Harare Review of Books

368 pages.

Published Apr. 11, 2023 (Flame Tree Press)

SFF anthology.

I have just finished reading this wonderful anthology of stories by Chinese and English writers. All of them are about space in some way, but thrown in are VR, aliens, mind transfers, potential wars, crew conflict, amnesia, disability, children, androids replacing dead people, aloneness, colonising new planets, and scary unknown things on Mars.

There were some really delightful stories in here. My favourites:

• Alex Shvartsman’s The Race for Arcadia has a fascinating question at its centre: Do you have to be embodied to travel in space?
• On The Ship by Leah Cypess and Her Glimmering Facade by Eleanor Wood have similar ideas with VR, but the latter is deeply sad (won’t spoil it for you);
• Seeds of Mercury by Wang Jinkang just grazed my warning button for its representation of disability, but is also immensely imaginative and amazing;
• Russell James’s The Emissary is a quick Independence Day-type story;
• Doomsday Tour by Bao Shu, an amusing (depending on your perspective) tale about Doomsday on December 21, 2012;
• A Minuet of Corpses by Amdi Silvestri is incredibly spooky, and unexpected. That one’s going to stay with me.

I didn’t like every single story, and the ones I didn’t like, I really didn’t like. However, all of the stories had great worldbuilding and were interesting, and my favourites were great. So, although the anthology is a little uneven, it is an excellent and recommended read.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and to NetGalley for giving me access.