I decided to read "New Suns" after it was announced to have won the Locus Award for Best Anthology. I've never been big on short stories, but I've been trying to branch out lately. And in part of that, I've been trying to ensure I read from new perspectives and new authors than I have before. So Nisi Shawl's collection was the perfect collection for me to dive into.

This anthology does its job of providing speculative fiction from a variety of backgrounds really well. Different cultural norms, mythologies, and aesthetics are all laid before the reader in an approachable manner, without sacrificing or white-washing their substance. I did a few times find myself having to pause in my reading to look up a phrase or word that I wasn't familiar with, but was glad to have been included as keeping these stories authentic to each author's background made them whole.

I in particular wanted to highlight the story "Burn the Ships" by Alberto Yáñez, which was my personal favorite of the anthology. It seamlessly blends the horror and shame of the holocaust and colonialism, as well as cultural/religious themes from Yáñez's backgrounds, into a very dark tale of the oppressed and oppressor.

The whole collection is mixed in humor, horror, and intriguing speculation. The book never really drags; while each story clearly has different pacing, they're organized in a way that the flow never becomes an issue. It really does have something for every reader, and I'm incredibly glad to have read it. ( )

I finished this a while ago, and forgot to write a review. So I'll keep it short. This is the anthology I needed. The title is from the Octavia Butler quote “There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” And recently I've been needing new suns. These short stories have a distinctly different feel but still all the boundless imagination and fresh insights that I love about science fiction and speculative fiction.

This anthology was like a breathe of fresh air. I've added works by nearly every author in this collection to my "to read" list. If, like me, you feel like sci fi / fantasy (speculative fiction) can get stuck in a rut and start to feel a little formulaic sometimes, then I highly recommend this collection.
( )

Most of the stories were hits and [spoiler] there is smut in few stories haha. All in all, they made me think and speculate which is the biggest part about sci-fi that I love (and kinda the whole schtick with sci-fi) and will definitely keep an eye out for bigger pieces from the authors compiled here ( )

Received via Netgalley for review

Unfortunately, while I was looking forward to reading this, I didn't end up liking it that much. It seemed very long (17 stories, which doesn't seem like much when I see the number, but really dragged on when I was reading them) and the stories themselves seemed to drag on.

Normally, in a short story collection, I expect there to be a fair amount of variation in the quality of the stories and some that I like better than others, but none of the stories in this collection really grabbed me. They all seemed to focus on similar themes (treatment of women, sexuality, romantic/familial/etc. connections, violence) and it got a little boring to read after a while. I JUST finished reading it, and while there are a few stories I remember, I know they won't stick with me in the future.

• Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell 2/5
Good enough for what it's trying to do and a good opener.

• Deer Dancer by Kathleen Alcalá 2/5
The premise left me intrigued, but there were just too many unanswered questions and I ended up lost.

• The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations by Minsoo Kang 3/5
Very much in an academic style, which works for some people and doesn't for others. I liked the gentle admonishment at the end, scolding the author for not really doing their due diligence. It did feel a little long, however.

• Come Home to Atropos by Steven Barnes 4/5
One of the few I liked! A darkly humorous ad about a beautiful Caribbean island full that has become the premier destination for the euthanasia of wealthy white people, in which the natives are only too happy to oblige.

• The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu 1/5
I barely even remember this one. The love of the father for his son was nice.

• unkind of mercy by Alex Jennings 2/5
A kind of confusing kind of ghost story.

• Burn the Ships by Alberto Yáñez 4/5
Another good one: the colonized and oppressed natives of a land finally rises up against their colonizers (who have literally burned their own ships so they cannot leave!) with hints of a dark god who demands their lives.

• The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh 2/5
I'm not sure how I feel about this one... I like the idea of an atypical mermaid, but the interplay beneath her relationship with all the members of the family was very strange to me.

• Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire by E. Lily Yu 3/5
Some retellings of The Emperor's New Clothes, with a nice twist at the end.

• Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee 2/5
A kind of star-crossed romance gangster story in some kind of violent future city, narrated in slang. Another example of a father's love for their child.

• Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 3/5
Just long enough to tease you with the dark possibilities.

• The Shadow We Cast Through Time by Indrapramit Das 3/5
Another one that seemed a little too long, about a settled planet that is populated by demons who take human bodies sometimes. Surprisingly little happens.

• The Robots of Eden by Anil Menon 3/5
A "slice of life" story of a man finalizing a divorce while maintaining a friendship with his ex-wife's new husband, in a world where the privileged are "Enchanced" against certain negative emotions (...I think). The hints of strong emotions (rage, sorrow) trying to bubble up in the main character were well done, as was the difficulty of their daughter's adjustment.

• Dumb House by Andrea Hairston 1/5
This seemed like an excerpt from a larger story - there were pre-established settings and characters and attitudes that were never fully accessible to me. And nothing much happens.

• One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto 2/5
Not terrible, but not for me. A woman loses her belly fat in the woods, and is lectured by a bear about how she doesn't deserve it back.

• Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse 2/5
I wanted to like this one...! It's incredibly dark and melancholy, but maybe it was just too short to properly draw me in.

• Kelsey and the Burdened Breath by Darcie Little Badger
I have to admit, I was so ready to be done with this collection I didn't even read this one...

It's really a 2 star average, but just barely, so I don't feel bad rounding down to 1. ( )

It's a collection and like all, some of the stories are better than others. These were all good, but I particularly enjoyed "Blood and Bells," by Karin Lowachee. Hopefully you'll find something you like as well. ( )