Publishers Weekly
05/20/2019
Encounters with the alien and human responses to them are a recurring theme across the 25 stories and poems in this captivating fantasy collection. In “Seven Commentaries on an Imperfect Land,” the magical realm of Tikanu abuts the everyday world, revealing fantastic possibilities beyond the ordinary. “The Deepest Rift” and “Exposure Therapy” are both first-contact stories that probe the limits of understanding for humans confronting extraterrestrial species. In “The Word of Flesh and Soul,” the alien takes the form of an ancient culture whose oracular language wreaks physical transformations in the bodies of its contemporary translators. Emrys’s tales abound with magic and marvels, but her focus is on the nuances that define the humanity of her characters, seen most perceptibly in “The Litany of Earth,” which introduces the protagonist of her novels Winter Tide (2017) and Deep Roots (2018): a descendant of the amphibious race in Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth” whose persecution has echoes of the plight of contemporary refugees. The author’s frequent feminist and queer spins on familiar fantasy tropes add an exhilarating freshness. Readers looking for work that upends and challenges the genre’s stalwart ideas and themes will find Emrys’s commentaries suit them perfectly. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"The author’s frequent feminist and queer spins on familiar fantasy tropes add an exhilarating freshness. Readers looking for work that upends and challenges the genre’s stalwart ideas and themes will find Emrys’s commentaries suit them perfectly." - Publishers Weekly
Library Journal - Audio
10/01/2019
This collection of short science fiction (and a few poems) incorporates two themes: academics and aliens, and a few characters who are both. "Aliens" here means many things: literal serpentine extraterrestrials, but also strange gods adopting human form, and, most interestingly, semi-human outsiders assimilating into American culture and humans undergoing transformations into new or very old things. The centerpiece story, "The Litany of Earth," stands as a prequel to the author's novels (Winter Tide and Deep Roots), in which refugees from Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth" deal with the aftermath of government persecution for carrying the ancient blood and magic of the Deep Ones. The author comments on each item with personal stories of the selection's origin and influences. Narrator Emily Beresford's reading is earnest and strong. Joel Richards warmly and confidently narrates a few selections. VERDICT Fans of neo-Lovecraft fiction (like Victor LaValle's The Ballad of Black Tom and Lovecraft Country, the latter of which has an upcoming TV adaptation) may enjoy this collection, as will fans of Michael Swanwick's short fiction.—Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib, Atlanta
