The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac, Volume 1 (The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac #1) by The Book Smugglers

The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac, Volume 1 (The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac #1) Reviews

• 
  TheBookSmugglers

  We publish this! AND IT HAS SUCH AN AMAZING LINE UP.
  
  
  http://thebooksmugglers.com/2016/06/p...
  
  aaaaand the paperback edition is now out too
  
  
• 
  Ron

  Failed the thirty page test.
• 
  Beth

  I sure hate being the first person to review something from a tiny press like this. This is just one opinion, okay?... and an ill-informed one, too, since I've been ignoring superheroes for close to 20 years. I decided to give this anthology of superhero stories and essays a try anyhow, since I've been enjoying the Book Smugglers' site for a few years and wanted to support their new venture.
  
  ***
  
  "Cookie Cutter Superhero" by Tansy Rayner Roberts: this short story has something of a YA feel, since the crux of the story is about a young person making a decision that goes against the expectations of society, and in a way that no one else anywhere has thought to try. The lightly sketched world building was just right, and I liked the budding friendship between the two girls.
  
  "How to Piss off a Failed Super-Soldier" by John Chu: I appreciated the subdued portrayal of emotions here, and thought point of view character Aitch's new insight about obedience and trust was nicely done. The surrounding plot didn't connect well with me, though, and I spent a good portion of this story lost.
  
  "The Invisible Woman" by Genevieve Valentine: This essay about the invisibility of women--both ordinary and super--in superhero films could well be a great read for somebody who hadn't already read bunches of feminist articles on the internet or who had seen the movies that are referenced in it. Unfortunately I'm a mismatch on both counts, so instead it was a too-basic discussion about media I haven't experienced.
  
  "Medium" by Charles Payseur: Medium's superpower in this story was interesting and it was cool to see how his relationship with it changed between the beginning and the end. Since it has largely to do with his getting out from under the thumb of a controlling adult and finding his own way, this is another one that has a YA feel to it.
  
  "Where to Start with the X-Men" by Jay Eddin: Skipped for now. If I get back into superheroes to any extent, I'll give it a look.
  
  "Crimson Cadet" by Susan Jane Bigelow: a side story set in the same universe as Bigelow's Transhuman Union series of novels, which are now in reprint by the Book Smugglers themselves. Two people meet, come into conflict, and find more in common than they initially thought they had. I enjoyed this enough to put one of Bigelow's space opera novels onto my Kindle.
  
  "Captain America vs Iron Man vs Batman vs Superman" by Sunil Patel: although I enjoy reading Patel's tweets, and am definitely interested in reading something of his that's longer than 140 characters, this one's being about superhero movies would make it a poor choice. Skipped for now.
  
  "The Vishakanya’s Choice" by Roshani Chokshi: this one isn't a superhero story! Its lead, Sudha, and the character she's sent to... ah... deal with, give it more of a dark fantasy feel. The setting and imagery, the titular choice, and the ending were all great.
  
  "Learn to Love your Mary Sue" by Carlie St George: I'd already read this article on the site, but gave it another go since it was right there. :) It's another essay that's on the basic side for somebody who's been cruising fannish and feminist spaces for a while. Still, the style is chatty and engaging, and some of the examples were from media that I'd actually seen or read myself, which really did enhance the message (insert regrets about Valentine's article here), so that's good!
  
  "On the Smugglers' Radar" is a feature on the Book Smugglers website that's been carried over into this magazine. While I understand that the very word "Almanac" presumes some portion of the content having a short shelf life, this feature with its very narrow currency--a few weeks at best--didn't quite work for me. (I tend to skim this feature on the site, too, so take this opinion for what it's worth.)
  
  On the good side, the two book reviews in this issue did well in placing the Almanac as a complement to the Smugglers website: one for The Ninefox Gambit by Yoon-ha Lee, and the other for The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley. I'll leave things there since the idea of reviewing reviews makes my head hurt.
  
  The anthology matches well with the Book Smugglers remit as I understand it: love and respect for science fiction, fantasy and YA; and an emphasis on quality essays and fiction from creators who, in other venues, are often overlooked in favor of the straight, male and white. While I wasn't the ideal audience for a decent portion of this particular issue, I'm looking forward to the next one and seeing where the Smugglers go next.
• 
  Wendy

  " The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac " which I won through Goodreads Giveways is a treasure trove of critiques, short fictional stories and essays, food for the avid scify fan. "In Vishakanya's Choice" by Roshani Chokshi, Sudha a weapon of Hastinapur Kingdom grants Alexander the Great's request in exchange for a chance to be free of her prison of poison, silk and the harem while in "Medium" by Charles Payseur a superhero who can channel the energy of ghosts into laser and spatial blasts defeats the controlling influence in his mind and learns to take only what is freely offered by the ghosts.
  
  Sprinkled among the short stories are essays including an analysis of superhero personas and characterizations, even a commentary on the invisibility of women as protectors and champions ("Invisible Woman" by Genevieve Valentine). I enjoyed Jay Edidin's discussion of the origin of the X-Men giving a breakdown of the characters that still abound in comics and onscreen. And I liked the inclusion of "On the Smugglers' Radar" a feature on the Book Smugglers website that's been carried over into this magazine giving insight into new books on the market. This is a great little book jam- packed with gems for the scify enthusiast.
  
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  E.

  If you are interested in The (fabulous and amazing) Book Smugglers, but think there is just too much book smuggling involved (oh my gosh, where does a person start!), this should be (and is) an excellent (and extraordinary) entry point!
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  Tehani

  Thoroughly enjoyable mix of essays/reviews and short fiction both original and reprinted. Loved re-reading Tansy Rayner Roberts' "Cookie Cutter Superhero" and the Susan Bigelow piece was a reminder to go start the third book of her superhero SF series!
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  Oliver

  Viele interessante und lesbarer Artikel. Werde ich auch weitere Ausgaben von kaufen.
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  Jelena

  Reading this was a new experience, but I enjoyed all of the stories and esseys and will probably buy the next one.