meganbmoore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meganbmoore) wrote2008-12-30 01:31 am
meganbmoore) wrote2008-12-30 01:31 am
Entry tags:
The Chains That You Refuse by Elizabeth Bear
The Chains that You Refuse is a collection of 22 genre short stories, covering all ends of the spectrum. With the exception of high fantasy, I think pretty much every subset of the sff genre is represented. Unfortunately, that also means that there’s no real unifying theme to the book.
There are several stories I really liked-“Gone to Flowers” (sci-fi cyborg military heroine who I think is the lead of Bear’s sci-fi series that I haven’t read yet), “The Devil You Don’t” (ancient immortals in the old west) “And the Deep Blue Sea” (post-apocalyptic messenger), and “This Tragic Glass” (sci-fi meets genderbent Kit Marlowe) , to name a few-but there are also a few that I’m not ashamed to admit that I may not be smart enough for. Though it may be more accurate to say that Bear’s work in general requires careful reading and paying close attention, and I may not be capable of applying that kind of attention to short stories.
Still, a very interesting collection, and a good representation of Bear’s tastes.
There are several stories I really liked-“Gone to Flowers” (sci-fi cyborg military heroine who I think is the lead of Bear’s sci-fi series that I haven’t read yet), “The Devil You Don’t” (ancient immortals in the old west) “And the Deep Blue Sea” (post-apocalyptic messenger), and “This Tragic Glass” (sci-fi meets genderbent Kit Marlowe) , to name a few-but there are also a few that I’m not ashamed to admit that I may not be smart enough for. Though it may be more accurate to say that Bear’s work in general requires careful reading and paying close attention, and I may not be capable of applying that kind of attention to short stories.
Still, a very interesting collection, and a good representation of Bear’s tastes.