Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy

by Matthew David Goodwin (Editor), Frederick Luis Aldama (Introduction)

Latin@ Rising is the first anthology of science fiction and fantasy written by Latinos/as living in the United States. The book gives an overview to the field of Latino/a speculative, showing the great variety of stories being told by Latino/a writers. Fifty years ago the Latin American "Boom" introduced magical realism to the world; Latin@ Rising is the literature that has risen from the explosion that gave us García Márquez, Jorge Amado, Carlos Fuentes and others. The 21st century writers and artists of Latin@ Rising help us to imagine a Latino/a past, present, and future which have not been whitewashed by mainstream perspectives. Contrary to the popular perception, Latino/a Literature is not just magical realism and social realist protest literature—it also contains much speculative fiction. By showing the actual breadth of genres being used by Latino/a authors, Latin@ Rising will help extend the boundaries of the Latino/a literature canon. Latin@ Rising demonstrates the value of speculative fiction for the Latino/a community: it gives Latinos/as a vital means for imagining a past and a future in which they play a pivotal role, and it constitutes a narrative of the effects of technology on the Latino/a community. The book shows how the richness of the speculative genres provide U.S. Latinos/as with a unique medium to discuss issues of colonialism, migration, and the experience of being bicultural. The 23 authors and artists included in this anthology come from all over the U.S. and from eight different national traditions. They include well-known creators like Kathleen Alcalá, Ana Castillo, Junot Diaz, Giannina Braschi and others; they also include new voices, well worth hearing.

All Authors Included:
Kathleen Alcalá
Pablo Brescia
Pedro Zagitt
Sabrina Vourvoulias
Daína Chaviano
ADÁL
Ana Castillo
Ernest Hogan
Junot Díaz
Richie Narvaez
Edmundo Paz-Soldán
Steve Castro
Alex Hernandez
Carmen Maria Machado
Giannina Braschi
Carlos Hernandez
Alejandra Sanchez
Daniel José Older
Carl Marcum
Marcos Santiago Gonzalez

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

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puede que no sea la mejor antología de ciencia ficción / fantasía que he leído en mi vida, pero me introdujo en un mundo fascinante: la visión de futuro de los latin@s que viven en USA, como un medio para plantear sus preocupaciones, su "extranjeridad", esa posición que no son 100% estadounidenses pero tampoco 100% latinos, mantienen algunas tradicionales, un manejo rudimentario del español, pero sienten que están más cómodos en un mundo gringo. Por lo tanto, dibujar un futuro donde prevalecen los latin@s es, por decir lo menos, intrigante.

Como siempre, me gustaron más los primeros cuentos, los que tienen un mayor contenido social, antropológico, si se quiere. Los últimos, más orientados a la ciencia o que tocan el terror, no me parecieron tan ilustrativos.

Una buena primera aproximación a la perspectiva latin@ en USA, muy actual. Como venezolana y caraqueña, no puedo dejar de citar nuestro breve paso por este libro: "... and a mom who’d had more plastic surgery than all of Caracas combined".

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important Latinoid anthology. And there's a story by me.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy is an anthology of twenty-four short stories which was collected and edited by Matthew David Goodwin with an introduction by Frederick Luis Aldama. This anthology is a compilation of two dozen short stories that is written by Latino and Latina authors based in the United States with a diverse group of voices working in the realm of speculative fiction.

For the most part, I really like most of these contributions. Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy is an anthology collection of two dozen science fiction short stories written by authors from Latino decent. These short stories mix literary elements with science fiction and fantasy. In this eloquent anthology of intimate pieces with the speculative elements often serving as background, support, or mirror. Most of the Spanish words and phrases are translated into English or easily understood from context, but some facility with Spanish will enhance the reader's appreciation of this solid anthology.

Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions and Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy is not an exception. Comparatively speaking, there are a few short stories that aren't as written as well as others, but they are few and far in-between and didn't dampen my joy in reading this anthology.

All in all, Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy is a wonderful collection of science fiction short stories – a little uneven in some places, but a wonderful collection of stories nevertheless.

[Ai Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really liked this; sometimes I find anthologies hard to follow, or feel jerked around by them, but this was such a smooth read with so many different great stories in it. The introductory texts didn't feel overwhelming or intrusive, but I still definitely felt like I was prepared to read the story. (It helps a lot, I think, that there weren't excerpts of chapters from books, or if there were, they were the first chapter so I didn't feel like I lost anything.) I don't know that any stood out to me as particularly exceptional, not because they blended together, but because each story really was so special and interesting in its own way.

I do want to note Junot Díaz is included in this collection, and his story does read much like the rest of his other works. Gwen Benaway has written about his piece in the New Yorker and I'll link to it here: https://www.flare.com/news/junot-diaz....

[Meagan Cahuasqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of sff from the Latinx diaspora. So many incredible stories that satisfy the want for world building on the surface but comment on real world issues of racism, xenophobia, colonialism, and gentrification when you take a closer look. Some grossed me out a bit with their body horror do be warned if that's not something you're into. Other than that, highly recommend.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology definitely made me want to explore the authors' works further. I especially appreciated:
"Caridad" by Alex Hernandez (Way to explore individualistic vs collective-oriented value systems, AND tell a good story!)
"Sin Embargo" by Sabrina Vourvoulias (worked in so many different strands, while not forcing an easy explanation or clear-cut ending)
"Room for Rent" by Richie Narvaez (humans=vermin! so good!)
"Entanglements" by Carlos Hernandez (funny/ not funny... what if you could access alternate-universe selves?)
"Difficult at Parties" by Carmen Marie Machado (whoa, I'm not totally sure what just happened in this post-traumatic disorder, but it was freaky and intense)

[Rallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed: "Sin Embargo", "Lying Under the Texas Radar with Paco and Los Freetails", "Monstro", "Artificial", and "Caridad". Of these, "Monstro" and "Caridad" were my favorites.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection, a number of authors new to me and excited to read more of. (Plus so happy to have the Junot Diaz in book form.)

[Kris Sellgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is one or two gems in this collection. But mostly the short stories are not very good.

[Emily Dorffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real rating: 3.5 stars

This anthology was quite a mixed bag. A lot of the stories had endings that really let me down, although the basic premise of each story was generally pretty solid. The few stories that were good all the way through were excellent though. I especially enjoyed "Room for Rent", "Flying Under the Texas Radar with Paco and Los Freetails", and "Caridad". I would gladly read those stories again. As for the others, probably not. They just didn't grab me well enough, and they often failed to truly take advantage of the cool ideas they presented. The many typos I found in this anthology certainly don't encourage me to plan on revisiting most of it anytime soon either. I'm still glad I gave this anthology a read though. If nothing else, at least the basic ideas it presented kept my interest.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Latin@ in the title refers to Latin American authors of both genders, some residing in North America. Some of the authors don't normally write SF and others write in a literary fashion, lots of English MFAs and PhDs here. This makes most of them different than run of the mill SF, they are dark and unhappy stories. As with most experimental fiction, some of these I couldn't finish, they were just too bizarre with no apparent story, also I passed on the poetry, others were quite ingenious and would make good novels. An interesting yet depressing read.

[Mary Davidsaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because it contained "Room for Rent" by Richie Narvaez. I heard it read by LaVar Burton for his podcast and wanted to see it in print. I was not disappointed. Of the short stories in this anthology the one that intrigued me the most was "Uninformed" by Pedro Zagitt. It might be the shortest short story I've ever read (might therefore be flash fiction?), and introduces a memorable grandmotherly figure with some miraculous home remedies. Loved it.

[celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could read a million more volumes of this! This is such a wonderful collection of Latinx writers- my reading list has definitely grown.

Fav selections: "Sin Embargo" by Sabrina Vourvoulias, "Accursed Lineage" by Daína Chaviano, "Cowboy Medium" by Ana Castillo, "Monstro" by Junot Díaz, and "Caridad" by Alex Hernandez

[❄Elsa Frost❄ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly remarkable anthology--one of the best I have ever encountered. It features a wide variety of Latinx writers. I highly recommend this one to everyone. It's good exposure of many different Latinx writers you may have never heard of before, and is definitely helpful to look them up to find more of their works. Highly recommended!

4.5 stars

[Tyler Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly enjoyable collection of Latin@ sci-fi and fantasy, filled with thought-provoking poetry, prose, and images, and providing important commentary on topics such race, migration, and colonization.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories which all in their own way center around community and connection. I love the opportunity to read Latin@ science fiction and this has inspired me to read other such collections of stories from communities I am not apart of.

[Abraham Garza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a couple of short stories I'd love to use in my classroom!

[Andres Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoying this very much. poetic language, mix of different languages, cultures, and countries

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

latinx speculative fiction.

[del · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! All of the stories spoke so clearly to the Latinx experience but were also great examples of sci fi and mystery.

[D Donnell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think something got lost in the translation, lol.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great stories, some that weren't for me, but overall, I enjoyed reading the collection and thinking about the themes.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar the work of four of the twenty authors in this anthology (Junot Dian, Sabrina Vourvoulias, Daniel Jose Older and Carmen Maria Machado) so I expected to be introduced to a variety of Latin@ voices for the first time, and I was not disappointed in the depth and breadth of storytelling.

My full review, including a few story-specific comments on the four authors I knew and six of the authors I encountered for the first time, can be found at http://anthonycardno.com/2017/02/book... .

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection that should be spread all around, to fans of sci-fi, as well as fans of Chicano/Latin American writing. There are some clunkers to be found here, but the majority of the work is very good, and some are downright awesome. The introduction and author blurbs are also very informative and point any inquisitive readers (like me) toward the other work published by these authors.

Some highlights: Sabrina Vourvoulias ("Sin embargo"), Ana Castillo ("Cowboy Medium"), Ernest Hogan ("Flying under the Texas Radar with Paco and Los Freetails"), Junot Díaz ("Monstro"), Edmundo Soldán Paz ("Artificial"), Alex Hernández ("Caridad"). I also liked some of the "sci-fi ku."

These stories work best when they find ways to combine sci-fi conventions with the Hispanic/Chicano perspective to create something new, and I think "Sin embargo" does that in a really stellar way. I am certainly going to look for other work by that author. I think that some of these stories would be perfectly at home on the syllabus for a course on recent American or Chicano literature, as well as a sci-fi course. Some of these authors are already household names (Castillo, Díaz, Soldán Paz) and others deserve more recognition. I hope this collection helps them on that path.

"Gauzy ribbon, our
own galaxy, spilled milk sky
--we are but an arm" ("Sci-fi ku" by Carl Marcum)

[Jetamors · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite from this one was "Sin Embargo" by Sabrina Vourvoulias.

[Mills College Library]

Fiction L3578 2017