Latin@ Rising

January 2, 2017
Authors of Latino descent mix literary elements with science fiction and fantasy in this eloquent anthology of intimate pieces, with the speculative elements often serving as background, support, or mirror. Kathleen Alcalá’s “The Road to Nyer” captures a moment in a Catalan castle when history inexplicably intrudes on the present. In “Sin Embargo,” Sabrina Vourvoulias plays with translation and transformation in interesting ways while shining a light on the massacres that have punctuated Guatemala’s history. In “Traditions,” Marcos S. Gonsalez uses an automaton to reflect on the importance of tradition in a future N.Y.C. Mexican-American household; Alex Hernandez uses hive-mind technology for a similar purpose in “Caridad.” In Carlos Hernandez’s “Entanglements,” a man uses advanced multiverse-viewing technology to save the marriage of his lover and her husband. There is a feeling of melancholy to many of these pieces, and others, such as “Monstro” by Junot Díaz and “The Drain” by Alejandra Sanchez, can best be described as horror. Urban fantasy readers will particularly enjoy “Red Feather and Bone” by Daniel José Older, a tie-in to his Bone Street Rumba series. Most of the Spanish words and phrases are translated into English or easily understood from context, but some facility with Spanish will enhance the reader’s appreciation of this solid anthology.

December 15, 2016
In an anthology of stories by Latino and Latina authors based in the United States, Goodwin presents a diverse group of voices working in the realm of speculative fiction. The term "Latin@" is a gender-neutral alternative to the traditionally gendered conventions of the Spanish language. The choice to use it in the title of this anthology is a reflection of its inclusive and broad-ranging table of contents. With 24 pieces that include short stories, poems, and a photo sequence of a fictionalized moon landing, this book offers readers an enthusiastic introduction to "Latin@ authors from both coasts and from eight different national traditions." The individual works explore various genres of speculative fiction, from creeping psychological disturbance to alien invasions to noir-tinged romps in a New York City infested by ghosts, and while some of them have been previously published, many are original to this anthology. Each story receives a brief introduction that notes the author's other works and, perhaps, reveals a preoccupation with his or her academic credentials. While a number of the stories are unfortunately insubstantial, lacking a sense of wholeness or feeling like wisps of ideas that have yet to be vividly imagined, there are several standout selections. In "Sin Embargo," by Sabrina Vourvoulias, the psychology of immigration and asylum collides with inhuman transformation. Junot Diaz's stunning "Monstro" offers a terrifying vision of an outbreak of a disease with zombielike horrors in Haiti. "Caridad," by Alex Hernandez, reimagines a girl's coming-of-age party as the forcible bestowal of a networked brain. The deeply upsetting and disorienting "Difficult at Parties" displays Carmen Maria Machado's virtuosic ability to carve truth out of strangeness. These stories alone affirm Goodwin's assertion that, despite their differences in viewpoint or subject matter, the stories "maintain the wonder and astonishment that only science fiction and fantasy can offer." An uneven anthology that nevertheless contains some fascinatingly thought-provoking stories.

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January 1, 2017

Exploring such themes as mythology, technology, and the imagination, this collection gathers 24 stories of sf and fantasy by well-known Latino/a writers living in the United States. In Sabrina Vourvoulias's "Sin Embargo," the wonder of birds and magic blend together in a range of refugee voices. In Ernest Hogan's "Flying Under the Texas Radar with Paco and Los Freetails," the narrator, who had headed a rock band on Earth and who is in exile on Mars, relates how he insulted the CEO of Texas. In the aftermath of a sexual assault, a young woman realizes she can hear internal soundtracks in Carmen Maria Machado's "Difficult at Parties." VERDICT Editor Goodwin (English, Univ. of Puerto Rico) has compiled an intriguing mix of stories that expands the Latino/a presence in speculative fiction beyond magical realism.--KC

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2016
Editor Goodwin compares this anthology of Latin@-penned science fiction and fantasy to a mixtape or playlist, for younger readers, that ebbs and flows through the loud and the brash, the quiet and the thoughtful. Like any good mixtape, Goodwin's slim volume starts with an attention-grabber, Kathleen Alcala's The Road to Nyer, which sets the tone for the reader's journey. Stories range from stunning one-pagers (Pedro Zagitt's Circular Photography ) to long, slow-burning, languorously tense tales ( Difficult at Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado). Fans of Daniel Jose Older will be pleased to see a story from his first collection, and readers looking for some hard sf will find what they seek in Marcos S. Gonsalez's Traditions. Poetry, stories told through images only, and a script show the wide range of storytelling here. Sloughing off the worn veil of magical realism, Goodwin's anthology amplifies a new generation of Latin@ speculative fiction voices.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)