Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention

by Rhiannon Rasmussen (Editor), Dave Ring (Editor), A.P. Thayer (Contributor)

Huge robots. Bodies fragile and powerful. An anthology of queer mechas featuring stories and poems from 26 contributors, art by Sarah Allen Reed and a story game by Autumn [Redacted]. Stories and poems Violet Allen, Esther Alter, Elly Bangs, Bendi Barrett, Phoebe Barton, Sharang Biswas, Anya DeNiro, C.M. Fields, Even Han, Bastian Hart, R.J. Howell, Josie Kallo, Kehkashan Khalid, Iori Kusano, Ann LeBlanc, Casey Lucas, Anna Markov, G.M. Paniccia, Charles Payseur, e rathke, Ayida Shonibar, Petra Skelton, A.P. Thayer, RJ Theodore, Izzy Wasserstein, Brendan Williams-Childs and Sam Yoo.

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

383 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Méli · Rating 4 out of 5]

if I were still a bookseller, I would have love to recommend this

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decommissioned by Casey Lucas 5
Nursemaid's Elbow by Anya DeNiro 4
Being Quicksilver by Elly Bangs 4
Corpses Float, Pearls Sink by Kehkasham Khalid 2.5
The Helmsman by Sam Kyung Yoo 4
I Am My Art by Ayida Shonibar 4
And Prison On My Back by Phoebe Barton 3
The Bone Meal Corps by Bendi Barrett 3
The Rainbow Ghosts by Violet Allen 4.5
Mortality Signal by Brendan Williams-Childs 4.5
Dance With a Devil by Even Han 3.5
The Sword Between the Stars by G.M. Paniccia 3.5
Ten Lies From a Silenced Monster by Ann LeBlanc 4.5
The Fox's Heart by Josie Kallo 5
On Castus by Bastion Hart 5
If Black was Green and Fluorescent by A. P. Thayes 4
The Ganymede Blues by e rathke 2
An Extraplanetary Capsule Lands in a Bog in Winter by RJ Theodore 5
The dying beast that lies between us by Petra Skelton 3.5
The Demolition of Trucko Brahe by Charles Payseur 2
Heart Amongst the Heathers by R. J. Howell 4
Neither are You Free to Abandon It by Izzy Wasserstein 4.5
even the machines are eaten in the end by C. M. Fields 3
A Polymorphism Named Home by Sharang Biswas 2.5

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved mech fiction, and frankly, I was incredibly excited about an anthology that would look at the intersections of queerness and mechs, so I backed this immediately. I think the story that stood out to me the most here was Phoebe Barton's story, which was absolutely an amazing riff on Isabel Fall's Helicopter Story and a punch to the throat. Some of the short stories felt like a bit of a stretch to fit the mech theme at times, but all delivered on the queer content and then some. There's also a fantastic story in here from Iori Kusano that does some fantastic things with gender and leans into the shrine maiden vibes. Definitely worth picking up and reading through.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story compilations have always been hit or miss with me. It's really a dice roll as to whether or not any particular story is any good. I've read compilations where the majority are pretty lackluster with only a few gems in it to ones where everything is pretty damn good. Fortunately, this is one of the latter ones. All of the stories contained within are good, although some I really wish they had fleshed out into a full-fledged novel (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) like the one where you've got the biker and her kaiju girlfriend, and the evil rebel (who isn't really evil) and the suits of armor made of wood and wire she had inscribed her soul upon.

I'm also not really one for sci-fi all that much anymore. When I was a kid I was really into it. I owned *all* the Johnathan Swift novels, had an active subscription to Analog magazine, and had a library full of Jack L. Chalker books amongst other things. I don't know when or why I pivoted to urban fantasy as my main genre of choice, but I usually don't get much out of sci-fi. Unless, of course, we're talking giant mecha. Evangelion? Mobile Suit Gundam? Gurran Lagann? Yes, please! There's plenty of that here, for any giant mecha fan.

There's something intrinsically linked between transhumanism and queerness, especially when it comes to trans identities. The idea of becoming more than what your mortal flesh allows is such a trans experience that makes it easy to identify why slipping into a cockpit and becoming a bigger, stronger body appeals to us. Not all of these stories are trans stories, mind you, but since that's what I am, that's what I identify with.

All in all I'm glad that I backed this book on kickstarter. It's a really good read. Four stars.

[Andre Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neon Hemlock's anthologies always deliver great stories. Luminescent Machinations continues this trend with a collection of enjoyable, mech-themed tales. I especially enjoyed G.M. Paniccia's "A Sword Between the Stars".