Survivor

In this potent but uneven anthology, 17 authors tackle the themes of trauma and survival as interpreted through various science fiction and fantasy settings and tropes. “One thing our genre has always excelled at is offering a different lens, a startling angle of vision, a new perspective,” Mohanraj (The Stars Change) writes in her introduction. The sources of trauma are familiar, however, including physical and sexual abuse, addiction, bigotry, and grief. Standout stories include Tonya Liburd’s “A Stitch in Time,” in which a young man uses his gift of time travel to relive moments with his deceased girlfriend only to sink into an addictive pattern, and Evey Brett’s “Fell Child,” in which a dutiful son makes sacrifices in order to save his dying father before discovering the cure isn’t worth the cost. In Erik Gern’s “Mold,” grown children must confront the physical manifestation of their abusive father’s lingering legacy. Jes Rausch’s “The Art of Quilting” sees a nonbinary individual constantly traveling across the solar system to escape their oppressive, intolerant family. Many of the tales take literary or experimental approaches, and both prose and content will challenge the reader, but each survivor’s struggle and triumph is worth the effort. (Aug.)