'Ike Pāpālua: Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories from the Hawaiian Islands

by Sam Fletcher (Editor), A.A. Attanasio, Gregory Norman Bossert

A collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories set in Hawai'i by some of the islands' foremost fiction writers. Twenty-one tales of adventure, magic, beasts, gods, Menehune, advanced technology, apocalypse, ghosts, robots, and shapeshifters across the Hawaiian Islands. Featuring stories from A.A. Attanasio, Gregory Norman Bossert, Alan Brennert, A.M. Dellamonica, Tom Gammarino, Darien Gee, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Lehua Parker, Rhiannon Rasmussen, and more. A child is born as the kahuna prophesied, but to a misinterpreted prophesy. A Menehune duo plays pranks on tourists in Hāna. A Navy Diver attempts to salvage a wreck off Honolulu and finds something else lurking in the deep. After his grandfather passes, a young boy can still hear his call--but is it really him or a trickster spirit? Vampires have taken over Hawai'i, harvesting the last remaining humans in concentration camps. An ensign of the Star Union high above the Islands must prove worthy of their rank--and lineage.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2023

About the author

Freelance reporter, editor, and fiction writer in Honolulu, HI.

Reviews

[Krystle]

I have a story in this so I don't think it's appropriate to give a rating but it's an excellent collection of stories based around the islands! Please do read.

[Chuck Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an outstanding collection of short fiction that covered so many different genres: horror, sci-fi, folklore, speculative fiction, and even fantasy. I loved the integration of the Hawaiian language throughout the book and how the authors included phrases or words in their work in a way that we could pick up on what they meant (or just told us lol). It was so cool getting to "hear" some of the folklore of the islands come out in these stories.

The only gripe I have about this collection is that the last 2 entries were duds for me. I just couldn't get into the story at all so the collection ended on a bit of a flat note, but every other story included in this collection is great!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Rating for collection rounded to 4 stars

1. Lehiwa and the name thief / Denarose Fukushima - ★★★★☆
2. The lookout / John Chambers - ★★☆☆☆
3. The last chieftain of Molokaʻi / Greg Patrick - ★★★☆☆
4. Blues of Eu / Sam Fletcher - ★★★☆☆
5. Puowaina /Alan Brennert - ★★★★★
6. Kites and orchids / George S. Walker - ★★★★★
7. Beneath the ironwoods / C. B. Calsing - ★★★★★
8. Pili koko / Lehua Parker - ★★★★☆
9. For all the hearts we buried / Krystle Yanagihara - ★★★★★
10. Pele in therapy / Darien Gee - ★★★★☆
11. Cindy and Micha / Phillip Riley - ★★☆☆☆
12. Eating rainbows / Melissa Yuan-Innes - ★★☆☆☆
13. What grows may burn / Josh Poole & Travis Wellman - ★★★★☆
14. Charge! Love heart! / Rhiannon Rasmussen - ★★☆☆☆
15. What we yield / Tom Gammarino - ★★★☆☆
16. Manual override / Jeffery Ryan Long - ★★★☆☆
17. The sweet spot / A. M. Dellamonica - ★★★★☆
18. A guide to the fruits of Hawaiʻi / Alaya Dawn Johnson - ★★★★☆
19. Mawaena nā hōkū / James Rosenlee - ★★★★☆
20. Mauka on Mars / A. A. Attanasio - ★★☆☆☆
21. Hānai / Gregory Norman Bossert - ★★★★☆


Pop Sugar’s 2023 Reading Challenge - A book by an author with the same initials as you

[Rebecca Russavage · Rating 3 out of 5]

The foreword to this was excellent, and some of the stories were great. Overall though, they were a little more clumsy and a little less interesting than I expected.

[Kara Hisatake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable scifi collection of stories that takes place and is from the people of Hawai'i. Notice I did not say Native Hawaiian science fiction, although this collection certainly covers some of that. Some of the writers are locals or transplants. Regardless, this is the first real collection of scifi stories all in one place--many have been published elsewhere and republished here.

The most well-known story might be the vampire one--Alaya Dawn Johnson's "Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i" that discusses humanness but also war and Japanese militarism.

There are stories of shapeshifters, or what a steampunk or different universe Hawai'i might look like; stories where there's a military team fighting aliens (all too probable in HI), how hula and mele might survive despite a rigid society being instated, helping aliens on spaceships and those who are downtrodden in society (reminiscent of Hawaiians today but imagine if Hawaiians knew how to navigate the stars and were revered in a new society of spaceships) and rebellions of all different kinds.

I'd recommend this as a great book for someone who wants to experience a very different kind of Hawai'i, although better knowing Hawai'i and its history, or even a class (high school, or college might be more appropriate).

[George S. Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique Hawai'ian stories.
My favorites were:
"Blues of Eu" by Sam Fletcher, about a sunken submarine and a deep sea diver obsessed with what appears to be a mermaid,
"Pele in Therapy" by Darien Gee, about the volcano goddess Pele and her therapist, and
"Kites and Orchids" by George S. Walker (disclaimer: me), about a widow investigating the mystery of her husband's jetpack accident.