REVIEW: The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg

I have been fortunate enough to be reading short SFF during a lot of the development and release of R.B. Lemberg's Birdverse stories. And doubly fortunate to get the chance to read the first Birdverse novel, The Unbalancing, which is dropping in September but is very much available for preorders now. Though releasing after the last Birdverse novella, The Four Profound Weaves, The Unbalancing reaches back into the history of the setting to look at the fate of the Star of the Tides, an event that has echoed through the Birdverse. Before I give too much away, though, let's dive right into the review!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 08/31/2020

So there’s a special 20th anniversary issue of Strange Horizons out! Happy anniversary!!! Now, I debated with myself a while how to actually handle the issue, because it’s not a usual one. Instead of original fiction and poetry, the issue features stories pulled from Strange Horizons’ past issues, plus some brand new poetry. I’ve decided to cover the (technically reprint) fiction in this case alongside the poetry mostly because I am super curious to check out what made the cut for this extra special issue. Now, that said, I’m not looking at the Wiggins story because I reviewed it when it originally came out. The rest of the bunch were before my time as a reviewer, though, and are all super great. So is the poetry, by the way. But before I bore you to tears, let’s get right to the reviews!

Quick Questions - R.B. Lemberg of The Four Profound Weaves

Hi and welcome to my first ever...blog tour? Stop? I'm new to these. I am not new, however, to either R.B. Lemberg's work or doing interviews. Or The Four Profound Weaves for that matter, which is out in just a few days (September 1) and is available for pre-order now. I've already reviewed (and loved) the book here. And I couldn't be happier to get to ask some questions about the book, about the wider Birdverse, about magic and worldbuilding and inspiration and ahhh! so much! I will try to retrain myself from further outbursts, though, and get to the good stuff!

Regular readers of this blog will need no introduction to R.B. Lemberg or their stunning work. But for those how don't know...

Photo @ Bogi Takács, 2019

R. B. Lemberg is a queer, bigender immigrant from Eastern Europe and Israel. Their stories and poems have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction!, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Uncanny Magazine, Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology, and many other venues. R.B.’s work has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, and other awards. You can find more of their work on their Patreon (patreon.com/rblemberg) and a full bio at rblemberg.net.

And with that settled, on to the questions!

Quick Sips - Glittership Winter 2020

Not sure if you missed it, but the latest issue of Glittership is available for purchase Right Now!!! Four original short stories and two poems, plus five reprints (which I’m not covering but that you should definitely check out!) make for a jam-packed issue of queer short SFF. Some of the works are smoking hot, some smoldering--some lighter and fun, some with a bit more heft and depths. Whatever the case, though, they follow through on the Glittership promise of featuring SFF works with queer characters. Adventures are had, mysteries are explored, relationships are formed, and evil is thwarted in these tales of people mostly just trying to live their lives, and finding out that along the way they might just need to change the world. To the reviews!

Regular Sip - The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon Publications)

Birdverse is back and in book form! It’s happening, people!!! And I’ve been lucky enough to get an ARC of it! Which means it’s time to jump back into what has been one of my very favorite settings ever! This time we’re following nen-sasaïr and Uiziya, two trans elders who have lost too much of their lives to waiting and denial. They are ready to take action, to seek out their hearts’ desires. Only figuring out what that might be and reaching for it are two very different and (it turns out) dangerous things. It’s a story of community and change, hope and death, and I can’t wait to get to my review!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #300 [part 2]

Art by Flavio Bolla

Closing out the special anniversary issue, Beneath Ceaseless Skies has put out two stories about immigration and identity, about the fragile and careful web of people and hope that exist amidst a backdrop of war, refugees, and exploitation. It’s a wonderfully paired second half of an issue, with stories that resonate singly but build so well together, reinforcing the themes of movement and the messy realities of people who are without homes, who are searching for places to be while on all sides people try to exploit them and bleed them dry. It’s not an especially happy pair of stories, and yet both are incredibly strong in how they find hope and joy even in the harshest of situation. ANd before I give too much away, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! part 2 (Uncanny #30 [October stuff])

Art by Julie Dillon

Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! wraps up with these three short stories and three poems from Uncanny Magazine. Once again it’s a very eclectic mix of stories and styles, from a romantic fairy tale (with a great twist) to a dream-like piece featuring someone continually burying the dead. From a very different kind of portal fantasy to a slew of poems about disease, body image, and safety. There’s a lot to read and experience, and it’s been a phenomenal special issue that you do not want to miss. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #66

Art by Cat O’Neil

Five Tuesdays make for a busy April with Fireside Magazine, which released five short stories and a poem this month. The piece run the gamut of emotions, from slow and dark to fast and violent, from fun and sweet to numb and hurt. The connective tissue of the issue seems to me to have more to do with cycles, with systems and how they produce justice or injustice, depending on how they are structured. And what people do when faced with these systems. How they play into them. How they resist them. How they try to ignore them. And by and large the stories are challenging, presenting readers with visions they might wish to look away from, but which we all should see, and examine, and complicate. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership Summer 2018

A new Glittership is out and super queer!!! Now, though the cover says Summer 2018, these are all original to 2019, which means that people nominating for awards should consider these very much eligible as 2019 releases. That said, there are three original stories and three original poems, as well as three reprints (two of which I’ve reviewed when they originally came out, I think). And the stories are wonderfully defiant, full of characters dealing with systems and settings where they are oppressed, where they are criminalized, and where people try to bend them to fit into what is comfortable and allowed. But even facing the threat of violence and erasure, these characters manage to reach for the unknown, for space where they can be safe and free. Not all of these are incredibly happy, but they are all driven by hope in the face of tyranny, and they are all amazing. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Uncanny #24 Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction! [September Poetry]

And now for the poetry from Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction! Now, in years past it has been flash fiction that rounded out the original offerings in the Destroy! issues. But, as Uncanny normally publishes a selection of excellent poetry, this special issue continues the tradition. Now, I find poetry some of the most difficult things to review, in part because they rely so much on what the reader brings to the piece. But I do find it valuable as a reader to approach poetry with a critical gaze, searching for meaning and seeking to understand and examine how I read and respond to poetry. And the selection here is amazing, moving from self and body outward into the universe, which can be beautiful and terrifying and freeing and confining and just, really, it’s a great celebration of speculative poetry that I’m going to do my best to review. So let’s get to it!

Art by Likhain

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

It’s 2018! Which means that I’m already behind on reviews! But it also means that it’s time for me to pay homage to all of 2017’s amazing short SFF with the THIRD ANNUAL SIPPY AWARDS!!! It’s truly the awards that no one asked for, but I’ve never really let that stop me. There are five categories in the Sippy Awards, bunched around themes rather than length. I’m kicking things off today with one of my favorites. It’s time for the 2017…

“I’d Ship That” Sippy Award for Excellent Relationships is Short SFF

I’m a bit of a sap at heart. I mean, I write ridiculous and super-queer superhero romances, so that might be obvious. But relationships go beyond just romance, beyond just romantic partnerships. Friendships, family, and more help to make relationships one of the most important aspects of storytelling, and short SFF is no exception to that. So today I’ll be highlighting stories from 2017 that I think did an exceptional job with regards to relationships of all sorts. So without further delay…

Quick Sips - "The Splendid Goat Adventure" by R.B. Lemberg

It’s not super often that I look at projects that aren’t available for the general public, but when certain stories come along I just can’t help myself. And getting a chance to tell you about a new BirdVerse story? Well, I kinda gotta. The story is available as a download to any and all backers of R.B. Lemberg’s Patreon, found here. And for this story alone, the price of admission is well worth it. I myself am a patron, just for full disclosure. But this story. Told originally as a serial story, it features a fairly minor character from “A Portrait of the Desert in Personages of Power,” Marvushi, and gives them their own epic adventure. Or, if not exactly epic...at least very fun and blissfully ridiculous. Often the BirdVerse stories can be deep and wrenching and just a bit shattering, but this story...well, goats! Academics! The promise of a Secret Goat Society! People, this is exactly the joy you might need right now. So yeah, definitely go and support R.B. and their Patreon, while I jump into this review!

Art by R.B. Lemberg

Quick Sips - Mithila Review #9 [poetry]

People, there’s a whole lot of SFF poetry in the most recent issue of Mithila Review. Twelve poems from nine different poets means there’s a hell of a lot to experience. The pieces swirl around a lot of themes, but some major ones are growth and imagination. Not surprising, perhaps, given that SFF is about wonder and imagination, about chasing those visions and dreams that are often called foolish or childish. Here we find the value of keeping something of a child’s view of the universe, without borders or limitations. There are other works that look at what happens when we let those borders constrict too much, and how sometimes we might struggle against the injustice of complacency. There’s a lot to get to, though, so I’ll jump right into the reviews!

Quick Sips - Uncanny #17 [August stuff]

August brings another packed month of content from Uncanny Magazine. And as much as it pains me to do so, I’m going to be stepping away from reviewing the nonfiction, not only here but probably everywhere. I love Uncanny in part because of its nonfiction, but I feel I need a little bit of slack in what is a difficult time for me so my apologies. I will still definitely be reviewing all the original fiction and poetry, though, and there are three stories and two poems to look at. Everything this month seems to hinge a bit on transformations. Seasons shifting. Women being made into trees. A person becoming a city. These transformations reveal a certain corruption at the heart of the worlds the pieces explore—our world. And they show that often there is no good way to avoid unwanted change, that when there are those with power and those without, harm and injustice often follow, and those without are often the ones to suffer regardless of what they do. It’s a brace of difficult and rather dark SFF, but there’s some light as well. So let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Kirbi Fagan

Regular Sip - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #230

Okay, so...this is something of a special review for me. Firstly (and most importantly), it's NEW BIRDVERSE OMG YAAAASSSS!!! Ahem. Aside from that, it's the longest title that I've read from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, a stunning novella that is available for free both to read and to listen to (as a 5 hr podcast!). The second part of the novella is also appearing alongside a short story of mine, "Rivers Run Free," which of course I am not reviewing but hey, if you all want to read and review it, feel free! :D Anyway, this novella is one of my favorite reads, proving once and for all that one of the sexiest things in the universe is consent. So without further ado, the review!

Art by Jeff Brown

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #229

It’s something of a treat from Beneath Ceaseless Skies this issue as there are two longer stories to sink your teeth into. And okay, one of those is a novella which is only half-released (though the entire piece can be listened to via podcast), but people, it is so good. So so so good. And both stories explore themes of difference and violence, systems of violence and learning and possibilities of freedom and escape. These are works that feature young people starting to come into their powers and finding that they have a lot to learn. But these are also characters who have been hurt and who are not quick to trust for very good reasons. Both have found or find that the world they live in is often unfair and brutal, and that provokes something equally intense in themselves. The stories are deep and expressive and offer up fantastic worlds to explore, though many carry within them dark shadows. But before I give too much away, let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Jeff Brown

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2016! The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

Welcome to 2017! Quick Sip Reviews is officially two years old! And what better way to celebrate than by kicking off the SECOND ANNUAL SIPPY AWARDS!!!

For those who might be new to QSR or missed last year's awards, the Sippys exist primarily because I wanted to give some special love to my favorite SFF. Wait, though, don't I already do that? YES I DO! But where The Monthly Round is my monthly recommendation column, I really wanted to do something annually. And wait, don't I sort-of already to that, too? YES I DO! But not here, on Quick Sip Reviews, and so I wanted to make something EXTRA SPECIAL. Enter THE SIPPY AWARDS, the SFF awards that no one asked for or really cares about!

These aren't just my favorite stories of 2016, though. The Sippys have categories, five in all, celebrating different aspects of SFF. From stories that made me afraid to go to sleep or left me a ball of tears and feelings huddled in the corner, I want to look at the different ways that SFF can be effective. And my categories might seem a little…odd, but that's just part of the fun. Each category has five picks, four Sippy Award winners and one Big Sip Award winner. So yes, without further ramblings on my part, let's kick things off with…

The "I'd Ship That" Sippy 

for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 10/03/2016 & 10/10/2016

The Strange Horizons fund drive is nearly over, but that doesn't mean that the fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have slowed down. Indeed, I'm looking at two stories, four poems, and two nonfiction works today. The stories focus on change and history. On progress and what is lost and what is gained in the slow march of years and opinions. The poetry mixes resistance and loss, folktales and tenacity. And the nonfiction looks at gaming and communities. It's a very full two weeks of content and an amazing publication. If you haven't already, maybe considering contributing to the drive. And now, to the reviews! 

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #209

It's a special anniversary issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies and I'm treating the entire issue like it came out in October (though technically some of the stories released in late September). There's double the fiction to enjoy, which means twice the amount of worlds to explore. For me, it means a return to a few settings that I've very much enjoyed in the past, and also the introduction of a few that I wouldn't mind returning to. The stories are about resistance and identity. About facing choices about how to be, how to live, and then having to live with those choices. The stories are full of conflict, of looming war and exploration and intrigue, and there's a lot to see and take in among the worlds revealed, even those that look an awful lot like our own. To the reviews! 

Art by Raphael Lacoste

Quick Links - 02/28/2016

Oh fuck. Welp, because of the Sippy Awards, my Sundays were full there for a while, and because I'm just sort of a lazy bastard I've been rather terrible about posting my review links. But here they are. There are a lot, but my #KTBookChallenge has begun. I think most of the books here from the end of 2015 count toward it, too, so hurrah! Anyway, there's a lot to get to, so here you go!

Blacksad: A Silent Hell by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - I rather love the artwork of this series a bit more than I like the plots, because while Blacksad has a nice noir feel to it and it does some interesting things, the art steals the show every time.

Brightness Falls From The Air by James Tiptree, Jr (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - This is the first I've read of James Tiptree, Jr.'s novel-length work, and it was weird and difficult and there was a lot going on and things went really, really strange there for a while. But vastly imaginative and sad and good.

Dare by Philip José Farmer (Goodreads, my score 1/5) - My only 1-star rating on Goodreads for 2015, and I'm not sure it completely deserves it more than some of my 2-star reviews, but this one is just...well, calling it dated I don't think really goes far enough. It's...I did not enjoy it at all.

The Apex Book of World SF Vol 4 edited by Mahvesh Murad (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - I like how this collection takes on the idea of World SF and complicates it. A very interesting and rather important idea, and one that the anthology handles very well.

The Apex Book of World SF Vol 4 edited by Mahvesh Murad (Nerds of a Feather, my score 8/10) - And the second review of it (or really the first, as I normally do all my NoaF reviews first and then Goodreads second for books that I review for both. Still a very good collection.

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (Goodreads, my score 5/5) - This was one of my favorite books of 2015, with a great style and innovative structure. The whole thing is a mystery set in an alternative past that has space travel and is just rather charming all the way around!

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (Nerds of a Feather, my score 9/10) - Another review of this book, which really I would just keep on reviewing. It's great, and there's so much to think about and read into and just all the yes!

Dowry Meat by Heather Knox (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - Speculative poetry from a local poet that I actually went to university with. I ran into her at the local grocery store and learned that this book exists and it is great!

Marginalia to Stone Bird by R.B. Lemberg (Goodreads, my score 5/5) - More speculative poetry and another great one, filled with poems that cross borders and boundaries. Many of these I had already loved from when they came out around the web in 2014/2015. Very, very good!

Marginalia to Stone Bird by R.B. Lemberg (Nerds of a Feather, my score 9/10) - And hey look, another book that I reviewed twice. It's always nice when I really like the books that I have to write this much about! :)

Half World by Hiromi Goto (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - This is the first I've read of  Hiromi Goto's novel-length work and it is delightful. Lots of really weird and unsettling places while maintaining a nice YA feel and setting. And now I want more.

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - This is the first I've read of Nalo Hopkinson's novel-length work, too, which I guess makes sense as it was her debut. A great and rather uncomfortable story of family and magic.

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older (Nerds of a Feather, my score 9/10) - A book so good I've reviewed it three times now. Seriously, seriously good, and probably tied with The Summer Prince as my favorite YA I read in 2015.


**NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART** - my ongoing reviews of graphic erotic works, mostly manga and graphic novels

Love on the Job Vol 1 by Chihiro Harumi (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - This is a rather cute het romance/sex romp, just fun and ridiculous and lots of sex. Rather vanilla stuff, but still a fine read.

Club for Cross Dressers by Kuromame (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - Ah, cross dressing. I quite like most of the stories in this book, but...hmm, I'm just not sure on some things about it. As written/translated, these are non-explicit m/m romance stories.