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Stories of the Jokka
Unspeakable
When Tanel's lover takes him to see the teller of naughty stories, he does not expect it to be a neuter, nor for it to challenge him to examine his own preconceptions, his fears... his ability to love.
- GenresFantasyM M Romance
Nook
First published October 6, 2010
About the author
M.C.A. Hogarth
145 books390 followersDaughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things—-web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist—-but is currently a full-time parent, artist, writer and anthropologist to aliens, both human and otherwise.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 4, 2012
Telling a morality tale about sexuality in an alien culture well is not a task for the weak of heart.
The Jokka (the race that the main characters belong to) allow for the exploration of gender in a really fascinating way, as they are a race that can change gender twice over the course of their lives between male, female and neuter. This premise is really fascinating in what it lets the author (and thus the reader) to explore. It strikes out the assumption of binary or even fixed gender, and Hogarth plays well in that space.
And despite this already interesting frame work that would totally be enough to push societal comfort, this story goes further to explore forbidden sexuality. Doing so is that much more challenging as the the sexuality of this race is so alien and complicated. But I think it does manage to elicit the feeling of a character who has repressed his sexuality in shame and feelings of wanting to be seen as normal. This story captures that fragility and in doing that the a kind of beauty.
The Jokka (the race that the main characters belong to) allow for the exploration of gender in a really fascinating way, as they are a race that can change gender twice over the course of their lives between male, female and neuter. This premise is really fascinating in what it lets the author (and thus the reader) to explore. It strikes out the assumption of binary or even fixed gender, and Hogarth plays well in that space.
And despite this already interesting frame work that would totally be enough to push societal comfort, this story goes further to explore forbidden sexuality. Doing so is that much more challenging as the the sexuality of this race is so alien and complicated. But I think it does manage to elicit the feeling of a character who has repressed his sexuality in shame and feelings of wanting to be seen as normal. This story captures that fragility and in doing that the a kind of beauty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2022
My knowledge of the Jokka is limited but I very much enjoyed this short story.
November 6, 2014
When I first read this a couple of years ago, I gave it only four stars. I have no idea why. While this story wasn't quite as good the other one I've read by this author, a reread shows it is nonethelss worthy of five stars.
This story was unlike any I'd ever read before. Maybe that's why I only gave it four stars before. It's a very vivid look into a culture and species rather unlike our own. One that is very alien, yet still believable. The author didn't resort to infodumping at any point, but I still feel like I came away with a reasonable understanding of the Jokka.
As amazing and unique as the world-building is, where this story really shown was in the way it was written, with sentences like "Illuminated only by the fire, her figure shrouded in diaphanous clothes, she drifted in a nimbus of copper light." You just don't find sentences like that in modern fiction very much!
One little detail I loved was Nashada and Tañel's way of telling the other where they were. I thought it was really clever.
If there were any problems with this story, it was that a bit more description of what a Jokka looked like might've been nice, and there were one or two alien words that were undefined that I couldn't figure out from context alone. Still, wonderful read and I continue to look forward to more by the author.
This story was unlike any I'd ever read before. Maybe that's why I only gave it four stars before. It's a very vivid look into a culture and species rather unlike our own. One that is very alien, yet still believable. The author didn't resort to infodumping at any point, but I still feel like I came away with a reasonable understanding of the Jokka.
As amazing and unique as the world-building is, where this story really shown was in the way it was written, with sentences like "Illuminated only by the fire, her figure shrouded in diaphanous clothes, she drifted in a nimbus of copper light." You just don't find sentences like that in modern fiction very much!
One little detail I loved was Nashada and Tañel's way of telling the other where they were. I thought it was really clever.
If there were any problems with this story, it was that a bit more description of what a Jokka looked like might've been nice, and there were one or two alien words that were undefined that I couldn't figure out from context alone. Still, wonderful read and I continue to look forward to more by the author.
September 18, 2011
From my Amazon review:
Unspeakable sets itself a hard goal: to draw the human reader into an alien race enough to see the horror and revulsion (and fascination) for things that, to most humans, would elicit a "...that was supposed to be shocking?"
For me, it does not *quite* succeed; I do not have a visceral frisson of the illicit, of the forbidden, upon discovering the stories of Ke Pedina, the clay-keeper of naughty stories. (Which is what would've gotten a fifth star from me.) However, I am drawn in and intrigued by trying to understand the culture that deems certain of Ke Pedina's stories to be not just naughty, but outright forbidden.
In the end, it's revealed *why* some of those stories were so very disquieting to Tanel, and both the individual motivations, and the racial/cultural ones become more clear.
(There is one itty-bitty jarring note; the use of "okay," which seems far too human as it slides past alien fangs. I am sure that it's a translation of a similar Jokkad word, of course, but the Jokka are so very different from humans that it tweaked me. So, out of all the words in this, about two of them bug me.)
Unspeakable sets itself a hard goal: to draw the human reader into an alien race enough to see the horror and revulsion (and fascination) for things that, to most humans, would elicit a "...that was supposed to be shocking?"
For me, it does not *quite* succeed; I do not have a visceral frisson of the illicit, of the forbidden, upon discovering the stories of Ke Pedina, the clay-keeper of naughty stories. (Which is what would've gotten a fifth star from me.) However, I am drawn in and intrigued by trying to understand the culture that deems certain of Ke Pedina's stories to be not just naughty, but outright forbidden.
In the end, it's revealed *why* some of those stories were so very disquieting to Tanel, and both the individual motivations, and the racial/cultural ones become more clear.
(There is one itty-bitty jarring note; the use of "okay," which seems far too human as it slides past alien fangs. I am sure that it's a translation of a similar Jokkad word, of course, but the Jokka are so very different from humans that it tweaked me. So, out of all the words in this, about two of them bug me.)
August 14, 2016
I didn't know what this tale would be, but I would never have guessed, not in a million years. The author has a gift for imagining and conveying creatures so human in some ways, and thus sympathetic and engaging to the reader, but so believably alien, and the story revealed them and their world while intriguing and surprising me.
July 23, 2012
The only thing I liked about this book was the fact it's a short story. I felt like so much was missing. There was no background on anything. This is definitely not a book for those who do not enjoy sci-fi.
November 1, 2011
Really enjoyed reading the inner conflict the main character had about themselves individually, and in the larger context of society itself.
March 11, 2019
This one ended on a hopeful note.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews