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Bright Green Futures: 2024
SHORT STORY COLLECTION
The Bright Green 2024 anthology is a collection of short solarpunk stories from guests of the Bright Green Futures podcast, where we lift up stories to build a better world. These hopeful climate-fiction stories include clicky space centipedes, sentient trees, a flooded future Rio de Janeiro and characters trying to find their place in a climate-impacted world. Each story imagines a way for us to survive the future, together.
Bright Green 2024 contains six short stories plus a bonus prose-poem.
The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo
What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri
Centipede Station by T. K. Rex
A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui
Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame
The Park of the Beast by T. K. Rex
Coriander by Ana Sun
The Bright Green 2024 anthology is a collection of short solarpunk stories from guests of the Bright Green Futures podcast, where we lift up stories to build a better world. These hopeful climate-fiction stories include clicky space centipedes, sentient trees, a flooded future Rio de Janeiro and characters trying to find their place in a climate-impacted world. Each story imagines a way for us to survive the future, together.
Bright Green 2024 contains six short stories plus a bonus prose-poem.
The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo
What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri
Centipede Station by T. K. Rex
A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui
Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame
The Park of the Beast by T. K. Rex
Coriander by Ana Sun
164 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2025
About the author
Susan Kaye Quinn
100 books997 followersCLICK HERE for a FREE STORY
Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.
SOLARPUNK
collections
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (edited by SKQ)
Halfway to Better
novels
Nothing is Promised series
When You Had Power
You Knew The Price
Of Kindness and Kilowatts
Yet You Cry When It Hurts
short stories
A Moon Goddess to Watch Over Me (Luna Station Quarterly) (hopepunk)
It's in the Blood (Reckoning 8)
Once and Future Kilowatts (Solarpunk Magazine)
Rewilding Indiana (Little Blue Marble)
Seven Sisters (Grist)
The Joy Fund (DreamForge Magazine)
SCI-FI
Singularity Novel Series
The Legacy Human
The Duality Bridge
The Illusory Prophet
The Last Mystic
Stories of Singularity
Restore
Containment
Augment
Awakening
Harvest
Defiance
Resistance
YA SF
Mindjack Series
Open Minds
Closed Hearts
Free Souls
Locked Tight
Cracked Open
Broken Wide
Mindjack Short Story Collection
WATCH the award-winning live-action Mindjack Book Trailer!
STEAMPUNK ROMANCE
Royals of Dharia
Third Daughter
Second Daughter
First Daughter
CYBERPUNK
Debt Collector
LIRIUM (Season One)
WRAITH (Season Two)
WATCH the Debt Collector Book Trailer
ANTHOLOGIES
Synchronic
Telepath Chronicles
AI Chronicles
Dark Beyond The Stars
Future Chronicles
Cyborg Chronicles
CLONES: The Anthology
MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY
Faery Swap
WATCH the Faery Swap Book Trailer
CONTACT SUSAN
Susan's Website | Sue on Bluesky | Sue on Mastodon
Susan's Email: sue@twistedspacepub.com
Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.
SOLARPUNK
collections
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (edited by SKQ)
Halfway to Better
novels
Nothing is Promised series
When You Had Power
You Knew The Price
Of Kindness and Kilowatts
Yet You Cry When It Hurts
short stories
A Moon Goddess to Watch Over Me (Luna Station Quarterly) (hopepunk)
It's in the Blood (Reckoning 8)
Once and Future Kilowatts (Solarpunk Magazine)
Rewilding Indiana (Little Blue Marble)
Seven Sisters (Grist)
The Joy Fund (DreamForge Magazine)
SCI-FI
Singularity Novel Series
The Legacy Human
The Duality Bridge
The Illusory Prophet
The Last Mystic
Stories of Singularity
Restore
Containment
Augment
Awakening
Harvest
Defiance
Resistance
YA SF
Mindjack Series
Open Minds
Closed Hearts
Free Souls
Locked Tight
Cracked Open
Broken Wide
Mindjack Short Story Collection
WATCH the award-winning live-action Mindjack Book Trailer!
STEAMPUNK ROMANCE
Royals of Dharia
Third Daughter
Second Daughter
First Daughter
CYBERPUNK
Debt Collector
LIRIUM (Season One)
WRAITH (Season Two)
WATCH the Debt Collector Book Trailer
ANTHOLOGIES
Synchronic
Telepath Chronicles
AI Chronicles
Dark Beyond The Stars
Future Chronicles
Cyborg Chronicles
CLONES: The Anthology
MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY
Faery Swap
WATCH the Faery Swap Book Trailer
CONTACT SUSAN
Susan's Website | Sue on Bluesky | Sue on Mastodon
Susan's Email: sue@twistedspacepub.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2026
A collection of solarpunk short stories set in climatically precarious futures. My favorite is The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo, which opens the collection. In a flooded Brazil where people must travel by boat, one woman braves a storm to return a dog to its owner. It’s not hard to imagine we’re collectively hurtling toward this very future!
A Merger in Corn Country is another of my favorites. A lonely man clinging to a farm is forever changed when a commune moves in next door.
The stories were imaginative, emotionally complex, and vivid. Excellent writing from all of the authors. Well done.
A Merger in Corn Country is another of my favorites. A lonely man clinging to a farm is forever changed when a commune moves in next door.
The stories were imaginative, emotionally complex, and vivid. Excellent writing from all of the authors. Well done.
March 25, 2026
The Dog Lady And The Rainstorm 2.25/5
Cool concept. A tad hard to follow. And not very engaging. Loved the trans representation.
What Kind Of Bat Is This? 4.5/5
Really liked this one. Very easy to read. Engaging story. Reminded me of my nerd friends that do ecology.
Centipede Station 3.5/5
Predictable twist. Fun short story. A bit on the longer side. But cool. Could see this turned into a full novel.
A Merger In Corn Country 2.5/5
Didn't like this one as much. I liked the message and premise. And the main character was pretty cute. But something about it just didn't click. Mabye a bit to rushed?
Ancestors, Descendents 3.5/5
Interesting one. Cool non binary representation. Cool neurodivergent representation.
The Park Of The Beast 4.5/5
Short, sharp and shiny. Everyone will think something different. I found myself imagining this was someone's imagination running wild as they walk down a street.
Coriander 4.5/5
A beautiful story. About family, culture, home, and the power of food
Cool concept. A tad hard to follow. And not very engaging. Loved the trans representation.
What Kind Of Bat Is This? 4.5/5
Really liked this one. Very easy to read. Engaging story. Reminded me of my nerd friends that do ecology.
Centipede Station 3.5/5
Predictable twist. Fun short story. A bit on the longer side. But cool. Could see this turned into a full novel.
A Merger In Corn Country 2.5/5
Didn't like this one as much. I liked the message and premise. And the main character was pretty cute. But something about it just didn't click. Mabye a bit to rushed?
Ancestors, Descendents 3.5/5
Interesting one. Cool non binary representation. Cool neurodivergent representation.
The Park Of The Beast 4.5/5
Short, sharp and shiny. Everyone will think something different. I found myself imagining this was someone's imagination running wild as they walk down a street.
Coriander 4.5/5
A beautiful story. About family, culture, home, and the power of food
April 16, 2025
I'm going to review this in order of the stories I liked the most.
Coriander by Ana Sun - 5 stars
There's possibly a lot of bias in me liking this story best, because well, Ana Sun seems to be a fellow Malaysian. Corianderis the story of Aster, a young woman returning to her great-grandmother's homeland, chasing a cultural inheritance that has been lost along the way to westernisation, colonisation, and the need for assimilation. The details are semi-familiar, an ancestor fleeing this land for greener pastures elsewhere, their descendants return as mere tourists. There's the heat of the equator, the tang of spices and mud, a long description of food. Laksa, in this instance. And omg DOULOS! WHO REMEMBERS DOULOS, I loved Doulos (which has now apparently been converted from a floating boosktore to a hotel??). I spent way too long distracted, trying to figure out which island Aster's great-grandmother was from. Not Singapore, too much Malay; not Penang because dangit Penang Laksa does NOT have prawns, chicken or coriander, that's... AH, that's Sarawak Laksa, and this has to be Sarawak, but it's an island and... dangit Anna, Borneo IS an island. A very big one.
At any rate, Coriander is a story of connection - reconnecting to one's roots, making new connections, rediscovering your place in the world - and being kind and giving to everyone. It's also a story of adaptation - of rebuilding after devastation, of creating new ways to deal with the changing climate, of regreening the earth - and preservation.
What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri - 4.5 stars
Is this a BAT or is this a DINOSAUR? Is the AI crazy or did a PTEROSAUR really survive in hiding all these years? It's a slightly crazy scenario, but I feel like I like this one quite a bit because the characters are active. They're doing something now to save the world, and they're teens/young adults still learning and growing (even if they're being petty to each other while doing it). Maybe I also like the slight Jurassic Park vibe, without the killer raptors.
Centipede Station by T.K. Rex - 4 stars
What's there NOT to like about interstellar travel and alien contact? And a reminder that sentient aliens might not look humanoid. They may look like clicky space centipedes. Let's try not to murder sentient species on first contact, m'kay?
A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui - 3.5 stars
This comes back to community, exploring what it's like to live in a commune - from their confused, old neighbour's point of view. I like the slow shift from curiosity to understanding to acceptance from both sides. It's charming, but it's a little too foreign (lol) for it to truly resonate with me.
The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo - 3 stars
In a flooded future Rio de Janeiro, Joseane (also known as the Doglady) gets stuck in a thunderstorm while trying to send the dogs she walks back to their owners. She thinks she's alone, ever since she lost her father, but she slowly discovers that she's not, not really. I think where it doesn't quite connect for me is where Joseane keeps making weird (to me) decisions... just very much why on earth would you do that? I know panic and dumb decisions are things, but... idk.
Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame - 3 stars
There are sentient trees in this one - and an integrated network of resources previously denied to humans (because you know, humans chop things down and hunt other things). What would integration with nature look like? And how would humans change if they went back to nature? It's a story of integration and ingenuity - and also sacrifice, to protect what these select humans have found while the world outside collapses on itself. The premise was just a little too far out for me to truly enjoy.
The Park of the Beast by T.K. Rex - ??
I dunno what to think of this story of trees in cages and invisible beings??? I cannot tell if this is a fever dream. I think I'm missing something here. I'm assuming this is the prose-poem, which goes to prove that really, poetry confuses me.
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Coriander by Ana Sun - 5 stars
There's possibly a lot of bias in me liking this story best, because well, Ana Sun seems to be a fellow Malaysian. Corianderis the story of Aster, a young woman returning to her great-grandmother's homeland, chasing a cultural inheritance that has been lost along the way to westernisation, colonisation, and the need for assimilation. The details are semi-familiar, an ancestor fleeing this land for greener pastures elsewhere, their descendants return as mere tourists. There's the heat of the equator, the tang of spices and mud, a long description of food. Laksa, in this instance. And omg DOULOS! WHO REMEMBERS DOULOS, I loved Doulos (which has now apparently been converted from a floating boosktore to a hotel??). I spent way too long distracted, trying to figure out which island Aster's great-grandmother was from. Not Singapore, too much Malay; not Penang because dangit Penang Laksa does NOT have prawns, chicken or coriander, that's... AH, that's Sarawak Laksa, and this has to be Sarawak, but it's an island and... dangit Anna, Borneo IS an island. A very big one.
At any rate, Coriander is a story of connection - reconnecting to one's roots, making new connections, rediscovering your place in the world - and being kind and giving to everyone. It's also a story of adaptation - of rebuilding after devastation, of creating new ways to deal with the changing climate, of regreening the earth - and preservation.
What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri - 4.5 stars
Is this a BAT or is this a DINOSAUR? Is the AI crazy or did a PTEROSAUR really survive in hiding all these years? It's a slightly crazy scenario, but I feel like I like this one quite a bit because the characters are active. They're doing something now to save the world, and they're teens/young adults still learning and growing (even if they're being petty to each other while doing it). Maybe I also like the slight Jurassic Park vibe, without the killer raptors.
Centipede Station by T.K. Rex - 4 stars
What's there NOT to like about interstellar travel and alien contact? And a reminder that sentient aliens might not look humanoid. They may look like clicky space centipedes. Let's try not to murder sentient species on first contact, m'kay?
A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui - 3.5 stars
This comes back to community, exploring what it's like to live in a commune - from their confused, old neighbour's point of view. I like the slow shift from curiosity to understanding to acceptance from both sides. It's charming, but it's a little too foreign (lol) for it to truly resonate with me.
The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo - 3 stars
In a flooded future Rio de Janeiro, Joseane (also known as the Doglady) gets stuck in a thunderstorm while trying to send the dogs she walks back to their owners. She thinks she's alone, ever since she lost her father, but she slowly discovers that she's not, not really. I think where it doesn't quite connect for me is where Joseane keeps making weird (to me) decisions... just very much why on earth would you do that? I know panic and dumb decisions are things, but... idk.
Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame - 3 stars
There are sentient trees in this one - and an integrated network of resources previously denied to humans (because you know, humans chop things down and hunt other things). What would integration with nature look like? And how would humans change if they went back to nature? It's a story of integration and ingenuity - and also sacrifice, to protect what these select humans have found while the world outside collapses on itself. The premise was just a little too far out for me to truly enjoy.
The Park of the Beast by T.K. Rex - ??
I dunno what to think of this story of trees in cages and invisible beings??? I cannot tell if this is a fever dream. I think I'm missing something here. I'm assuming this is the prose-poem, which goes to prove that really, poetry confuses me.
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
May 9, 2025
Joseana was healing from a tragedy in “The Doglady and the Rainstorm.” I loved the world building in her tale and would have happily read something full-length about how this character navigated the extensive flooding in Rio and dealt with her painful memories of the past. Her love of dogs was another nice detail that added depth to the plot and gave her a good reason to face her fears when something unexpected happened.
“Centipede Station” showed what happened when Pebble and Moss woke up from cryosleep much later than they had intended to. The planet they had arrived at didn’t fit their expectations either due to the strange plants and animals they found living there. I enjoyed seeing their reactions to every plot twist as they once again had to adjust their expectations of what their lives would be like. There’s something to be said for characters who are willing to adjust to anything that comes their way, especially given how carefully they’d planned their journey before it began. Yes, I know I’m being a little vague here, but I want other readers to be just as delighted as I was once they figure out what’s going on.
Every homeland evolves over time. As Aster explored the country her great-grandmother left as a child in “Coriander,” I took note of the differences between how it had been a few generations ago versus how it was by the time the protagonist was able to visit. The nostalgia in this piece was strong, but I also liked seeing how the characters had adapted to climate change and the way it affected which types of food were still available for the average person. Science fiction doesn’t talk about food enough for my tastes, so I was quite happy to dive into the topic here.
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (Solarpunk Anthology) overflowed with hope for the future which is exactly what I needed to read.
“Centipede Station” showed what happened when Pebble and Moss woke up from cryosleep much later than they had intended to. The planet they had arrived at didn’t fit their expectations either due to the strange plants and animals they found living there. I enjoyed seeing their reactions to every plot twist as they once again had to adjust their expectations of what their lives would be like. There’s something to be said for characters who are willing to adjust to anything that comes their way, especially given how carefully they’d planned their journey before it began. Yes, I know I’m being a little vague here, but I want other readers to be just as delighted as I was once they figure out what’s going on.
Every homeland evolves over time. As Aster explored the country her great-grandmother left as a child in “Coriander,” I took note of the differences between how it had been a few generations ago versus how it was by the time the protagonist was able to visit. The nostalgia in this piece was strong, but I also liked seeing how the characters had adapted to climate change and the way it affected which types of food were still available for the average person. Science fiction doesn’t talk about food enough for my tastes, so I was quite happy to dive into the topic here.
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (Solarpunk Anthology) overflowed with hope for the future which is exactly what I needed to read.
March 14, 2026
I thought this series would be something that is right up my street but other than a couple of the stories, I just felt like it wasn't something I could enjoy.
Really did enjoy A Merger In Corn Country and the first small section of Ancestors, Descendants (before the main story, really) felt like it could develop into something amazing but other than that, I just felt like i wasn't that interested.
Really did enjoy A Merger In Corn Country and the first small section of Ancestors, Descendants (before the main story, really) felt like it could develop into something amazing but other than that, I just felt like i wasn't that interested.
June 10, 2025
corn country merger review. this is part of the above series. very short story of a corn farmer whose fiends are faking. the farm next door is sold to a coming and they help the farmer learn a new life, productive, earth friendly and full of live and love
March 21, 2026
An enjoyable collection of stories suggesting ways in which the life on earth might adapt to survive the potential disasters currently facing the planet. Like all collections, the stories vary but all try to provide hope.
February 28, 2026
A collection of short stories - about 20 pages each. Yes, climate change has affected the world but people can still help people.
Enjoyable collection
Enjoyable collection
March 1, 2026
3 and a half stars. This collection of 10 stories had a couple that I really enjoyed, some that I didn't like at all, and mostly were okay.
Did Not Finish
March 17, 2026Content Rating: ❌
Language: graphic. F-word, s-word, g-word. Probably more; I only finished one story and started a second.
Violence: unknown.
Sex/Nudity: unknown.
LGBTQ+ Content: unknown.
My Review: ⭐ DNF
Maybe short stories just aren't my jam.
**The Dog Lady and the Rainstorm**
Skipped. I just wasn't in the mood for it. I intended to come back to it if I liked the others...
**What kind of Bat is This?**
G-word, s-word.
Interesting, but felt unfinished. And it takes place in 2029… and the world is completely different than our own. A bit hard to believe.
**Centipede Station**
F-word.
Didn't finish. Felt like an exerpt from a larger story, in that it jumped in with no context. I don't read much short fiction though, so maybe that's normal.
I didn't read any of the other short stories.
Find more clean reads on my site (link in bio). Follow me to easily see my content reviews (if available) when you look up books here on Goodreads.
Language: graphic. F-word, s-word, g-word. Probably more; I only finished one story and started a second.
Violence: unknown.
Sex/Nudity: unknown.
LGBTQ+ Content: unknown.
My Review: ⭐ DNF
Maybe short stories just aren't my jam.
**The Dog Lady and the Rainstorm**
Skipped. I just wasn't in the mood for it. I intended to come back to it if I liked the others...
**What kind of Bat is This?**
G-word, s-word.
Interesting, but felt unfinished. And it takes place in 2029… and the world is completely different than our own. A bit hard to believe.
**Centipede Station**
F-word.
Didn't finish. Felt like an exerpt from a larger story, in that it jumped in with no context. I don't read much short fiction though, so maybe that's normal.
I didn't read any of the other short stories.
Find more clean reads on my site (link in bio). Follow me to easily see my content reviews (if available) when you look up books here on Goodreads.
April 16, 2026
Hopeful futuristic stories involving climate change’s effects on society.
On my second read, I bumped this one up to 5 stars. We need hopeful futuristic tales even more, as our world veers deeper into climate change every year.
On my second read, I bumped this one up to 5 stars. We need hopeful futuristic tales even more, as our world veers deeper into climate change every year.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews