Starlings by Jo Walton

Starlings by Jo Walton

3 stars

This is Jo Walton’s first short story collection and she prefaces this collection with acknowledging that she isn’t very good at right short stories. I think that it is important to keep that in mind when embarking into this collection. Not all of these stories are good, in fact an awful lot of them are… well, awful. It is a horrible collection and I have read for worse, but this isn’t a particularly strong collection. Starlings is comprised of short stories, a play, and handful of poems. Walton writes in an array of genres within the science fiction and fantasy realm. Her ideas are very unique and outside of the box. I really enjoyed that aspect of this collection because it made the stories diverse in content, but all along the same vein of storytelling. I do think it is important to let readers know that Walton is fantastic at incorporating religious or God-like concepts into her writing and if you hate religious allegories, then this collection is not for you. But I love God and I love being challenged to think about God and know God in different ways and perspectives and I felt that Walton was incredibly strong in this area of storytelling. I love Walton’s prose in her fantasy stories. For me that is when she is at her strongest and I do plan on picking up other work by her, particularly Tooth and Claw, which I’m excited about getting my hands on.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.5

Three Twilight Tales – 3 stars The writing for this fantasy is quite beautiful and I loved the ending, but the formatting did not fit and it wasn’t until the ending that I grew to care for this tale. My biggest problem was that this story had no real motivation until the very end.

Jane Austen to Cassandra – 2.25 stars The concept of Jane Austen writing a letter and it winding up in the hands of the wrong Cassandra who happens to be living during the Battle of Troy is cute. However, this has no real purpose as story and is too short to be substantial.

Undeniable Witness – 3.5 stars This is a nice story about an old woman who lives in a nursing home. She claims that she has been visited by aliens and is recording it in hopes of proving that she is not crazy.

On the Wall – 5 stars This story follows the creation of the Magic Mirror and it follows the conflict that the mirror feels as it begins to see how manipulative Bluebell is and the lengths she will go to ensure her own rise to power. This was unique and fantastic. It’s the type of story I gravitate towards, but I absolutely wasn’t expecting to love this one so much. If you only read one story in this collection, find a way to check this one out because it is AMAZING!

The Panda Coin – 1 star I didn’t like the concept of following a coin throughout a futuristic society. There wasn’t enough to time to build up this world extensively and it was too much. I really didn’t like this one.

Remember the Allo-Saur – 1 star Well, that was a waste of time. It’s letter to a famous dinosaur actor. Why?

Sleeper – 3.5 stars This feels very reminiscent of classic dystopians like 1984 and I think a lot of readers will really like this one, especially because the twist is rather impressive.

Relentlessly Mundane – 3.75 stars This follows three children who were once in a mythical world and are struggling as adults in this world. They know that they have to save the Earth, but they don’t know how. My biggest problem was that this story was too short and I wanted it to be a novella. I wanted to see how they were going to save the world and why it needed saving. I left the story with way too many questions and not enough answers.

Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction – 3.25 stars The concept of Nazi Germany become winners of the WWII has always been an interesting one to me and I really like Walton’s take on it, but I wish that it hadn’t been interrupted with newspaper articles. The idea of newspapers articles is cool, but they felt odd.

Joyful and Triumphant: St. Zenobius and the Aliens – 4 stars I loved how unique this take on God and aliens was and it made the story so entertaining.

Turnover – 3.5 stars I liked the world and the concept of people being born on a spaceship going to another planet. The debate that surrounds this novel is interesting, but it doesn’t hold up past that and it falls short.

At the Bottom of the Garden – 3 stars This was depressing, but I didn’t like the path it took and it was far too short.

Out of It – 4 stars This follows an angel trying to win the soul of a powerful man who has sold his soul and it is so good. A lot of these stories would be really interesting to debate and this is one that I would enjoy debating the content surrounding morality.

What a Piece of Work – 4.25 stars This follows a supercomputer who becomes aware that she is becoming the totalitarian computer that begins to censor humans, but the reason why it gains consciousness of this is so interesting. I would love to see this one as a full-length novel.

Parable Lost – 2 stars This story has no answers to give and it is frustrating.

What Would Sam Spade Do? – 3.75 stars There’s a talking do that is a cop! This also follows a futuristic world where cloning has been made possible and there are thousands of Jesi (the plural form of Jesus) walking around. It’s kind of amazing and the is also a mystery about why a Jesus would kill another Jesus.

Tradition – 2.5 stars The idea of following someone’s traditional background is sweet, but it wasn’t spectacular.

What Joseph Felt – 3.5 stars I wish this story had expanded more upon on Joseph’s thoughts on Jesus’s life and how he felt about his step-son being crucified.

The Need to Stay the Same – 2 stars A review of a novel is cool, but it’s a fictional novel and it’s being reviewed within a scifi universe so it is hard to follow.

A Burden Shared – 3.5 stars This follows a mother who takes the pain of her daughter through an app that shares pain and it tackles incredibly tough themes like motherhood, pain, and letting go.

Three Shouts on a Hill- 1.25 stars This play was a hot mess.

Poetry – 3 stars My favorite poem is “Hades and Persephone” because I’m basic and stick to my roots when it comes to my obsessions.

Overall, I think this collection has a lot of strengths, but it also has a ton of weaknesses. I’m interested in checking out Walton’s future short story collections to see her progress because this a comprehensive collection of all her short stories. Walton acknowledges that this collection has some bad stories in it which I think takes a lot of balls to admit and for that alone I see more as a portfolio than as a novel.


Cover Thoughts: I LOVE this cover so much. The illustrations are wonderful.

Thank you, Netgalley and Tachyon Publishers, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

 

Are you a fan of short stories or anthologies? What are some of your favorites? Let me know down below in the comments!