Diverse Energies

by Tobias S. Buckell (Editor), Joe Monti (Editor), Paolo Bacigalupi

“No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul.”
—President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962

In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy to distinguish and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful.

In this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds. Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to society’s far future beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction. Includes stories by Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Daniel H. Wilson, and more.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia, Anthologies, Fantasy, Fiction

314 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Born in the Caribbean, Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times Bestselling author. His novels and over 50 short stories have been translated into 17 languages and he has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Author. He currently lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Rachel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology of dystopian YA short stories with a focus on diversity, ie, most of the protagonists are not white.

As a whole, this anthology is not much like most current YA dystopian novels, which are generally about naïve privileged white girls slowly coming to realize that their “the government controls everything” society actually sucks, while navigating a love triangle. The characters in this anthology are often aware from the get-go that everything sucks, and the central problem is generally not an over-controlling government, but a devastated environment, poverty, and the haves grinding the have-nots beneath their feet.

The result is more realistic and less paper-thin, but also quite depressing. Few of these teenagers are trying to save their world, but only to scratch out a few more days for themselves and their loved ones in a world which is clearly already doomed. With two possible exceptions, no one makes any difference at all to anyone beyond themselves or a handful of people in their immediate surroundings. (I say “possible” because there are two stories in which characters make an effort, but the story ends before we learn whether or not they succeed in terms of the larger picture.)

Sure, it wouldn’t be realistic for teenagers to save the world singlehandedly… but I don’t read science fiction for realism. Also, in real life people do make large changes collectively. A few more stories in which the protagonist is part of a larger effort to save or even improve the world would have been nice. (There is one story in which that's the case, Tempest Bradford's.)

I did really like some of the stories. But I would recommend reading a story or two here and there, as you feel like it. If you read the entire anthology from start to finish, the grimdark is overwhelming.

“The Last Day” by Ellen Oh. An alternate history of WWII set in Japan comes out… extremely similar to real history, so far as the main characters are concerned. Maybe the point was that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Otherwise, it’s a straightforward “war is bad and children suffer horribly” story, all the way down to its awesomely depressing conclusion. If you’re disturbed by graphic atom bomb scenes (I am) this might be one to skip. I would not have selected this as the story to open the anthology – it’s the darkest in the whole batch, and that's saying a lot.

“Freshee’s Frogurt” by Daniel H. Wilson. Oral history of robots run amuck, much along the lines of World War Z. A robot attacks two employees in a frozen yogurt shop, and there’s a bloody battle. That’s it. This was an excerpt from the novel Robopocalypse, which may explain how slight and unfinished it felt, but on the other hand it didn’t leave me wanting more. On the positive side, it’s only depressing in the sense that its space could have been given to a better story. In fact, it’s probably supposed to be funny in a hipster-ironic mode. (I did not find it funny.)

“Uncertainty Principle” by K. Tempest Bradford. A young girl notices reality shifting around her, but nobody else does. Over the years, the President changes, wars break out and are erased from time, and her best friend vanishes as if she had never existed. This extremely intense and existentially horrifying set-up turns into a more standard action-based science fiction story about halfway through. The whole thing is well-written but I liked the first half much more. It probably needed to be longer to give the second half the same emotional weight as the first. This one is more bittersweet than depressing.

“Pattern Recognition” by Ken Liu. Kids in an orphanage are told that they’ve been rescued from a hellish world outside, and are made to play video games all day. Very good prose; plausible but predictable story. There’s a really jarring, confusing transition right before the climax, possibly exacerbated by the poor formatting of the version I read (an e-book via Netgalley.) Moderately depressing.

“Gods of Dimming Light” by Greg van Eekhout. Alone among the stories, this is fantasy, not science fiction, and so reads more oddly than it probably would have in a more fantasy-geared anthology. In a doomed and dying world, a boy of Indonesian descent finds a connection to the other side of his heritage – his descent from Odin! The ancient Norse theme of the brave fight against inevitable doom meshes powerfully with the modern apocalyptic setting.

This was one of my favorites, mostly because of the ending. The kid turns his back on the good fight as the Valkyrie explains it to him, fighting gloriously in a war his side is doomed to lose. He goes back to his family to eke out his money to feed them and keep the lights on until the last darkness descends – different details, but still a heroic battle against inevitable doom: a quiet little Ragnarok. I didn't find this one depressing, but that was purely because the tone was heroic/tragic. Everyone's still doomed.

“Next Door” by Rahul Kanakia. The haves have gotten so plugged in to VR that they barely notice squatters living in their houses. A boy and his boyfriend search for a squat that isn’t bedbug-infested, and tangle with a family of haves that aren’t as out of touch as most. This story made me itch. Literally. It’s a black comedy and quite clever. And yes. Everyone is probably doomed. Including, quite possibly, the heroes immediately following the last scene, from insecticide poisoning.

“Good Girl” by Malinda Lo. Alone in the collection, this was a “X is banned and the government controls X” story. (Interracial procreation is banned and the government controls marriage.) Ironically, it was my favorite of the original stories in the collection – sexy, well-written, well-paced, believable, and even with a somewhat hopeful ending. A biracial girl who can pass meets another biracial girl who’s living underground – literally and metaphorically. Lo is fantastic at depicting sexual attraction in a hot but non-cheesy way. The characterization is good, too. Great last line. I would read a whole book of this.

“A Pocket Full of Dharma” by Paolo Bacigalupi. A scarred, disabled, half-starved plague survivor leaves his village to become a beggar in a future Chinese city in the hope that things will be better there. Spoiler: they aren’t. Lots of colorful details of the setting, but I have a low gross-out threshold for descriptions of bodily fluids, and I ended up unable to finish this one.

“Blue Skies” by Cindy Pon. A have-not boy kidnaps a have girl in an environmentally devastated future Taiwan, in the hope of getting her wealthy family to pay a ransom. Very well-observed details, and a poignant relationship given just enough room to breathe. In another world, those two might have been lovers or friends… but this is not that world. The tone is more wistful than depressing, but the world as a whole is probably doomed.

“What Arms to Hold” by Rajan Khanna. Indian children are slave labor in a mine… and the details are even more grim than one would expect from that thumbnail description. Well-written and with a surprisingly hopeful ending, but most of the story is excruciatingly depressing. Appropriately so, given the subject matter. But still.

“Solitude” by Ursula K. Le Guin. A reprint from The Birthday of the World. A fantastic, non-grim story – there’s even some funny lines – about a future anthropologist who goes to a planet with her two young children to study the ways of a culture that seems to have no community. The mother and older son learn a lot about the culture; the young daughter becomes part of it. Can a culture really be based on solitude? A fascinating, moving, beautifully written, well-characterized work of anthropological science fiction.

I was puzzled at first as to why it was in this collection, as I would have never thought of that culture as a dystopia. Then I realized that while the daughter sees it as her home, and sees all the positive aspects (as well as the negative ones – she’s only naïve when she’s very young), the mother sees it as a dystopia. The idea that the same place can be utopia for one person and a dystopia for another is unique to this story, in this collection: it’s the only one set in a world that isn’t objectively, unequivocally horrible. No wonder it’s the only story that, while it has some sad and dark moments, isn’t depressing at all. No one is doomed! It was such a relief!

There are some excellent stories in the anthology, and not every single one is depressing. But the cumulative effect is awfully grim. This is purely my personal preference, and I do realize that dystopian sf is not a cheery genre, but I would love to see a diversity-focused YA anthology that’s a bit more fun.

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

To act as though we have hope is to keep hope alive.

Rep: non-white characters, wlw and mlm characters

The problem I have with rating anthologies by various authors is that I never know how to rate the thing overall. Like, do I average the ratings? Do I give it an overall rating based on my enjoyment of it as a whole? Who knows.

In the end, I guess the three star rating is a bit of both. It's not the greatest anthology I've ever read unfortunately (although I don't think I've read any where I've loved all the stories - at least for this one the ratings never went below three stars), but it was refreshing in its diversity even if the writing wasn't always the best quality. Also, the stories were incredibly dark.

The Last Day - Ellen Oh (3 stars):

An alternate post-WWII story, that I can't remember all that much about. It was a good idea and I would have liked to have read more about the characters, but the writing was kind of lacking, and a little simplistic at times.

Freshee's Frogurt - Daniel H. Wilson (5 stars):

I am happy to admit I am entirely biased when it comes to Daniel H. Wilson. He writes the best "robots take over the world" fiction I've read ever. So obviously, I loved this story just as much, even if it was too short.

Uncertainty Principle - K. Tempest Bradford (3 stars):

Not gonna lie, I don't remember a lot of this one, so I'm having to look at other people's reviews. It was (again) a good idea, though it reminded me a lot of Time Riders with maybe less good writing.

Pattern Recognition - Ken Liu (3 stars):

This one could easily have been a full-length story, and perhaps would have worked better that way. It definitely feels a bit rushed when it was explained they found the phone and could immediately work out how to use it to contact the outside world, without having seen a phone before, and get in touch with reporters (who also believed them straightaway). For sure, could have benefited from being longer.

Gods of the Dimming Light - Greg Van Eekhout (3 stars):

This one was kind of trippy, I gotta say. I mean, valkyries and Norse Gods and a battle to reach Valhalla, all set within a dystopian city. Uh, OK?

Next Door - Rahul Kanakia (3 stars):

This was strange. And a definite downer. I mean, the two (gay) main characters at the end die. Or at least I assume they do, because they inhale some toxic gas but it's left on a bit of a question mark.

Good Girl - Malinda Lo (3 stars):

Girls!! Kissing!!! Thank you, Malinda Lo. It was cute, though the love was kind of rushed (again, short story problems), and it wasn't really clear why the government had decided to ban interracial marriage.

A Pocket Full of Dharma - Paolo Bacigalupi (4 stars):

I really liked Paolo Bacigalupi's full length book, so I might have been slightly biased towards this one. All the politics of who wanted the Dalai Lama in that USB-box-thing (don't ask, just read it) was kind of confusing but it was an interesting concept.

Blue Skies - Cindy Pon (3 stars):

It had a pretty abrupt ending, to be honest, and I didn't really get much of the guy's motivations for kidnapping the girl beyond getting the money.

What Arms to Hold - Rajan Khanna (3 stars):

Again, another one that could have benefited from being a full length novel. It had an interesting idea, but it felt rushed inevitably. I did like that it ended with the MC leaving on his own, without helping anyone else though, because that was different.

Solitude - Ursula K. LeGuin (3 stars):

In a book full of dystopia stories, this one, about aliens and sociologist aliens, is a little odd, to say the least. It was well written and intriguing, but it didn't fit the anthology as a whole. The idea of the alien society was pretty good though, even if it did read like an anthropologist's report (which I guess was the aim).

[Ruby Tombstone Lives! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great idea for a YA anthology: A collection of dystopian stories featuring a culturally diverse range of characters reflecting the real world in which we live. I'm not usually a fan of short stories, since I tend to think that most of the good ones would be better explored in a full-length format, but this collection is of higher quality than most. There's a good sense of momentum to the book, and some really unique and exciting ideas behind each story, so for once I didn't get that dragging sensation halfway through.



As always, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others, but the highs definitely outweigh the lows. Some of the clear highlights were:

*Solitude by Ursula K. Le Guin: Just an astonishingly beautiful and deeply layered story about cultural relativity that's a perfect example of the way different cultures struggle to see through each others' eyes.

*The Last Day by Ellen Oh - The first story in the collection, this one packs a punch. What if Hiroshima and Nagasaki didn't put a stop to WW2? Dystopia + Children + Atomic Bombs = Gutwrenching.

*Pattern Recognition by Ken Liu - What's terrifying about this story is that it is somewhat based on realities that currently exist - child slavery and human-based computation.

*Next Door by Rahul Kanakia - A really interesting tech-based dystopia, in which the "haves" are so tuned out to reality, they are barely aware of the have-nots squatting in their private space.


There truly are only a couple of low points to the book:

*Freshee's Frogurt by Daniel H. Wilson. Everything I've seen about the novel Robopocalypse has given me the strong sense that I won't like the writing, and this excerpt just confirms that theory. Also, a "culturally diverse" story needs to contain more than a sidekick with a "Fu-Manchu 'stache" called Felipe. Not cool, not well written, and it doesn't really belong here.

*There are a couple of stories that aren't bad, but the plot just gets away from the writer a little. I think K. Tempest Bradford was off to a good start with Uncertainty Principle but the temporal mechanics got a bit convoluted towards the end. Likewise Greg Van Eekhout's Gods of the Dimming Light started out interestingly, but the logic didn't quite seem clear, and at the end of the day it didn't really have a lot to say.

*A minor disappointment to me was Paolo Bacigalupi's A Pocket Full of Dharma. I have heard great things about The Wind-Up Girl, and was looking forward to reading this story. It begins with a description of an astonishing thing - a bio-engineered building of living flesh. I would have loved to explore that idea some more, but the building ends up being a minor part of the story, to the extent that the author doesn't even tell us what colour it is! Such a waste of a great idea!

*The Foreword by Tobias S. Buckell seems to somewhat undermine the intent of the anthology. As the Afterword by Joe Monti explains really well, the intent is not to be a reaction to the stupidity of recent "white-washing" in YA sci-fi. It is supposed to be a reflection of reality as it is and will be, "not a brick thrown through a window, it is the continued paving of a path". Buckell's Foreword talks about the book being a reaction to the Hunger Games racial backlash, and talks about putting "people of colour" front and centre etc etc. It just reads a little childishly to me, and misses the point that diversity is about culture and perspective more so than skin colour or race.



This is certainly one of the better anthologies that I've come across. The stories themselves are diverse, crossing a huge range of topics - neuroscience, anthropology, space, Norse mythology, robots, biotech, gender issues, history, war, family, religion etc etc. There's bound to be something there to inspire everyone. It's a thought-provoking collection that's definitely worth a read.

Full disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

[StarMan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passing grade for a YA SF collection. It's hard to assign a discrete rating, but this was a better book than I expected.

At least 3 memorable stories, and no complete stinkers. The last story is by Ursula K. Le Guin.

[Ying · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun sci-fi/urban fantasy/fiction anthology that had a heavy focus on POC and LGBT characters.

Overall I really liked the anthology, and I would recommend this book to others who are looking to foray into diverse fiction.

“The Last Day” by Ellen Oh
A dark story set in a world where there is an endless war of East vs West, which despite my terrible one sentence description was actually quite good. An interesting idea that I hadn't really read before.

“Freshee’s Frogurt” by Daniel H. Wilson
Not really my favourite short story, I felt that this idea of "tame robot goes crazy" was not super innovative.

“Uncertainty Principle” by K. Tempest Bradford
A very fun take on time travel. After looking up the author, turns out she's a HUGE Dr. Who fan, and it shows in her short story.

“Pattern Recognition” by Ken Liu
I thought that this idea was ok, not my favourite but not my least favourite. It is possible that I don't like Ken Liu's genre of scifi...

“Gods of the Dimming Light” by Greg van Eekhout
This book apparently links to van Eekhout's other work, called NorseCODE. It's an interesting idea, but perhaps not the most well written.

“Next Door” by Rahul Kanakia
I think this story was quite original.


“Good Girl” by Malinda Lo
Really liked it. This story is set in a world where racial purity is really important, and people of mixed race descent (like Kyle) are discriminated against. Another interesting idea that was well executed.

“A Pocket Full of Dharma” by Paolo Bacigalupi
Not as interesting as I hoped it would be, considering how much I love Paolo Bacigalupi's work. Perhaps if he had written it as a longer story it would have worked better.


“Blue Skies” by Cindy Pon
I really liked this take on rich vs poor in a dystopian universe. One of my favourites from this collection. I think the novel WANT is set in this world, so I will check it out!

“What Arms to Hold Us” by Rajan Khanna
Found this one to be one of my least favourite.. maybe needed a much longer story to be able to flesh it out.

“Solitude” by Ursula Le Guin
I've previously read Le Guin's work (The Wizard of Earthsea) and was not really drawn in by it. However, I really liked this short story. It tells the story of a girl who grows up on an alien planet, whose ethnologist mother wanted to learn about the new planets culture. The girl feels so at home with this new planet that she doesn't want to leave. A very interesting idea.

[Jaymee Goh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a difficult anthology to get through. The premise is amazing: stories representing the diversity of youth, different races, different sexualities, as they navigate their worlds borne out of speculative imagination.

If only those speculative imaginations weren't so tied to such dystopic worlds! The tagline on the cover states, "The future is here. Are you ready?" The future is here and it is apparently grim as fuck. Terrible things keep happening. Terrible worlds roll and take their terrible toll. Story after story of desperation, of resistance, of anger and sadness and tragedy. Glimmers of hope. Is this really what the vision of the future we have to offer young adults?

I find this troubling; if this was an anthology for the "generic" (read: white) YA audience, sure, okay, white youths turn to dystopia because they see their world becoming that. But for youths of color, especially queer youths, these are already their lives. What are the answers that we are imagining here? Because story after story, I don't see solutions: I see sacrifices. I don't see collaboration; I see compromises. I don't see commitment; I see sad negotiations. Queer youths in desperate circumstances -- okay, great, they don't die! They survive the story! So they now have new narratives of queer unhappiness, wheee.

Most of the stories aren't narratives of uncertainty, they are narratives of despair and pain, with promise of more pain. The bits of hope are so slight you have to squint to find them. Great! Let the white youths read against the grain to find them so they don't exoticize POC suffering! But what about POC YA readers who have known from the start that hope is a necessity, not a luxury? Why must we have them read against the grain for hope? Why can't it be right there in the text?

It's frustrating to see further depictions of Asian countries as sites of speculative despair ("The Last Day," "A Pocket Full of Dharma," "Blue Skies"). I'm less annoyed when it's set in America, because guess what! most of the anthology's readers are probably American, and you should know what direction your country is going towards anyway, but it's still depressing ("Pattern Recognition," "Gods of the Dimming Light," "Next Door," "Good Girl"). (And who the fuck let Paolo Bacigalupi write something for this? Why, when this volume followed WINDUP GIRL so soon?) The other problem, which is more obvious with the techno-Orientalist stories for me than with the American ones, is that not only is the future grim as fuck, but it is also ahistorical, detached from existing resistance work. This is not a new problem, but glaring nonetheless from an anthology that purports to represent youth from communities of color. A tie to continuing histories of resistance would possibly have created more hopeful narratives rather than these worlds where the problems are unprecedented, creating solutions that are negotiable only through sheer survival and desperate measures.

This raises the question of what it means to be empowered, especially as a youth in a world where the world, in real life, is stacked against young people who are neither heirs to capital nor given the opportunity to accumulate said capital. Practically all but one or two of the main characters are from a class that is clearly economically marginalized. They demonstrate resistance in many ways: in "the Last Day" resistance is demonstrated through a last stand and sacrifice; sacrifice is also resistance in "Gods of the Dimming Light" and "Next Door." But resistance should not be confused for empowerment, which is not the same as agency either; in "Uncertainty Principles," and "Pattern Recognition" the characters are left at the edges of community, uncertain of their future, and moreover, unable to control it to make their world a better place. If "every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful," as the dust jacket claims, what, exactly, is this power, and how far can it take a single protagonist?

And this brings to the final quibble with the project, which is entitled Diverse Energies. Yes, the protagonists are predominantly of color, many clearly non-white. Diversity means an interaction of differences, which is reflected in perhaps one or two stories (such as the interracial queer romances in "Good Girl" and "Next Door")--yet these interaction either ignores differences (could be good or bad, and I'm meh here, because I recognize that characterization shouldn't be tied to culture, but then again, when it's acultural, what is the point, but maybe it works for someone else), or posit difference as a source of anguish that is never resolved positively. Our protagonists don't have communities; they are inevitably alone. In "Blue Skies" the protagonist has bargained for some economic advancement but it is an individual moment, and the one connection he develops over the course of the story is given up. It's not diversity if you only have singulars!!

Ursula Le Guin's "Solitude," perhaps, is the one exception to my criticisms, as an exploration of a completely different world that has developed a life philosophy and society that is crafted specifically to avoid problems of oppression. It is "not human," but it creates functioning social relations (which is the argument of the protagonist, against her mother's assertion that the society are comprised of atomized individuals who fail at human/emotional connection). It is, interestingly, far more of a success in delicately delineating the philosophies of Buddhist self-awareness, selflessness and detachment (which "A Pocket Full of Dharma" doesn't even engage with, leaving us with a ham-handed rumination on the process of reincarnation instead).

I understand that this anthology comes out of a period during which YA dystopias were popular, and of course young adult audiences can handle grim, when it is true to their experiences. The short story format being what it is, it's hard to contain solutions to epic problems in small bites. And yet, and yet and yet and yet, what is the use of being adults writing for young adults with no wisdom to impart? With no torch to pass? "This is the fucked up shit my generation has dreamed up for your generation to fix, good luck."

Ultimately, this was not the YA diversity anthology I was hoping for, and I hope that actual young adults enjoyed this when I could not.

[Tanya Patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark collection of dystopian short stories, with diverse settings & characters - one I loved!
The Last Day, Ellen Oh. What a way to start off this collection of short stories. This dystopian society is damn dreary and depressing ... kind of the tone of the entire collection. It's an alternate history of WWII set in Japan. The World has been divided into 2 super-powers - The President of the West and The Emperor of the East - and they are at war. Nobody is winning, and The Emperor has resorted to forcibly drafting kids as young as 12.

Freshee's Frogurt, Daniel H. Wilson. This story seemed out of place, lacking both diversity and a strong dystopian society. In it, a convenience store clerk tells a detective how he ended up in the hospital thanks to a malfunctioning domestic robot ... apparently the first of many incidents. This is an exerpt from Robopocalypse.

Uncertainty Principle, K. Tempest Bradford. Excellent story that left me hoping this gets turned into a full length novel. A teenager, Iliana, experiences 'temporal shifts' where she experiences something that causes a change in the World, but nobody else sees it.

Pattern Recognition, Ken Liu. Kids in an orphanage are told that they've been rescued from a hellish world outside, and are made to play video games all day. But only later do the children find out the truth. Gripping, and I liked the emotional conflict at the end - are they being used and abused, or are they better off because they have been removed from their damaged environments?!

Gods of the Dimming Light, Greg van Eekhout. This story felt woefully short and a bit contrived to me, and it wasn't one of my favorites. Edward, a teenager, decided to participate in a research study for some money, but it's not what he thinks.

Next Door, Rahul Kanakia. The rich in this society have the technology to live in a virtual world, ignoring the poor, destitute & filthiness of their society. This story follows a boy and his boyfriend as they try to find the perfect (i.e. non-bug infested) location for their next squat. But, it doesn't look good for them at the end. This is my favorite (dark) dystopian society featured in the book - not my favorite story though as I thought it a bit rambling at times.

Good Girl, Malinda Lo. One of my favorite stories. In this society, racial purity is celebrated, and if you have the features of a "mixed race" it makes you an outcast. Kyle, is searching for her brother who vanished a few months before. Her search leads her to Nix, who lives under-ground, and claims to have information on where he went.

A Pocket Full of Dharma, Paolo Bacigalupi. The soul of the Dalai Lama has been placed in a computer program, up for sale to the highest bidder, and it winds up in the hands of a beggar. I don't know what to think of this story - it was well told but lacked a d...

Blue Skies, Cindy Pon. In an environmentally devastated future Taiwan, a boy kidnaps a rich girl for ransom. I loved the build-up but the ending left me flat. Would have loved to have seen a little more about the Stockholm Syndrome that the rich girl seemed to have been developing.

What Arms to Hold Us, Rajan Khanna. Indian children are slave labor in a mine, where their bodies are linked to a robot used for the actual physical labor, but it wears the kids down quickly. A bit predictable as to what is going to happen, but still an interesting story. Also liked that the author left it up to us to figure out if the "good guy" is actually "good" or if the "bad guy" is "bad."

Solitude, Ursula Le Guin. This is the one story in the collection where the World is both a utopia for one person and a dystopia for another. It's a perfect example of the way different cultures struggle to see through each others' eyes. An anthropologist goes to a planet with her two young children to study the ways of a culture that seems to have no community. The mother and older son learn a lot about the culture; the young daughter becomes part of it.

[Tintaglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non amo in genere le raccolte di racconti, e anche meno le antologie di autori vari , ma il tema alla base di Diverse energies mi intrigava: in una letteratura YA dominata dai protagonisti di razza bianca (recentissima la polemica su Goodreads per i protagonisti di altre razze “sbiancati” o modificati nelle copertine…) questa raccolta vuole raccogliere racconti che diversifichino, presentando distopie con protagonista, in realtà, la diversità razziale che è realtà non tanto in Europa, quanto negli Stati Uniti.
La presenza di tre autori come Ken Liu (di cui ho letto il bellisimo The man who ended History), Paolo Bacigalupi (due romanzi in coda di lettura, e un racconto poteva essere l’occasione per conoscerlo) e Ursula K. LeGuin (che non ha bisogno di presentazioni, spero!) e di due autrici che conoscevo di nome ma di cui non ho letto niente (Malinda Lo, particolarmente sensibile anche al tema gay negli YA, e Cindy Pon) mi hanno convinta alla lettura.
Come temevo il risultato è però ineguale. A fianco di alcuni racconti molto belli, ho trovato diverse buone idee che mi sono però parse incompiute in qualche maniera, o raccontate confusamente, e una minoranza di racconti che mi hanno lasciato molto fredda.

The last day di Ellen Oh parte da un’idea geniale. Peccato che la resa sia assolutamente inferiore all’idea: non ho provato né tristezza né orrore – e sì che, considerato che mi sono sentita male durante la visita al Museo di Hiroshima, l’autrice partiva avvantaggiata;

Freshee’s Frogurt di Daniel H. Wilson è un racconto molto scarno, ma divertente e reso con afficacia dal punto di vista linguistico;
di Uncertainty principle di K. Tempest Bradford ho adorato l’idea e la prima parte, mentre ho trovato scadente e conusionaria la soluzione (dalla comparsa della seconda ragazza in poi, diciamo senza spoiler ;));

Pattern recognition conferma Ken Liu un autore intelligente e profondo, e ottimo dal punto di vista stilistico, almeno per quanto mi riguarda;

Gods of dimming light di Greg van Eekhout ha un’idea originalissima e un’ambientazione davvero davvero bella: lascia forse un avgo senso di incompiutezza, ma mi è piaciuto moltissimo;

Next door di Rahul Kanakia mi ha lasciato perplessa: per quanto mi piaccia l’inquietante ambientazione, non sono riuscita a sentirmi coinvolta, probabilmente perché non mi piace minimamento lo stile di scrittura;

Good girl di Malinda Lo è uno di quei racconti che, pur essendomi piaciuto, mi ha lasciato ocn un senso di incompiutezza, forse per il finale aperto, e la mancata soluzione della ricerca inziiale della protagonista, ma anche per la scarsa esplorazione dei sentimenti e della storia che vengono raccontati;

A pocket full of dharma di Paolo Bacigalupi ha un’idea interessante, un’ambientazione affascinante e un’idea (la Biocittà) davvero bella, ma anche qui non è stato al livello che mi aspettavo: lo metterò alla prova nei romanzi;

What arms to hold, Rajan Khanna non mi ha detto nulla in particolare, nè come tema nè come scrittura, e non mi è piaciuto il vago afflato fantasy;

Blue skies di Cindy Pon è per me uno dei migliori racconti della raccolta: pochi tratti, trama minima, ma resa appassionante del passato e del presente dei personaggi, e delle loro diversità;

Solitude di Ursula K. Le Guin è di una bellezza commovente: una riflessione sulle lontananze culturali e sulla loro incolmabilità di una lucidità e chiarezza affascinanti, nello stile squisito della LeGuin. Vale la pena di leggere la raccolta solo per questo (una ristampa, sia detto, non scritto appositamente per la raccolta, come il racconto di Bacigalupi).

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was grabbed by the mention of three of these authors who have either written books I enjoyed or have written books I hope to read soon (those three being Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, and Cindy Pon). Its stated intention is to provide more diversity in our YA fiction, whether race, gender, culture, sexual-orientation, etc. These stories mix dystopia, science-fiction, and fantasy. Like many short story collections, it's a definite mixed bag with some stories working well for me and some not clicking with me.

The Last Day by Ellen Oh-what a powerful story and a great way to start the collection! Atomic non-stop war between the President of the West and the Emperor of the West with nowhere safe for the people.

Freshee's Frogurt by Daniel H. Wilson-Interesting story about robots going berserk and attacking humans; warning about language. Not one of my favorites as it's very short and just focusing on this one battle.

Uncertainty Principle by K. Tempest Bradford-was really interesting and played with time, one of my favorite concepts. A young girl keeps having time shifted around her with no one else noticing until the day she uploads all the times it has happened and she is contacted by others to do something about it.

Pattern Recognition by Ken Liu-I really loved this story although there was an awkward shift at the end, hopefully due to the fact that this is an ebook. I wasn't really sure where it was going but I loved the main characters. It made me think of Ender's Game a little bit, which is a good thing as that's one of my favorite books.

Gods of Dimming Light by Greg van Eekhout-I didn't really like this one; it felt a bit more on the violent side featuring a young Indonesian boy discovering a Norse connection.

Next Door by Rahul Kanakia-This was very weird to me: there are haves and have-nots, the former don't even notice the latter being so plugged into their technology and I didn't quite understand that even as I know people are always talking about how technology is isolating us but I could not imagine not noticing other people in the way that the haves do here.

Good Girl by Malinda Lo-did I mention that all of these stories are pretty uniformly depressing? This was definitely one of those with our main character searching the underworld for her brother, meeting a love interest, and confronting the grim reality of her world.

A Pocket Full of Dharma by Paolo Bacigalupi-I didn't really know what to make of this story, about a boy on the streets and trying to survive among conniving adults in a bleak world. What's in his pocket? It's not a ring of power for one.

Blue Skies by Cindy Pon-I thought this was another really good story, especially because it seemed a little lighter and it had a hint of romance. Although such romance is impossible in the world, I liked the little hit within.

What Arms to Hold by Rajan Khanna-Indian children labor in a mine, searching for a big prize that will ensure their promotion to a better job...guess what? That's not exactly the case as is so heartbreakingly shown here.

Solitude by Ursula K. Le Guin-I'm not really sure I got this story, which was one of the longest included. It's about a woman who uses her son and daughter to explore and study a foreign culture on another planet.

[Shoshana G · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm all about encouraging diversity in fiction and YA fiction and speculative fiction, but the only story in this book I found particularly interesting or memorable was the Le Guin one, which I had read before anyway. Having multicultural characters isn't enough to make a story - and to me, most of the stories in this book were just vehicles to trot out the characters, not actual STORIES. This may not make much sense, but suffice it to say most of the stories in this book were dull.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories portrays many different (but pretty much all dark & depressing) visions of the future. They all have non-white and/or LGBTQ protagonists, filling a gap in the genre. Themes of income inequality and environmental destruction figure prominently in the stories. I'd recommend this to people who liked the Legend series by Marie Lu who are also in the mood for short stories.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse of futuristic heroes, villains in the future; gripping, insightful, grim yet hopeful. I'm in awe of the skillful, talented writers, including Ursula K. Le Guin, who contributed to this science fiction YA collection. Librarians and teachers will appreciate the unique viewpoints and find this a Must-Have for their teen readers.

[Kiesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an advanced reader's copy of this book that I picked up at the ALA conference in Anaheim earlier this year and I can't wait to get my hands on more works by some of the authors included in this collection. I particularly enjoyed Malinda Lo's 'Good Girl' and Cindy Pon's 'Blue Skies.' I love works by authors that celebrate sexual and multiethnic diversity.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good; one of those rare collections where I enjoyed every story. Published as a specific intervention into the whitewashing/racism of YA sf/fantasy, with a portion of the proceeds going to The Carl Brandon Society's Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship, which funds emerging POC sf/fantasy writers' attendance at the famed Clarion writing workshops. WIN.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mix of dystopic/sci-fi stories. I especially loved Malinda Lo's story "The Good Girl."

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection

The short stories are varied in subject matter, length, and style. A thought provoking read and well worth while. I would definitely recommend.

[mad mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Strong Collection of Diverse Dystopian Stories

No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed, but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to the freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul.

- President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962

Maybe your claim is that Dungeons & Dragons is based on a fantasy feudal Europe? Maybe your game is, but the whole point is that you can make whatever game you want; a diverse cast in your illustration just encourages that. And for that matter, are you seriously telling me that you think having a person with darker skin is somehow more of a strain on your suspension of disbelief than…a lizard lady or a devil dude?

- Mordicai Knode, writing for Tor.com, April 11, 2012

Inspired by online discussions of diversity in literature (see, e.g. RaceFail 2009), Joe Monti and Tobias S. Buckell set out to create a diverse anthology of dystopian stories that feature people of color and LGBTQ protagonists: "not a brick thrown at a window, [but] the continued paving of a path" - a path toward stories that reflect the entire spectrum of the human experience. Diverse Energies is a wonderful step in this direction - and yet, six years later, the continuing debate about representation in books, movies, video games, and other forms of media (most recently, via the We Need Diverse Books campaign) underscores the fact that there's so much work yet to be done.

Featuring original and "rediscovered" stories by the likes of Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, Ken Liu, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Ursula K. Le Guin, Diverse Energies is a strong collection of dystopian stories that center on POC and LGBTQ protagonists, many of them written by authors of color and/or gay/lesbian authors. Every single story features at least one non-white protagonist (many of the casts are overwhelming non-white), with a variety of nations and ethnicities represented. Settings range from futuristic, war-torn Japan to (seemingly) present-day China, and the tunnels that run underneath Chinatown in New York City. Additionally, several stories also feature gay and lesbian romances, both old ("Next Door") and newly blossoming ("Good Girl").

Like most anthologies, Diverse Energies is a bit of a mixed bag; but even my least favorite stories of the bunch earned 3/5 stars. Overall, it's a fairly strong collection, with a few especially shiny gems sprinkled throughout. Many (though not all) of the stories have a YA vibe to them, but just like straight-up YA, they're suitable for teenage and adult readers alike.

"The Last Day" by Ellen Oh - Set in a distant future in which a massive world war ended with the emergence of two competing superpowers, the Emperor of the East attempts to conceal the existence of a powerful bomb - afraid that his citizens would stop fighting the President of the West if news got out. "The Last Day" follows two boys as they traverse their city, Urakami, on its last day before it's bombed by the West - and any survivors, massacred by the Emperor. 3/5 stars.

"Freshee's Frogurt" by Daniel H. Wilson - Presented in an interview format, the lone survivor of a robot attack (an allegedly "malfunctioning" domestic robot) offers a glimpse of what's to come in just nine short months, with the advent of Zero Hour. (I assume this story ties into Wilson's Robopocalypse series, which is in my TBR list.) 3/5 stars (but maybe just because I haven't yet gotten to Robopocalypse).

"Uncertainty Principle" by K. Tempest Bradford - Throughout most of her short life, Iliana's reality shifts in ways both large and small. But it's only when a change claims a much-needed president (Keith Ellison's daughter Amirah, in a really cool and timely cameo) - followed by her own parents - that Iliana vows to find out who's changing history, and why. While the multiple time lines are a bit confusing at times, I really enjoyed the quirkiness and overt social justice aspects of the story. 5/5 stars.

"Pattern Recognition" by Ken Liu - David is one of many kids "enrolled" in the Volpe Ness School, where the students are put to work solving puzzles and finding patterns. Run by authoritarian Dr. Gau (who fancies himself a philanthropist), the children are taught that the Outside is a ruined wasteland, populated by the wicked and the sinful; as such, all artifacts from the days before are strictly prohibited, as is social interaction between the sexes (except at Sunday worship). When David steals a phone from an Outsider in order to impress Helen ("They had looked up kiss a long time ago, and tonight the reading came in handy."), he unwittingly establishes contact with the outside world, and discovers that his whole life has been a lie. 4/5 stars.

"Gods of the Dimming Light" by Greg van Eekhout - Edward responds to an advertisement for the medical research company NorseCODE - only to find out that he, as a descendant of Odin, is destined to play a role in the world's final days, as it ends "not with a bang, but with a sniffle." Nevermind that he's an atheist, and his parents hail not from Scandinavia, but from Indonesia. 4/5 stars.

"Next Door" by Rahul Kanakia - In this dystopian future, humans are divided into Strangers and Squatters. The ultimate "haves," Strangers are so addicted to their tech that it's the real world which seems an illusion. Most of them don't even notice the Squatters living in their basements, garages, even homes. Aakash and Victor are a couple on the hunt for their own squat. When they become entangle with Joel - the son of the man who owns Aakash's family's current squat and a futuristic hipster who restores historical artifacts for the Squatters, the inheritors of human culture, but for whom he has little respect as individuals - they hit the motherload, only to have it taken away once again. In this 'verse, the rich literally can't see the poor, making it a rather handy allegory for today's widening poverty gap. 4/5 stars.

"Good Girl" by Malina Lo - If you enjoyed Ash or Huntress, you're sure to love this short story by the incomparable Malida Lo. Set in New York City, Lo imagines a society in which the government enforces racial purity through the Health Ministry, which approves marriages and green-lights (or not) reproduction. Women who become pregnant without approval may be sterilized - unless they're rich enough to pay off a government official or two. Asian is the ideal, while biracial citizens are driven underground to live as "Tunnel Mutts," performing the dirty, unsavory jobs rejected by "pure bloods." When her older brother Kit disappears, Nix - a biracial lesbian passing as pure (and presumably straight) - enlists the help of "Tunnel Mutt" Nix to help find him. The two fall for each other, but their relationship is doomed from the start. 5/5 stars.

"A Pocket Full of Dharma" by Paolo Bacigalupi - When a mysterious Tibetan hires beggar boy Wang Jun to deliver a data cube to an even more mysterious person in white gloves, "Soldier Wang" finds himself caught in the middle of a dangerous political conspiracy - for the data cube, you see, contains the consciousness of the 19th Dalai Lama. 3/5 stars. The organic city called Huojianzhu (reminiscent of the living ships in Lilith's Brood) really steals the show.

"Blue Skies" by Cindy Pon - A young man going by the name "Dark Horse" kidnaps a wealthy you girl for ransom so that he can infiltrate the suited elite and set the world right again. What he doesn't expect is to find a kindred soul hidden beneath all that glass and latex. 5/5 stars.

"What Arms to Hold Us" by Rajan Khanna - Imprisoned in a primosite mine, Ravi is recruited by one of his bosses to assassinate the Archmagus, using his mining robot gollie as a weapon. On the verge of murder, Ravi realizes with a start that Magus Sharpe never mentioned what would become of him and the other boys. How can he trust Sharpe when he's part of the very system that enslaves, tortures, and discards children by the thousands?

"Solitude" by Ursula K. Le Guin - An intergalactic ethnologist, "mother" chose to settle on the planet Eleven-Soro to conduct field research - but only after three First Observers failed to communicate with the tight-lipped natives, whose beliefs that most human relationships are unnatural are reflected in their customs and behaviors. However, mom came armed with a secret weapon that the Observers were lacking: her two children, Borny and Ren, who were able to cross certain cultural boundaries that constrain the adults of the culture (such as asking direct questions, or entering another person's home). After seven years on the planet - one of which Ren's brother Borny spent living in exile in the Territories, joining a boy gang and proving his manhood - mom and Borny wish to leave, against Ren's wishes. Having lived on Eleven-Soro for more than half her twelve years, Ren languishes on the ship, wanting nothing more than to go home, to the human solitude of her adopted planet. 5/5 stars.

I can't say enough good things about "Solitude"; riveting, thought-provoking, and melancholy, it had me at the edge of my seat. Between library sales and Bookmooch, I've managed to acquire quite a few books by Le Guin over the past few years; "Solitude" has definitely pushed them to the top of my to-read pile.

Recommended for: Fans of grim, introspective, and/or socially conscious SF dystopias; readers who are sick of falling in love with a story, only to realize halfway through that it lacks more than a token female/POC/LGBTQ/otherwise diverse character (if that); people who are tired of scouring books for diverse characters and would rather just sit back and enjoy the show, diversity being assured at the outset.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/02/09/...

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read a short story collection and I thought this one would be good to try as there were several authors I had read and enjoyed on the list. And I appreciated the sci-fi nature of these stories, there was a great variety of settings and I really enjoyed that. 

The Last Day by Ellen Oh: Really interesting historical alternate universe story. I liked the ending for the main character as well, I really expected him to be the survivor and so it was a real surprise. 

Freshee's Frogurt by Daniel H. Wilson: I think the world needs more robot uprising novels, they seem to have fallen out of favour (probably around the time when technology became very commonplace for everything) and this one was suitably terrifying. Also very graphic. I think I would have liked a little more focus on the police officer who apparently joined a taskforce to fight the robot uprising rather than the main character. 

Uncertainty Principle by K. Tempest Bradford: This started off so strong and then it just turned into a bit of a wandering mess. I really loved the idea of a girl who is aware of the changes in the timeline and is the only one but then I got very confused about what was going on. It's the trouble with multiple timelines. 

Pattern Recognition by Ken Liu: This one felt more like a complete story that fit nicely into the length. I liked the children having a variety of different experiences and that changed what they did afterwards. I didn't like the timeskips, they seemed to happen really abruptly and I wasn't even sure there had been a timeskip until a paragraph or two had gone past. 

Gods of the Dimming LIght by Greg van Eekhout: I'm not sure how to feel about the plot of this one, it didn't make too much sense to me, but I do appreciate a protagonist who is very much 'why do I have to save the world, I'm just here to save my family'. 

Next Door by Rahul Kanakia: Really interesting idea of having rich people have high tech implants that make them not want to live in the real world anymore and therefore don't care about people squatting in their homes. I loved the world-building of this but I wasn't suchg a huge fan of the plot. It felt like it wasn't nearly as memorable as the world itself. 

Good Girl by Malinda Lo: I wasn't sure a huge fan of this one. While I appreciated that a female/female relationship at the forefront of this story, as well as a not particularly healthy one (the love interest didn't seem to return her interest to the same extent), I kept thinking about the girl's mother who had been forced away from the man she loved and now both her children had left her. 

A Pocket Full of Dharma by Paolo Bacigalupi: I didn't really know what was going on in this story (the Dalai Lama on a datacube that everyone wants?) but I enjoyed it a lot. The main character didn't seem that intelligent but that was actually quite a nice change? I appreciated it. 

Blue Skies by Cindy Pon: I really liked this one. The story felt like a complete one for the length, I enjoyed what we heard about the world and I'm really intrigued about what the main character was going to do with the money. He wanted to see blue skies again but how was he going to do that? I'm very intrigued and I would read more about this. 

What Arms to Hold Us by Rajan Khanna: I was a little meh on this one with the setup being one I felt like I had seen before (children work to gain credit towards being able to leave and get a better life for themselves and their family) but I really liked how the main character rejected doing the dirty work for someone else, saving him from being the scapegoat. It was a nice change. 

Solitude by Ursula K. Le Guin: I loved this one. It's all about a family going to live on Earth post-apocalypse as the mother wants to learn more about the culture that sprang up and the only way is through the children. But it becomes her daughter's culture and so when it comes time to leave, problems come up. The new culture of men and women living apart sprang up in a really interesting way. I loved the talk about learning through song, adults not able to enter other people's houses and how children are raised. Such an interesting story, probably the only one I would reread. 

I did like this collection of stories but I do wish there had been slightly fewer dystopian settings. It's not like any of them were the same in anyway, but I did get some fatigue with the whole genre. It was why I liked the first three stories and the last one so much.

3.5 stars!

[Ria Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many truly depressing futures are showcased in Diverse Energies. From violent wars to exploitation to impossible-to-bridge gaps between the rich and poor…Wait, doesn’t this sound familiar? Doesn’t this sound precisely like what’s in the news today?

That’s what makes these futures so believable, I think. Every single story in this compilation deals with a future that’s all too easy to see happening. This isn’t science fiction taking place on other planets, with people and situations that are too distant from our own lives to really feel a connection to. These are futures that we already know have seeds planted. Exploitation of workers overseas. The poor left to struggle and die in polluted worlds while the rich have the luxury of health and clean air and water. A vicious divide between “eastern” and “western” cultures. These are things we can see bits and pieces of just by turning on the news. The stories are relatable, understandable, easily evoking empathy from any reader.

And true to advertisement, anyone who’s looking for minorities to get some literary screentime in speculative fiction should take a look at this book. Very few stories even contained white characters, and most of the ones who did were not protagonists. If it wasn’t minorities by culture, it was minorities by sexuality. Sometimes both. The characters here were as diverse as humanity itself, and it was a welcome break from fiction that revolves around North America’s accomplishments and station in the global community.

There was only one story where it really felt as though a character of colour was shoehorned in, where it would have made absolutely no difference to the tale whatsoever. A story about a robot on a murderous rampage was told from the perspective of one who was attacked, giving a report to a law enforcement officer. The law enforcement officer had Osage heritage. This was mentioned in 2 lines of dialogue, as an aside. It added nothing to the story. It didn’t take anything away, sure, and perhaps that was the point. That it doesn’t take much to add a bit of diversity to a story. I’m not sure. But to me, it seemed as though the lines were added as an afterthought, a quick way to throw in an attempt at diversity without actually doing so.

But aside from that one story, the diversity shown in this novel was excellent, and could serve as a great lesson to many, readers and writers alike. You want a story that stands out, then don’t create your story from the same cookie-cutter ideas that have been done time and time again. People who aren’t straight and white want characters to relate to too. I know I do! (I’ve mentioned in the past how difficult it can be to find characters who are asexual as a sexual preference, and how hard it can be for me to relate to characters who are driven by sexual urges.)

If you’re looking for some good diversity in your speculative fiction, if you want a glimpse at the futures of places that aren’t North American, if you want to see some minorities take the stage, then reach for a copy of Diverse Energies. It’s worth your time.

(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)

[PageTurnerswithKatja · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul.”
—President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962

In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy to distinguish and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful.
In this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds. Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to society’s far future beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction.

Paperback, 379 pages
Expected publication: October 23rd 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Thank you to Netgalley and Tu Books for providing me with a review copy of Diverse Energies, this has in no way influenced by review of the book.

The Afterword explains that the authors were asked to "contribute a story to an anthology about a wonderful, blended, messed-up future as not a role model, but a touchstone." He goes on to say explain, "Having people of colo(u)r/ Caucasian/ LGBT protagonists in stories by writers is not a brick thrown at a window, it is the continued paving of a path."

“The Last Day” by Ellen Oh
A dystopian world built on an alternative history of our current world. What if the outcome of World War One had split the world into two sides, what would the Second World War have been like then?
Ellen Oh's smooth writing style brought the characters and environment to life...well, before all the death. Bleak!...but well-written; I liked it.

“Freshee’s Frogurt” by Daniel H. Wilson
It's a gory little tale, and the interviewee's voice was wonderfully upfront and conversational. Yet, in the absence of a protagonist of colour, it should have given me a sense that diversity was being explored through a question of culture and/or sexuality, which was not the case. Not sure how it fits the brief of the anthology.

“Uncertainty Principle” by K. Tempest Bradford
A young girl realises that the world around her changes every so often, but she's the only one who remains unchanged. One day her neighbourhood is idyllic, and the next it's a run down, high-crime area. One day her best friend is there and the next no-one else knew the other girl ever existed.
Such a good premise for a time-travel story, and I could have stood to read even more about the characters and the world(s). Each time the world shifts it seems to be for the worse, so it's interesting that one of the shifts prevents a non-Christian, woman of colour from becoming President. Enjoyed it, and wanted another serving.

“Pattern Recognition” by Ken Liu
A school in which boys and girls are segregated and told to abide by all the school's rules to show gratitude for having been saved from the fate that befell the people outside the school walls.
It's a clever idea, and easy to correlate this story to the exploitation that happens in this day and age. Enjoyed it.

“Gods of Dimming Light” by Greg van Eekhout
In this futuristic world we're living in something like a second 'ice-age', a young man's DNA tells an interesting story. When he's given some surprising information will he find it difficult to make a 'life-changing' decision? Enjoyed it.

“Next Door” by Rahul Kanakia
Interesting take on a future US, where the wealthy live mainly in the virtual world and barely notice the poor people that are now squatting in their homes and garages. Two boys, young lovers, seek their own property to squat in.Loved the world creation and wish I'd warmed to the protagonist more. Enjoyed it.

“Good Girl” by Malinda Lo
One of my favourite stories, this is set in a dystopia where racial purity is law. The main character sets out searching for her brother, but in the process find she's also searching for herself. She ponders her place in the world - with regards to social class, race and sexuality. She learns more about the people who live below the city, the people whose existence no-one else admits to, although all crimes are laid at their doorstep...and although this subterranean world is every bit as claustrophobic as her existence up top, it does allow her to be more herself and to hope that there may be more to the world than what she thought. Loved it!

“A Pocket Full of Dharma” by Paolo Bacigalupi
Loved the world creation, which was disturbing and fascinating in equal measure. An orphan boy who is forced to leave his village with not a thing in his pocket, learns to survive on unforgiving city streets. Will the story end with him still empty handed, or will his pockets hold more than he started out with? Wonderfully weird.

“Blue Skies” by Cindy Pon
A future in which the rich can live to be over a hundred and everyone else is lucky to live until thirty. Global warming and pollution have taken their toll on our environment and health, and the 'wealth-gap' that exists today has worsened. In this story a 'have' girl and a 'have-not' boy realise just how much more each of them wants out of life. I could go on and on about this one, but then I'd pretty much spoil the plot,so I'll end with: Loved it, wish it were a novel so I could meet the characters again!

“What Arms to Hold” by Rajan Khanna
The story of a boy hired to become part of a workforce that control mining robots through a neural network. Yet the corporation he works for may not be all it seems. I got a little confused trying to visualise the mining process, but was impressed that in a short space of time the author manages to convey a range of emotions, from hope and pride, to confusion, suspicion, hurt and revenge...to bring us right back to hope. Enjoyed it.

“Solitude” by Ursula K. Le Guin
I found "Solitude" thought-provoking. A boy and girl are taken to live on a planet where their mother observes the culture of the inhabitants. The tribe's way of living is so different from their own, but who's way of thinking, feeling and acting is the right way? Loved it.


Overall:
My three favourite stories are "Blue Skies", "Good Girl" and "Solitude". I found these stories the most thought provoking and loved the way the world creation added to the message of each story. The imagery supported the feelings of the characters - all of whom I found to be compelling in their own ways. Solitude I think works perfectly as short story as do the other two, but I would love for Blue Skies and Good Girl to be turned into full lengthy novels, because the worlds and characters still have much to offer.

I enjoyed Bradford's story and the premise makes this one of the best time-travel tales I've read.

It amazes me how Bacigalupi's and Kanakia's stories manage to create such a strong sense of environment in the span of a short story. Bacigalupi's story is available as a free sample chapter on BaeneBooks

"Pattern Recognition" and "What Arms to Hold" got me thinking about the rights of the child and the importance of questioning those in authority.

"The Last Day" is well-written and thought provoking - in that depressing sort of way all stories about the futility of war make us think.

"Gods of Dimming Light" is weird...in that I thought it would be one sort of story and ended up not being what I expected at all. The fact that the message isn't explicit worked for me; I have a feeling we can all draw from it what we will, or nothing at all. I enjoyed it, but if you like things clear-cut you'll probably feel frustrated reading this one.

"Freshee's Froghurt" had a strong voice, though I don't why it's in this anthology.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the hugest fan of short stories. I think there's a really fine balance between a story not worth telling and a story worth giving a novel's worth of words to develop. Balanced on the knife edge between those two things are the really successful short stories.

That doesn't mean to say I don't enjoy a lot of short stories I read - it's just generally I enjoy them with a pinch of resentment, wishing that I had 300 pages, not 15. Most of the stories in Diverse Energies are no exception.

The premise of a culturally diverse book featuring protagonists from all cultures, with a bit of LGBT thrown in for good measure, was dreamt up in response to apparent 'whitewashing' of YA literature. I can't say I know much about this, in all honesty, except to say that a lot of the YA books I read feature white, straight protagonists. I expect this has a lot to do with the fact that so many prominent YA writers are white and straight than inherent racism and homophobia in the genre - as the saying goes: write what you know, and I don't feel we should criticise authors for doing that. But, equally, we shouldn't pass over culturally diverse fiction, or LGBT fiction, just because of current trends. Who's to say such a book wouldn't start the next trend, anyway?

Diverse Energies, then, reads like a perfect sampler of different authors who write in these fields. I can't say I didn't enjoy reading any of the stories in the collection, despite my sometimes frustration that they were only short, though Ursula Le Guin and Daniel H. Wilson's offerings were my particular favourites. Each story was exactly what it promised to be - a little pocket of another culture in a dystopian future, equal parts fascinating and frightening in most instances. I was unfamiliar with most of the authors, but I will definitely be on the lookout for opportunities to read their work.

And if everyone who reads Diverse Energies responds in the same way, then perhaps in the future it will be said that the trend of culturally diverse fiction started here.

[Jessica Strider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros: wide variety of dystopian worlds, protagonists of diverse races and sexual orientations

Cons: in several of the stories the characters are in lower class/servile roles to white people,

For Parents: no language, minimal violence, one story hints at sex but there are no descriptions, three of the stories have positive GLTBQ content

This is a great collection of stories. Not only do they feature people of colour in lead roles, there are also several positive portrayals of gay/lesbian teens in worlds where their choices are normal and accepted by those around them as such. Each of the dystopian worlds depicted is very different, with some ending with hope and others less optimistic. I was a little disappointed that a few of the stories cast their coloured protagonists in subservient roles, as I expected this anthology to give a more hopeful viewpoint regarding race in the future (much as it does do for its GLTBQ characters). But there's a lot to love about this collection, including the fact that a portion of the proceeds from the book are going to the Carl Brandon Society's Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you or your kids are into dystopian fiction, this is a must for your bookshelf.

***** "The Last Day" by Ellen Oh - It's the 15th year of the war between the East and the West and two 12 year old boys are working to help provide for their families in rural Japan.

This is a very powerful alternative history. If you've read Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse or seen the Studio Gibli film Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka), you'll know where this story is headed.

*** "Freshee's Frogurt" by Daniel H. Wilson - A frozen yogurt worker gives a police report about the domestic robot that malfunctions and attacks him and his co-worker.

It's not mentioned in the collection, but this story comes from Wilson's Robopocalypse. I was unable to finish that novel due to inconsistencies between the frame stories and the narratives they're retelling. For example, this story is told after the fact, as a police report, yet for some reason the narrator is using present tense language which, I'll admit gives the story more immediacy, even though it makes no sense. At one point the narrator says, "Man, I hope he's out of it" after watching his co-worker get injured. The problem is, this happened sometime in the recent past, and no longer applies to where the narrator (or his co-worker) is now.

The story itself is well written, if designed to be part of a larger narrative.

***** "The Uncertainty Principle" by K. Tempest Bradford - Iliana can tell when a change is coming, but she's the only one afterwards who recognizes that the world is different.

This story reminded me of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven. The writing is great and the story interesting. The protagonist is feisty and proactive. The world-building is necessarily limited. I'd love to see this fleshed out as a novel, detailing what's changed as Iliana becomes old enough to know the history, etc. from previous timelines.

**** "Pattern Recognition" by Ken Liu - David and the other boys and girls at the Volpe Ness School are taught that the Outside world is a horrible, desolate place. Inside the compound, the kids work on pattern games during the day, even as he wonders more and more about the outside world.

This premise - of a school of kids kept separate from a post-apocalyptic world - has been explored in several teen novels (Eve by Anna Carey comes immediately to mind), but it's the ending of this story that makes it unique.

**** "Gods of the Dimming Night" by Greg van Eekhout - It's the third winter without a summer in San Diego, and 17 year old Edward is out begging for work to help his family survive when he sees the flyer for a NorseCODE medical study that pays well.

Interesting use of Norse mythology. I liked the author's definition of heroism at the end.

*** "Next Door" by Rahul Kanakia - Aakash's family squats in the garage of a family of strangers. But unlike most of the strangers who wear implants, this father and son are aware of the hoards of street people around them. When Aakash and his boyfriend see the son of his stranger family trying to break into the conservatory, they wonder if their dream of having their own pest free place to squat is finally within reach.

A very unique dystopian world, with gross overcrowding and a huge bedbug problem. Definitely not a world I'd want to live in. The story's a little bittersweet with an open ending.

*** "Good Girl" by Malinda Lo - Kyle looks pureborn despite her mixed blood, allowing her to live above ground. She meets Nix in a basement leading to the tunnels to ask if her brother, who disappeared the previous year, lives there now, and finds something unexpected.

Another bittersweet story about forbidden love and survival in dangerous circumstances. Well written but the ending's a little depressing.

*** "A Pocket Full of Dharma" by Paolo Bacigalupi - Wang Jun is a beggar boy in old Chengdu. When he's witness to a murder, he ends up with an object that men will kill - and die - for.

Kind of long, the story moves around a lot, with Wang meeting up with various people, trying to figure out what to do with the object. Very little is told about the interesting living architecture that is slowly growing over the city into luxury housing or the plague that crippled the boy. Still, it has its moments.

*** "Blue Skies" by Cindy Pon - The unnamed narrator kidnaps a you girl for ransom. You, the haves, live in helmeted suits, with purified oxygen, water and food. This provides them longer lifespans than the rest of the human race.

The story ends a bit abruptly, but I found the characters very interesting and the have/want conflict familiar, if taken to extremes.

**** "What Arms to Hold Us" by Rajan Khanna - Ravi drives a golly, a mechanical mining machine controlled via a crown powered by the mineral they're digging, primosite. But Ravi dreams of someday moving on from the mines, like his older brother.

Minimal world building doesn't detract from the emotional punch of this story or the hopeful ending.

**** "Solitude" by Ursula K. Le Guin - Serenity's mother is a scientist who, when the inhabitants of Eleven-Soro prove to be enigmas to the previous Observers, decides to use her children as a means of learning how the society works. Growing up as one of the natives, Serenity has more of a connection to her new home than her mother's people.

This is a great story about learning from other cultures and accepting that one people's way of seeing the world isn't every people's way of doing so. It's a longer story and while it covers a lot of time, it's interesting for its characters and world building.

[Dan Allbery · Rating 3 out of 5]

He spoke to them of the horrors of the Outside. The world that had been destroyed by sin, by greed. Out there, men would strangle their sons for fear that there wasn't enough to eat. And women would smother their daughters because they weren't boys. Out there was hatred, starvation, death. In some of the ruined cities, the air was scarcely breathable and water was dirty enough to melt flesh off bones.

The short stories are not revolutionary, but the principle of the anthology is noble and necessary—dystopian shorts by diverse authors with diverse characters. Fantasy novels are dominated by white narratives and so it was a necessary change to see characters of color and queer characters take center stage. The main reason I purchased this text was because our GR 8 dystopian unit had whitewashed book clubs. The only exception was Want by Cindy Pon. Diverse Energies will give my students at least a taste of a less often featured cast.

The downside: Most of the stories were mediocre. The two that I will most likely pitch to my students are "The Last Day" by Ellen Oh (set in Japan) and "Blue Skies" by Cindy Pon (set in Taiwan). I'm not sure if I would recommend the entire text to young readers, but instead certain short stories. Recommended for GR 8 and up.

[Natasha C · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is some great variety here. Some stories are part of longer books, so do not expect that each one has a complete story arc, but you get a sense of different dystopian ways our society can go.

My favorites:

"Next Door" Upper-class people have so much technological immersion that they do not even mind or notice that those who are poorer live in their garages and other unused spaces. Very interesting concept.

"Pattern Recognition" A colony of children taken from resource-poor countries work for a technology group.

"What Arms to Hold Us" Children are trained to control "gollies," or robotic bodies that they can take over through a neurological connection in order to dig for resources. (As I write this, I am seeing the similarities between the ones I liked--social class, desperation for resources, use of children...)

"Solitude" In order to understand a "primitive" society from another planet, a scientist has her children live among them and be raised as them.

There is a lot of potential to share these stories with high school students to study writing moves and I think they would find the topic compelling.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a spur not knowing how diverse this anthology would be. I was surprised that it featured young adults of different ethnicities. It felt very refreshing. I think the reason why I was interested was because the anthology centred on Dystopia. I loved the preface and the afterword. Honestly I have never heard of any of these authors before but am interested to be introduced to them.

The Last Day by Ellen Oh
4/5 stars

As this is the first story I do not really have a benchmark to compare this to. I could not quite get the world. I thought it was WW2 because it was set in Japan and children were supposed to fight as soldiers. Silly right?

It felt tense and I was glued to the part where Ms Ueda came to take Kenji's neighbour's daughter. I like the writing. The end was so sad and quick. I could not believe it ended that way. I felt the injustice wrought on the people because of the Emperor's wishes to have more. Despite this being the first it was one of the stories I enjoyed the most because it felt so human.

Freshee's Frogurt by Daniel H. Wilson
3/5 stars

I felt that the title was odd. I did not like the way the story was told. In a magazine interview style. It was about robots rising up to try and over throw humans. No doubt the story was short and centred on one small incident. The details were vivid and startling. Such as the violence. It goes to show how people exhibit scepticism in things that are out of the ordinary and what this ignorance can cost. It plays up artificial intelligience and asks if robots could truly feel anger, happiness and sadness. As well as the will to act against orders.

Uncertainty Principle by K. Tempest Bedford.
2.5/5 stars

This started out good. But it became confusing. The story's time travelling was poorly written, tough to understand. The plot lost steam towards the end. I was bored.

Pattern Recognition by Ken Liu
3/5 stars

The story began nicely. Children are taken and brought to a facility where they are taught in a certain way, fed and trained for a particular skill: pattern recognition. The main character hardly made an impact other than the fact that he was sneaking off to meet a girl. What was interesting was that the director of the school was considered an abuser when the world knew of this school. He was condemned but he argues that he provides the children a safe place.

Who is right? I think that it was noble to bring in many children, feed them and educate them in certain skills but not to lie to them about the world outside. However cruel it may be.

Gods of the Dimming Light by Greg Van Eekhout
3/5 stars

I sat up and paid attention when I read that norse gods like Odin were mentioned. I love how the story tied mythology with dystopian. A risk but well done. I love the setting. Very typical dystopian of despair, poverty and hope. I think the point of Norsecode Genomics was silly. The main character's decision surprised me but now thinking about it. He made the right decision. It all sounds too far fetched.

Next Door by Rahul Kanakia
3.5/5 stars

I liked the idea of the Strangers. It reminds me of the movie, Surrogates. I was surprised to see a mixed gay couple. The ending was not that bad.

Good Girl by Malinda Lo
3/5 stars

Another dystopian world I liked. Again I was surprised to read about a girl expressing attraction to another girl. I do not read about lgbt much in novels. It is more a choice. I am okay with it but some part of me is also not entirely comfortable with the idea still. The rest of the story was good.

A Pocket Full Of Dharma by Paolo Bacigalupi
3/5 stars

I was intrigued by such a dark world. The story flowed well and I was dying to know what would happen to Wang Jun and what was inside the cube. It ended most unexpectedly.

Blue Skies by Cindy Pon
2.5/5 stars

I think Cindy Pon is the only writer I did recognize but I have not read any of her books. I love the idea of a bad boy and the world where the rich wear fish bowls and air conditioned suits because the air has become so polluted.

I wished the story had more time to develop so I could find out more about what the MC wanted. His mannerisms and characteristics were very typical of a young teenage guy. Like admiring a girl's breasts. I will admit I had a fear that Stockholm Sydrome would develop between captive and kidnapper. It honestly seemed to be happening but in the end, it did not.

What Arms to Hold Us by Rajan Khanna
3/5 stars

I liked the world building but the plot felt too straight forward. Death and lies is not but the flow and characters just felt that way.

Solitude by Ursula K. Le Guin
2/5 stars

This had a sci-fi feel. It seemed interesting. But the MC was odd. The world and the people of Eleven Soro were strange. The idea that technology is considered magic is simple minded. I agreed with some of the MC's musings and the people of Eleven Soro do have good morels. But I do not agree with all of it. The blatant mentions of sex further enhance this wild culture and world. I am glad that the people are not animals but they live lives not everyone can understand.


Overall I was happy to see so many characters of mixed or different enthnicities. Many stories were based in china or off it. That was different. The same sex relationships and romance further enhance the diversity. I liked that romance is not a fore front of these stories like most YA. The worlds and lessons of the stories are what is focused upon. I love why the editors did this anthology. It introduced many authors but was not the best writing. There was a great idea behind it but not everyone will like this.

[Cindy Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great initiative to redefine dystopian YA stories in a different lens with characters of color as the primary focus. Some stories in this anthology were more impactful than others; unfortunately, many of them were a miss for me, but that could just be my own personal preference for longer stories. I think it'd be great to expand this into a series with a wider collection that has more balance in tone & concepts, as I'm sure an idea like this will eventually find the right footing.

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is filled with dystopian futures, time travelers, an organic hybrid structure kilometers in size that we live in oh and the Dalai Lama in a data cube.

It's a fascinating and engaging selection of short stories from a diverse range of authors, all of which have tales to tell that will make you think. Hard to select a few favourites but I would go for: the Last Day, Freshee's Frogurt, Uncertainty Principle, Pattern Recognition, Good Girl and A Pocket Full of Dharma.

Enjoy!

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diverse Energies edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti is a superb anthology. This book provides a good sample of various authors which is perfect if you're looking to read more #ownvoices and are not quite sure where to begin. Read my full review here

[Heather Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Diverse Energies” is a collection of short stories of tragedy and hope through alternate histories, the past and the far future reflecting the world’s diversity. All the stories were unique and intriguing. I really enjoyed this anthology! It is described as young adult but I found the ideas to as adult as any “adult” novel. This book is one of my favorites of the year.

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. I really did. But the only stories that drew me in were Malinda Lo’s and Ursula Le Guin’s. Those stories I would read again. The others? Let’s just say there were many times when I almost gave up on finishing it.