Harare Review of Books

407 pages. Expected publication date: Aug. 6, 2024 from Thinking Ink Press. SF anthology.

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It’s kind of in fashion to claim neurodivergence these days, or elements of it. On the other hand, greater awareness has also meant that people without a formal diagnosis have, through popular culture and social media, identified their own neurodivergence. What hasn’t really happened to a large extent yet is literature featuring neurodiverse characters; disabled characters in general are still rare. This collection addresses that as it imagines neurodiverse characters discovering themselves, meeting aliens, and generally using their difference in positive ways. These characters are autistic, have OCD, synaesthesia, social anxiety, ADHD, and more.

It’s a hopeful and fun collection of fiction (mostly speculative), poetry and art. It’s not perfect, but I don’t think it ever set out to be, nor needs to be. I enjoyed Impact by Jasmine Starr, which features a sea urchin-like child alien; Shadows of Titanium Rain by Anthony Francis is a wonderful tale of “ghosts” on a tidally-locked moon; Cat Rambo’s Scary Monsters, Super Creeps is super satisfying; David Manfre’s First Contact is delightfully unusual—first contact from a different perspective. The Space Between Stitches by Minerva Cerridwen is my favourite because crochet wins the day! Sam Crain’s Cadre is about finding your place in the world by turning your “weaknesses” into strengths, as is Meeting of the Branes by Kiya Nicoll. The Cow Test by Lauren D. Fulter is about friends connectiong across the stars (as are a few other stories in the collection). Gamma Zaria by Gail Brown is on a beautiful planet, and competes with M. D. Cooper’s The Zeta Remnant and Jody Lynn Nye’s A Hint of Colour for my favourite setting. Tangible Things by Jilian Starr is heartbreaking, with a solid ending. The List-Making Habits of Heartbroken Ships by Stewart C. Baker features my favourite trope in all of SF: a sentient ship!

There are so many well-imagined worlds and situations represented in this collection, and it speaks strongly for neurodiversity, including advocating for its recognition as part of the spectrum of human experience— which, of course it is; but the fact that a book like this needs to make the point is the reason for the book’s existence. Readers of SF will enjoy it, as well as anyone who wants to understand a little more about neurodiversity, or about people finding their way.

Many thanks to Thinking Ink Press and NetGalley for access to the DRC.