Mechanical Animals: Tales at the Crux of Creatures and Tech

by Selena Chambers (Editor), Jason Heller (Editor), Lauren Beukes

A speculative fiction safari that riffs on the traditional ideals of automata to explore our strange and competitive relationship with the natural world. Biomimicry is no stranger to literature, with canonical authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hans Christian Anderson, and Jules Verne setting the tone for a trope that has expounded and expanded upon what exactly separates humans from the animal kingdom as well as the boundary between machines and living beings. Featuring 15 original stories by today's top science fiction and fantasy authors and contextual mecha-fauna essays by artist and Insect Lab Studio maker, Mike Libby, and SF encyclopedist and author Jess Nevins, Mechanical Animals presents a biomimicry menagerie of animalistic machines that will blur the lines between what is and isn't nature's design.

Edited by Selena Chambers and Jason Heller

Featuring:
Mike Libby
Jess Nevins
Tessa Kum
Delia Sherman
Maurice Broaddus
Sarah Hans
Lauren Beukes
Jesse Bullington
An Owomoyela
Stephen Graham Jones
Hans Christian Andersen
Molly Tanzer
Aliette de Bodard
Nick Mamatas
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Kat Howard
Michael Cisco
Adrian Van Young
Robert T. Toombs
Joseph S. Pulver, Jr.
Alistair Rennie
Jules Verne
Caroline Yoachim
Carrie Vaughn

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

418 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2018

About the author

Selena Chambers is author of Babes in Toyland’s Fontanelle for the 33 1/3 book series (Bloomsbury Academic) and the Weird historical fiction collection, Calls for Submission (Pelekinesis).

She’s been translated in France, Spain, Brazil, and in Turkey, and has published in the U.K. and Australia. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart, Colorado Book Award, Best of the Net, as well as the Hugo Award and World Fantasy award (twice).

 

Reviews

[Charlotte]

I found this a bit of a mixed bag--some of the stories were very good, some were too dark for me, and some confused me. But if clockwork creatures are your thing, it's a must read! I was tickled that the editors included some older stories--one of Hawthorne's, for instance, about a man who makes a mechanical butterfly, that's fantasy/sci fi in the guise of metaphysical spiritual enlightenment brought to life as beautiful machine....

[Jim Collett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of stories all constructed around some aspect of the interface between designed creatures and the natural world. Some creatures are all clockwork, some an admixture of mechanical and natural or cybernetic. Sometimes the tale is told by the creature. Others are from other points of view or third person. Like any collection, it is a mixture ranging from really good to well, what was that about? I found most of them to be less than happy tales, often tragic or poignant. (The most uplifting was the final one, "Closer To The Sky." Many dealt with unintended consequences , sometimes proving problematic or deadly to the creators ("Two Bees Dancing," "Looking Out My Back Door"). The creatures are often the more humane characters when compared to the humans with whom they loyally attempt to interact. A few tales were just so cleverly (or not) obscure and convoluted they left me cold or feeling I had wasted my time on them. Some were decidedly weird (The noirish "Stray Frog"); one even weirdly erotic ("Le Cygne Baiseur"). My favorites were two near the end of the book, "The Island Brushed By Ghosts" and "The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars." Definitely worth a look if y0u enjoy provocative science-fiction or steampunk-type clockwork tales.

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best of the best: among the water buffaloes, a tiger’s steps - Aliette de Bodard

Really good: the clockwork penguin dreamed of stars - Caroline m yoachim, closer to the sky - Carrie Vaughn

Honorable mentions: the island brushed by ghosts - Alastair rennie, and the fun mix of stories from the 1800s thrown in with the modern stuff.

[Michael Whiteman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely consistent; almost every story here was at least good, but only a few stood out as more than that. The highlights were Exhibitionist by Lauren Beukes; Bet The Farm by Michael Cisco; and The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed Of Stars by Caroline Yoachim.

[Jennifer Kanke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never look at bees the same way again. I will never look at anything the same way again.

[Vince Darcangelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faves:

Lauren Beukes - "Exhibitionist"

Jesse Bullington - "Stray Frog"

Stephen Graham Jones - "Every Single Wonderful Detail"

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent assortment of short stories focused on versions of mechanical/robotic/automaton animals. I was pleasantly surprised to see stories dating back to the 1800s included in the lineup!