Use Only as Directed by Simon Petrie

Use Only as Directed Reviews

• 
  Tsana Dolichva

  Use Only As Directed, edited by Simon Petrie and Edwina Harvey, is the latest anthology to come out of Peggy Bright Books. I have previously reviewed Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear by the same editors and I think Use Only As Directed improves upon the earlier anthology. I particularly liked that there was a clear theme to the anthology — basically, what it says on the bottle cannister.
  
  Although not all of the stories were necessarily cheery, I found the anthology relatively up-beat on the whole. (Having said that and looked over the stories, perhaps that's as much a commentary on other things I've been consuming lately...) There is a wide variety of stories contained within; every story sticks to the theme, but there are a lot of very different interpretations. I appreciate the lack of homogeneity and the novelty of getting something completely different each time I picked up the anthology.
  
  My favourite stories were "The Blue Djinn’s Wish" by Leife Shallcross, "Future Perfect" by Janeen Webb and "Home Sick" by M Darusha Wehm. There is basically nothing these three stories have in common. The first is a genie story, the second is sort of almost hard SF and the third is, I suppose, more ecological near-future SF with a huge pile of refined rubbish. I also quite enjoyed "Yard" by Claire McKenna, which was a bit darker but ultimately satisfying.
  
  Basically, I think there's something in this anthology for everyone. You may not like every story but, assuming you like any spec fic (and I'm not sure why you're reading this blog if you don't), there will probably be a story you enjoy in Use Only As Directed. As usual, I have some brief thoughts on each story below. If you haven't yet sampled a Petrie and Harvey anthology, this one would be a good place to start.
  
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  Dellinger (Charlotte Nash) — A tale of cyborgs and sentient space ships. I liked the ideas explored. What happens when you create an artificial sentience based on a human mind then set it to controlling a ship?
  
  The Blue Djinn’s Wish (Leife Shallcross) — Easily the best genie story I've ever read. The princess who finds the magic bottle is happy and already has everything she could wish for, but will that last?
  
  The Kind Neighbours of Hell (Alex Isle) — A grimoire and a demon summoning... But as the grimoire used correctly?
  
  Mister Lucky (Ian Nichols) — the protagonist has the ability to control luck (more or less). An amusing, fast-paced read.
  
  Home Sick (M Darusha Wehm) — set on the floating island of rubbish in the Pacific. Climate refugees from a submerged Pacific nation are sent there by the New Zealand government and the main character chooses to go with them. An interesting story that I enjoyed.
  
  Always Falling Up (Grant Stone) — Interesting take on clone soldiers and the man who provided the template for their minds. Fits the theme very obviously, but it's a bit more of a philosophical take, I thought.
  
  Yard (Claire McKenna) — Although it didn't start promisingly (violence that I wasn't in the mood for), I really liked where this one went. And the main character, and her yard.
  
  Never More (Dave Freer) — An amusing tale of a wizard's apprentice who used to be a cat. And his quest to become acceptable to a girl-cat. Also a raven.
  
  Fetch Me Down My Gun (Lyn McConchie) — Interesting but a bit heavy handed. I didn't love the first half, but the second half improved it with added meaning.
  
  Uncle Darwin’s Bazooka (Douglas A Van Belle) — A bit slow to start, but then it gets to the bit combining genetics and fairies, so what’s not to like? The ending was a bit predictable though.
  
  The Climbing Tree (Michelle Goldsmith) — A story about disappearing children. Not bad, but not as creepy as intended, I think.
  
  Large Friendly Letters (Stephen Dedman) — A post-apocalyptic setting, some feral teenagers and a munitions trader. What could possibly go wrong?
  
  Future Perfect (Janeen Webb) — One of my favourites in this anthology. The story was up-beat (albeit not exactly cheery) and made me think. Admittedly, it mostly made me think about incorrect interpretations of the many worlds hypothesis, but it’s never bad to think extra thoughts about quantum mechanics.
  
  The Eighth Day (Dirk Flinthart) — I couldn’t not read this in church singy-monotone, which was a little off-putting and induced confusing flashbacks. Also, the pay-off wasn’t as good as I was hoping, given the aforementioned monotone in my head.
  
  4 / 5 stars
  
  You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
• 
  Daniel

  The latest anthology from Peggy Bright Books, edited by Simon Petrie and Edwina Harvey, Use Only As Directed features Australian and New Zealand authors – of whom over 50% are female – crafting short stories around the titular phrase that one commonly reads on instructions for everything from medicine to the latest gadget.
  
  The anthology’s predominant characteristic is its well-balanced diversity in authors and styles, with an array of female, male, and nonhuman characters and a range across genres from horror to fantasy to science fiction. Author nationality and the unifying theme bring the major constants — though given the Australian/New Zealand focus, racial diversity is not really present here.
  
  Particularly given its variation in genre, Use Only As Directed is going to appeal to readers who generally appreciate all kinds of SFF and enjoy the concept of themed anthologies. Otherwise, there are specific stories that one may wish to seek out. The anthology is also notable for its highlighting of new and well-established SFF writers from Australia and New Zealand, and for me it proved useful for discovering writers who were new to me.
  
  Charlotte Nash opens the anthology with “Dellinger”, a science fiction tale that touches upon issues of human-technology hybridization that are reminiscent of the ship ‘Minds’ in Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya Universe stories. Without being derivative, Nash offers up her own unique take on a human-spaceship relationship in a plot where issues from a character’s past intrude upon the present.
  
  Among a few stories I’ve read recently that put new spins on the ‘three-wishes-from-a-genie’ archetype, Leife Shallcross’ “The Blue Djinn’s Wish” stands out. Endearing with its power of simplicity and brilliant protagonist, it largely reverses the gender stereotypes of classic fairy tales.
  
  “Homesick” by M. Darusha Wehm is about a community founded on an island of trash that is suddenly faced with people fleeing natural islands due to the rising waters brought on by climate change. Without being heavy-handed, this one tells more than just an entertaining tale.
  
  For something creatively fun, Douglas A. van Belle delivers “Uncle Darwin’s Bazooka,” a story that links fairies and related mythological beasts with genetics. Followed by a disturbing tale of horror – “The Climbing Tree” by Michelle Goldsmith – the pairing of light SF followed by dark fantasy works great for the anthology’s flow.
  
  Finally, “Future Perfect”, by Janeen Webb is another science fiction story, in this case based on present day Earth. Featuring themes of quantum mechanics, business intrigue, and ethics in scientific research, it excels with a compelling plot.
  
  Use Only As Directed was a consistently entertaining read for me, with only the final story (“The Eighth Day” by Dirk Flinthart) being a disappointment. Written to closely mirror the creation account of Genesis, the style of the piece and far-too-much-similarity to the actual Biblical text put me off reading it moreso than its message. Other readers are sure to appreciate the humor and religious critique within it, however. While none of the stories in Use Only As Directed blew me away with brilliance, they were all professional quality, nearly all highly engaging, and often worked in fascinating interpretations of the theme.
  
  Contents:
  
  “Dellinger”, by Charlotte Nash
  “The Blue Djinn’s Wish”, by Leife Shallcross
  “The Kind Neighbours of Hell”, by Alex Isle
  “Mister Lucky”, by Ian Nichols
  “Home Sick”, by M. Darusha Wehm
  “Always Falling Up”, by Grant Stone
  “Yard”, by Claire McKenna
  “Never More”, by Dave Freer
  “Fetch Me Down My Gun”, by Lyn Mc Conchie
  “Uncle Darwin’s Bazooka”, by Douglas A. van Belle
  “The Climbing Tree”, by Michelle Goldsmith
  “Large Friendly Letters”, by Stephen Dedman
  “Future Perfect”, by Janeen Webb
  “The Eighth Day”, by Dirk Flinthart
  
  Disclaimer: I received a free electronic reading copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review that was featured on skiffyandfanty.com