Diverse Energies

Diverse Energies edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti
4/5 stars
Tu Books, 2012
309 pages
YA Dystopia/Science-Fiction Short Stories

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was grabbed by the mention of three of these authors who have either written books I enjoyed or have written books I hope to read soon (those three being Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, and Cindy Pon). Its stated intention is to provide more diversity in our YA fiction, whether race, gender, culture, sexual-orientation, etc. These stories mix dystopia, science-fiction, and fantasy. Like many short story collections, it's a definite mixed bag with some stories working well for me and some not clicking with me.

The Last Day by Ellen Oh-what a powerful story and a great way to start the collection! Atomic non-stop war between the President of the West and the Emperor of the West with nowhere safe for the people.

Freshee's Frogurt by Daniel H. Wilson-Interesting story about robots going berserk and attacking humans; warning about language. Not one of my favorites as it's very short and just focusing on this one battle.

Uncertainty Principle by K. Tempest Bradford-was really interesting and played with time, one of my favorite concepts. A young girl keeps having time shifted around her with no one else noticing until the day she uploads all the times it has happened and she is contacted by others to do something about it.

Pattern Recognition by Ken Liu-I really loved this story although there was an awkward shift at the end, hopefully due to the fact that this is an ebook. I wasn't really sure where it was going but I loved the main characters. It made me think of Ender's Game a little bit, which is a good thing as that's one of my favorite books.

Gods of Dimming Light by Greg van Eekhout-I didn't really like this one; it felt a bit more on the violent side featuring a young Indonesian boy discovering a Norse connection.

Next Door by Rahul Kanakia-This was very weird to me: there are haves and have-nots, the former don't even notice the latter being so plugged into their technology and I didn't quite understand that even as I know people are always talking about how technology is isolating us but I could not imagine not noticing other people in the way that the haves do here.

Good Girl by Malinda Lo-did I mention that all of these stories are pretty uniformly depressing? This was definitely one of those with our main character searching the underworld for her brother, meeting a love interest, and confronting the grim reality of her world.

A Pocket Full of Dharma by Paolo Bacigalupi-I didn't really know what to make of this story, about a boy on the streets and trying to survive among conniving adults in a bleak world. What's in his pocket? It's not a ring of power for one.

Blue Skies by Cindy Pon-I thought this was another really good story, especially because it seemed a little lighter and it had a hint of romance. Although such romance is impossible in the world, I liked the little hit within.

What Arms to Hold by Rajan Khanna-Indian children labor in a mine, searching for a big prize that will ensure their promotion to a better job...guess what? That's not exactly the case as is so heartbreakingly shown here.

Solitude by Ursula K. Le Guin-I'm not really sure I got this story, which was one of the longest included. It's about a woman who uses her son and daughter to explore and study a foreign culture on another planet.
 

Fury of the Phoenix

Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon
Greenwillow Press, 2011
359 pages
YA; Fantasy
4.5/5 stars

Source: Library

My review of the first book: Silver Phoenix

My expectation for this sequel was more romance, more adventure, and more delicious descriptions of food.  I ended up with something else, something unexpected for me as I hadn't read the synopsis at all.

Yes, there are all of those things I mentioned but the focus of the story is actually on Chen Yong's birth father and the back story of the evil Zhong Ye and his love Silver Phoenix.  This was very confusing at first because the chapters switched back and forth and I was not at all prepared for that.  However soon I was drawn into the story and desperate to know more.

First is the present day story with Chen Yong on a ship and Ai Ling stowing away as his sister, which is complicated as she would very much like to be his wife.  Ai Ling's mysterious powers have only grown stronger and she must face Zhong Ye once more in order to save Chen Yong and her own future.  This unravels slowly because it switches between this and a second story.

The other story interwoven is Zhong Ye and his quest for immortality, which eventually overshadows his love for Silver Phoenix and sets the stage for Ai Ling's quest in the first book.  Although I think this could technically be a standalone story, I would definitely recommend reading Silver Phoenix first in order to understand these parts.  I really loved their romance because Silver Phoenix sounds awesome!

I do wish there could have been even more descriptions of food but overall I'm pretty satisfied with the conclusion; I wonder if Pon will write a third Ai Ling book.  If so, I'll definitely want to read it.

Silver Phoenix

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
Greenwillow Books, 2009
338 pages
YA; Historical; Fantasy
4/5 stars
1st in series

Source: Library-I was so happy to see that my library had the gorgeous original cover instead of the new, less attractive one.

Summary: Ai Ling ought to have been married by now but no one wants her, bringing dishonor to her family.  Later when her father has been gone for six months with no contact, she flees a bully and journeys to find him, discovering her own strength and purpose.

Thoughts: I really liked Ai Ling-she is smart, curious, and brave.  She leaves to find her father and when she comes across various challenges, she rises to them.  She fled because of a man who was trying to make her mother give him Ai Ling as a fourth wife in exchange for a supposed debt of her father's.  Two women alone are weak; in general Ai Ling is vulnerable being a lone female traveling. Another reason for leaving was her newfound ability to read people's thoughts, understandably terrifying.

Luckily she soon meets the (swoony) Chen Yong who rescues her from drowning.  He sounded hot!  But he was also smart, determined, and supportive of Ai Ling as she traveled toward her destiny.  I hope future books explore a romance between the two of them.

The main part I didn't like was the obstacles that kept appearing in Ai Ling's way.  There were just too many and it was overwhelming.  I know that part of the book is about all of those obstacles but it was relentless and somewhat unnecessary to the plot.  I feel like several of the incidents could have been cut without loss.  I also would have liked more historical context; the novel is set during the Xian dynasty, the first recorded dynasty in Chinese history and a fascinating time.  This reminds me that I need to read more non-fiction about China because it's so interesting and I just don't know as much as I would like.

Warning: Will probably make you hungry-Ai Ling is a healthy eater and there are many descriptions of the food eaten throughout the book.

Overall: An enthralling fast-paced fantasy-recommended!

Cover: Gorgeous-the pink is bright and eye-catching and the other colors are very beautiful too.