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A review by mweis
Jewel Box: Stories by E. Lily Yu
3.0
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This collection is imaginative and diverse. E. Lily Yu uses a mix of fantasy and science fiction elements, from fairytale/myth retellings to post-apocalyptic settings and more to tell these stories. The range through these 22 stories is reason enough to pick up this collection.
As is the norm with short story collections, this was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed some of the stories, I really disliked a couple, and I was ambivalent about most. The first three stories were rough for me, though the third story (The Cartographer Wasps & the Anarchist Bees) was nominated for both the Hugo and World Fantasy Award so do with that what you will.
I really liked Music for the Underworld, which was a futuristic take on the Orpheus myth. I also liked The Wretched and the Beautiful and The Urashima Effect. There was also a really interesting take on the Emperor's New Clothes that I enjoyed. My least favorites were The Lamp at the Turning and The Eve of the Planet of Ys.
The writing is quite nice but on the whole I don't know how memorable I will find this collection so I settled on 3 stars. I would be interested in seeing a full length work by this author though.
This collection is imaginative and diverse. E. Lily Yu uses a mix of fantasy and science fiction elements, from fairytale/myth retellings to post-apocalyptic settings and more to tell these stories. The range through these 22 stories is reason enough to pick up this collection.
As is the norm with short story collections, this was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed some of the stories, I really disliked a couple, and I was ambivalent about most. The first three stories were rough for me, though the third story (The Cartographer Wasps & the Anarchist Bees) was nominated for both the Hugo and World Fantasy Award so do with that what you will.
I really liked Music for the Underworld, which was a futuristic take on the Orpheus myth. I also liked The Wretched and the Beautiful and The Urashima Effect. There was also a really interesting take on the Emperor's New Clothes that I enjoyed. My least favorites were The Lamp at the Turning and The Eve of the Planet of Ys.
The writing is quite nice but on the whole I don't know how memorable I will find this collection so I settled on 3 stars. I would be interested in seeing a full length work by this author though.