Book Reviews and More: MaggieClark

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

ISBN 9798366015554

ASIN B0C7WHNJLB

I have waited for a collection like this to come from Clark for several years. I have obtained copies of most of the volumes she contributed to, but to have all the works in one place, is truly a blessing. This collection contains pieces that have all been published in more traditional magazines and collections. Which is a pity for a few stories I am aware of, I consider missing from this collection, particularly Fat of the Land. It was amazing to finally read these stories as a collection.

The description of this volume is:

“Who said restorative justice would be easy?

In these 18 speculative stories, novelettes, and novellas, M L Clark explores near and far-flung futures where the struggle to do better is messy, incomplete, and no less urgent than our own today.

Some of these pieces were first published in Analog, Clarkesworld, and F&SF, among other SF magazines. All have been refined, and are paired with reflections on the author's growth over more than a decade of publication, along with questions about how speculative fiction can help us to imagine better worlds.”

The sections and the stories in the volume are:

Introduction

Family

Saying The Names

A Plague Of Zhe

Hydroponics 101

Seven Ways Of Looking At The Sun-Worshippers Of Yul-Katan

Belly Up

Society

We Who Are About To Watch You Die Salute You

The Stars, Their Faces Uplifted In Song

Mercy And The Mollusc

Love Unflinching, At Low- To Zero-G

Partnership

To Catch All Sorts Of Flying Things

Leave-Taking

Nine Words For Loneliness In The Language Of The Uma’u

Lost And Found

Community

And You Will Know Us By Our Monsters

Seeding The Mountain

The Pool Noodle Alien Posse

Aspiration

A Tower For The Coming World

Proximity Games

Prior to each story is a piece by Clark on the context of that story. These pieces are well worth reading and I encourage you not to skip over them. I greatly enjoyed reading these stories. I had only read about half of them prior to reading this collection. Some were still very familiar and others less so. Seeding The Mountain brought to mind Frank Herbert’s The Green Brain. A few of the stories brought to mind Alfred Bester’s works. There is not a story in the collection I did not appreciate. I plan to go back and reread the stories but this time in chronological order, to read them and see the progress in Clark’s writing. That order is:

Saying The Names

Lightspeed Magazine, March 2011

A Plague Of Zhe

Lightspeed Magazine, June 2012

Hydroponics 101

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, June 2013

We Who Are About To Watch You Die Salute You

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, March 2014

The Stars, Their Faces Uplifted In Song

GigaNotoSaurus, November 2015

Seven Ways Of Looking At The Sun-Worshippers Of Yul-Katan

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, February 2016

A Tower For The Coming World

Clarkesworld Magazine, December 2016

Belly Up

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, July/August 2017

To Catch All Sorts Of Flying Things

Clarkesworld Magazine, September 2019

And You Will Know Us By Our Monsters

The Future Fire, 2019

Leave-Taking

Clarkesworld Magazine, March 2020

Nine Words For Loneliness In The Language Of The Uma’u

Clarkesworld Magazine, June 2020

Seeding The Mountain

Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, September 2020

Mercy And The Mollusc

Clarkesworld Magazine, February 2021

Love Unflinching, At Low- To Zero-G

Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2021

Lost And Found

Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2022

Proximity Games

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine, Jan/Feb 2023

The Pool Noodle Alien Posse

The Future Fire, April 2023

In the introduction Clark states:

“My stories also routinely involve a mystery of some sort: a puzzle that the protagonist must work out, even if the solution gives rise to a whole new set of much more difficult problems. (Open-ended closers, inviting the meatier work of social change beyond the page, are common.)

And these tales consistently reflect my own struggle, too: to find a way through personal setback and insufficient agency, towards a vocabulary that at the very least speaks to what keeps so many of us from dreaming better worlds.”

Those elements of mystery and of struggle are clear through these stories. And sometimes the mystery is the character understanding themselves. Further in the introduction, in fact, the concluding words of it, she states:

“They’re the ones that highlight how much we need each other—to keep from losing ourselves, our time, and our ever-fleeting agency to self-recrimination, shame, and fear.

On and off the page, the path to a healed world is never easy. We will mess up. We will always make mistakes.

And if we’re lucky, we will also grow: into a better understanding of our worlds—and also, of ourselves.

That’s where the real activism begins.”

These are stories of grappling with who we are, and finding our place. They are stories with mystery, and strife, and yet a continued will to push on. They are stories that will entertain, and also challenge the reader. And as the end words of the title story states:

“And from those roots the rest of us move up, somehow, and on.”

And so these stories and the stories or context behind them will inspire us to do so. So ML Clark, we who have read your stories salute you, and look forward to future offerings from your pen in both short and long form fiction.

p.s. I preferred the original concept cover art seen below.

Books by M.L. Clark:
Children
The Bitter Sweet Here and After - Short Story
Uncle Remy's Whizz-Bang Circus
Game of Primes
Fat of the Land
The Shape of Things to Come
The Stars, Their Faces Uplifted in Song
Then Raise the Dead Man High

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

K-City Kink Sisters:
Lacing Up To Reality - Short Story
One For The Team - Short Story

Contributed to:
Bastion Issue #6 September 2014
Lightspeed: Year One
Lightspeed Magazine, March 2011
The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2017
…

Analog:
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2013
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March 2014
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, September 2015
…

Clarksworld:
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 199

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...

Author Profile Interview with M.L. Clark

Thursday, 4 May 2023

Children of Doro - ML Clark

Children of Doro

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

ISBN 9798388114785

ASIN B0BZ11RXG4

Having followed the author for a number of years across numerous social media platforms, this was a volume that has been on my radar for many years. It was thrilling to finally read it. It was fascinating to read a story I have known about for years. And after watching some of the authors Book Talks about it on YouTube I was even more excited to dig in.

Reading this story was like an epic adventure. In some ways it reminded me of reading Piers Anthony’s Bio of a Space Tyrant series. In other ways it called to mine The Old Man and the Void, by Karina Fabian. Also to some extend Tin Star by Cecil Castellicci. The story being told by an AI, and an AI that was involved with the events was an interesting twist. I highly recommend readers read the end notes either at the time of reading the story, or once finished. There is a significant amount of information across these footnotes. The description of the book states:

“Have you ever made a ship's AI proud? Really, truly proud?

Captain Alastri has.

She's a child of Doro, a frontier world governed by a temperamental AI that represents the thoughts and feelings of all its citizens.

Never heard of it? Well, it did get destroyed, which is where her ship's AI steps in, to regale us with how Alastri's past led directly to this catastrophe.

When Alastri was 17, she witnessed a failed mediation between the ever-wronged citizen Ceres and Doro's governing AI. That day didn't just reveal a range of competing philosophies. It also led to treason, the loss of her ship, and the destruction of her home 25 years on.

Connecting the dots from that day is the only way Alastri can hope to prevent further disaster for her system. And yes, this she does, most splendidly—at least, if you can believe a ship's ridiculously proud AI.”

The author stated:

“This novel is inspired by The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. You don't need to have read that volume to understand this story, but like its highly philosophical source, Children of Doro was written with a POV that you don't often see today: polyphonic narration. This means that our narrator is both an active presence in the text, and also a third-person omniscience recording all sorts of conversations from scenes in which it is not personally present. Consider yourselves warned!”

I myself have not read Dostoevsky in over 30 years. And it is absolutely not a prerequisite for reading this novel. There is certainly a sense of melancholy throughout the story. Also a sense of not fitting in, and at times not being aware of that gap. In many ways a felt a deep connection to the story, a sense of being fundamentally flawed, and broken, set apart, of being on the outside looking in. From the story there is a sense not of not being good enough, but not being enough. And I am sure those words fail the sense.

The story is epic in the expanse of the worlds created, of the different governing bodies, the AI’s that are composites of the collection at different points in time. The world of Doro and its impact upon its citizens, and all who are pulled into its sphere of influence. The story spans generations. And they history and mythology space space and time.

The story leaves me wanting more in this universe. And I understand there are some previously published pieces in Clark states in the authors note:

“I am deeply thankful, too, to Neil Clarke, the editor of Clarkesworld, for having encouraged me to continue developing stories around the compact in this novel, the Partnership that first shows up in “To Catch All Sorts of Flying Things” (2019). Short fiction is a wonderful incubator for grand ideas, and that was certainly the case here.”

And I hope we will see other stories set in this world. I must admit sitting here after having finished this story there is a void, a hollowness. A sense of incompleteness, not in the story but in my life having read the story. It is a story that will cause you to think and reflect. It is a science fiction story writ large. It is a story I can recommend, but be clear that the reader will not be the same once they have finished it. It is an epic science fiction story masterfully written.

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...

Author Profile Interview with M.L. Clark

Wednesday, 15 February 2023

Then Raise the Dead Man High - ML Clark

Then Raise the Dead Man High

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

ISBN 9798366010221

ASIN B0BPDJDNBJ

I picked this up because I am a fan of the author and have been following her works for years. Our world views are vastly different, but much of our pasts overlap. I have been awaiting the release of this work for a number of years, and I can easily state it did not disappoint. The characters are well written even if most are unpleasant. The historical setting is well done, having grown up in the 80’s and 90’s the look back at Communism and it’s aspirations is handled in an excellent manner.

The description of the volume is:

“1929. 1938. 1947.

Three days. Three decades. Three connected lives.

In a world where the voices of the dead echo among us, a student, an officer, and a prisoner in the USSR struggle with a discovery that will expand state tyranny.

Can any of them overcome their own terror, shame, and misery long enough to free the world?”

The story is written in three parts, each focusing primarily around a single character, and yet a thread weaves the stories together across the decades. There is a final section in the story a Coda set on 8 May 1956. Much like reading Dostoevsky and even Tolkien this story will take effort, and I believe in the end it is worth the effort. Part way through I wish I had created a character chart, and if I return and reread it again I know I will. Based on the settings and the events I cannot say I enjoyed the novel, but I can state the story is well planned, and executed.

In some ways the story reminds me of C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength, and even to some extent to the partial story The Dark Tower. For the Tower it is the subject of Time and Memory, as well as space, for Strength it was the N.I.C.E., the National Institute of Coordinated Experiments, and their belief that Science can solve all of humanity’s problems, and in this one the great Communist reality yet to come. There are other similarities that you will need to read to believe.

Though bleak and dark the first two parts of the story grab your attention and do not let go. The Third part was even darker and I struggled with it because of the bleakness and horror portrayed. As a whole the book was hard to put down. And I read A part a day over three consecutive days. And now writing this review days later and still reflecting upon the story and thinking back on it often. It is a story that will leave an impression.

I am thankful I read this volume. And I can recommend it to mature readers. And I eagerly anticipate the next volumes from ML Clark and Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones that are planned to release this year.

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...

Thursday, 13 October 2022

The Rifle, and Other Stories - Tomás Carrasquilla - translated by ML Clark

The Rifle, and Other Stories

Tomás Carrasquilla

ML Clark (Translator)

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

ISBN 9798438559184

ASIN B09X7BL7MT

I picked this up because I am a fan of the author who translated this work and wrote the introduction. She wrote a general introduction and introductions to each story. I had heard mention of Carrasquilla, though social media and Patreon. But to be honest am not sure I had ever encountered the name prior to that.I have been a fan over the years of the works of Jose Saramango, Gabriel García Márquez and Manuel Alfonseca in translation, having returning to some of their works multiple times. But if I am honest I really struggled with this volume. The description of the volume is:

“The Rifle, and Other Stories collects eleven stories spanning the literary career of Tomás Carrasquilla, the "first Colombian novelist", whose work is widely known within the country, and a high-school standard in the department of Antioquia, home to the city of Medellín. His novels and short stories straddle the traditional stylings of Costumbrismo and an anti-Modernist, picaresque realism, with a consistent focus on manifestations of Catholicism in both domestic and communal spheres. The stories collected here reveal a striking attention to preserving everyday and festive details of life in and around Medellín during its shift from haphazard ruralism to worldly urbanism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also included are an introduction to the author in his context, a glossary of older "Antioqueñismos", and a glossary of all the plantlife mentioned in Carrasquilla's prose.”

My struggle s were varied. Some of the stories I read an enjoyed, both as stories and for the Catholicism as presented within. Others as I read then I struggled with the portrayal of Catholicism – so opposed to my own experience. At times the stories were like a gut kick. It took me a long time to work through this work. And Maggie even suggested I give up on it if need be. But I am thankful I took the time and worked through the volume. The stories and sections in this volume are:

Introduction

Simon Magus

In the Right Hand of God the Father

Blanca

Dimitas Arias

The Solitary Soul

Darling Saint Antonio

For Money!

The Preface of Don Francisco Vera

The Shrub

The Rifle

Rogelio

Antioqueñismos: A Select Glossary

Carrasquilla’s Garden

At the conclusion of the book is an Antioqueñismos: A Select Glossary and a section called Carrasquilla’s Garden that defines the flora, fauna, fruit and vegetables encounter in Carrasquilla’s works.

Some of the stories are deeply moving. Others left a hollow pit in my stomach, such as Darling Saint Antonio. I can see the appeal of the writing and of Clark’s desire to bring these works into the English world. If I were to try and compare these stories I would say they are like a more depressing J.F. Powers.

Yet even with my discomfort in reading these stories, I can feel the power of the words, the telling of the tales. I can see why they have captivated Clark and her desire to share them with a wider audience. I would give other works by Carrasquilla that are translated by Clark a try.

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...

Original Cover

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

The Moon Is Not My Name - ML Clark - Menagerie Mysteries Book 2

The Moon Is Not My Name

Menagerie Mysteries Book 2

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

eISBN

ASIN B08P23PKWD

This is the second of the Menagerie Mysteries from the pen of M.L. Clark. I loved the first story, but I had to go back and reread a chuck of it. This one in my opinion was even better. I must admit I had pretty high hopes for this story and for the series, and it did not disappoint. I have been following Clark’s works for several years, and I admit to eagerly anticipating each new work. I also lament some that have yet to see the light of day. I went around 25 years with a reading gap on mysteries. I got back into it by being intrigued by one I picked up for my father and have read many over the last 2 or three years. However, knowing Clarks body of work, and having read the first story in this series, Third Planet Fall Down, I was well aware that this would not be a normal mystery. It is a great read for fans of the mystery or Science fiction genre and for mystery fans willing to take a risk.

The story focuses on Pax Murillo, he was an on screen detective in the movies in the 2040s. He was brought back as a character in an amusement park on Earth. But not the Earth he remembers for humans have been wiped out. He was created just as part of an exhibit but after multiple run throughs of a scenario he developed self-awareness and is outgrowing his AI programming. He proved his worth and has been moved to the Archives on the Moon. On Luna he is in the administration development. When several important visitors come to access the archive, there seems to be stress on several of his creators. Both the Irian Archivist and Zin are greatly agitated. And then when the Archivist is poisoned in a way that they thought had been eliminated Pax is back on the case, and a case like no other.

This is an inserting story on many levels. Fist is the nearly completely alien environment and species. The second is Pax’s growing self understanding, and learning to navigate this alien world he has been thrust into. And the underlying arc of the economics of the major species and the game, used to control and manipulate them all. The economics of control, both financial and of information. Of particular interest is species that can revert to earlier stages of development and their need to start over again. And the deliberate suppression of memories or experience learned prior to the reversion. Some secrets should see the light of day. And some secrets others would do anything to keep buried.

For fans of Clarks works this is great volume added to the canon of her work. In many ways I enjoyed this second story even more than the first. It is an excellent read, but be warned it will leave you desperate for the next volume and finding out what Pax is up against then.

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...

Tuesday, 12 January 2021

Third Planet Fall Down - ML Clark - Menagerie Mysteries Book 1

Third Planet Fall Down

Menagerie Mysteries Book 1

Sí, Hay Futuros Ediciones

eISBN 1230004401902

ASIN B08NXX6SWP

I must admit I had pretty high hopes for this story and it did not disappoint. I have been following Clark’s works for years, and eagerly anticipate each new one published, and lament some that have yet to see the light of day. I went around 25 years with a reading gap on mysteries. I got back into it by being intrigued by one I picked up for my father and have read many over the last 2 or three years. But this one is in many ways different from the typical mystery. And for fans of the mystery or Science fiction genre that is a good thing. And for fans of Clarks works it is great to have this first volume in what looks to be an immensely entertaining series.

While reading this story several other stories, authors or even movies came to mind. First the covers immediately made me think about the editions of Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy stories that I read 35ish years ago in High School. The beginning of the story brought to mind the movie Memento. And it reminded me a lot of the stories involving Mike Hammer and Spencer. And my first thought was that I found it more of a thinking mystery than some of the other I have read. I was completely fascinated with the concept. And with the execution. But I had to go back and read a whole section because I had missed a piece and it was not making sense to me.

The story at first did not make sense because it is unlike any world we would expect. Pax Murillo is a Private Investigator, hanging out in a bar waiting for a contact. But some things are off, and he realizes this but tries to just get his job done. In the story his thoughts frequently return to an old flame. The one who got away, or it was never the right time or right place. We soon learn as Pax does that this might be Earth, but not the Earth that he knew, and definitely not the Earth that we know. And that realization and his past make him a candidate to help solve a problem in the far future.

The story deals with some huge questions. What does it mean to be? Processing of memories. And AI self actualizing. And Identity. All wrapped in an alien framework, with several species that are very un-human or should we say not very earthling like.

I was about halfway through this one when I pre ordered the next volume, The Moon is Not my Name, and the others that are currently announced and look forward to where the series will head next. The title of the next alone evokes Heinlein. But only time will tell. Those high hopes that were mentioned at the beginning of the review, they were met and even exceeded. This was an excellent first novel in a series. Just be cautious, you might end up rereading it as soon as you finish, for you will see it with new and different eyes in that second iteration. A great read that I highly recommend.

The Shadow & The Shadow

…

The Menagerie Mysteries:

~~The Stars, At Last Count~~

~~Wildly Runs The Dying Sun~~

…

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 193

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 181

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 173

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 165

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 162

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 156

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 123
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 92
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 86
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 80
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 74
…

Works translated by M.L. Clark:

The Marquise of Yolombo - Tomás Carrasquilla

...