Monday, January 17, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Anthology Review: Reclaim the Stars (Edited by Zoraida Córdova)

 



Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on February 1, 2022 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.    

Reclaim the Stars is an anthology of short science fiction and fantasy stories from authors of the Latin American diaspora.  The anthology features a number of well known and acclaimed authors who I've read and loved - Romina Garber, Mark Oshiro, Lilliam Rivera, Zoraida Córdova, David Bowles, Daniel José Older - as well as a few authors I'd never heard of before.  Per the publishing, two of the stories are even by authors who had yet to publish anything in genre before.  Seeing the authors I've loved being part of this anthology made it a no brainer for me to request on NetGalley, and I decided to read it differently than I usually did - by reading a few stories a day for about a week and a half, rather than treating it as single book to be enjoyed in a single sitting.  

And well this anthology is very much worth your time, featuring stories of romance, of bittersweet memory and moving forward, of families, of traditions and cultures, and more.  There are 17 stories in all, split into three groups - the first dealing with science fiction, the second dealing with modern fantasy tales, and the third dealing with fantasy tales from the past and out there.  And each category has some clear winners, which makes this one easy to recommend.  

More specifics after the jump:



As mentioned above there are 17 stories, separated into three groups, although the differences between the 2nd and 3rd groups aren't always clear:

Part 1: To the Stars:
Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie McLemore
Flecha by Daniel José Older
The First Day of Us by David Bowles
The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera
This Is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro

These five stories make up the science fiction section of the anthology, and features 5 stories from authors who I've read in other works and really enjoyed.  All five stories are very good, but I particularly enjoyed David Bowles' The First Day of Us, a queer polyamorous SciFi love story between three teens on essentially a space station using the second person voice in a really fascinating way.

Part 2:  The Magical Now
Creatures of Kings by Circe Moskowitz
Eterno by J.C. Cervantes
White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez
Leyenda by Romina Garber
Color-Coded by Maya Montayne
Magical Offerings by Nina Moreno

These 6 stories are fantasy offerings, but what distinguishes them from the stories to come I guess is that the stories take place in the modern day to some extent (this distinction isn't very hard, and some stories like Eterno and Creatures of Kings could easily fit in the other group).  One of these stories, Leyenda by Romina Garber, actually takes place in that author's Lobizona/Wolves of No World book world, and will be enjoyable to newcomers but more special to fans of that series (which I am).  

Anyhow there are several stories here that are highlights, and again they're all good.  White Water, Blue Ocean, by Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez is a terrific story of a family cursed by an Ocean goddess to be unable to lie without emitting a very noticable stench, and the homecoming of the non-binary teen Gabriel returning to that family in Mexico to deal with their unwillingness to accept them for who they are, as made evident by the stench in their lies....with a surprise encounter with the Ocean changing things for them and leading to a positive future.  Also a highlight is Color-Coded by Maya Montayne, featuring a girl in a world where puberty changes their hair color and gives them magical powers, and the girl struggling to not want those powers when her mother's powers led the mom to abandon her.  

Again, every one of these is really good, and others will find different highlights than me.   

Part 3: Other Times, Other Realms:
Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibañez: 
Sumaika Y La Sirena by Vita Ayala:  
River People by Yamile Saied Méndez:
Moonglow by Sara Faring: 
Killing El Chivo by Claribel A. Ortega:  
Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Córdova:  

Like I mentioned above, these six are also fantasy tales, although they're not set in present day times (although again, that distinction is weak, and at least two (Killing El Chivo and Moonglow) could totally be set in modern times.).   Again there are a few highlights here, at least for me:

Sumaika Y La Sirena by Vita Ayala, is pretty much what its title says - a story of a girl who came from the water who was raised on a plantation run by cruel men, who lost her way back into the water, only to fall in love with a Siren girl who is attracted to her singing on the beach - and it's very lovely in its ending, even if its execution before then isn't necessarily the greatest.  

Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Córdova, the very last story in this anthology, is the story of a boy turned teenager who develops a magical green thumb and who refuses to be married to a girl he doesn't love, and thus to satisfy the girl's cruel noble father, he goes on a quest to find and kill a monster...only to fall in love with her instead.  Just a lovely subversion of demons and gods and a great tale of love, which really ends this anthology nicely.  

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In sum, Reclaim the Stars is a very strong anthology, with no clear misses, even if some of the stories didn't really hit me as well as the other ones did.  Other readers will enjoy different stories than I, and if this anthology lacks any stories that I think truly WOWed me and will make me want to vote them on the following year's Hugo Ballot, well, this anthology makes up for it with its sheer depth.  Recommended.  

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