Compelling scientific and emotional explorations that raise the question: What awaits us when we cross the line?
Pitsirilos’ SF anthology explores pivotal, life-altering moments in short stories that combine prose, comics, photography, and mixed media.
This collection’s central theme is the concept of “event horizons,” or moments of no return—like crossing the boundary of a black hole. The stories involve cosmic decisions and characters confronting uncertain futures. Most of the characters face moral dilemmas as they navigate such issues as intergalactic relationships and immortality, with their stories taking place in such diverse settings as living rooms, space stations, and far-off exoplanets. Pitsirilos has assembled an eclectic roster of creators from many different mediums, resulting in a work that is diverse in both forms and perspectives. One of Pitsirilos’ standout stories, “Orteez Funeral Home,” is set in the titular mortuary. The building has preserved its original purpose while accommodating some modifications, like replacing bricks with steel and installing a viewing pillar that launches coffins into space for a final journey to the sun. A woman named Evangeline has requested that the story’s narrator attend her viewing, creating an emotionally charged atmosphere as she reflects on their connection. Overall, the work collected here is impressive, the visual elements especially so. Various styles of illustration are used; occasionally there’s a feeling of incongruity when some mediums abut each other, such as the real-life photography that sits alongside comic-book illustrations. The stories themselves are varied; some pieces, like “Klon,” explore more futuristic themes, like advancements in cloning technology that have made reincarnation a reality, while others, like “The Fold,” remain in the realm of SF but address more universal themes, such as the roles stories play in remembering loved ones we can no longer be with (“Stories deceive that they hold no weight”). All should prove a delight for SF aficionados.
Compelling scientific and emotional explorations that raise the question: What awaits us when we cross the line?Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781958077016
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Janus Point Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life.
Wondrous visitors encounter a desperate pocket of humanity.
Lori, a white orphaned teen who’s finally been adopted after bouncing around various foster homes, awakens to discover that nearly everyone has disappeared. The rapture? Maybe. She runs into her classmate Annette, who has brown skin and curly black hair, and they partner up to scavenge for food. The pair tries to evade several threats, such as the large Wolves and a gang called The Dogs. Supernatural Giants arrive, seemingly from space, speaking an impenetrable language of “musical chiming and weird bass-rhythms.” Lori and Annette then meet Beatrice, an older white woman who shares important observations about the Giants and Wolves. The tone of the story then subtly shifts from post-apocalyptic desperation to one that’s somewhat playful. After a certain point, a visual element that appears early on takes on clear significance and meaning in the context of the story at large, offering a subversively humorous twist for readers to consider and a creative element that deviates from other alien invasion narratives. Hans’ artwork and paneling fill each scene with wonders. An interaction with a giant sees the red, violet, and pink figure standing against a bright, otherworldly white-and-blue backdrop with dark contours. Elsewhere, Lori and Annette pause at night as they behold ominous shadows, their foggy breath forming clouds, and they hear a “KRRNCH” sound. The quick-moving plot wraps everything up neatly.
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life. (character designs) (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781534387072
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
Immensely enjoyable.
The debut graphic novel from Mohamed presents a modern Egypt full of magical realism where wishes have been industrialized and heavily regulated.
The story opens with a televised public service announcement from the General Committee of Wish Supervision and Licensing about the dangers of “third-class wishes”—wishes that come in soda cans and tend to backfire on wishers who aren’t specific enough (like a wish to lose weight resulting in limbs falling from the wisher’s body). Thus begins a brilliant play among magic, the mundane, and bureaucracy that centers around a newsstand kiosk where a devout Muslim is trying to unload the three “first-class wishes” (contained in elegant glass bottles and properly licensed by the government) that have come into his possession, since he believes his religion forbids him to use them. As he gradually unloads the first-class wishes on a poor, regretful widow (who then runs afoul of authorities determined to manipulate her out of her valuable commodity) and a university student who seeks a possibly magical solution to their mental health crisis (but struggles with whether a wish to always be happy might have unintended consequences), interstitials give infographic histories of wishes, showing how the Western wish-industrial complex has exploited the countries where wishes are mined (largely in the Middle East). The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle. Charts and graphs nicely break up the reading experience while also concisely building this larger world of everyday wishes. Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout.
Immensely enjoyable.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-524-74841-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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