Geometries of Belonging: Stories and Poems from the Birdverse

Birdverse

by R.B. Lemberg

Nebula and Locus award finalist Lemberg returns us to the Birdverse with this powerful collection of poems and stories. "In the Birdverse, a magic loosely based in geometry is a source of craftsmanship, art, protection and healing. Multiple cultures and countries engage in trade relationships and political alliances. Cultures make use of magic according to their own traditions and rules, and worship the deity Bird, in whichever feathered from Bird takes. And within these countries and cultures, individuals hurt and are hurt, heal and are healed." - Bookslut

Genres: Fantasy, Poetry, Short Stories, Queer, Fiction, LGBT, Anthologies

268 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2022

About the author

R.B. Lemberg is a queer, bigender immigrant from Eastern Europe to the US. R.B.'s Birdverse novella The Four Profound Weaves (Tachyon, 2020) is a finalist for the Nebula, Ignyte, Locus, and World Fantasy awards, as well as an Otherwise Award honoree. R.B.'s poetry memoir Everything Thaws will be published by Ben Yehuda Press in 2022. Their stories and poems have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction!, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, We Are Here: Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020, Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction
Anthology, and many other venues. You can find R.B. on Twitter at @rb_lemberg, on Patreon at http://patreon.com/rblemberg, and at their websites rblemberg.net and birdverse.net.

Reviews

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently, the only way I like short stories are single-author, single-world collections. And this one was brilliant. From more serious, beautiful short stories about belonging and love like The Book of How to Live to the wonderfully whimsical and humorous The Splendid Goat Adventure (also one of the two epistolary stories!), to The Book of Seed and the Abyss which is structured like academic discourse that becomes something more, to poetry, to stories that tie into other Birdverse works, the collection is varied, experimental in structure, and thoroughly queer and neurodivergent. Most highly recommended.

Enjoyment: 5/5
Execution: 5/5

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually love this collection so much. I think r.b. lemberg's birdverse is secretly winning the fantasy genre for me right now. the writing is lovely, the stylistic transitions are handled deftly, and the worldbuilding is gorgeous, ornate, and unique. I wish lemberg was more widely read right now because their work deals with the questions of identity (specifically through queer and disabled characters) that so much of contemporary fantasy is trying to address, but they do it with a nuance, complexity, genuine thoughtfulness, and stylistic flair that hardly anyone else in this literary sphere is even approaching.

[Littlebookterror · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection for the adventurers, the explorers, for those who will not accept the rules the world is built upon and for those who are searching for more in this beautiful, magical world.

Geometries of Belonging is a collection of short prose fiction and poetry that is set in the same universe as The Four Profound Weaves and The Unbalancing as well as many author pieces Lemberg has published over the years.
The Birdverse is a sandbox full of treasures that you as the reader get to discover which each new story you pick up. It's almost like each story is another puzzle piece that helps you understand this world and the people in it better.
It's absolutely possible to start your journey here if you have yet to dive into this world though I think the novella might help contextualize this collection more.

As expected, this collection is unapologetically queer, the characters are already fully realized and sometimes even people you recognize from other stories. What strikes me as especially well done is the yearning for progress and discovery that is shared between many of the pieces. The Birdverse is not yet fully mapped, not every mystery is uncovered and the knowledge about deepnames and other such things is not shared equally. So it makes perfect sense that we dive deeper into these discrepancies, touch upon those inequalities but also rejoice as the characters find incredible new places, learn new things and let their emotions guide them.


I will show you a single treasure from the treasures of the Ruler of Iyar | ★★★★★
Grandmother-nai-Leylit’s Cloth of Winds | ★★★★✩
The Desert Glassmaker and the Jeweler of Berevyar | ★★★✩✩
The Book of Seed and the Abyss | ★★★★✩
The Splendid Goat Adventure | ★★★★★
Three Principles of Strong Building | ★★★✩✩
The Book of How to Live | ★★★★✩
Geometries of Belonging | ★★★✩✩
Ranra’s Unbalancing | ★★★★✩
Where Your Quince Trees Grow | ★★★✩✩
Mirrored Mapping | ★★★✩✩



I received an advanced reading copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A world with unique cultures, some with strict sex and gender roles and others being far freer. Magic is based on having one or more names of varying length. the shortest being the most powerful but least controllable. Tech makes broad use of magic, one radical wants to make machines without magic so everyone can use them. Not your usual fantasy, it suffers the usual problems of short stories, too short! The author has a full length novel, might be pretty good.

[Ladz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received an eARC from the author
Content warnings: In-universe prejudice, discussions of war, grief

The Birdverse is among the richest worlds I have ever been given the gift of visiting. Between The Four Profound Weaves and The Unbalancing, it is evident that this is a wholly realized world with its only political structures and magic system. This latest excursion, a collection of short stories and poems, really bring forth that incredibly unique creativity. Told in a multitude of styles, from missives to annotations to more structured tales, this collection offers an invitation to a world ruled by the magic of names and where the land responds to the human activity happening in its space.

The thing that will stay with me most about these stories and this world is the profound respect Lemberg shows towards people who work in crafts, from weaving to glassmaking to other forms “practical artistry.” Those characters carry the same weight as do the warlords and bureaucrats. There’s also an element of academia that comes into play which makes this such a refreshing world to read. War isn’t the primary plot driver, though it does inform backstories and linger in the background. That being said, Lemberg brings a unique voice and perspective to fantasy, and I’m glad that there are so many stories within the Birdverse.

Here are my favorites:

“The Desert Glassmaker and the Jeweler”
*A story told in letters exchanged between a glassmaker and a jeweler
*Really showcase the incredible richness of the world of the Birdverse and shows a deep respect for those who make physical pieces of art

“The Three Principles of Strong Building”
* Sets the tone for the remainder of the collection
* A seemingly rigid framework for the way deepnames and their balancing are constructed, told in verse almost like a scripture
* Of course, deconstruction immediately follows

“The Book of How to Live”
* This feels like fantasy academia but in the context of gatekeeping around specific forms of magic
* Compelling in the way that it navigates a clash of mindsets and explores the roles people are assigned and the roles they make for themselves

“Geometries of Belonging”
* A healer with strict rules about using healing helps a child break free from their parents and, at the same time, prevent a war
* Really stretches and defines the limits of deepname magic, including introductions of how
* CW: grief, references to deceased family, in-universe prejudice, attempted conversion therapy

“Where Your Quince Trees Grow”
* Justifiable and justified rage encapsulated in a short story about a narrator stealing a quince
* The placement of this one after “Ranra’s Unbalancing” is absolutely brilliant
* CW: displacement as a result of war

[Goran Lowie · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOMINATED FOR THE 2023 URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION

“We all are vessels of our brokenness, we carry it inside us like water, careful not to spill.”

Everybody is broken in Lemberg's Birdverse, and no book showcases this more than GEOMETRIES OF BELONGING. Most people in these stories and poems very much don't belong in their world. Gender and linguistics have always played a prominent role in the Birdverse stories but it felt most explicit here. Lemberg does unique stuff with the genre that I can only be astonished by and respect.

And yet... There's always something off about their style, making it a chore to read, as much as I want to love it. I had this problem with THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES (where I was reading it and didn't very much understand any of it) and found THE UNBALANCING to be more readable, but I once again had to power through it. A shame, because Lemberg seems like they should be one of my favourite writers.

[Eleanor Glewwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this collection, I am so completely hooked on the Birdverse now. I love Lemberg's writing, and their characters, and the different societies, and so many other things (like the academia stories!).

For many years now, I've had a list of media (mostly books) that I want to get to, and "Birdverse stories" is one of the earliest items on this list. It must be from the middle of grad school or something. I think until this year all I'd read was "Grandmother-nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, which I really liked. But now that I've read a novella, a novel, and GEOMETRIES OF BELONGING (very helpful to have a whole bunch of stories collected in one volume!), I feel immersed in the richness of this world! I loved realizing where a story fit into history compared to another story I'd just read. It made me think, Oh, wow, if those characters knew what was to come... I don't feel like I have a perfect grasp of every land and every culture in the Birdverse (and in a vast world I probably shouldn't!), but at the same time the universe feels accessible. After just a few stories, you start to draw connections, and certain references are familiar. I wholeheartedly recommend this collection.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

now only 40% confused about the birdverse instead of 90%

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful short story and poetry collection of queer sff. All set in the same unique universe it was interesting to explore the rich setting through the eyes of the characters. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the novel by R.B. Lemberg. But I think that's just cause I prefer novels. But so lovely to see queer and trans people in these stories.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating collections is so hard. The two stories in here that I really liked were the two longest: "Grandmother-nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" and "Geometries of Belonging" because they both felt like they had enough space for their characters to breath and struggle and grow through the questions of belonging and identity that is the biggest theme in this book.

[Runalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning collection of short fiction and poetry that links tales across the mysterious but fascinating Birdverse. Tales of love, art, healing and change abound. An absolutely fascinating and powerful read I strongly recommend

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Jeff Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd. Not a story, but a collection of pieces, that leans toward a story, but never lands.

Smart, interesting writing, compelling characters. But just a collection of anecdotes. I got interested in the characters, and wanted to know more, but it's not there. A little disappointing.

[Mia-Sché Barnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was a bit difficult to grasp & understand, but it became increasingly interesting. This is the 1st book of the "series" I saw at the library. I am now on my way to get the series, then I will revisit this compendium again, with much anticipation.

[sna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. The short stories are really relatable even though the characters are birds(?)

It took me a while to finally get through the short story that is this collection's namesake.

[LadyTeaspoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of wonderful imaginative stories. The poetry sprinkled throughout didn’t add much

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gender pronoun system mentioned in this story is very much like the way I would design pronouns from scratch for a language. Love Lemberg's world-building.