Rocío Quispe-Agnoli's Blog: On Peruvian Speculative Fiction and more

El regalo de las estrellas by Daniel Salvo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This volume (2022) contains 11 speculative fiction stories that are written according to several subgenres, among which science fiction is the dominant one (“El regalo de las estrellas,” “Hijos del rayo y la centella,” “Dos tazas de café,” “La carcocha,” “La triste historia de la doctora Amelia,” “Se vende marcianos.”). In other stories, elements of the horror and fantastic subgenres converge (“La casa de las qarqachas,” “La cripta,” “Listo o no, ahí voy,” “Anélida”). In one, we read the unfolding of speculation in a realistic and historical fiction story (“Los motivos de Atahualpa”).
“Los motivos…” provides a beautiful speculation of the Inca Atahualpa in his Cajamarca prison while he awaits the execution of his sentence. One of his quipucamayos (Yucraj) records his ideas in the hope of sending a secret message to the Inca’s generals, curacas, and his people (friends and enemies) to save them. The open ending returns us to the anticipation of his destiny according to the historical reality that we have been taught since 1533. It is a beautiful story that opens the possibility of an unrecorded attitude of Atahualpa: his non-surrendering to the conquistadors and his fight for his people and the empire until the end. It is a story that offers an alternative reading (and speculative for which we have no other record) of what the Inca's reflection could have been.
Among the stories where I read the convergence of elements of the fantastic and horror, I highlight “Listo o no,….” This short fiction is, along with “Hijos…” and “Dos tazas…”, a supreme story that combines, with very well carried out suspense—despite its brevity—an adolescent-child story of games (which we have all played like “Hide and Seek”) to a terrifying and disturbing plot without shedding blood or displaying physical violence. “La cripta” is also an excellent story with a disturbing ending that needs a couple of lines to round it off. “Anélida” anchors horror to the visceral terror we experience with the transformation (evolution?) of species (humans among them) and the disturbing result of their intersections. This story gives rise to a reaction of disgust or repulsion from the reader because it deals precisely with a thematic axis that repels us, such as the result of the intersection/crossing of species (in the style of the speculative evolution of All Tomorrows: A Billion Year Chronicle of the Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man (C. M. Kosemen/Nemo Ramjet, 2006) and the novel Annihilation (Vandermeer, 2014) which was later made into a film with the same title directed by Alex Garland (2018). In this group, I also include “La casa…,” which uncovers the convergence of the horror of incest and the presence of horrific Andean supernatural beings.
4 (of the 6) stories in which science fiction elements dominate the narrative are excellent, in my reading opinion: “Sons…”, “Two Cups…”, “La carcocha” and “Se vende…”. In all of them I distinguish a feature that characterizes Daniel Salvo's literary prose: the satire and irony with which the stories offer a critique of the society of the present, be it the spectacular nature of superheroes or extraterrestrials turned into precarious human beings and thier mundane nature (“Hijos..”, “Se vende…”), and the surprise or disturbance with the realization that superpowers or alternative dimensions are around the corner (“Dos tazas…” “La carcocha”). “Super alienado” and “La triste…” also align with this reading, although with less narrative force than the previous ones.
In sum, 8 of the 11 stories in this collection are narratively outstanding in their respective subgenres, structure, theme, and tension. 3 of them raise new and interesting themes, although they lack very little—perhaps only a couple of lines at the end—to round them off narratively (“La casa…”, “La triste...” and “Super alienado”). I highly recommend this book of short fiction to readers and literary scholars.



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Fieras by Mariangela Ugarelli Risi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This collection of eleven stories includes speculative fiction around the thematic axis “wild animals” that we associate with violent and wild attributes that we cannot control. Although in each story there is the inclusion of at least one animal or even a plant (wild or somehow domesticated), the book invites us to reflect on who the true beasts of this world are and why we attribute these characteristics to non-human species. In some of the stories, the non-human species (animal, plant) takes center stage next to the human being in question (Flora, El loro gris, e.g.). In others, it is the “wild” human being or monster is the focus in the story (Carne, e.g.).
Human beings are the most violent and treacherous species among all the species on our planet. Just as the impossible monsters in the stories of David Road's “Monstruario” lead our gaze to the inner monster of the human being, “Fieras” departs from this idea to present the ferocious character of our predatory species.
This is not a new topic in our universal history. It is a recurring thematic axis of more than 2,000 years of human history. It is an aspect of us that remains unknown and uncontrollable and, therefore, a source of fear.
The stories of “Fieras” are placed in the horror genre (the brutal violence of a physical or psychological disintegration, explicitly demolishing the norms assumed in daily life, according to Jerrod E. Hogle, “Cambridge Companion of Gothic Fiction”).* And to do this, it uses elements that try to create or project intense fear (terror, anxious suspense about the safety of life, according to Hogle). The stories of “Fieras” point us in this direction: disturbing horror. Do the stories achieve their goal? To answer this question we need to pay attention to the execution of the narration of horror (and the use of terror if it’s the case).
From this reader's point of view, the execution of most of the stories in this volume, except in 2-3 cases, is still halfway done and needs revisions (unfortunately it has already been published) .
Among the best stories, we have “La corrección” (insects, ants), “El loro gris” (parrot, owl, cockatoo and other birds) and, a little distant from these two, “Carne.” In the first two, the beast is presented as the element that seeks to restore a natural balance that human beings have broken with their cruelty. The third one is especially disturbing because of the animal cruelty that is graphically displayed in this story. Human sadism against animals exceeds all human limits and dehumanize the human species. These three stories are well written, developed, with adequate pace and tension. I would keep the first two for a Peruvian horror anthology.
These are followed, on my scale of appreciation, by “Chalanización,” an interesting story reminiscent of the myth of the Minotaur. The story progresses very well but the pace accelerates towards the end. This affects the story, which delivers a correct but rushed ending. The idea is great and, as a theme, it provides material for a novel. The next one is “El florero,” another very interesting and novel idea whose execution is, unfortunately, tangled. This story needs revision to be round, but the theme is attractive to this reader.
The following stories have a variety of flaws: either they start well and then fall apart without a good development or ending (“Comunión”) or they do not capture the attention of the writer because they still lack narrative development (“Fábula del zorro…”) or I simply do not understand their development and/or its ending in terms of the horror genre (“La caja de arena,” “El milagro…”). I leave aside “Flora” which has an interesting idea but it remains a scene rather than a story; as well as “Los Dráculas” that present a new vision and point of view on the subject of vampires—although the title is too trite. The theme of “Flora” (the invasion of one species into the body of another species like a parasite) is recurring in horror narratives and even, in some cases, has scientific foundations from our real world (insects zombified by a parasite , e.g., which is one of the sources of inspiration for the series “The Last of Us”).
In short, I read in these stories a continuous recurrence of graphic horror that is very close to "gore" whose purpose is precisely to shock its reader, to horrify them. However, resorting to close-to-gore graphic effects in a superficial way can have the effect of being trite and repeated (this is a general appreciation of many current works that use this resource in a superficial way to approach horror).
“Fieras” has good ideas, some better than others, and 2 stories that execute them quite well. As for other stories in this book, they are starting points to work on, review and mature for future narratives.

*“In other words, as Fredd Botting maintains in “The Handbook of Gothic Literature.” Terror is linked to the emotional energy released in the face of a threat. While horror induces us to a state of paralysis or trembling, to the total loss of faculties, consciousness and speech, physical helplessness and mental confusion” (https://filth.com.mx/terror-y -horror-what's-the-difference/)



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Ustedes brillan en lo oscuro by Liliana Colanzi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The first version of this book had 5 (out of the 6 stories published in this volume) and it won the Ribera del Duero Prize in 2022. For its publication, by Páginas de Espuma, the sixth story, “Los ojos más verdes,” was added.
Colanzi has an excellent command of the language, and one can read the reflection and development of her own style, something that is difficult to achieve for any creative artist of the word or visual image. I recognize the merits of language management in these stories. That doesn't mean, however, that as a reader, I am satisfied. Colanzi’s narrative (at least in this book) doesn't grab my interest as a reader of literature. This may be due to expectations created by the book market, book fairs, and the fact that a Bolivian woman writer’s work received this literary award. I read the short story collection expecting what the announcements stated, which elevated Colanzi as a new figure of Latin American speculative fiction, especially science fiction (see the blurb on the back cover of the edition: “…(this book) builds strange worlds combining the keys of science fiction and realism”).
The fact that there are speculative elements—as there are in every work of fiction—does not mean that the stories in this volume can be refered to as science fiction stories. The dominant genre of these pieces is realistic fiction, with strong suggestions of ecocriticism and social criticism of decadent societies that can place them in a dystopian register. Still, the presence of these elements does not make them science fiction. Here I comment on stories according to their common themes (this does not mean that there may not be other themes, elements, aspects, points of view, etc. This is just one way to report my findings as a reader of literature).

“Atomito” and “Ustedes brillan en lo oscuro” are stories that deal with the consequences of extra-human forces when they are not controlled—or respected—due to the corruption of those in power and ignorance. These are two stories of strong social criticism that reveal possible situations with the abuse of nuclear energy (“Atomito “makes me think of the experience of the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the United States dropped the atomic bomb) and the misuse of a substance that discovered but no one knows where it comes from or comes from. As the evil substance shines, the characters try to use it to their advantage or market it for superficial reasons.

“Los ojos más verdes” and “El camino angosto” share criticism of organized belief systems or, as they are called, religions, and their negative impact on social groups or individuals who take said unhealthy faith to the destructive extreme. First, a kind of contract with an evil entity is suggested to obtain a physical trait (green eyes) that "whitens" the character. The second, “El camino…” reminds me of the fanaticism taken to the extreme of intentional social isolation we see in Shyamalan’s 2004 movie “The Village.”
“La cueva” and “La deuda” catch my attention the most. “La deuda” is a realistic story that little by little discovers who is who, what, and why they do what they do in the story. What I like about these pieces is that readers cannot be in suspense about what is happening until the end. There are loose ends in “La cueva,” and I don’t have a sense of one story that holds by itself. I think the plot of “La deuda” is very interesting but not entirely used to a more extensive and profound narrative that could impact the reader. It lacks development that would have brought this story to a better conclusion with a longer extension, like a short novel. It's a very good start, and if I could make a suggestion, I would ask the author to use it as a starting point and develop a short novel (40,000 words).
On the other hand, “La Cueva” is interesting, although disturbing, from its first lines. Again, the premise is very interesting, and rather than conceiving the story of a portal to other dimensions, I read it as a diachrony of the cave space over time. That is a very original idea. The problem for me is that it remains “in medias res.” I don't see a central conflict that leads to a climax and outcome. It is like a set of scenes over time, but no major story begins and ends, except for the first scene that closes at the end like an omega, thus suggesting our possible perception of a circular time or one whose moments repeat. But this is my reading and interpretation. It may leave readers like me, without a clue, confused.

These stories demand a dedicated reader to get to the end. But this challenge is more cerebral than emotional. Emotionally, I don't get involved with any story or any character.
I return to the topic of language since this aspect stands out. Not only does the author handle it very well, but she also uses localisms from the places that inspired her to write this or that story, and this is a brave attitude from a South American and Andean writer in a space (Europe) where the use of localisms of Spanish in other parts of the world that are not Spain (but those “colonies” already lost). The use of language and the inclusion of localisms, although they do not arouse emotion in this reader's reading—pardon the redundancy—is a triumph of this volume of realistic fiction stories with overtones or elements of specific genres dedicated to speculation. But this movement does not make it a science fiction narrative or horror literature—if that was one of the author's intentions.
In short, well written, refreshing use of slang/localisms beyond the center (Spain, Europe, or the West), themes discussed in this review, social criticism, ecocriticism, and cerebral prose that does not catch this reader’s attention, and it does not fulfill the expectation of science fiction genre.



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Ucrónica rutas alternativas a la realidad by Various

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My creative alter ego participated in this volume of uchronic stories with a short fiction that reimagines the events in Cajamarca between 1531 and 1533. What would have happened if the Spanish conquistadors had not defeated the Inca army that surrounded Cajamarca during the first meeting between Francisco Pizarro and Inca Atahualpa? What would have happened if Ninan Cuyoche, the son of Inca Huayna Cápac destined to be Sapa Inca, had not died of smallpox and had faced Pizarro and his men? What would Peru be like today if none of this had happened? The result of this uchronic imagination can be found in my story entitled "Ninan Cuyoche y sus hermanos" ("Ninan Cuyoche and his brothers" pp. 75-86) included in this collection.



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Hallazgos y extravíos by Gerardo Figueroa

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This volume contains 16 short stories. The significant majority offer realistic fiction, although with certain doses of the unusual and, in some cases, a story that enters the threshold of the unusual. Among the 16, I highlight 5: "Ojos repetidos" (which provokes a disturbing suspicion in the reader, whose resolution traps him until the end); "A la cinco en la estación" (about, precisely, discoveries and losses, or the overwhelming sensation of encounter and non-encounter); "La casa del mar" (great use of narrative counterpoint); "Del otro lado del cristal" (the best story in the collection, in my opinion; 2 interspersed narrative lines and subtle announcements that catch us until the end) and "Día de playa" (dissection of a second and the intervention of the casualties). Because 5 (out of 16) stand out to me as a reader, I doubt between 2-3 stars.



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Vienen por ti. Antología hispanoamericana de cuento de horror. by Sisinia Anze Terán

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


If you are looking for good horror literature in Spanish, I highlight two (out of 10) stories (Lamberti's "Los caminos internos" and Ciria's "Los audífonos"). The print version is in dire need of work (the edition per se). Interesting use of AI-generated images.



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Pacífica: Crónicas atemporales de la guerra by Leonardo Espinoza Benavides

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Two groups of Chilean and Peruvian authors intervene in the history of the 19th-century Pacific War and reimagine it in different ways. The narrative principle is the uchronic (ucronías). What is interesting is the narrative approaches from writers who both sides of this historical episode of Peru and Chile. For example, my creative alter ego conducted research on Francisco Bolognesi, the battle of Alto de la Alianza, the battle of Arica, Alfonso Ugarte/Santiago Matamoros, and a lady in white (inspired by the miracle of the Virgen de la Peña de Francia in the Inca-Spanish battle at the site of Cuzco in 1536). The uchronía proposes a radical change in the jonbar point in the battle of Arica, which implies that there was never looting of Chorrillos and that Peru did not lose the War of the Pacific. Chile did not lose the war either.
The story is rightly titled "Arica, the Lady in White and the Blue Rider" ("Arica, la dama de blanco y el jinete azul" pp. 177-191).



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Círculo de Lovecraft 15: Especial de Stefan Grabiński by Amparo Montejano

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is another carefully selected and edited collection of horror short fiction with authors from the Spanish-speaking world. Writer Amparo Montejano leads. It includes 13 short fictional stories, 2 non-fiction, and the works of 4 guest writers, whose writings honor horror author Stefan Grabinski. I list the ToC at the end.
This issue is downloadable for free on the platform Lektu: https://lektu.com/l/circulo-lovecraft...

Introduction:Los horrores del movimiento por Amparo Montejano
Short fiction
El último vuelo del Águila Negra – J. P. Bango
Las nueve lágrimas de Loviatar – Ariel F. Cambronero
Un hombre cansado – Javier Garrido
La cita – Pedro P. González
1 de 6 – Sonia González Sánchez
El guardián de la estación Norwest Haddington – Ada de Goln
El huérfano – Jordi Moreno 175
Biblioteca – Zahara C. Ordóñez
Intrusos en el jardín – Rocío Qespi
Dibujo al carbón – Osvaldo Reyes
Sinfín – Román Sanz Mouta
Febril y cansado – Carlos Vega
Tinnire – David P. Yuste

No fiction
La Reina del Horror Eldritch: W. H. Pugmire por Bobby Derie
Horror en las vías del tren: 100 años de El Demonio del Movimiento por Mikołaj Gliński

Guest authors
Roberto Bayeto, con La ciudad de las polillas
Andrej Sarwa, con La aparecida
W. H. Pugmire, con In Dark of Providence
Covadonga González-Pola, con No mires



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Llaqtamasi by César Santivañez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is quite interesting. Thought as a collection of 15 stories about the possible futures of Peru (Llaqtamasi means, in Quechua, community, communal space, communal thinking, and action), it features a thoughtful prologue by FictionFuture lead, Francesco Verso about the necessity to decolonize the future ("the future comes for everyone," not only for those living in the Global North of the planet) and, importantly, the notion of diversity (who controls the narrative when talking about "diversity"? Once again, a (de)colonialization concern). A short introduction by the volume's editor helps to contextualize (socially, politically, and historically) why these stories are now. It includes 15 stories by Peruvian authors that imagine, as mentioned before, mostly dystopic futuristic settings of Peru. It is, in this way, a contribution to an overlooked genre in the literary history of this country.
Among the 15 stories, I highlight 4 that are outstanding and deserve 5 stars: (1) the now-classic "El primer peruano en el espacio" (Daniel Salvo, the Pharaoh of Peruvian SciFi); "Dependencia programada" (Daniel Collazos Bermúdez), "Ledva" (Luis Apolín), and "Miraflores" (Tanya Tynjälä). It also includes "Cuzco de aquí a cien años," one of the two short novels written by mid-nineteenth century Peruvian author Julián Manuel de Portillo, who imagined both the cities of Lima and Cuzco literally one hundred years into his future (1843-1943). Two of the earliest--if not the earliest--writings of sci-fi in Peruvian literature.
Sarko Medina's "Huesos de Sillar" (3 stars) is a good story that focuses on Arequipa, the 2nd city of Peru (most of the stories focus on Lima). Likewise, Carlos Saldívar's "Quiero olvidarlo todo" (3 stars) is pretty good, although some element is missing (which I cannot explain yet, as the reader that I am). The other 8 stories oscillate between 1 and 1.5/2 stars.
In this way, the volume is somehow uneven. However, the 4 outstanding pieces (which have been objects of study and pre-texts for the creation of multimedia in an "Engaged Pedagogies" project at Michigan State University in 2023, under my direction and my colleague A. Robbins) + Portillo's fiction make this book shine and carry the literary expectation of a collection of speculative fiction. It is a must-read, if only for the ones mentioned in this review.



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LA Ciudad De Los Nictalopes by Tanya Tynjälä

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This very short novella constitutes a significant effort to build a speculative world. The author is Peruvian, but the story of the novel could be placed anywhere on the planet (or any planet or any world). "La ciudad..." could be the first one of a series of novels on the world of the nictalopes for young adults. The premise is great and innovative, and it constitutes an important step in the genre of Peruvian science fiction and the history of this genre in global literature. I'd like to read more of these characters.



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