The Sum of Us: Tales of the Bonded and Bound
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- 5,49 €
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- 5,49 €
Publisher Description
Recommended by Publishers Weekly
The greatest gift to us is caring.
What would the world be like without someone to care for or to care with? Would love survive if we don't care?
From the world of twenty-three science fiction and fantasy authors comes a world that can be funny, heartwarming, strange, or sad. Or not what we expect.
How can a henchman keep up with a mischievous retired supervillain? Can a dog help a hockey player score again? Will an odd couple with a zany sense of adventure and diminished capabilities survive an earthquake? Where does a stray cat go to find love every night? What secret does a pious monk have with a cargo of sleeping human? Will terrorism in space take out a young apprentice and a blind welder? What does an oracle tell a lover about her final days? Can a "heart of gold" prevent a soldier from crossing the enemy line with the governor's children? These, and many more.
Featuring Original Stories by Colleen Anderson, Charlotte Ashley, Brenda Cooper, Ian Creasey, A.M. Dellamonica, Bev Geddes, Claire Humphrey, Sandra Kasturi, Tyler Keevil, Juliet Marillier, Matt Moore, Heather Osborne, Nisi Shawl, Alex Shvartsman, Karina Sumner-Smith, Kate Story, Amanda Sun, Hayden Trenholm, James Van Pelt, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Edward Willett, Christie Yant & Caroline M. Yoachim
With an Introduction by Dominik Parisien
Edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law
Anthologies in this series (Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Where the Stars Rise) have been recommended by Publishers Weekly, Booklist (American Library Association), Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Locus, Foreword Reviews, and Quill & Quire.
Praise for The Sum of Us
"[A] strong collection . . . make it worth reading." –Publishers Weekly
". . . definitely consider buying a copy, if not for yourself, then for someone who is serving as a caretaker. Hopefully the stories can serve as comfort to them. At the very least, it should make us all appreciate caretakers for all they do." –Lightspeed Magazine
"This anthology was one of the better ones, with no 'howlers' and several thought provoking page-turners." –Tangent
2018 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award (anthology-Best Related Work) Winner
2018 Alberta Book Publishing Award (Best Speculative Fiction Book) Finalist
One story selected for Best of British Science Fiction 2017 (ed. by Donna Scott, Aug 2018)
One story selected for Best Indie Speculative Fiction, Vol. 1 (Bards & Sages Publishing, Nov 2018)
One story - 2018 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award Short Fiction Winner
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This anthology of 23 speculative stories focuses on caregivers, whose own lives and needs often seem to fade into "the province of ghosts." In Ian Creasey's "The Dunschemin Retirement Home for Repentant Supervillains," a lowly minion cares for his aging supervillain partner. Colleen Anderson's "The Healer's Touch" follows a nanomedicine doctor who's overwhelmed by her capacity for empathy. In Tyler Keevil's "Blinders," an unusual guide dog helps a welder gone almost completely blind from years of grueling work. And in the collection's strongest story, the profoundly sad "The Oracle and the Warlord," by Karina Sumner-Smith, Andra is forced to watch her charge and would-be lover, a powerful oracle named Sayenne, surrender everything she has to the power of the dark waters from which she draws her prophecies, growing weaker with each one This is overall a strong collection, though it is weakened by a number of stories that are thematically pertinent yet lacking in one respect or another A.M. Dellamonica's "Bottleneck," for example, relies too much on worldbuilding and loses all semblance of character as a result. Fortunately, the book starts and ends on high notes that balance out the disappointing entries and make it worth reading.
