Tesseracts Nine
Nalo Hopkinson and Geoff Ryman, Editors
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
ISBN 1-894063-26-5

Tesseracts Nine is an outstanding collection of twenty-three short stories and poems. If you like Speculative Fiction, this collection is well worth your time. Below are a few of my favorites:

“Light Remembered” by Daniel Sernine pg.150
Light Remembered was quite, interesting. At first, at least for me, it was a bit hard to follow what was going on… but then like a great puzzle, all the pieces fell into place and the big picture showed true in the end.
     It follows the life of Neferkh, as he tells it, going through many issues he encounteres in his day. He experiences a lot during his life: the death of his servant (and friend), his father’s death, his marriage, and the journey he embarks on in order to grasp the meaning and purpose of it all.
     Light Remembered shines a new light upon life during the times of Ancient Egypt, as well as its resident mummies. It really makes you wonder how they felt being locked away into darkness never to fell the light of the sun’s rays again… only to vaguely remember what it felt like… People always condemn treasure hunters that desecrate the tombs of the mummified corpses…they call them horrible people, but this refers to the tombs that were desecrated as the lucky ones. Those lucky ones were able to see the sunlight once again, after such a long time…
      Light Remembered definitely leaves a lot for one to imagine… and I think that it was makes it such a great story.


“The Singing” by Dan Rubin pg. 162
The Singing was also quite interesting. It switches off between an old woman left behind by her family without food, and a race of aliens planning to take the world as their own. Larlaluk has long since lost her sight, and is waiting for her time to come… as she waits, she goes to a place that is familiar and begins to sing.
     Now, the Tthyans’ surveillance had come up showing no signs of intelligent life… but their navigation teams find themselves to be mistaken when they encounter the sound of Larlaluk’s voice. They leave, but not before they leave a “repeater” on the outermost planet of the solar system… forever repeating the lyrics Larlaluk sang that day.
     I rather liked this, and I think that it is well worth it to read; so don’t skip it, ‘kay?


“Fin-de-siecle” by E.L. Chen pg. 58
This was definitely an odd, but good story. It follows Scott’s escape from his home, his search for his father, and his new life in Toronto. It also follows Libby, a band member that is more than she seems. She meets Scott in the diner he works at.
     It also follows the tragic love story of Nick and Grace… Somehow, all of these lives are all brought together.
     The dialogue was presented a bit differently than what I am accustomed to, but it didn’t pose a major problem while reading. By all means, this story was definitely worth reading.


“Mayfly” by Peter Watts and Derryl Murphy pg. 253
This story was amazing. What would you do if you were trapped? Trapped in a body that you knew to be a prison… but there was no possible way out. You know you were meant to fly… and this trap is preventing that from happening. If given the chance of freedom, would you take it? No matter what the cost?
     This story combined many interesting elements, and showed what should not be done with science, if given the chance… But should it be done anyway, you had better be prepared to face the consequences.
     Once I started to read this story, I could not stop. And I’m what you would call a lazy reader… It was just simply amazing, and there’s no other way to describe it…


“Wings to Fly” by Sylvie Berard pg. 377
What happens when you push yourself to your limits? You had your wings, the wings to fly, but you ended up with them being clipped, unable to fly. Wings to Fly definitely illustrates this. I liked it, and I think you will too.


“Mermaid” by Rhea Rose-Fleming pg. 206
This was quite unique. It was definitely free verse, and the stanza structure was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The story told was interesting, depicting the mermaid in a new way, and was definitely worth reading.


“Carnaval Perpetuel” by Sandra Kasturi pg. 78
Sandra Kasturi has created a beautiful interpretation of the Cinderella story, making it more real, and all the more beautiful, in Carnaval Perpetuel. It’s a definite must-read!

Reviewed by Amanda Ramaglia, Scribes World

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