Cosmogramma

by Courttia Newland

Newland turns his hand to science fiction with this lively collection of short stories, which take place in a transfigured Britain and occasionally in space. Themes include the resilience of the human spirit, greed, family, relations, drug use, and the rise of machines.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Anthologies, Dystopia

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2017

About the author

Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of sci-fi stories that feels self-consciously literary. I have nothing against literary sci-fi, to be clear, but I do like some sense of conviction - most of these stories stop exactly at the moment where they get really interesting and/or suspenseful. That's just sad, man! Keep going! Don't stop at the moment we all expect the story to end, push on!

(Thanks to Akashic Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Johan Haneveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - One of those books that I am of two minds about. I think that could be explained by the author coming from the world of contemporary literature and not from the SF/F/H-community. So, this book is written better than most SF/F/H-works. I was impressed by the writing, the beautiful descriptions and the empathetic depiction of characters. I think SF-authors could learn a lot from this more literary style. For this I would award 4,5 stars.
But the ideas are subpar compared to those in most modern SF/F/H-works. This collection shows the pitfalls of literary authors writing genre fiction without a deep knowledge of the genre. I felt like the basic ideas here were not very original, dystopian societies, robot uprisings, psychic abilities - it all had a whiff of 50's SF about it. Also these stories were not about the SFnal ideas but about the characters. So SF-readers looking for original twists on old ideas will not find those. Which left me unfulfilled, I must confess. It is true that in these stories the old tropes are connected to contemporary themes, mostly taking place in London, within marginalized communities. I appreciated that viewpoint. But I was disappointed by the ambivalent conclusions of most stories. As a review I read said: they felt like preludes. Often they ended at the point a character made a decision, or had to make a decision, and as a reader we never saw what came from it. It left me frustrated. I guess this inconclusive ending to stories is also something the author brings over from his background in contemporary literature, but I am a plot driven reader and thus found these stories having strong set ups, but poor resolutions, which ultimatele made them less memorable to me. I would enjoy a poorly written collection with strong stories more than a beautifully written collection with weak stories. So, 2 stars for this aspect.
There were some stories that stood out for me, that I would award four to five stars, and that in my opinion make it worthwile to read this collection, even if, like me you're a genre afficionado and not a contemporary literature reader.
The opening story 'Percipi' is a classic story of the rise of artificial intelligence, and how rifts in society between the haves and have-nots play into that.
'Scarecrow' is a kind of a zombiestory that works well, even if it doesn't really bring any new insight to the genre.
'Buck' I found fascinating in its description of another world and its insectoids inhabitants, in which people are kept like pets. The ending could have been a bit stronger though.
'Control' was harrowing and all too realistic.
'Seed' reminded me a lot of 'Body Snatchers', maybe a bit too much, even though it was well written.
'Nommo' was a fable like tale about a couple meeting mer people. Not really original, but well written.
'Link' had some great character work and a chilling ending.
'Utoma' is a more interesting and original sequel to the opening story 'Percipi', with very interesting descriptions of other creatures and another world, and I would have loved to read more about it, but it ended just as it got interesting.
So ... not one I can recommend heartily to everybody, but if you like SF/F/H from a literary perspective and you can deal with ambiguous conclusions, I think you will enjoy this collection.

[Peter Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to devour short story compilations as a kid, partially because they were a bite-sized way of getting the sci-fi thrills I was looking for, partially because my local library had a lot of them. In the 80’s a lot of the bigger SF authors had graduated by writing for the pulps, and then the more serious SF magazines. And quite a few of them let the stories be jumping off points for later novels and so on. And mixed author collections often set out a flag for people I would latterly enjoy more (hello Robert Sheckley).Perhaps I drifted from short stories because they weren’t things I bought, or because I liked the push of a long narrative. I have certainly enjoyed the recent resurgence in novellas, when I haven’t actually been buying them (the cost / word count ration shouldn’t be an issue to me but….is).

All of which is to say that Courttia Newland’s collection Cosmogramma, flexed reading muscles I hadn’t used for a while. Described as an Afro-Futurist writer in the blurb, whilst there is a strong black theme through many of these stories, it equally ticked a strong London voice with me, much of this taking place in and around various versions. I think of short story construction being a triangle – idea – voice – place, and on the most part Newland makes sure that at least one of these three are familiar whilst tweaking the others. So whilst there are a few idea heavy stories here, they tend to lean more on the individual story that threads through impact of the idea (Seed - a take on the seed pod version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers which works well just because the viewpoint character convinces, as the familiar unfolds around him). On the other side the first story here, Percipi, is broadly a narrated info dump of a future history of androids which become slaves which have their own uprising and succeeds with anything resembling a central character. Newland has range.

Short stories are an art in themselves and the hit to miss ratio here is very much on the hit side, though I am now interested in reading some of his longer form work (which appears to bounce around genre as much as my reading does). The stand out for me here was an accidental time travel story, The Sankofa Principle, which again is told from a distant third person narrator but getting to the heart of the difficulty of the moral imperative that underpins more austere, privileged sci-fi. Well worth dipping into, and has single-handedly got me requesting a few more short stories for my reading diet.

[Sonia Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the authors novel A River called time at the beginning of the year I was excited to be notified of Cosmogramma. The title is a reference to the music artist Flying Lotus and the work contains 15 stories, all fresh but with some, reworkings of genre tropes - sentient robots, mysterious seeds, alienation, colonization and time slips.
The writing is cinematic in quality, creating visuals you can almost smell, taste and touch. A pause between stories is in order to absorb what has been told - the themes can be dark but even in the darkest, grimy narrative of You meets You there is a thread of hope. If you are interested in seeing the author speak about this book, influences on his work then please check out this youtube link from book launch day on 28 October 2021 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcXx_...
I loved the range of stories and the storytelling - can't wait for the next works from Courttia Newland. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC, all comments are my own..

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cosmogramma is a collection of speculative short stories that imagine alternative futures, exploring robots, space travel, new species, and achieving the seemingly impossible. Some stories consider what happens in near futures where strange seeds appear or transformations of humans occur, whereas others look into more distant moments on other planets and intergalactic travel.

Having read Newland's A River Called Time, I was intrigued to read this collection, which sometimes covers similar themes, but looks particular at transformation, both human and otherwise. The story that made me want more was 'Seed', about what happens when strange seeds appear that grow plants looking like replicas of humans: I almost wanted a whole novel of that one, exploring it further. 'Scarecrow', depicting a world in which the dead return as good or bad, and 'Nommo', about a race of mer creatures who need a connection with humans, were other stories that drew me in, exploring how humans might treat others. As someone who doesn't read much sci-fi, short stories or longer, I enjoyed the tales that were on a possibly recognisable, but changed, version of Earth the most, as I find it harder to get into and understand stories set on different planets or worlds, but other people might enjoy some of the more space-related ones more.

[Marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cosmogramma contains fifteen short stories that reside within the speculative spectrum. Some stories are set in a far or near future, others in the present of an alternative Earth. Of some of the stories, it never became clear to me which of both applied as both were possible. But what they almost all have in common is that the pictured society is dystopian and that the outcome of events is determined by choices humans make.

I was not familiar with the writing of Courttia Newland, but two things persuaded me that this might be a book for me (apart from me being a fan of speculative short fiction, that is). The first one was the cover. The mysterious shapes in attractive colours are hard to ignore. The second one was another review in which Cosmogramma got compared to the writing of Ted Chiang. I’ve really enjoyed his Exhalation and hoped Newland’s book would be something similar.

Yes, there are similarities and the comparison to Chiang is understandable. But after fifteen stories I cannot say Newland reaches the same level of quality as Chiang does. The positives: Newland’s fiction is original and imaginative, and he touches a broad range of topics in which humans are often put in a difficult situation. Next, they face a tough decision while dealing with this situation. Many of the stories are speculative variants of subjects that are very relevant in our current society. They make you think. Newland’s writing style is also very enjoyable and descriptions of the surroundings of the main character(s) are detailed, which I happen to like.

What disturbed me (a.k.a. the negatives) was that almost none of the stories evolved towards a clear ending. The initial idea was in most cases intriguing enough and well explained (although even then some plots are quite difficult to follow), but as a story continued, it became fuzzy and stopped going anywhere. Several had an open ending which didn’t satisfy me (to be clear: not because of the ending being open, but because of how it was done). Many seemed to have no ending at all. They just stopped, while nothing was decided. Out of fifteen stories, only three ticked all or most of the boxes for me (Scarecrow, Control, and Nommo). Five others didn’t work for me at all (Buck, You Meets You, Dark Matters, Nocturne and Utoma). The remaining seven were okay-ish but there was always something that left me being not sufficiently convinced. When reading short story collections I can live with a few lesser stories, but in this case, too many of them didn’t satisfy me.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a reader, I like short stories to have a thread in a book that joins them together. Whether the link is social, thematic, tonal, or anything else, it always feels like the best short stories connect together somehow. Cosmogramma doesn't do this, or if it does then the connections are not visible to me. The speculative fiction/science fiction elements alone are not enough to connect the ideas.

Some of the stories (Scarecrow in particular) build tension and connection to the characters well and are memorable, but others (such as the book's title piece) rely too much on explanation and don't allow the reader to infer anything, telling without showing. The writing is careful and readable throughout but never particularly daring or beautiful. In the end this was a book of disconnected parts for me, sometimes enjoyable but overall unrewarding. Might suit a science fiction fan more as this genre often forgives the points that I found unenjoyable.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cosmogramma" is an absolutely fantastic collection of stories by the incredibly talented and skilled Courttia Newland. The writing is smooth as silk, the characters are incredibly vivid (especially considering we don't have much time to get to know them, since these are shorts), and the plots are perfectly formed and thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, if I could ask one person "What do you think of...?" it would be Courttia Newland - that imagination is priceless.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of stories with interesting premises and sudden endings. While the collection as whole wasn’t particularly captivating, several of the stories were interesting enough to merit further elaboration. Perhaps a smaller collection or one with a wider range of styles would have been more engaging.

[Trevelyanwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection follows hard on the heels of Newland’s A River Called Time. Whereas that was baggy, epic and about character and texture as much as plot, this first short story collection is very different. Each story is wonderfully controlled, with a lean prose style that in almost every case matches the content and builds suspense.

A River Called Time appeared at times to be the work of a writer keen to make A Big Statement. The writing in this collection is much more relaxed, and there’s great fun to be had seeing Newman put a unique spin on a host of sci-fi tropes. There’s an invasion of the bodysnatchers, an experimental warp drive that hurls the spaceship back in time rather than across space, and even a hidden kingdom of humanoids deep under the sea. In each case Newman takes the set-up seriously and bends it to his own themes and interests (the legacy of colonialism, Brexit and gender politics to name but three).

Several of the stories revisit a near-future or alt-history London and these are very fine as well. But they don’t quite pack the punch of the purer ‘sci-fi’ stories that see a really talented writer taking the genre conventions head on, and wringing from them fresh meaning and power. A tenth of a star for having the title as a Flying Lotus hommage.

Review copy provided by Netgalley.

[Robert Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prolific author Courttia Newland’s Cosmogramma is a mixed bag of speculative fiction short stories. Like his contemporaries (China Mieville’s Three Moments of an Explosion or Ted Chiang’s Exhalation) Newland’s stories range across a host of science fiction and fantasy tropes and ideas. In fashioning these tales he delivers short, pointed dives into well known science fiction and fantasy sub-genres.
The first two stories in the collection demonstrate this range. Percipi is a robopocalypse story. Science-fiction immersed readers know from the outset that the global release of intelligent servant robots is going to end in tears. The interesting aspect to Newland’s approach is what precipitates the robot revolt and the reaction of the humans from whose point of view the story is told. This story then segues to Cirrostratus – a new weird tale of a travelling troupe of augmented circus performers. And so it goes on to interstellar colonies (Cosmogramma), strange apparitions (Dark Matters), dystopian post-Brexit governments (The Difference Between Me and You), some type of alien invasion (Seed), time travel (The Sankofa Principle) and decidedly weird designer drugs (You Meets You).
As with any collection of short stories by a single author, it is possible to identify emergent and common themes and ideas. Newland is clearly interested in the view of the outsider, of people outside the norm who are either downtrodden or find some kind of inner strength as a result. He uses his stories to explore the moral choices of his characters and those around them – in The Sanofka Principle the question is if you went back in time would you take the opportunity to stop or frustrate slavery no matter what the cost to your own future. The Difference Between Me and You considers the immigration haves and have nots and how people view those who are to be deported for the crime of not fitting in with the norm.
Cosmogramma is a thought provoking series of diverse speculative fiction short stories. Some stories feel like just the prelude for something bigger and potentially more interesting. But that will give readers something to think about, and if not then at least leave readers with an image or idea that changes their view of their world. Which is what short stories do best.

[Julie Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is a great example of what modern speculative fiction can be: fascinating, compelling, peopled by sympathetic (and not-so sympathetic) characters; surprising and familiar, inspiring, filled with mystery and a sense of discovery for the reader…and I love it when stories are connected, so I enjoyed piecing together the connections between some of the stories in the collection.

The opening story of this collection, Percipi starts with the rollout of a new domestic robot, the corporate fanfare feels very very familiar but is clearly futuristic. It's told in 2nd person past tense, which quickly feels natural, demonstrating the author's skill.

It is delivered as a 'here's what happened' report, a survey of 'how we got here', and yet it manages to be immersive and intriguing with a very satisfying ending...one I can't imagine having been written by one of the 'golden age' sci-fi writers who explored these ideas.

Cirrostratus is possibly my favorite story in the collection: a story about a futuristic circus. As with all the stories, it eases you into the story and the world skillfully. The futuristic worlds Newland creates are not easy or, on the face of it, beautiful, and yet the writing is both.

Scarecrow is a little more chilling than the opening two stories. Set, again in a non-utopian future, this one explores the ways in which we try to keep our loved ones safe. I really enjoyed not knowing what was going on and then, gradually, understanding the world. This definitely appealed to the part of me that enjoys the puzzle of short stories.

The title story puts the reader in less-familiar territory with the human characters developing (evolving?) powers you and I (probably) don't possess. The writing is spectacular: capturing unfamiliar sensations is a really interesting way.

"...when the canopy above seemed to split gently and the colors came rolling through, Layla's mauves, reds, and blues, merging with Marshan's greens, yellows, and pinks and Meade's earthy tans, oranges, and brows, the rest couldn't help themselves, singing the chorus, falling silent when they reached the verses. Colors danced just below the leafy canopy, converging and tumbling to create new spectrums and tones, encouraging the children to sing with more passion, forming new colors in turn. When they end the song, Gillie said they should sing another, so they did, loud as they could until they heard their parents call from the forest edge."

Buck takes us firmly off Earth and into a new civilization with interesting aliens whose culture is revealed slowly and deftly through their interactions with the human characters, and the human characters' interactions with each other. Fascinating stuff.

There are dark themes in this collection but it manages (mostly) not to be depressing. The author chooses both traditional and unusual points of view (second person plural, past tense; second person singular, present tense) and manages to make it all work.

Some of the stories are quite lengthy, but still retain that 'short story' feel. On a personal note I really enjoy the sense of place in many of the earth-based story - mostly UK, which I gleaned from language use and references to things you wouldn't get in US-based stories (the BBC, A4 paper, just the little details of daily life).


Highly recommended, if you like absorbing short stories and speculative fiction that leans to the sci-fi end of the scale.

Highly recommended, if you like absorbing short stories and speculative fiction that leans to the sci-fi end of the scale.

Courttia Newland is the author of seven books including _A River Called Time_, _The Gospel According to Cane_, and his much-lauded debut, _The Scholar_. In 2016 he was awarded the Roland Rees Bursary for playwriting. As a screenwriter, he has written two episodes of the Steve McQueen BBC series _Small Axe_.

[Terence Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every book that you read over the next decade will be about the COVID19 pandemic - in one way or another. We all now live in the shadow of fear and death - and this is reflected in the fiction that people write.

Cosmogramma is an excellent collection of short stories. Frustratingly, each feels like the synopsis of the first half of a decent sci-fi book. Perhaps it's because we're only halfway through this global plague? It's slightly frustrating that we never reach the conclusion of the stories - especially as they're so robustly realised.

They're a good mix of stories. Past, present, future, off-world, aliens, mutants, robots, and mer-folk. It could almost be a full series of Doctor Who! As with any compendium, there's a couple of duff stories - but they're over quickly.

It's made me eager to read more of Newland's work.

[Tess Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of short stories, expertly written with gripping plots and memorable characters.

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Single-author anthologies are always so weird. I was almost invested in the merpeople story but then it was suddenly about how heterosexual relationships are the Most Important Thing even when they're super unhealthy and conflicted? Every time I thought I knew what a story was saying it suddenly ended with a completely different note. While that can be a fun intended twist thing, it felt like over and over again I was having a conversation and the author was having a different one and we only realized in our concluding lines.

[Rix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wanted to like this one but it just didn't quite gel with me. Obviously in a short story collection some things will work better or worse for any given person and I don't think anything here was a write off but nothing really stuck with me - the exception being the story of the mimas 4 about the spaceship crew being sent back in time rather than to a different point in space and deciding to stay and attempt to end the slave trade rather than return to their own time. It felt like there was really something there with this one and I would have happily read a full novel on the subject.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for review in SFX.

[Wouter K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't a fan of this book. While I can appreciate someone dipping their toe in the Sci-Fi genre (at least this was my impression), I feel the different concepts in these stories here are mostly unoriginal and underexplored. For me, way too much time was used for setting the scene and most stories ended with a question where most stories start. I read a review that said the author's character work was better than a lot of sci-fi, which is probably true in the long tradition of the genre (there has been a lot of pulpy sci-fi over time). Still, in my opinion contemporary sci-fi authors oftentimes do really good character work. If you want real good conceptual exploration I'd really recommend Ted Chiang. Chiang's character work is really on par in my opinion. if you want good character work in sci-fi contexts and magical realism I'd rather recommend Ken Liu. I feel Liu, even in the stories he focuses on character work, does concepts a lot more justice and comes up with more original concepts to explore.

Now having said that, the book was not all bad. I can see from the text that Newland is a talented writer and I'm curious about his other work. I just feel that an exploration of the existing genre might have helped. And then again, this book might very well be a good gateway book from Lit-Fic into Sci-Fi.

There are some engaging and entertaining stories in here. I think there were 2-3 stories that actually hit me in the feels. However, the book generally felt like a bit of a slog, which is definitely not why I read short story collections. All in all, I will give Newland another try in another format or genre.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dream in Blade Runner's setting.  I want to love Blade Runner, but no matter how many times I watch this film, I always wish for more worldbuilding. And since it's such a speculative classic, I'm often wary of other speculative stories.  I have hardly met a speculative novel that I feel has ENOUGH worldbuilding - I love more more more speculative details.  So as soon as I picked up 'Cosmogramma' I had a bit of worry that speculative details in a short story format certainly wouldn't offer up enough detail heaped on that plate for my tastes.   But I am proved wrong, Mr. Newland!  Despite hesitancy on a speculative short story format, most of these stories worked well for me, though a few could have used a tiny bit more detail to click in my unscientific brain.  I like one particular story that seems to combine two sci-fi classics brilliantly, but I wanted more of a reason WHY for the story to really hit home.  There is a generous array of science fiction and speculative topics and themes in this collection to keep it fun.  Something here is bound to haunt your imagination.  I liked that the final story hinted at the first.  Some of my favorites here:  Scarecrow, You Meets You, Nommo, The Sankofa Principle.  I'm very glad I gave this collection a chance.  If you like speculative short stories, pick this up! 

[Lucsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested Cosmogramma simply because I've rarely come across sci-fi short stories collections and once I discovered that this was written by a black author, then this became the first of its kind I have ever held.

General Impressions

I didn't love or will remember every story in this collection as it always happens but there were several stories that I loved reading and two in particular that are Black Mirror/movie adaptation worthy. If you like Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams or the movie Get out, I think this will be right up your alley.

The language used and the plots might be at times difficult to understand so this is not a book that is easy or relaxing to read but it's worth sticking to because you never know what's ahead in the next chapter.

Conclusions

If you are a lover of sci-fi, black authors or short stories, this is for you.

Rating: 4/5

[M.stow11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corrtia Newland has compiled a seemingly disconnected yet by the end inter-connected series of short stories, that resonate within science fiction fantasy and reality writing, to an extra-ordinary extent. A collection of true quality and stories well timed and length-like the beginnings of longer science fiction (such as Adrian Tchaikovsky), or Reality Fiction such as Newland has written before (novels from The Scholar on). This collection is best read in order, I feel, to see the development of more and more researched science as science-faction fiction. Newland excels in this collection, as he has with his whole ouvre, and this collection of short science fantastic and reality fiction is spot on for our times...5 stars

[HighPrairieBookworm - Jonni Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courttia Newland has crafted a wonderful collection of fifteen loosely related science fiction short stories. Some take place in the near future while others are further into the future. One recurring theme is the concept of the “Other” and how the “Other” is affected or interacts with other characters in the story.

The stories echo many of today’s social issues engaging the reader with its beautifully written prose.

As a fan of Bradbury, Heinlein, Van Vogt, and other masters of the genre I’ve put Newland on my list of favorites. I love this collection.

[Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5, but I rounded up.

I won this free Kindle ebook in a Goodreads giveaway.

Cosmogramma is a really entertaining collection of short stories about the future, aliens, all kinds of good stuff. Some of the stories I loved and wanted to read more of. Others I didn't quite get.. I may edit this review once I've read it again.

[Alfredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting mixture of stories. Some are absolutely mindblowing, but with a couple, I felt that the ideas were great, but they were over before a lot of the themes/full extent of the issues could be explored, so they left me a bit unsatisfied.

[Simon Dobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of new science fiction. Some new premises, and older ones deftly handled.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dawn Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Sci-Fi short stories since I got my hands on my dad's Omni magazines way back when. The problem with a single author collection is that they have to be pretty spectacular to have every story hit the mark. I didn't feel that Newland managed that. While a few of the tales have stayed with me, the majority fell a little flat.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t finish, didn’t enjoy

[2TReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe in the power of the planet to take care of itself, I always have, and if that comes to mean extermination, so be it,.... from Seed.

Newland obviously has a mind for charting those stories that draw upon our present and past and then extrapolate for a future that takes us beyond, but yet retains a lot of the hubris for which we seem incapable of letting go, the ways in which discrimination change and remain the same, immigrant bias, social revolution, and shifting power dynamics run through all of these stories.

These stories look at AI integration and social relationships, alien societal structure, reproduction, human incorporation, space travel, and the unknown. It is clear to see the impact of technology, anti-immigration, space exploration, advanced science, and research and development on thse stories. Their landscapes are stark with realisations of the many paths to be trod.

Newland writes in a way that I can only describe as static, precise, sometimes staccato, but this does not detract from the issues nor does it harm the creative structure of his stories, although I can see how it may alienate some readers.

The story that took root in my mind was 'Seed', in which after a storm, strange seeds took root across the globe, eventually growing into organic floral concepts of humans. A strong allegory for mother nature retaliating for the decimation we have caused by replacing us with more of Her.

Newland takes futures and futuristic concepts and makes stories that are complex, complicated, where the reader has to work as much for the unsaid and the obvious.

[green beetle els · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 this was fine. Good in places, meh in others. I’m sure there are people out there who would like this a lot more than me