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Current Futures: A Sci-Fi Ocean Anthology
Inspired by the awarding of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE and in celebration of World Oceans Day, XPRIZE partnered with 18 sci-fi authors and 18 artists, with contributions from all seven continents, to create an anthology of original short stories in a future when technology has helped unlock the secrets of the ocean. The series is a “deep dive” into how some of today’s most promising innovations might positively impact the ocean in the future, meant to remind us about the mystery and majesty of the ocean, and the critical need for discovery and stewardship.
ebook
First published January 1, 2019
About the author
Ann VanderMeer
63 books240 followersAnn VanderMeer is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine Weird Tales. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
Her work as Fiction Editor of Weird Tales won a Hugo Award. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year's best anthologies. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.
In 2009 "Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal" won a Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Though some of its individual contributors have been honored with Hugos, Nebula Awards, and even one Pulitzer Prize, the magazine itself had never before even been nominated for a Hugo. It was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 15, 2020
Sometimes a story collection needs to be seen as a whole. While I'd rate one or two individual stories two stars and most are four stars, in its entirety this collection is amazing. It was very touching at the personal level. Probably because it has every element I love: the ocean, future technology and people who'd build their lives around it, written by diverse female writers from varied parts of the world.
From deep sea mining, eco-disaster tourism, reef-building nanobots to sovereign underwater cities, it was like being plunged into worlds of possibilities, most of them were bad (and unavoidable, considering current condition) but some glimmer of hope remained. I like it when speculative fiction by futurists is not always doom and gloom, and not always human vs. nature but also consider the human with nature angle.
The illustrations are fantastic (also by women). I love this collection so much I'm going to nominate four stories for the Hugos. Kudos to you, Ann VanderMeer!
PS: They could be read in: https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/
From deep sea mining, eco-disaster tourism, reef-building nanobots to sovereign underwater cities, it was like being plunged into worlds of possibilities, most of them were bad (and unavoidable, considering current condition) but some glimmer of hope remained. I like it when speculative fiction by futurists is not always doom and gloom, and not always human vs. nature but also consider the human with nature angle.
The illustrations are fantastic (also by women). I love this collection so much I'm going to nominate four stories for the Hugos. Kudos to you, Ann VanderMeer!
PS: They could be read in: https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/
March 10, 2020
This online collection of stories concerning themselves with the topic of oceans, clima change and pollution is a real eye-catcher.
Even before I had read anything I was delighted by the original artwork that goes with each of the stories. Such gorgeous pieces are already worth some stars on their own.
The stories themselves start a bit slowly (as regards my taste in short stories). In all of them I could feel the respect for this topic and our environment, nearly all of them are structured as a mirror or contrast of personal fate against global fate, but I often wished for more succinctness in the prose. In the second half of the collection the quality of the structure improved in my opinion.
My favourites are
"Poems and Distant Lands" by Gu Shi, wherein an abandoned experiment leads to unforseen results. I loved the clear prose and the on-point ending.
"Soft Edges" by Elizabeth Bear, a thoughtprovoking little piece about conscience, principles and saving the world.
"To Have and to Hold" by Brenda Peynado, a beautiful, melancholic story about change and life goals. It creates a kind of emotional involvement I appreciate.
The collection can be read for free following the above link. I highly recommend to give this beautiful collaboration of authors and visual artists a try.
Even before I had read anything I was delighted by the original artwork that goes with each of the stories. Such gorgeous pieces are already worth some stars on their own.
The stories themselves start a bit slowly (as regards my taste in short stories). In all of them I could feel the respect for this topic and our environment, nearly all of them are structured as a mirror or contrast of personal fate against global fate, but I often wished for more succinctness in the prose. In the second half of the collection the quality of the structure improved in my opinion.
My favourites are
"Poems and Distant Lands" by Gu Shi, wherein an abandoned experiment leads to unforseen results. I loved the clear prose and the on-point ending.
"Soft Edges" by Elizabeth Bear, a thoughtprovoking little piece about conscience, principles and saving the world.
"To Have and to Hold" by Brenda Peynado, a beautiful, melancholic story about change and life goals. It creates a kind of emotional involvement I appreciate.
The collection can be read for free following the above link. I highly recommend to give this beautiful collaboration of authors and visual artists a try.
April 23, 2021
I'll come back and update this review when I've read more of them, but for now, this rating is just for Mother Ocean by Vandana Singh. I just can't even put words to why I love it so much. It's absolutely wonderful, and you can read her story at the link above. The art for this one is by Jing Jing Tsong, and I'm a tiny bit disappointed that this already exists in GR as an anthology, because my entry for the story as a stand-alone could have included the artist's illustration.
Update: They are phenomenal. What a beautiful, incredible collection. The only one I didn't utterly connect with and love was Ms. Hurley's contribution, and I'm beginning to think that her writing and I just aren't for one another.
Update: They are phenomenal. What a beautiful, incredible collection. The only one I didn't utterly connect with and love was Ms. Hurley's contribution, and I'm beginning to think that her writing and I just aren't for one another.
March 13, 2021
Six months ago, I had realised that I need more women authored books. Science fiction being my favourite genre, I have been collating as many female authors as I can. Imagine my surprise when I found 18 authors, from diverse backgrounds, all in this collection of short stories.
Current Futures is a collection of 18 Sci Fi short stories. It is extremely surprising that the anthology is not as famous as it should be. The underlying theme of all the stories is the ocean and climate change. This theme affects various people in myriad ways, as beautifully captured through all these stories. Most of the stories have a female protagonist, who feel real and relatable, unlike those usually written by male authors. The setting of the stories feel realistic and offer hope, through innovations and research by the efforts of scientists and researchers. We are given a window to see how soon climate change is upon us and how our society will have to cope.
Top favourite picks:
1) Mother Ocean by Vandana Singh
2)Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders by Malka Older
3) Poems and Distant Lands by Gu Shi
4)The Seething Sea Sufficeth Us by Catherynne M. Valente
Current Futures is a collection of 18 Sci Fi short stories. It is extremely surprising that the anthology is not as famous as it should be. The underlying theme of all the stories is the ocean and climate change. This theme affects various people in myriad ways, as beautifully captured through all these stories. Most of the stories have a female protagonist, who feel real and relatable, unlike those usually written by male authors. The setting of the stories feel realistic and offer hope, through innovations and research by the efforts of scientists and researchers. We are given a window to see how soon climate change is upon us and how our society will have to cope.
Top favourite picks:
1) Mother Ocean by Vandana Singh
2)Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders by Malka Older
3) Poems and Distant Lands by Gu Shi
4)The Seething Sea Sufficeth Us by Catherynne M. Valente
Currently reading
April 9, 2021Intriguing anthology. I'll be back to read more. So far, I've read:
● “Soft Edges” by Elizabeth Bear: https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so... An engineer finds a body after a storm. She's a homicide victim. The engineer is reluctant to cooperate with the homicide detective.... Well-written, of course. But I couldn't quite get my head around the engineer's attitudes. Anyway, 3 stars for me.
● “Soft Edges” by Elizabeth Bear: https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so... An engineer finds a body after a storm. She's a homicide victim. The engineer is reluctant to cooperate with the homicide detective.... Well-written, of course. But I couldn't quite get my head around the engineer's attitudes. Anyway, 3 stars for me.
March 21, 2021
Enjoyable and thought-provoking collection of stories about how people will interact with the ocean and each other in the future. Some overlap in themes (unavoidably). Each story is paired with a lovely illustration, which helped bump it up to 4 stars for me.
September 7, 2020
No matter who you are, this is a collection worth reading.
December 5, 2020
This is an online-only anthology, available to read for free at https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories
This anthology includes 18 sci-fi short stories set in a future in which technology is helping us to understand and hopefully save the ocean. Each author was asked to submit a story in this vein that has a hopeful note about our future on this planet.
Based on the stories alone, I’d give this 3.5 stars, but rounding it up to 4 for the gorgeous artwork included with each story. There are a couple of truly stand-out stories, a couple of duds, but mostly - each story is within the realm of “fine” to “interesting.” My favorites are the submissions by Vandana Singh and Malka Older.
1. Mother Ocean, by Vandana Singh. Paro knows she has a connection to the ocean, despite her mother’s insistence that she avoid the sea at all costs. As she and a blue whale learn to trust each other deeply, she begins to remember. This beautifully written story touches on the interconnectedness of humans and (the rest of) nature, the devastating consequences of colonialism, generational trauma, vulnerability, and - of course - climate change. Highly recommended. Art by Jing Jing Tsong. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/mo... 4.5*
2. Talking in Pictures by Sheila Finch. An interspecies communication researcher visits the ocean to experiment with using her neural implant to communicate with dolphins. Much like the researcher’s work, this story felt like the seed of an idea that hadn’t been fleshed out. It also ended rather abruptly. The art (by Christina Dill) is lovely though. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/ta... 2.5*
3. Improvisations on an Ocean Call by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz. Ys lives as a human, but she is also.. different from others. She knows of the music of the sea. “Humpbacks and sperm whale will cross paths with orca, baleen whales and bottlenose dolphins between late autumn and early winter and these meetings often turn into full concerts including cavorting and dance.” And Ys is inviting others to share this concert. I wasn’t sure about this one at first, but it grew on me as the main character developed (though I’m still not sure I fully understand all of the world-building. Art by Ayelet Raziel. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/im... 3.5*
4. Repatriation by Nalo Hopkinson. In the near future, Jamaica’s coast is underwater. “Global warning brought supertornados which had eroded the sand away. Polar ice cap melts had raised water levels enough to permanently flood so many of our coastal cities.” Our main character watched throughout his childhood as cruise ships contributed to oceanic pollution and climate change - and he hates them for this; he hates that he has had to immigrate to America. So why is his husband taking him on a surprise cruise for his birthday? This was a hopeful story, if a bit predictable. Still, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination, and Nalo Hopkinson is always worth a read. Art by Carolina Rodriguez-Fuenmay. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/re... 3*
5. Floating Rugs by Mohale Mashigo. Ella lives in an underwater community, watching whales swim past her window; she and her neighbors strive to sustain their environment by engaging in conservation work. But when a journalist from National Geographic arrives to write about their lifestyle, everything feels threatened. “I didn’t want someone writing about us like we were some ‘lost conservation tribe.’ We are so much more than that.” This was a well-written story with such an interesting premise; it highlights the wisdom of indigenous communities and the harm that happens when outsiders show an interest. “They will want to turn this into a destination where they get drunk in the ruins of beach front houses and take selfies ‘with the tribe.’” This is a short but powerful story. Art by Cornelia Li. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/fl... 4*
6. Sea Maple by Marie Lu. With some short stories, it’s hard to write a brief summary without spoilers, and this is one of those. Our main character discovered an underwater forest of giant coral (a new species); the story begins as she shows her 8-year-old sister her discovery using VR tech, and .. but no, I have to leave it at that. It’s a beautifully written, thoughtful, & moving character-driven story. Highly recommended. Art by Jazmen Richardson. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/se... 4*
7. Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders by Malka Older. This was in the Best SF of the Year collection that I read and it was one of my overall favorites from that collection. It’s another story that’s hard to describe without spoilers, but it begins with a marine behavioral researcher and an octopus. What if we could see the world through the eyes of another intelligent creature? What will we see that we’d never understood before? Highly recommended reading. Art by Chiara Zarmati. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/st... 5*
8. Blue Lotus by Madeline Ashby. This story is “about perfume, disinformation, and AI” (author description). This one was strange, but I like that it touched on how human technology can inadvertently impact others species. For instance - did you know that airplanes flying over nature preserves disrupts mating cycles of many species. (Not in the story, just a random sad fact.) Anyway, the story was okay. Art by Daria Kirpach. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/bl... 2.5*
9. Her Seal Skin Coat by Lauren Beukes. CW: fatphobia. An immersion expert makes a living demoing immersion technology that lets the participant feel the sensory (touch) experience of a nearby seal. She loves immersion herself, but hates the tourists she has to serve. Then she gets an offer for a much more interesting immersion job. This was a well-written and really interesting read. Art by Nancy Liang. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/he... 4*
10. Haven by Karen Lord. 2040 is “a time of rising sea levels and lethal hurricanes” in which “creative solutions are called for.” This had a lot going on for a 15 minute read, and I’m mostly just confused. I read it in full, skimmed it again, googled it, skimmed some more. Nope, I’m just confused. Oh well. Art by Michela Buttignol. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/ha... 2*
11. The Body Remembers by Kameron Hurley. CW: graphic depictions of war & PTSD. Nieve, a veteran of The Water Wars, is sent to a facility to try a new PTSD treatment - but it might get worse before it gets better. This felt like a story the author wrote after reading “The Body Keeps the Score” (a hugely influential work on trauma treatment). Good story but also a hard read. Art by Robin Eisenberg. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3.5*
12. The Little Shepherdess by Gwyneth Jones. Diti, a graduate student researcher, is working on a species survey for a deep sea mining project. Watching the oceanic life forms, she begins to rethink the current mining methods. This story was interesting, but the tonal shift at the end - wrapping the story up in a tidy bow - threw me off a bit. Art by Rosanna Tasker. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3.5*
13. Poems and Distant Lands by Gu Shi. Chen Shiyuan unexpectedly receives a call from a former mentor/project manager, and he learns that perhaps their project from 2 decades ago (to create an underwater AI for cleaning up crude oil and plastic from the ocean) wasn’t quite the failure they thought - but it’s also become something else entirely. An interesting read with some fun imagery. Art by Kirsten Zirngibi (go check out the full image!). https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/po... 3*
14. Soft Edges by Elizabeth Bear. Art by Priscilla Kim. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so.... A conservationist gets dragged into helping with a murder investigation when she finds a body washed ashore in a preservation area. She has her own history of being unjustly accused of a crime and spent several months in jail - so she’s understandably reluctant to help. This story suffered a bit from the author having a clear message to convey (our justice system is broken) without strong characterization or plotting to back it up. 2.5*
15. The Salt Dark by Deborah Biancotti. Meri wakes on the ship that she works on to her boss sounding the alarm; someone is diving in the dark, trying to steal the baby coral - the genetically spliced “hybrid” coral she works to protect. This was interesting if not super memorable. (I’m really tired today, so excuse the lackluster descriptions.) Art by Andreea Dobrin Dinu. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3*
16. The Seething Sea Sufficeth Us by Catherynne M Valente. This story is from the perspective of a pregnant whale - swimming the ocean (at times through underwater [previously inhabited by humans] cities), and singing the song of her pod to her unborn son. An interesting and strangely lyrical story. Art by Kaela Graham. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 4*
17. To Have and To Hold by Brenda Peynado. Gabriela works with her parents on their disaster tourist cruise ship. She has just learned that her parents are divorcing, and this story holds her anger and also her reflections on how holding/possessing the things and people you love can often destroy them. “After, they always come to me with handfuls of shells, expecting to take back some memento marking their tasks, keep some beauty untouched for themselves. Part of my job was telling them to put all the shells they gathered back where they found them. Despite their best intentions, they still forget there are billions of us and any one action multiplied can pick the planet clean.” Some may find it a bit heavy-handed, but there are some things that just need to be said explicitly. Art by Tracy J. Lee. Go check out the full image - it’s beautiful! https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/to... 4*
18. Southern Residents by Brenda Cooper. Dr. Julie Pol has just opened the Ocean Research Institute & Spa (ORIAS). There are plenty of critics - those who don’t think saving less than a hundred whales is worth millions of dollars when so many humans are suffering. Julie has to convince them that saving the whales means saving the ocean & saving the ocean means saving us. A well-written and fitting end to this anthology. Art by Alyssa Winans. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so... 3.5*
This anthology includes 18 sci-fi short stories set in a future in which technology is helping us to understand and hopefully save the ocean. Each author was asked to submit a story in this vein that has a hopeful note about our future on this planet.
Based on the stories alone, I’d give this 3.5 stars, but rounding it up to 4 for the gorgeous artwork included with each story. There are a couple of truly stand-out stories, a couple of duds, but mostly - each story is within the realm of “fine” to “interesting.” My favorites are the submissions by Vandana Singh and Malka Older.
1. Mother Ocean, by Vandana Singh. Paro knows she has a connection to the ocean, despite her mother’s insistence that she avoid the sea at all costs. As she and a blue whale learn to trust each other deeply, she begins to remember. This beautifully written story touches on the interconnectedness of humans and (the rest of) nature, the devastating consequences of colonialism, generational trauma, vulnerability, and - of course - climate change. Highly recommended. Art by Jing Jing Tsong. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/mo... 4.5*
2. Talking in Pictures by Sheila Finch. An interspecies communication researcher visits the ocean to experiment with using her neural implant to communicate with dolphins. Much like the researcher’s work, this story felt like the seed of an idea that hadn’t been fleshed out. It also ended rather abruptly. The art (by Christina Dill) is lovely though. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/ta... 2.5*
3. Improvisations on an Ocean Call by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz. Ys lives as a human, but she is also.. different from others. She knows of the music of the sea. “Humpbacks and sperm whale will cross paths with orca, baleen whales and bottlenose dolphins between late autumn and early winter and these meetings often turn into full concerts including cavorting and dance.” And Ys is inviting others to share this concert. I wasn’t sure about this one at first, but it grew on me as the main character developed (though I’m still not sure I fully understand all of the world-building. Art by Ayelet Raziel. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/im... 3.5*
4. Repatriation by Nalo Hopkinson. In the near future, Jamaica’s coast is underwater. “Global warning brought supertornados which had eroded the sand away. Polar ice cap melts had raised water levels enough to permanently flood so many of our coastal cities.” Our main character watched throughout his childhood as cruise ships contributed to oceanic pollution and climate change - and he hates them for this; he hates that he has had to immigrate to America. So why is his husband taking him on a surprise cruise for his birthday? This was a hopeful story, if a bit predictable. Still, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination, and Nalo Hopkinson is always worth a read. Art by Carolina Rodriguez-Fuenmay. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/re... 3*
5. Floating Rugs by Mohale Mashigo. Ella lives in an underwater community, watching whales swim past her window; she and her neighbors strive to sustain their environment by engaging in conservation work. But when a journalist from National Geographic arrives to write about their lifestyle, everything feels threatened. “I didn’t want someone writing about us like we were some ‘lost conservation tribe.’ We are so much more than that.” This was a well-written story with such an interesting premise; it highlights the wisdom of indigenous communities and the harm that happens when outsiders show an interest. “They will want to turn this into a destination where they get drunk in the ruins of beach front houses and take selfies ‘with the tribe.’” This is a short but powerful story. Art by Cornelia Li. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/fl... 4*
6. Sea Maple by Marie Lu. With some short stories, it’s hard to write a brief summary without spoilers, and this is one of those. Our main character discovered an underwater forest of giant coral (a new species); the story begins as she shows her 8-year-old sister her discovery using VR tech, and .. but no, I have to leave it at that. It’s a beautifully written, thoughtful, & moving character-driven story. Highly recommended. Art by Jazmen Richardson. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/se... 4*
7. Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders by Malka Older. This was in the Best SF of the Year collection that I read and it was one of my overall favorites from that collection. It’s another story that’s hard to describe without spoilers, but it begins with a marine behavioral researcher and an octopus. What if we could see the world through the eyes of another intelligent creature? What will we see that we’d never understood before? Highly recommended reading. Art by Chiara Zarmati. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/st... 5*
8. Blue Lotus by Madeline Ashby. This story is “about perfume, disinformation, and AI” (author description). This one was strange, but I like that it touched on how human technology can inadvertently impact others species. For instance - did you know that airplanes flying over nature preserves disrupts mating cycles of many species. (Not in the story, just a random sad fact.) Anyway, the story was okay. Art by Daria Kirpach. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/bl... 2.5*
9. Her Seal Skin Coat by Lauren Beukes. CW: fatphobia. An immersion expert makes a living demoing immersion technology that lets the participant feel the sensory (touch) experience of a nearby seal. She loves immersion herself, but hates the tourists she has to serve. Then she gets an offer for a much more interesting immersion job. This was a well-written and really interesting read. Art by Nancy Liang. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/he... 4*
10. Haven by Karen Lord. 2040 is “a time of rising sea levels and lethal hurricanes” in which “creative solutions are called for.” This had a lot going on for a 15 minute read, and I’m mostly just confused. I read it in full, skimmed it again, googled it, skimmed some more. Nope, I’m just confused. Oh well. Art by Michela Buttignol. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/ha... 2*
11. The Body Remembers by Kameron Hurley. CW: graphic depictions of war & PTSD. Nieve, a veteran of The Water Wars, is sent to a facility to try a new PTSD treatment - but it might get worse before it gets better. This felt like a story the author wrote after reading “The Body Keeps the Score” (a hugely influential work on trauma treatment). Good story but also a hard read. Art by Robin Eisenberg. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3.5*
12. The Little Shepherdess by Gwyneth Jones. Diti, a graduate student researcher, is working on a species survey for a deep sea mining project. Watching the oceanic life forms, she begins to rethink the current mining methods. This story was interesting, but the tonal shift at the end - wrapping the story up in a tidy bow - threw me off a bit. Art by Rosanna Tasker. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3.5*
13. Poems and Distant Lands by Gu Shi. Chen Shiyuan unexpectedly receives a call from a former mentor/project manager, and he learns that perhaps their project from 2 decades ago (to create an underwater AI for cleaning up crude oil and plastic from the ocean) wasn’t quite the failure they thought - but it’s also become something else entirely. An interesting read with some fun imagery. Art by Kirsten Zirngibi (go check out the full image!). https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/po... 3*
14. Soft Edges by Elizabeth Bear. Art by Priscilla Kim. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so.... A conservationist gets dragged into helping with a murder investigation when she finds a body washed ashore in a preservation area. She has her own history of being unjustly accused of a crime and spent several months in jail - so she’s understandably reluctant to help. This story suffered a bit from the author having a clear message to convey (our justice system is broken) without strong characterization or plotting to back it up. 2.5*
15. The Salt Dark by Deborah Biancotti. Meri wakes on the ship that she works on to her boss sounding the alarm; someone is diving in the dark, trying to steal the baby coral - the genetically spliced “hybrid” coral she works to protect. This was interesting if not super memorable. (I’m really tired today, so excuse the lackluster descriptions.) Art by Andreea Dobrin Dinu. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 3*
16. The Seething Sea Sufficeth Us by Catherynne M Valente. This story is from the perspective of a pregnant whale - swimming the ocean (at times through underwater [previously inhabited by humans] cities), and singing the song of her pod to her unborn son. An interesting and strangely lyrical story. Art by Kaela Graham. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/th... 4*
17. To Have and To Hold by Brenda Peynado. Gabriela works with her parents on their disaster tourist cruise ship. She has just learned that her parents are divorcing, and this story holds her anger and also her reflections on how holding/possessing the things and people you love can often destroy them. “After, they always come to me with handfuls of shells, expecting to take back some memento marking their tasks, keep some beauty untouched for themselves. Part of my job was telling them to put all the shells they gathered back where they found them. Despite their best intentions, they still forget there are billions of us and any one action multiplied can pick the planet clean.” Some may find it a bit heavy-handed, but there are some things that just need to be said explicitly. Art by Tracy J. Lee. Go check out the full image - it’s beautiful! https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/to... 4*
18. Southern Residents by Brenda Cooper. Dr. Julie Pol has just opened the Ocean Research Institute & Spa (ORIAS). There are plenty of critics - those who don’t think saving less than a hundred whales is worth millions of dollars when so many humans are suffering. Julie has to convince them that saving the whales means saving the ocean & saving the ocean means saving us. A well-written and fitting end to this anthology. Art by Alyssa Winans. https://go.xprize.org/oceanstories/so... 3.5*
Shelved as 'sony-or-android'
November 6, 2021Free online from an established Editor, 18 *global* stories.
BR WotF early 2021.
BR WotF early 2021.
January 24, 2021
3.5 stars
These stories explore the meaning, connection, and possible futures that revolve around the world's oceans and seas. The 18 stories contained within this anthology represent hope for our waters and what they mean and should mean to humans. The authors posit remedial tech, possible evolutionary tactics, and lessons that still remain to be learned.
A vibrant and hopeful collection that probably should be made available in ebook format to reach more readers.
These stories explore the meaning, connection, and possible futures that revolve around the world's oceans and seas. The 18 stories contained within this anthology represent hope for our waters and what they mean and should mean to humans. The authors posit remedial tech, possible evolutionary tactics, and lessons that still remain to be learned.
A vibrant and hopeful collection that probably should be made available in ebook format to reach more readers.
April 23, 2021
A collection of short SF stories about the near future, all centred around humanity's relationship with marine life and climate. There are a lot of emotions in this: hope, despair, grim stoicism, all spun off from different potential fates for humankind and the planet. My favourites were 'Repatriation' by Nalo Hopkinson, 'Sturdy Lanterns And Ladders' by Malka Older, 'The Body Remembers' by Kameron Hurley. But all of them left impressions on me, and I definitely recommend this anthology.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews