Near + Far
Stories of the Near Future and the Far
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Whether set in terrestrial oceans or on far-off space stations, Cat Rambo's masterfully told stories explore themes of gender, despair, tragedy, and the triumph of both human and non-human alike. Cats talk, fur wraps itself around you, aliens overstay their welcome, and superheroes deal with everyday problems. Rambo has been published in Asimov's, Weird Tales, and Tor.com among many others. She was an editor for Fantasy Magazine, has written numerous nonfiction articles and interviews, and has volunteered time with Broad Universe and Clarion West. She has been shortlisted for the Endeavour Award, the Million Writers Award, the Locus Awards, and most recently a World Fantasy Award.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
PW reviewer Rambo offers, in her two-part collection of 24 short stories, tales of despair and a few of triumph in the near and far futures. Her characters, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle against systems stacked against them; some tales, such as "Do the Right Thing," end ambiguously, leaving readers to decide whether to fear that the stacked deck will crush the protagonist or hope that the hero will overcome. Others, such as "Memories of Moments, Bright as Falling Stars," show that even succeeding against the odds comes with a tragic price. Several of the stories, including "VOCOBOX ," confront how women's voices can be taken from them; the fantastic story "Timesnip" is the only one that offers those women hope for the future. The lighthearted "Kallakak's Cousins" and "Zeppelin Follies" lighten up the otherwise heavy collection. Rambo's poststory notes are as engaging as the strong, thought-provoking stories, and she's an undeniably talented prose stylist and world-builder, but taken as a whole, this tour of misery and ambiguity is hard to love.
