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Solarpunk: Short Stories from Many Futures
A new, collectable anthology of futurist reads, featuring solarpunk stories to give a hope that empowers individuals and communities to work together for a better future.In this near future anthology, Solarpunk explores the many ways individuals and resilient groups can fight gentrification, expropriation, abuse and loss of identity, starting within local communities, ultimately to embrace the whole world.Solarpunk traces a path, rough and tortuous, towards a change now perceived by many as a necessity. “Nobody will give us the future” – seem to say these short stories edited by Future Fictions's Francesco Verso. Solarpunk brings stories without borders, from across the Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, the UK and USA. Authors are Jerri Jerreat, Ken Liu, Thomas Badlan, Ciro Faienza, Brenda Cooper, Renan Bernardo, Jennifer L. Rossman, Sarena Ulibarri, Gustavo Bondoni, Lucie Lukacovicova, Ingrid Garcia, Andrew Dana Hudson and D.K. Mok.The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2024
About the author
Francesco Verso
179 books107 followersFrancesco Verso (Bologna, 1973) is a multiple-award Science Fiction writer and editor. He has published: Antidoti umani, e-Doll, Nexhuman, Bloodbusters, Futurespotting and I camminatori (made of The Pulldogs and No/Mad/Land). Nexhuman and Bloodbusters have been published in Italy, US, UK and China. I camminatori will be published by Flame Tree Press as The Roamers in Spring 2023. He works as editor of Future Fiction, scouting and translating the best SF from 12 languages and more than 30 countries. He’s the Honorary Director of the Fishing Fortress SF Academy of Chongqing. He may be found online at www.futurefiction.org.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 5, 2024
Review forthcoming in the Spring issue of Earth Island Journal ✨
February 24, 2025
A real mixed bag (as expected for an anthology).
The first set of stories felt more like dystopian stories with renewable energy than what I’d call Solarpunk.
The last set were much more Solarpunk. But some of them were also some of the worst stories I’ve ever read in my life.
The Spiral Ranch was fun and captured the feeling of the setting well, as did Drawing the Line and especially the Lighthouse Keeper. As an entomologist and arachnologist I appreciated The Spider and the Stars, although I felt like the story could have done with a lot more time in the oven.
Some of the stories felt more like treatises from the writers, and I usually agreed with their points but felt that the actual story was lacking. Oil and Ivory was one; Have Space Bike, Will Travel was awful.
Kind of confused at the way that anarchocapitalist ideas like bitcoin are said to be representative of Solarpunk in the intro and in Byzantine Empathy. Feels counter to what Solarpunk is in my mind.
The first set of stories felt more like dystopian stories with renewable energy than what I’d call Solarpunk.
The last set were much more Solarpunk. But some of them were also some of the worst stories I’ve ever read in my life.
The Spiral Ranch was fun and captured the feeling of the setting well, as did Drawing the Line and especially the Lighthouse Keeper. As an entomologist and arachnologist I appreciated The Spider and the Stars, although I felt like the story could have done with a lot more time in the oven.
Some of the stories felt more like treatises from the writers, and I usually agreed with their points but felt that the actual story was lacking. Oil and Ivory was one; Have Space Bike, Will Travel was awful.
Kind of confused at the way that anarchocapitalist ideas like bitcoin are said to be representative of Solarpunk in the intro and in Byzantine Empathy. Feels counter to what Solarpunk is in my mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2025
Wish I could rate this higher, but a lot of these stories were not up my alley — while all were written in (mostly) competent prose, many seemed focused more on futuristic sci-fi ideas than on character, which made it tough for me to connect. Highlights include Ciro Faienza's 'The Soma Earth' and Andrew Dana Hudson's 'The Lighthouse Keeper'. Most of the others, like Ken Liu's 'Byzantine Empathy', Renan Bernardo's 'Anticipation of Hollowness', Jennifer Lee Rossman's 'Oil and Ivory', Francesco Verso's 'The Maestro of Small Things', and Ingrid Garcia's 'Have Space Bike, Will Travel' are not skeptical enough of science and technology for my taste, and often (with the exception of Liu's and Bernardo's stories) have perfect and therefore uninteresting protagonists who lack significant emotional journeys.
August 9, 2026
I had a lovely chat with Francesco Verso at Eurocon and afterwards bought one of his anthologies. This one drew the most attention because of the good quality of the book; I don't mean the stories (I hadn't read those yet) but because of the binding and the added ribbon, as well as the coloring on the pages. It was a lovely cheap 20 euros, and when I got the train back home from Berlin I started the first short story, reading one a day.
And now, we're finished, which means I get to rank every short story individually and average the whole thing, and that'll be the rating of the collection. Let's go...
Rules for a Civilization - Jerri Jerreat - 5/5
Strong start! The story takes a while to get where it needs to go and that can be a bit annoying, but once it's where it needs to be, the emotions it elicits more than make up for the slow burn at the beginning. I had a great time with this as an opener, so it immediately gets the whole rating.
Byzantine Empathy - Ken Liu - 3/5
There's a lot of good in this short story, exploring radical empathy through technology and blockchain. It's a little critical of capitalism and fundamentally it explores the relationship between two very different women, and all that is impressive. The only problem is that I feel this short story is a couple pages too long, it takes too long to get where it needs to go and once it's there, it didn't feel worthy of the build-up. I love the concepts and yet I wonder if it could've been said in less pages, because this might be the longest short story in the collection.
Orchidacae - Thomas Badlan - 3/5
I think this short story is the most representative of all the short stories in the collection, because this short story has some wonderful worldbuilding, and that's also all there is. The plot is... existing, and that's the most I can say about it. On top of that, there's a political standpoint in this short story that I'm not sure I agree with: . Nonetheless, the worldbuilding was enjoyable.
The Soma Earth - Giro Faienza - 4/5
There are a couple very interesting points raised in this short story, one of which is about racism and how it's not easy being black, and what it's like being an interracial couple, which is also a very interesting thing for me to read. But at its core, the plot feels rooted in science without enough explanation, making the ending of the short story a bit difficult to follow.
For the Snake of Power - Brenda Cooper - 5/5
Back to some good worldbuilding combined with a good plot! Because this short story is exactly that and one of the highlights of the collection. I had a blast reading about the snake and the ensuing capitalism and it reminds me a little of a certain Dutch sci-fi trilogy inspired by Die Hard. This short story has a lot less action, but nonetheless is enjoyable start to finish.
Anticipation of Hollowness - Renan Bernardo - 5/5
Small, intimate, very character-focused and yet the worldbuilding's obvious and it still belongs in this anthology. Another short story that I greatly enjoyed in the collection and another one that deserves a full rating.
Oil and Ivory - Jennifer Lee Rossman - 5/5
This short story reminds me a bit of To Shape A Dragon's Breath, in all the best ways. It's queer, it's native, it focuses deeply on cultures and the way they were before the West came in to change everything. It might not be the best short story in the whole collection, but it strongly feels like it's the short story written the most for me. I had a blast with this one too!
The Maestro of Small Things - Francesco Verso - 3/5
Another short story that is pretty big and has primarily worldbuilding in mind. And admittedly, the worldbuilding's great and very non-Western Europe (Chinese-Italian is a hybrid I don't see much). The plot is there, but it takes a long time before it does show up and everything before that is just worldbuilding. Nonetheless, good worldbuilding, and Verso is a good writer and very imaginative, but this short story didn't speak to me as much.
The Spiral Ranch - Sarena Ulibarri - 4/5
Did I mention I like short stories that do the plot thing well? Because this short story does the plot thing well. It does so by mostly focusing on two missing cows, and the whole story comes from that, which makes for an interesting and very different read.
Nonetheless, the ending feels a little unresolved, making me go 'wait... that was it?', which costs it a point, but I still had a good time.
Drawing the Line - Gustavo Bondoni - 4/5
Another lovely plot-focused work that was enjoyable, but I want to focus a bit more on the worldbuilding here. Bondoni paints a perfect utopia where nobody owns anything and everything is communal - in other words, the perfect communist utopia. The idea is wonderful and lovely, and yet I wonder if it's in any way practical as people just simply like to own things. I do wonder, once Siti passes away, how quickly this utopia unravels. Lovely in theory, but I have questions about it being in practice. Nonetheless, I had a good time with this one.
Lizard Skin - Lucie Lukačovičová -4/5
We must've reached the section of short stories that are good at plot AND worldbuilding, because this is another one of those, this time focusing more on a mystery that needs to be solved. And that mystery is a plot twist, which is not easy to do in a short story. However, the resolution of said plot twist feels a little rushed. Still had a good time, though.
Have Space Bike, Will Travel - Ingrid Garcia - 4/5
S0larpunk in space? With queer disabled characters at the forefront? Um, YES PLEASE. I had a BLAST with this one once the plot started to get going, and . However, the plot needed a little too long to get going which is why I'm only going for four stars, but I had a good time still.
The Lighthouse Keeper - Andrew Dana Hudson - 5/5
This short story certainly also has the problems some of the other short stories have in this anthology, namely a LOT of worldbuilding and very little plot. And yet, it works with this one for me. Perhaps it's the excellent description at the end when the worldbuilding comes together that makes it work for me. It gets the full rating, but also a comment from me that I still would've liked more plot.
The Spider and the Stars - D.K. Mok - 4/5
A good way to round out the anthology. It's a lovely short story that takes a scientific angle and builds a short story around it, with a happy ending and therefore a good finisher. However, once again, worldbuilding comes first, and the short story needs a little too long before it gets where it needs to go.
With all ratings put together, this anthology has an average of... 4.14! Which is four stars and I'm perfectly fine with that.
It's a good anthology and a good introduction to the world of solarpunk, using a lot of different types of worldbuilding. The end result is very enjoyable - and again, the book itself is of good quality and the ribbon is lovely. So, if you're looking for a good introduction to Solarpunk, might as well start here. As long as you're okay with worldbuilding coming first!
And now, we're finished, which means I get to rank every short story individually and average the whole thing, and that'll be the rating of the collection. Let's go...
Rules for a Civilization - Jerri Jerreat - 5/5
Strong start! The story takes a while to get where it needs to go and that can be a bit annoying, but once it's where it needs to be, the emotions it elicits more than make up for the slow burn at the beginning. I had a great time with this as an opener, so it immediately gets the whole rating.
Byzantine Empathy - Ken Liu - 3/5
There's a lot of good in this short story, exploring radical empathy through technology and blockchain. It's a little critical of capitalism and fundamentally it explores the relationship between two very different women, and all that is impressive. The only problem is that I feel this short story is a couple pages too long, it takes too long to get where it needs to go and once it's there, it didn't feel worthy of the build-up. I love the concepts and yet I wonder if it could've been said in less pages, because this might be the longest short story in the collection.
Orchidacae - Thomas Badlan - 3/5
I think this short story is the most representative of all the short stories in the collection, because this short story has some wonderful worldbuilding, and that's also all there is. The plot is... existing, and that's the most I can say about it. On top of that, there's a political standpoint in this short story that I'm not sure I agree with: . Nonetheless, the worldbuilding was enjoyable.
The Soma Earth - Giro Faienza - 4/5
There are a couple very interesting points raised in this short story, one of which is about racism and how it's not easy being black, and what it's like being an interracial couple, which is also a very interesting thing for me to read. But at its core, the plot feels rooted in science without enough explanation, making the ending of the short story a bit difficult to follow.
For the Snake of Power - Brenda Cooper - 5/5
Back to some good worldbuilding combined with a good plot! Because this short story is exactly that and one of the highlights of the collection. I had a blast reading about the snake and the ensuing capitalism and it reminds me a little of a certain Dutch sci-fi trilogy inspired by Die Hard. This short story has a lot less action, but nonetheless is enjoyable start to finish.
Anticipation of Hollowness - Renan Bernardo - 5/5
Small, intimate, very character-focused and yet the worldbuilding's obvious and it still belongs in this anthology. Another short story that I greatly enjoyed in the collection and another one that deserves a full rating.
Oil and Ivory - Jennifer Lee Rossman - 5/5
This short story reminds me a bit of To Shape A Dragon's Breath, in all the best ways. It's queer, it's native, it focuses deeply on cultures and the way they were before the West came in to change everything. It might not be the best short story in the whole collection, but it strongly feels like it's the short story written the most for me. I had a blast with this one too!
The Maestro of Small Things - Francesco Verso - 3/5
Another short story that is pretty big and has primarily worldbuilding in mind. And admittedly, the worldbuilding's great and very non-Western Europe (Chinese-Italian is a hybrid I don't see much). The plot is there, but it takes a long time before it does show up and everything before that is just worldbuilding. Nonetheless, good worldbuilding, and Verso is a good writer and very imaginative, but this short story didn't speak to me as much.
The Spiral Ranch - Sarena Ulibarri - 4/5
Did I mention I like short stories that do the plot thing well? Because this short story does the plot thing well. It does so by mostly focusing on two missing cows, and the whole story comes from that, which makes for an interesting and very different read.
Nonetheless, the ending feels a little unresolved, making me go 'wait... that was it?', which costs it a point, but I still had a good time.
Drawing the Line - Gustavo Bondoni - 4/5
Another lovely plot-focused work that was enjoyable, but I want to focus a bit more on the worldbuilding here. Bondoni paints a perfect utopia where nobody owns anything and everything is communal - in other words, the perfect communist utopia. The idea is wonderful and lovely, and yet I wonder if it's in any way practical as people just simply like to own things. I do wonder, once Siti passes away, how quickly this utopia unravels. Lovely in theory, but I have questions about it being in practice. Nonetheless, I had a good time with this one.
Lizard Skin - Lucie Lukačovičová -4/5
We must've reached the section of short stories that are good at plot AND worldbuilding, because this is another one of those, this time focusing more on a mystery that needs to be solved. And that mystery is a plot twist, which is not easy to do in a short story. However, the resolution of said plot twist feels a little rushed. Still had a good time, though.
Have Space Bike, Will Travel - Ingrid Garcia - 4/5
S0larpunk in space? With queer disabled characters at the forefront? Um, YES PLEASE. I had a BLAST with this one once the plot started to get going, and . However, the plot needed a little too long to get going which is why I'm only going for four stars, but I had a good time still.
The Lighthouse Keeper - Andrew Dana Hudson - 5/5
This short story certainly also has the problems some of the other short stories have in this anthology, namely a LOT of worldbuilding and very little plot. And yet, it works with this one for me. Perhaps it's the excellent description at the end when the worldbuilding comes together that makes it work for me. It gets the full rating, but also a comment from me that I still would've liked more plot.
The Spider and the Stars - D.K. Mok - 4/5
A good way to round out the anthology. It's a lovely short story that takes a scientific angle and builds a short story around it, with a happy ending and therefore a good finisher. However, once again, worldbuilding comes first, and the short story needs a little too long before it gets where it needs to go.
With all ratings put together, this anthology has an average of... 4.14! Which is four stars and I'm perfectly fine with that.
It's a good anthology and a good introduction to the world of solarpunk, using a lot of different types of worldbuilding. The end result is very enjoyable - and again, the book itself is of good quality and the ribbon is lovely. So, if you're looking for a good introduction to Solarpunk, might as well start here. As long as you're okay with worldbuilding coming first!
November 18, 2025
There are some excellent stories in this collection and there are also some less than excellent stories. Some of them are awkwardly written, possibly as the result of a bad translation to English or written by people for whom English is a second language. There was one that described non-disabled people as 'normal' and used outdated terms for and ideas about Autistic people, although I get what the author was trying for. All of the stories are imaginative and look to a future that has found ways to navigate the current mess we're making of the world. They are hopeful and suggestive of lots of things we could do to change the world, and some tackle the barriers to change.
An interesting solar punk collection.
An interesting solar punk collection.
Read
December 25, 2024Too preachy
August 20, 2025
some stories were a good solid 4, but some were genuinely awful writing (sorry but true).
January 20, 2026
Honestly? This rating is generous.
I tried to see the fault in me, maybe I am just not made for short stories. Maybe sci-fi and solarpunk just are not my genre, but I feel like that would be a shallow examination of my experience with this anthology.
I just feel like this time around short stories was the wrong choice for many of the authors. Because trying to introduce a completely unfamiliar setting, characters and plot within 20 pages? Yes, that is difficult. No wonder that my favourite stories in here ( "Byzantine Empire" by Ken Lui, "Orchidaceae" by Thomas Badlan, "Lizard skin" by Lucie Lukačovičová, and "The Lighthouse Keeper" by Andrew Dana Hudson) are either longer, or focus on something smaller. Cause otherwise the stakes don't seem important enough, no tension is built and the outcome is predictable.
Additionally, I felt like most of the stories didn't really leave much for speculation, and the morally gray musings that often surround the sci-fi genre are left behind, as evil corporation is evil and poluting the planet, and good guys can be spotted by the ethnically diverse groups of scientists. I like the message, that humanity has to work together and try to un-fuck the damage we all dealt to our lovely green and blue planet, but it all feels so....nice. Too nice. Please, make me contemplate things.
I tried to see the fault in me, maybe I am just not made for short stories. Maybe sci-fi and solarpunk just are not my genre, but I feel like that would be a shallow examination of my experience with this anthology.
I just feel like this time around short stories was the wrong choice for many of the authors. Because trying to introduce a completely unfamiliar setting, characters and plot within 20 pages? Yes, that is difficult. No wonder that my favourite stories in here ( "Byzantine Empire" by Ken Lui, "Orchidaceae" by Thomas Badlan, "Lizard skin" by Lucie Lukačovičová, and "The Lighthouse Keeper" by Andrew Dana Hudson) are either longer, or focus on something smaller. Cause otherwise the stakes don't seem important enough, no tension is built and the outcome is predictable.
Additionally, I felt like most of the stories didn't really leave much for speculation, and the morally gray musings that often surround the sci-fi genre are left behind, as evil corporation is evil and poluting the planet, and good guys can be spotted by the ethnically diverse groups of scientists. I like the message, that humanity has to work together and try to un-fuck the damage we all dealt to our lovely green and blue planet, but it all feels so....nice. Too nice. Please, make me contemplate things.
October 2, 2024
To be reviewed in BSFA Review.
March 9, 2025
2.5 stars
June 26, 2026
Didn't finish the collection -- I fear these are super outdated for what I consider solar punk to be. Most of the stories give the same energy as AI solarpunk aesthetic edits.
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