Speculative Los Angeles

November 1, 2020
If "we already live with the tropes of dystopian fiction," then what comes next? Hamilton's anthology attempts to answer that question through stories from Aimee Bender, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Espinoza, and S. Qiouyi Lu, among others. The stories here move among all of Los Angeles' gritty and bright corners. A slow-burning sibling rivalry makes room for a devastating invasion in Lisa Morton's atompunk opener, "Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz." Ben H. Winters' "Peak TV" follows a wealthy executive who faces down the inexplicable when the lethal repercussions of his success come to--literally--haunt him. In Bender's "Maintenance," a father and his motherless daughter find new meaning in the La Brea Tar Pits' mammoth sculptures. This anthology will not shine as brightly to readers who lack a substantive connection to Los Angeles, however. The novelty lies in understanding where, when, and how the versions of Southern California presented here differ from reality. Lacking knowledge of the real-life Los Angeles, readers will find that some of the stories operate on this gimmick and little else. Others meander through a particular time and place in the city but never move or make room for character growth. That's not to say that every story is a bust. Lu's "Where There Are Cities, These Dissolve Too" is a knockout, with Gundam-esque robot fighters and an emotionally fraught narrative. The unfortunate fact remains, however, that those who pick up this book for its marquee of contemporary speculative fiction authors will likely come away disappointed. An uneven collection that may not land with speculative fiction readers outside LA.

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Starred review from November 16, 2020
Hamilton (Los Angeles Noir, ed.) brings together 14 outstanding stories of weird and uncanny happenings in the City of Angels. Francesca Lia Block showcases her expertise at infusing speculative fiction with strong L.A. flavor in the retro “Purple Panic,” about what it means to return home to the people and places one has left behind. S. Qiouyi Lu explores love and abandonment in “Where There Are Cities, These Dissolve, Too,” set in a cyberpunk future where the Chinese Exclusion Act has been reinstated. Present-day atrocities are given a terrifying, supernatural spin in Alex Espinoza’s “Detainment,” an updated changeling tale about children being swapped with inhuman copies when rescued from immigration custody, and “Peak TV” by Ben H. Winters, in which a television producer is forced to reckon with the tragic results of his series. Each story presents a fresh take on the magic and strangeness of L.A. past, present, and future, and the characters are representative of the diverse region, caught in situations ranging from surreal to chilling. Readers should snap this up. Agent: Anne Borchardt, Georges Borchardt, Inc.

December 1, 2020

This opening volume in a new anthology series focuses on speculative fiction, featuring "visions designed to warn, scare, tempt, laugh, and predict." The 14 stories are loosely organized into categories, and each is based in a specific Los Angeles neighborhood. Many have a distinctly gritty and postapocalyptic flavor that takes advantage of a uniquely L.A. vibe. Standouts are "Sailing That Beautiful Sea," Kathleen Kaufman's story of the last human on Earth who is nurtured by robots in her dying days, and Duane Swieczynski's "Walk of Fame," a cautionary tale about the perils of being famous, which begins with the President's head exploding on live television. Yikes! VERDICT As with any anthology, the contents vary. Speculative fiction is a bit of a catchall term that may not be especially meaningful to readers. This particular collection seems geared toward an audience fond of dystopian short stories or longtime fans of Akashic's "Noir" series wanting to branch out.--Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
Fans of Akashic's Noir titles (e.g., Tampa Bay Noir, 2020) will be excited to see the first entry in a new series focused on strange, otherworldly, and futuristic happenings. Stories organized in sections by editor (and contributor) Hamilton lead readers around the map of greater L.A., bobbing and weaving through genres and thematic groupings. The contributing authors skillfully capture the presences of different Los Angeles neighborhoods that become characters all on their own, teetering on the precipice of many possibilities. Standouts include Lisa Morton's "Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz," a time-bender where threats come from parallel universes; Kathleen Kaufman's "Sailing That Beautiful Sea," an elegy for humanity and its legacy in the midst of artificial intelligence; "Purple Panic" by Francesca Lia Block, in which a return to the old neighborhood leads to supernatural revelations; and "Jaguar's Breath" by Luis J. Rodriguez, one family's desperate struggle to survive the political and social upheaval after the Big One strikes along the San Andreas fault. An excellent collection of what-ifs that will pique readers' imaginations.

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