The Complicated Nature of Justice and Power in “Remote Control” – Chicago Review of Books

The Complicated Nature of Justice and Power in “Remote Control” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Sankofa is the adopted daughter of Death. With a glowing green light that comes from within her, she can take the lives of those around her. Nnedi Okorafor’s newest novella, Remote Control, introduces Sankofa through the stories many people tell about her—she is Death’s own remote control, they say. When she touches technology, it … Read more

Connection in the Face of Cataclysm in “The Effort” – Chicago Review of Books

Connection in the Face of Cataclysm in “The Effort” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Our civilization has always had a precarious grasp on existence, although between the pandemic and the climate-induced natural disasters of the past year, collapse feels a bit more imminent. Claire Holroyde would like to add another fear to our anxiety: dark comets. In her debut novel, The Effort, a comet large enough to extinguish … Read more

“Life Among the Terranauts” Reinforces Caitlin Horrocks’s Status as a Maestro of Short Fiction – Chicago Review of Books

“Life Among the Terranauts” Reinforces Caitlin Horrocks’s Status as a Maestro of Short Fiction – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Caitlin Horrocks’s second collection, Life Among the Terranauts, is compiled of humorous and tenacious stories that serve as a reminder that the flyover states are rife with folklore and intrigue. The sense of place matches the sense of wonder, a perfect amalgamation of geography and plot. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Bonnie … Read more

Quiet Grief and Great, Wild Places in “Unsolaced” – Chicago Review of Books

Quiet Grief and Great, Wild Places in “Unsolaced” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “Home has no walls, no ceiling, nor is its purpose to protect.” So declares Gretel Ehrlich about the moment she identified Wyoming as home in 1975, at age 29, reeling from grief at the loss of her partner and creative collaborator. It’s an authoritative statement and the tone resists contradiction, though it’s not the … Read more

A New Old West in “Outlawed” – Chicago Review of Books

A New Old West in “Outlawed” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw,” begins the scrappy young heroine of Outlawed, an epic new Western by Anna North. This postapocalyptic, alternate history reimagines the Wild West’s notorious Hole-in-the-Wall Gang as a posse of female and nonbinary robbers forced into a life of crime. Ada is a seventeen-year-old … Read more

Exploring the Future of Humanity in “Persephone Station” – Chicago Review of Books

Exploring the Future of Humanity in “Persephone Station” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In Persephone Station, Stina Leicht negotiates the conflict between humanity and technology in a future universe. While many science fiction novels grapple with this central question of what exactly it means to be human, Leicht goes to great length to give us a wide array of characters with diverse gender identities, different planets of … Read more

Cheryl Boyce-Taylor on Grief, Courage, and Building Community – Chicago Review of Books

Cheryl Boyce-Taylor on Grief, Courage, and Building Community – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Many times in the past tumultuous year, during moments of sadness and isolation, I comforted myself with James Baldwin’s oft-shared quote, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” It returned to me again when I picked up Cheryl Boyce-Taylor’s new collection Mama … Read more

An Interview with Matt Harvey of The TRiiBE – Chicago Review of Books

An Interview with Matt Harvey of The TRiiBE – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] At this year’s CHIRBy Awards, The TRiiBE Staff Writer Matt Harvey won the essay/short story prize for his article “When reporting on movement actions, revolutionary joy must be given the same space as the struggle.” What makes his essay particularly exceptional is also what makes it the journalistic standard at The TRiiBE. There are … Read more

5 Poetry Collections From 2020 To Revisit – Chicago Review of Books

5 Poetry Collections From 2020 To Revisit – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] One of the enduring pleasures of poetry is how like wine, or friendship, it improves as it—and you—age. Re-read the 2019s or the 2000s, or the 1966’s to savor the context of our past, through your present vantage point. Other than live theatre, there is no other medium such as poetry so well-situated for … Read more