Saturday, May 20, 2017

The Sea Is Ours | Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng


Summary:

A collection of steampunk stories based in Southeast Asia written by Southeast Asian authors. To quote the editors:

"In our iteration of steampunk, neo-Victorianism and all its attendant issues are optional, even sidelined..."

Review:

This book has so many elements that I enjoy. I love anthologies. I enjoy steampunk stories. I love finding new authors to read more of. And I love learning more about other cultures. This book takes me to several worlds where my American bias has no firm footing. Things that were mentioned by some authors as matter-of-fact comments caught me completely off guard because they weren't such a strong part of my life. I also ended up highlight a bunch of words or phrases throughout the book because I just had no frame of reference for them and wanted to know. (By the way, definitely looking up a recipe for tsokolate now!)

I also really appreciated that, out of 12 stories, only one didn't work for me (there's always one, it seems). The rest of the stories, though, were so engaging and I'm so glad they were included in this anthology. I have added a few new authors to look up. The only problem I'm having with that is they're so underrepresented in the book avenues that I use. If you have any suggestions for better access to books from Southeast Asia please let me know!

I happily give this book 4 hoots and encourage you to get a copy!

               Hoot!Hoot!

               Hoot! Hoot!



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