Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers by Sarena UlibarriMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Full disclosure, I'm one of the authors. But my rating is for the other 16 stories and the book as a whole. I didn't love all the stories, but I enjoyed them all.
"Caught Root" by Julia K. Patt
A sweet story but it ended just when I was getting into it.
"The Spider and the Stars" by D.K. Mok
Look out, Charlotte's Web. The literary world has another spider to ugly-cry over, and her name is Artemis. (Seriously. That plaque on the statue near the end. Too beautiful.)
"Riot of the Wind and Sun" by Jennifer Lee Rossman
Oh look, it's me! I'm so honored that my little Australian town is part of this book, and part of the beginning of this new genre. Solarpunk is still in its infancy, still being defined, and to have even a small hand in it is just... amazing.
"Fyrewall" by Stefani Cox
Didn't really grab my attention, but I love the diversity in The Council! Points for mentioning disabled people during an evacuation.
"Watch Out, Red Crusher!" by Shel Graves
Me excitedly telling my mom about this story: "It's like Divergent but with mood rings and the people emit light and if you're a bad color you have go live on the Freeway with the thieves!"
"The Call of the Wold" by Holly Schofield
I found the plot of this one less exciting than the other stories, but it was a really enjoyable read with a narrator who has an amusing way of speaking.
"Camping With City Boy" by Jerri Jerreat
I didn't particularly care for this story. It feels less polished than the others, and the plot was... uninteresting to me. Most of that is probably just my fondness for the big stories about space and robots, but most of the sci-fi in this story was in the background. And I would have dumped city boy out of the canoe very soon after page 1.
"A Field of Sapphires and Sunshine" by Jaymee Goh
I want more of this story and its crocodile farm! It's rare that a story featuring something like crocodiles used as a means of human body disposal still manages to be light and hopeful.
"Midsummer Night's Heist" by Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio
I feel like this story and my story would be friends. A bunch of people working through the night on basically a big art installation. My one complaint is that the character who uses a wheelchair wasn't out IN the fun, but rather stayed home and coordinated stuff.
"Heavenly Dreams of Mechanical Trees" by Wendy Nikel
Too beautiful. Sentient tree machine contemplating its own existence.
"New Siberia" by Blake Jessop
Hate the use of the word "cr*ppled," but otherwise very nice. Got an alien snake lady in it.
"Grover: Case #C09 920, 'The Most Dangerous Blend'" by Edward Edmonds
A little grittier take on solarpunk. I generally don't love murder mysteries unless they're super funny cozies that have an amateur detective with a cat, so this story isn't really my type. I do want to know so much more about Ishani and the world she lives in, though.
"Amber Waves" by Sam S. Kepfield
A fine story that's a little more realistic than the others.
"Grow, Give, Repeat" by Gregory Scheckler
Pros: A chicken named Frumpy Bob. Cons: Frumpy Bob dies. And that about sums up this story for me: It's adorable and sweet but bad things happen to chickens and it made me sad. Still hopeful at the end, though.
"Cable Town Delivery" by M. Lopes da Silva
Traveling library visits a town in the sky. My only complaint is that this is not an entire novel.
"Women of White Water" by Helen Kenwright
I was pleased to see magic woven into what is ostensibly a sci-fi book. And with old trans people, too!
"Under the Northern Lights" by Charlotte M. Ray
Could there be a more sweet and pure romance to end this book with? No. No, there could not be.
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Loved reading this tthank you
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