A trove of fantastical treasures.
Twenty-two speculative stories that range from futuristic SF to fairytale remakes.
Each tale in Yu’s stellar collection could be boiled down to a startling “what if” premise: What if a magician arrived into a wintry village selling eyeballs made of ice (“Ilse, Who Saw Clearly”)? What if a witch was a little too helpful in joining a knight on his quest to slay dragons (“The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight”)? What if there were a unicorn in Central Park (“Braid of Days and Wake of Nights”)? But even the most imaginative premises would fail to come to life without complexity, style, and heart—and Yu has all three. In the charming opener, the angel Gabriel offers to help a Cairo man complete the hajj, but winds up in Miami instead (“The Pilgrim and the Angel”). Very often, the stories wield sharp social critique in ways that update, or invert, traditional fables or fairy tales. In “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”—an “Ant and the Grasshopper”-esque story nominated for Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards—wasps who make accurate maps on the insides of their paper nests colonize—politically—the bees in a Chinese village. In “The Wretched and the Beautiful,” an alien craft descends onto a beach and the resulting crisis is an allegory for global refugeeism. Stories like this could be didactic and obvious, but Yu deftly evades predictability. Best of all, her sentences shine with unexpected images and turns of phrase—a “goat-slender” man looking in a mirror; spectacles for the soul that allow its wearer to walk “long in clarity and loneliness thereafter.” While a title like “Jewel Box,” especially without a titular story attached, could seem aspirational, Yu’s book lives up to it: Each story here is a gem.
A trove of fantastical treasures.Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781645660484
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Erewhon
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.
A reluctant princess is thrust into deadly political intrigue in Perry’s sweeping, high-stakes romantasy.
Odessa is the overlooked and underestimated princess of Quentis, whose life takes an unexpected turn when a deal is struck between her father and the formidable Turan warriors force her into an arranged marriage with their enigmatic prince, Zavier Wolfe. Intended as a mere formality to secure trade routes and military alliances, the betrothal spirals into something far more dangerous when ancient magic, a ruthless Guardian, and a looming war threaten to upend everything she knows. Finally emerging from the shadow of her seemingly perfect half sister, Mae, Odessa must navigate court politics, monstrous creatures, and her own uncertain place in a world where survival often depends on strategy rather than strength. As tensions rise, she finds herself entangled with the dangerous, enigmatic Guardian—a man whose silver eyes hold secrets of their own. Perry’s worldbuilding is lush and immersive, crafting a kingdom rife with old magic, deadly beasts, and political machinations that add depth. The pacing is relentless, carrying Odessa from one life-altering event to another as she grapples with duty, defiance, and a destiny she never chose. Her internal conflict is compelling, torn between the expectations placed upon her and the fierce independence that threatens to make her an outcast in her own kingdom. Romance simmers as Odessa struggles to reconcile her obligations with her growing attraction to the Guardian, whose past is as shadowed as his reputation. Mae is introduced as Odessa’s political foil, and although her presence drives much of Odessa’s internal drama—being constantly overshadowed or underestimated—she’s mostly seen through Odessa’s perspective. Her motivations, ambitions, and political maneuverings might have benefited from deeper exploration to give more nuance to the power dynamics. However, Perry’s evocative prose and intricate plotting make for a gripping tale. Readers looking for a slow-burn romantasy with rich political intrigue and a protagonist forced to create her own fate will find much to enjoy.
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378514
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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