Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin

September 13, 2021
DeFreitas (Hot Season) collects 31 impressive stories to honor Ursula K. Le Guin’s legacy. Some are directly inspired by Le Guin’s works—like Rene Denfeld’s “The Ones Who Don’t Walk Away,” a resonant spin on “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”—but most are loose thematic and philosophical riffs, often rethinking gender and social roles. Some are fantasy, such as Jessie Kwak’s “Black as Thread,” in which tailors sing curses into clothing for an occupying army, and Rachael K. Jones’s breathtaking “The Night Bazaar for Women Becoming Reptiles,” about a repressive oasis and the women who consume reptile eggs to flee its confines in a new form. Others add speculative dimensions to the real world: in Fonda Lee’s “Old Souls,” a woman who remembers her past lives gets disastrously tricked by a being who claims to be ageless, and in Timothy O’Leary’s chilling “Homeless Gary Busey,” a recovering addict attracts the violent fixation of a homeless man. Homages to Le Guin’s dystopian and sci-fi works appear in Arwen Spicer’s “Let it Die,” about humans on a distant planet who reject technology, and Mo Daviau’s “Valuable,” featuring time-traveling feminist vigilantes, among others. Speculative fiction readers will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted celebration.

November 1, 2021
Fans of Ursula K. Le Guin--even those that vaguely know who she is--will love this short-story collection inspired by her work. Due to Le Guin's deep connection to Portland and the Pacific Northwest, the authors in this collection all have a similar link to the region. The stories, too, play off of the use of Portland in Le Guin's work, but are not limited by that connection. The tales continue her work of playing with anthropology, myth building, and an examination of society through created worlds. "The Night Bazaar for Women Turning into Reptiles," by Rachael K. Jones, shows a world where the ideal families include two mothers and a father, the whole society is built on a dichotomy of night and day, and women turn into reptiles to escape. The short stories continue to challenge. In another great story, "The Ones Who Don't Walk Away," by Rene Denfeld, the narrator discovers great inequality in her city and starts a movement to help. After each story, the authors explain their connection to or love for Le Guin--a great touch.

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