella-length tale about a research project turning into a life-long vocation – kinship or obsession? The complexity of human natures.
I received an advanced reading copy from Broken Eye Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love how so many of eir pieces center communication and conflict resolution as their central themes and focus on how the lives of each protagonist shape the narrative itself. You can see it in Four-Point Affective Calibration where our protagonist is frustrated by how much they have to compensate and pick themselves apart to be heard and accepted. Or how in Folded into Tendril and Leaf, one character is changing into a tree, both physically, and later on, mentally. Their neurodivergence, Jewish identity and physical difference shape their interactions with the world.
We also have several pieces where aliens are coming into contact with humans with varying degrees of success. From unwanted housing situations to unique consciousnesses and recourse-seekers, their interactions are all different but relatable. It's easy to understand where they are arguing from even if a solution might be harder to find.
Some of the stories (Four-Point Affective Calibration, An Errant Holy Spark)
also address a “you”, the reader or another person present in the text, something I always love and adds another meta-textual layer to a story.
Sometimes, worldbuilding can feel gimmicky when authors are trying to inclusitivity but Takács does it effortlessly, naturally. It's entwined with the narrative and not an afterthought. I particularly enjoyed that Jewish identity and practices were involved since (real-world) religions are often forgotten in SFF books.
As with all collections/anthologies, I read, I am always excited when a foreword or commentary is included to give an insight into the creation of the pieces or why they were chosen – this one has both!
Four-Point Affective Calibration | ★★★✩✩
about a person transcribing their thoughts through prompts for a screening, discussing the assumption of others and having to placate strangers, microaggressions and more.
An Errant Holy Spark | ★★★★✩
a kidnapping case where the protagonist thinks about his existence and which is addressed towards “you” the kidnapper.
And I Entreated | ★★★★✩
A mother turned houseplant navigating her temporary sedentary life with her child's upcoming bar mitzvah.
Folded into Tendril and Leaf | ★★★✩✩
About two mage students who are in love where one turns into a tree for two long to avoid an upcoming war
The Third Extension | ★★★★✩
A short piece about exclusion and trying to survive under scrutiny.
On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young | ★★★✩✩
An outsider finding kindship in an unexpected place.
Volatile Patterns | ★★★✩✩
A courthouse proceeding in which magic channelling clothing patterns are at the centre of discussion.
The Ladybug, In Flight | ★★★★✩
A hivemind meeting a human.
The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade | ★★★✩✩
An unlikely team are travelling through Hungary and hoping to start peaceful communications with the new aliens arriving while making friends along the way.
A Technical Term, Like Privelege | ★★★★✩
On the surface, it's about a blood-sucking sentient housebeast but it's also a discussion on perceived and true privilege while being stuck.
Power to Yield | ★★★★✩
A novella-length tale about a research project turning into a life-long vocation – kinship or obsession? The complexity of human natures.
I received an advanced reading copy from Broken Eye Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 31, 2025
I liked these a lot!! Short story collections always have that element of hit or miss for me--not every story lands Just Right, usually, and (unlike in a novel) each story is taken as a separate whole. However!! Of the eleven (11) stories here, I liked six of them a lot, and I REALLY liked four of those, so: Great collection!
Takács has a really interesting perspective (from the foreword: "Bogi is a multiply neurodivergent, multiply disabled, queer, trans, intersex, Jewish immigrant from a non-Anglo country"), and I really enjoyed how the stories in this collection dug into different facets of identity. The neurodivergent takes on alien communication were especially cool to me, and I loved how religion was worked into speculative settings.
From the bonus notes in the back, it looks like not all of these stories are entirely standalone, which explains why I did feel like I was Missing Context in a few places, but for the most part I found them self-contained enough to enjoy.
My favorites, in order of appearance:
- "Four-Point Affective Calibration" (autistic candidate reflects on emotions to see if they can liaise with aliens)
- "An Errant Holy Spark" (kidnapped AI child stalls for time via Jewish mysticism and alien encounters)
- "And I Entreated" (Mom turned into a houseplant to spy on someone and doesn't get turned back on time; Family Dynamics Ensue)
- "The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade" (in the aftermath of invasion, how do you rebuild society from different groups?)
- "A Technical Term, Like Privilege" (semi-sentient apartment subsists on its tenants' blood; the apartment and a tenant plan their escape together)
- "Power to Yield" (magical power and control to keep a planetoid alive)
Takács has a really interesting perspective (from the foreword: "Bogi is a multiply neurodivergent, multiply disabled, queer, trans, intersex, Jewish immigrant from a non-Anglo country"), and I really enjoyed how the stories in this collection dug into different facets of identity. The neurodivergent takes on alien communication were especially cool to me, and I loved how religion was worked into speculative settings.
From the bonus notes in the back, it looks like not all of these stories are entirely standalone, which explains why I did feel like I was Missing Context in a few places, but for the most part I found them self-contained enough to enjoy.
My favorites, in order of appearance:
- "Four-Point Affective Calibration" (autistic candidate reflects on emotions to see if they can liaise with aliens)
- "An Errant Holy Spark" (kidnapped AI child stalls for time via Jewish mysticism and alien encounters)
- "And I Entreated" (Mom turned into a houseplant to spy on someone and doesn't get turned back on time; Family Dynamics Ensue)
- "The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade" (in the aftermath of invasion, how do you rebuild society from different groups?)
- "A Technical Term, Like Privilege" (semi-sentient apartment subsists on its tenants' blood; the apartment and a tenant plan their escape together)
- "Power to Yield" (magical power and control to keep a planetoid alive)
Read
February 7, 2024I’ve been aware of Bogi and eir work for several years, but (and I say this far too often, to the degree I could cut and paste it in half my reviews) this, eir’s second collection, is my first exposure to Bogi’s work. The book collects thirteen stories that were originally published in a diverse range of anthologies and magazines, including Fireside Magazine, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Mother of Invention and Rebuilding Tomorrow. What struck me about Bogi’s fiction is that it’s inherently kind. Even the darker pieces (with one exception that I will get to) are threaded with compassion for the marginalised, for those who have regularly found themselves on the fringes of the mainstream. The story that brought that home to me was “And I Entreated”, which is about a trans-teen learning his bar-mitzvah portion in his bedroom, which is located on a space station and whose mother- our point of view character - has recently been transformed into a houseplant. It’s not as surreal as that sounds, but rather a heartfelt, personal piece that explores the tension between religion — in this case, Judaism — and the recognition of intersex and trans-folk. I also loved the delightful “The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade” and the funny “Volatile Patterns”. But I enjoyed all the stories. My one reservation is with the title tale, “Power to Yeild”, a novella that centres on torture, pain and pleasure (essentially, the main character willingly goes through an excruciating process to control the magical forces that govern their world). It’s not my thing, but others mileage may vary. Overall, this is a strong collection. Well worth your time.
January 27, 2024
Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács
I first became aware of Bogi Takács when e was nominated for the Hugo award for best fan writer. I knew that e also wrote short stories, but I don’t read a lot of short stories in magazines or on websites, so I hadn’t encountered eir fiction before. But I LOVE a solo author short fiction collection so I jumped at a chance to request Power to Yield and Other Stories when I saw it on NetGalley.
There is a mix of sci fi, fantasy, and some science fantasy in this collection and I enjoyed most all of them! Some made me think and some made my heart sing. My favorite story involved a mother who was stuck in the form of a houseplant while her child was preparing to be bar mitzvahed. It really captured the humanity in a profound yet quiet way that I really enjoyed. The title story in the collection, Power to Yield, was a little too violent and uncomfortable for my tastes, but I understand that that may have been part of the reason for the story. It still left me feeling icky.
All in all, I am very glad I read this collection and I look forward to reading more stories by Bogi Takács.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for a fair review.
I first became aware of Bogi Takács when e was nominated for the Hugo award for best fan writer. I knew that e also wrote short stories, but I don’t read a lot of short stories in magazines or on websites, so I hadn’t encountered eir fiction before. But I LOVE a solo author short fiction collection so I jumped at a chance to request Power to Yield and Other Stories when I saw it on NetGalley.
There is a mix of sci fi, fantasy, and some science fantasy in this collection and I enjoyed most all of them! Some made me think and some made my heart sing. My favorite story involved a mother who was stuck in the form of a houseplant while her child was preparing to be bar mitzvahed. It really captured the humanity in a profound yet quiet way that I really enjoyed. The title story in the collection, Power to Yield, was a little too violent and uncomfortable for my tastes, but I understand that that may have been part of the reason for the story. It still left me feeling icky.
All in all, I am very glad I read this collection and I look forward to reading more stories by Bogi Takács.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for a fair review.
April 10, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Broken Eye Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Average rating: 3.97
I really enjoyed this short story collection. It's light speculative fiction but what makes it unique is its focus on various kinds of disability and mental illness, Judaism, and gender. Almost every story features a queer character, many have a disabled character, and a few heavily feature Jewish traditions. Some of the stories are located in or reference Hungary as well. I don't fit into any of these identities myself so a lot of these stories were very eye-opening for me. I didn't understand all the Jewish references so I had to Google a bit, and learned a lot!
I will say that I generally preferred the shorter stories in this collection. My favorite story is actually less than 2 pages long ("The Third Extension" - I honestly couldn't tell you what it was about but the vibes are immaculate)! I feel like Takács is great at depicting unique worlds and perspectives with very few words. The other top stories for me were "An Errant Holy Spark" (about AI with a Jewish twist), "Volatile Patterns" (about the dangers of cultural appropriation across alien species), and "A Technical Term, like Privilege" (about a renter tired of giving blood to their landlord / housebeast). All three of these tackle real world issues within a unique speculative context, which is one of my favorite things.
Sadly, the title story, "Power to Yield", was my least favorite of the collection by far. It was also the longest, at about three times the length of most of the other stories, so it was a struggle for me to get through. I had no idea what was going on as nothing was explained in a straightforward manner and was just alluded to. It felt really uncomfortable in a way that I'm pretty sure the author intended, but I honestly wouldn't have understood it at all without the context from the author's notes at the end of the book (which are great!) and the foreword from Ada Hoffmann at the beginning, both of which explain it briefly.
I'm sad that none of my libraries have this and it seems to be difficult to obtain for most people. But if you can get your hands on this, I highly recommend it! I would definitely be interested in reading more of Bogi Takács's work in the future.
Average rating: 3.97
I really enjoyed this short story collection. It's light speculative fiction but what makes it unique is its focus on various kinds of disability and mental illness, Judaism, and gender. Almost every story features a queer character, many have a disabled character, and a few heavily feature Jewish traditions. Some of the stories are located in or reference Hungary as well. I don't fit into any of these identities myself so a lot of these stories were very eye-opening for me. I didn't understand all the Jewish references so I had to Google a bit, and learned a lot!
I will say that I generally preferred the shorter stories in this collection. My favorite story is actually less than 2 pages long ("The Third Extension" - I honestly couldn't tell you what it was about but the vibes are immaculate)! I feel like Takács is great at depicting unique worlds and perspectives with very few words. The other top stories for me were "An Errant Holy Spark" (about AI with a Jewish twist), "Volatile Patterns" (about the dangers of cultural appropriation across alien species), and "A Technical Term, like Privilege" (about a renter tired of giving blood to their landlord / housebeast). All three of these tackle real world issues within a unique speculative context, which is one of my favorite things.
Sadly, the title story, "Power to Yield", was my least favorite of the collection by far. It was also the longest, at about three times the length of most of the other stories, so it was a struggle for me to get through. I had no idea what was going on as nothing was explained in a straightforward manner and was just alluded to. It felt really uncomfortable in a way that I'm pretty sure the author intended, but I honestly wouldn't have understood it at all without the context from the author's notes at the end of the book (which are great!) and the foreword from Ada Hoffmann at the beginning, both of which explain it briefly.
I'm sad that none of my libraries have this and it seems to be difficult to obtain for most people. But if you can get your hands on this, I highly recommend it! I would definitely be interested in reading more of Bogi Takács's work in the future.
April 9, 2024
I've mostly known Takacs as an editor and a reviewer, so it's interesting to se em as a fiction writer. Eir stories play with gender, religious identity, and some very fantastic, surreal ideas. This is a solid collection, and I'd definitely recommend picking this up if nothing else for the title story, which plays with nonsexual BDSM ritual in an intriguing way.
April 27, 2025
Tender, intricate, and alive with possibility, Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács is a luminous meditation on cognition, communication, and the radical multiplicities of being. Through shimmering, speculative worlds, Takács invites readers to imagine forms of connection that resist dominance, binary thinking, and easy legibility.
Across this collection, minds bloom differently: some communicate through emotional calibration, some through tendrils and cracked flowerpots, some through networks of consent and shared pain. Takács’s deep fascination with neurobiology and neurodivergence thrums underneath every story, refusing to flatten difference into deficit. In “Four Point Affective Calibration,” the assumption that the narrator’s desire to engage with aliens stems from autism is deftly interrogated—opening up questions about the presumptions embedded in so-called “universal” emotions.
Throughout, bodies and gender shift fluidly, refusing tidy classification. In "Folded Into Tendril And Leaf," survival and transformation are intimately entwined, as a once-transfigured student must rescue the very teacher who once made them a plant. The throughline of bodily autonomy, especially in the face of institutional abandonment or violence, pulses urgently. Even the smallest acts—growing roots into a cracked pot, offering blood to a housebeast—become acts of resistance and intimacy.
The titular novella is perhaps the collection’s most searing achievement: a story of obsession, power, and chosen suffering in the service of collective survival. Oyārun’s fixation on Aramin is uncomfortable, raw, and ultimately reshaped into something transformative—an act of yielding not to another’s will, but to communal need. In Takács’s deft hands, consent is not a formality but a living, breathing practice of freedom.
At every turn, Power to Yield and Other Stories reminds us that connection across difference is not simple, but it is sacred. This is eco-science fiction at its most tenderly defiant: a collection that cracks open the binaries of body and mind, self and other, and plants something gorgeously unruly in their place.
I finished these stories feeling a little stranger, a little softer, and a lot more hopeful. I cannot wait to read more from Takács.
📖 Recommended For: Fans of eco-speculative fiction, neurodivergent narratives, and expansive worldbuilding; readers drawn to the intersections of cognition, embodiment, and solidarity; admirers of Nnedi Okorafor or Becky Chambers.
🔑 Key Themes: Neurodiversity and Communication, Bodily Autonomy and Transformation, Power and Consent, Queer and Nonbinary Futures, Collective Survival.
Content / Trigger Warnings: Ableism (minor), Violence (minor), Misogyny (minor), War (minor), Death (minor), Torture (minor).
Across this collection, minds bloom differently: some communicate through emotional calibration, some through tendrils and cracked flowerpots, some through networks of consent and shared pain. Takács’s deep fascination with neurobiology and neurodivergence thrums underneath every story, refusing to flatten difference into deficit. In “Four Point Affective Calibration,” the assumption that the narrator’s desire to engage with aliens stems from autism is deftly interrogated—opening up questions about the presumptions embedded in so-called “universal” emotions.
Throughout, bodies and gender shift fluidly, refusing tidy classification. In "Folded Into Tendril And Leaf," survival and transformation are intimately entwined, as a once-transfigured student must rescue the very teacher who once made them a plant. The throughline of bodily autonomy, especially in the face of institutional abandonment or violence, pulses urgently. Even the smallest acts—growing roots into a cracked pot, offering blood to a housebeast—become acts of resistance and intimacy.
The titular novella is perhaps the collection’s most searing achievement: a story of obsession, power, and chosen suffering in the service of collective survival. Oyārun’s fixation on Aramin is uncomfortable, raw, and ultimately reshaped into something transformative—an act of yielding not to another’s will, but to communal need. In Takács’s deft hands, consent is not a formality but a living, breathing practice of freedom.
At every turn, Power to Yield and Other Stories reminds us that connection across difference is not simple, but it is sacred. This is eco-science fiction at its most tenderly defiant: a collection that cracks open the binaries of body and mind, self and other, and plants something gorgeously unruly in their place.
I finished these stories feeling a little stranger, a little softer, and a lot more hopeful. I cannot wait to read more from Takács.
📖 Recommended For: Fans of eco-speculative fiction, neurodivergent narratives, and expansive worldbuilding; readers drawn to the intersections of cognition, embodiment, and solidarity; admirers of Nnedi Okorafor or Becky Chambers.
🔑 Key Themes: Neurodiversity and Communication, Bodily Autonomy and Transformation, Power and Consent, Queer and Nonbinary Futures, Collective Survival.
Content / Trigger Warnings: Ableism (minor), Violence (minor), Misogyny (minor), War (minor), Death (minor), Torture (minor).
July 19, 2025
Overall: 4/10
The foreword promised something about different kinds of minds, and sure, it was there, but I don't think the book really managed to do much with this theme. Basically all stories feel underbaked for me. Most or even all of these seem to take place in the same universe and I probably would have liked this more if it was written as a single coherent piece of work with multiple threads but still explored in more detail. Plus as a hungarian, all the hungarian elements felt forced, and did nothing but make me cringe.
Four-Point Affective Calibration - 6/10 - Snapshots of dealing with bigotry with an evaluation for talking to aliens as the framing. Felt too short.
An Errant Holy Spark - 6/10 - Can a machine have a soul? Uniquely perceived telepathy proves yes. Cute but I'd like it much more if it went deeper into some of the ideas presented, instead of just putting them together quickly. Maybe could have been combined with the previous story with parallel characters and more worldbuilding.
And I Entreated - 4/10 - Slice of life with one parent being turned into a plant, which doesn't really matter. The foreword to this book talked about different perspectives like this, and that sounded interesting, but the first person plant thing was no different from being in a coma.
Folded into Tendril and Leaf - 5/10 - Little bit more of that turning into plant thing, with nice fantasy magic stuff, but this is one of those stories that doesn't even have a landing to stick.
The Third Extension - 4/10 - Barely even a pitch for a story.
On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young - 5/10 - Quick mood piece about being an outcast, mostly focused on a bullshit sexist folk tradition.
Volatile Patterns - 3/10 - Long build up to a bad joke. Hints at an interesting magic system, but does nothing with it.
The Ladybug, in Flight - 4/10 - If my intuition is correct the idea here is to turn a folk song into a sci-fi story. But it's just the impression of one.
The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade - 4/10 - Rather slowly we build up to a problem but then the solution presented rings hollow to me. It's too quick, too easy, lacks any insight into long term stuff
A Technical Term, Like Privilege - 7/10 - Good, visceral imagery about being sucked dry by certain societal forces.
Power to Yield - 5/10 - There were some intresting character dynamics and bits of worldbuilding here, and being the longest story in the book helped flesh out those dynamics pretty nicely, but again, I just don't feel it truly went somewhere with it.
The foreword promised something about different kinds of minds, and sure, it was there, but I don't think the book really managed to do much with this theme. Basically all stories feel underbaked for me. Most or even all of these seem to take place in the same universe and I probably would have liked this more if it was written as a single coherent piece of work with multiple threads but still explored in more detail. Plus as a hungarian, all the hungarian elements felt forced, and did nothing but make me cringe.
Four-Point Affective Calibration - 6/10 - Snapshots of dealing with bigotry with an evaluation for talking to aliens as the framing. Felt too short.
An Errant Holy Spark - 6/10 - Can a machine have a soul? Uniquely perceived telepathy proves yes. Cute but I'd like it much more if it went deeper into some of the ideas presented, instead of just putting them together quickly. Maybe could have been combined with the previous story with parallel characters and more worldbuilding.
And I Entreated - 4/10 - Slice of life with one parent being turned into a plant, which doesn't really matter. The foreword to this book talked about different perspectives like this, and that sounded interesting, but the first person plant thing was no different from being in a coma.
Folded into Tendril and Leaf - 5/10 - Little bit more of that turning into plant thing, with nice fantasy magic stuff, but this is one of those stories that doesn't even have a landing to stick.
The Third Extension - 4/10 - Barely even a pitch for a story.
On Good Friday the Raven Washes Its Young - 5/10 - Quick mood piece about being an outcast, mostly focused on a bullshit sexist folk tradition.
Volatile Patterns - 3/10 - Long build up to a bad joke. Hints at an interesting magic system, but does nothing with it.
The Ladybug, in Flight - 4/10 - If my intuition is correct the idea here is to turn a folk song into a sci-fi story. But it's just the impression of one.
The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade - 4/10 - Rather slowly we build up to a problem but then the solution presented rings hollow to me. It's too quick, too easy, lacks any insight into long term stuff
A Technical Term, Like Privilege - 7/10 - Good, visceral imagery about being sucked dry by certain societal forces.
Power to Yield - 5/10 - There were some intresting character dynamics and bits of worldbuilding here, and being the longest story in the book helped flesh out those dynamics pretty nicely, but again, I just don't feel it truly went somewhere with it.
January 29, 2026
There are a few gems in this collection but overall it was a disappointment, with many dnfs. A story by story update:
The foreword was kinda unnecessary.
The first story didn't leave a huge impression on me but I didn't dislike it either. 3 stars?
The second one has such a cool ending. 5 stars
The third story was a distressing read. Being unable to do anything when your kid is hurting sounds horrible. It also felt dragged out, which worked to show what life might be like if you were turned into a plant but it made the story a little less good. I also expected a little more on the invasion of the child's privacy, with the plantmom being in their room. 3,5 stars
The 4th story was pretty good. I like the writing style in all of these but I never feel super invested in the characters or what's going on. It's creative and interesting but also everything feels very neutral, very detached, very 3 star.
The 5th one was too short, barely a story, but an interesting concept. 2 stars?
The 6th story was a dnf.
I really didn't like the 7th story. It's about alien investigators sent by their military/government to a different planet to investigate some riots, but also they're a couple and there's a dominant/submissive dynamic I hate to read about in general but the author made the submissive one a clumsy whatever a nonbinary alternative for damsel would be who needs to be saved by the dominant partner. Hate that so much, reminds me too much of the worst YA and wattpad books I've attempted to read. It's also not really engaging. So it's a dnf.
The 8th story was a dnf too. Self-deprecating robotic ladybugs aren't really my vibe and I just didn't care. It was maybe 3 pages long and I couldn't get through it.
The 9th story is about some kind of recruiter and I don't want to read about that. I had a visceral reaction to the term, I don't even care what they were recruiting for. Dnf
The 10th one was so good, I'm glad I didn't dnf it or the collection and I was tempted to do both. For that it can only get 3,5 stars but if you push through the beginning it has a great payoff.
The 11th story was a dnf as well. I just got bad vibes from the beginning.
The foreword was kinda unnecessary.
The first story didn't leave a huge impression on me but I didn't dislike it either. 3 stars?
The second one has such a cool ending. 5 stars
The third story was a distressing read. Being unable to do anything when your kid is hurting sounds horrible. It also felt dragged out, which worked to show what life might be like if you were turned into a plant but it made the story a little less good. I also expected a little more on the invasion of the child's privacy, with the plantmom being in their room. 3,5 stars
The 4th story was pretty good. I like the writing style in all of these but I never feel super invested in the characters or what's going on. It's creative and interesting but also everything feels very neutral, very detached, very 3 star.
The 5th one was too short, barely a story, but an interesting concept. 2 stars?
The 6th story was a dnf.
I really didn't like the 7th story. It's about alien investigators sent by their military/government to a different planet to investigate some riots, but also they're a couple and there's a dominant/submissive dynamic I hate to read about in general but the author made the submissive one a clumsy whatever a nonbinary alternative for damsel would be who needs to be saved by the dominant partner. Hate that so much, reminds me too much of the worst YA and wattpad books I've attempted to read. It's also not really engaging. So it's a dnf.
The 8th story was a dnf too. Self-deprecating robotic ladybugs aren't really my vibe and I just didn't care. It was maybe 3 pages long and I couldn't get through it.
The 9th story is about some kind of recruiter and I don't want to read about that. I had a visceral reaction to the term, I don't even care what they were recruiting for. Dnf
The 10th one was so good, I'm glad I didn't dnf it or the collection and I was tempted to do both. For that it can only get 3,5 stars but if you push through the beginning it has a great payoff.
The 11th story was a dnf as well. I just got bad vibes from the beginning.
February 6, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.
There were stories in this book I really enjoyed, in particular "And I Entreated". I loved the concept of being stuck as a plant and how all of the characters were affected by it somehow. I also liked “The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade” especially its setting and the community the characters built for themselves. At last, and probably my favourite from all the stories, was "Power to Yield". It's a novella and I feel its length was great enough to build the characters, which was something that made me like it much more than the stories which didn't have that opportunity. It also dealt a lot with ableism and neurodivergency and I really loved Oyārun as a character.
The overall writing of this book was excellent, flowy and focused on the characters, it was easy to read in most parts.
But I still struggled to get through some of the stories and while the ones I mentioned were great, the whole impression I was left with after finishing this book was simply okay.
There were stories in this book I really enjoyed, in particular "And I Entreated". I loved the concept of being stuck as a plant and how all of the characters were affected by it somehow. I also liked “The 1st Interspecies Solidarity Fair and Parade” especially its setting and the community the characters built for themselves. At last, and probably my favourite from all the stories, was "Power to Yield". It's a novella and I feel its length was great enough to build the characters, which was something that made me like it much more than the stories which didn't have that opportunity. It also dealt a lot with ableism and neurodivergency and I really loved Oyārun as a character.
The overall writing of this book was excellent, flowy and focused on the characters, it was easy to read in most parts.
But I still struggled to get through some of the stories and while the ones I mentioned were great, the whole impression I was left with after finishing this book was simply okay.
November 9, 2023
I always love Bogi Takács's writing, and this new collection elevates on every level. The art, the weaving between tale and inspiration, the spin through dream and water of eir stories always makes me feel more connected, more mortal, and thus more alive. And in that: calm. Peace and control within the storm. The choice to love and the choice to break. The essence of our existence. Power to Yield and Other Stories is an invitation to insight, an invitation to joy.
Regarding content notices: There were moments that came close to hard-learned guidelines for my own care. That said - something I have learned through my own experiences with ptsd is that the measure of content is vastly affected by the understanding of trust, the meaning of message! A theme? A good theme, I think.
Regarding content notices: There were moments that came close to hard-learned guidelines for my own care. That said - something I have learned through my own experiences with ptsd is that the measure of content is vastly affected by the understanding of trust, the meaning of message! A theme? A good theme, I think.
May 19, 2025
I enjoyed the breadth of experiences and worldviews, both human and inhuman. The science fiction and fantasy elements were well utilized to show expansive ways of being and understanding, from human-like AI to alien hive minds to the slow, strange plant-senses and aid the themes relating to communication and connection/alienation.
These stories were excellent at creating rich worlds and characters with the quick sketch provided by a short story, and it must be down to the care and interest in how all sorts of intersecting identities might interact and evolve in these environments.
These stories were excellent at creating rich worlds and characters with the quick sketch provided by a short story, and it must be down to the care and interest in how all sorts of intersecting identities might interact and evolve in these environments.
March 31, 2024
Takács is such an extraordinary writer and ey bring eir Judaism into the stories in a way that makes me not actually get hung up on weird questions and actually just embrace the realness because ey include but don’t infodump. It’s just part of the background fabric of the incredibly strange and moving and complicated stories.
September 17, 2024
These short stories are well written, and I enjoyed many of the situations and characters described. However, I found them overall confusing to follow, as some seem to bleed into each other, and it was often hard -- at least in the ebook version -- to tell when one story ended and the next began. I think others will enjoy these stories, though, even if they weren't for me.
January 21, 2025
Even though I don't enjoy reading sci-fi, I had a good time with this book. It's easy to read, well written the stories are interesting and I like the multiple pov from characters from different lives, background, history.
I fully appreciate the commentary at the end by the author too, which shed more lights in each the stories.
I fully appreciate the commentary at the end by the author too, which shed more lights in each the stories.
July 11, 2025
Short stories that lean into the author's characteristics: Jewish, trans, immigrant. They are infused into science fictional settings in particularly effective ways. There is a shared universe aspect to some of them. The longest story, and the title one, has uncomfortable depictions of BDSM practices. Fair warning.
January 2, 2024
A collection of speculative fiction short stories with a truly original take on the genre. There is depth and beauty in each story here, and each story makes me feel like I'm seeing new worlds, characters, and places through new eyes.
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January 4, 2024Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this collection, but I had to put down the arc due to the terrible formatting. A more detailed review will come once the book officially come out.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this collection, but I had to put down the arc due to the terrible formatting. A more detailed review will come once the book officially come out.
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