Anthology – Page 2 – Marked for Plot

The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales

Generally speaking I only read two books at a time: one audiobook and one text copy. This book, however, has been sitting on my nightstand for around a month. Filled with 2-4 page stories (and the pages aren’t big) this collection of fairy tales and fables was perfect to read before bedtime, chipping away at it whenever I wanted to read, but didn’t have the brain power to commit to my longer novels.

The Premise:
With 26 stories in 100 pages (several of which are only art), there’s a lot of variety in content and characters here. However, there’s a through line of in this stories of hopeful vibes, queer characters, and magical worlds. Even the science fiction stories feature magic or magical creatures, and it always felt very fitting.

Read if Looking For: stories that can be read 5 minutes, hopeful and magical vibes

Avoid if Looking For: complex or deeply thematic reads

Convergence Problems

I don’t read a ton of short fiction, but I’ve been trying to pick up more anthologies after loving Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Convergence Problems features the story A Dream of Electric Mothers, which is one that had been on my list to try out. What I found was a book of stories I burned through in a few afternoons.

The Premise:
As an anthology, there’s no single pitch I can make for this book. All I can say is that, in general, the stories tend to focus on the intersection between technology and belief, oftentimes centering Nigerian characters, cultural beliefs, and societal concerns. It also has more than a few stories examining consciousness and memory. There were also a good number of near-future stories that felt scarily plausible, and examined how the impact of our actions today will primarily affect those who were least responsible for creating them. There was also a moderate amount of queer representation, which was much appreciated (I’ve found it’s usually an all or nothing thing in short fiction anthologies).

Read If Looking For: anthologies, gorunded Sci Fi, parallel storytelling, the link between cultural beliefs and technology,

Avoid if Looking For: a novel,