Diverse Energies

by Tobias S. Buckell, Joe Monti, Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo

Overview

“No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul.”
—President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962

In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy to distinguish. Here is a collection of stunning original and rediscovered stories of hope and tragedy that pit students, street kids, “good girls,” kidnappers, and child laborers against their environments, their governments, and sometimes themselves as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds. Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to society’s far future in the stars with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction.
The editors of this volume are setting aside a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund, which enables writers of color to attend a Clarion writing workshop, where legendary Octavia Butler got her start.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015515695
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Publication date:	10/15/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	908,074
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

TOBIAS S. BUCKELL is a Caribbean-born professional blogger and SF/F author who grew up in Grenada, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He is a Clarion graduate, Writers of the Future winner, and Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer Finalist, and he has been nominated for a Nebula Award. His work on Halo has been selected as a Best Book for Young Adults (BBYA). Buckell lives in Ohio with his wife and two children.

JOE MONTI is a literary agent. Before becoming an agent he was the children’s fiction buyer at Barnes & Noble Inc., held an executive sales position at Houghton Mifflin, and was an editorial director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. There, several of the books he acquired have become New York Times bestsellers, and one was nominated for the National Book Award and was awarded the Michael L. Printz Award. Monti lives in New Jersey with his wife and son.

11 speculative fiction authors contribute stories to Diverse Energies: Paolo Bacigalupi, K. Tempest Bradford, Rahul Kanakia, Rajan Khanna, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ken Liu, Malinda Lo, Ellen Oh, Cindy Pon, Greg Van Eekhout, and Daniel H. Wilson.

Features bestselling and award-winning authors including Ursula K. Le Guin (multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, Pushcart Prize, James Tiptree Jr. Award, and Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement, among many other honors), Paolo Bacigalupi (Michael L. Printz Award, John W. Campbell Award, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award), Malinda Lo (William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist, Andre Norton Award for YA Fantasy and Science Fiction Finalist, Lambda Literary Award Finalist), Nebula- and Andre Norton-nominated Greg van Eekhout, Nebula-nominated Ken Liu, among others.

Editorial Reviews

As the title promises, this sophisticated science-fiction anthology is diverse in nearly every sense of the word.

Kirkus Reviews

Conceived in an effort to more judiciously represent ethnic and cultural diversity in YA fiction, this provocative collection, edited by SF author Buckell and literary agent Monti explores dystopian themes through multiple lenses. Instead of the usual white faces, the stories feature protagonists from a broader spectrum, all doing their best to survive in hostile or frightening settings. While there's not a single misfire in this anthology, particular works stand out. Ellen Oh's "The Last Day" takes place in a world torn apart by a decades-long war, while K. Tempest Bradford's "The Uncertainty Principle" sees time travel constantly altering one girl's surroundings. Malinda Lo's "The Good Girl" is a prickly love story set against the desire for a better life, and Cindy Pon's "Blue Skies" is almost painful in its longing for escape. Not only do these stories feature racially diverse casts, set all over the world or in space, some have gay and lesbian protagonists, giving readers plenty with which to identify. Happy endings are infrequent, but readers will eagerly immerse themselves in each vividly constructed world. Ages 12–up (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up—A variety of characters populates the well-written, future-set short stories in this aptly named anthology. Protagonists represent different ages, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. They all exist in unique, fully dimensional, and bleak worlds that are populated by children held in slavery, street people, the underprivileged, time travelers, and heroes who courageously fight to improve humanity's plight. The thread that binds these selections is the bravery of the main characters. Whether facing governmental, societal, or individual corruption, the protagonists find their own way to rise above it. Malinda Lo's "Good Girl" is a particularly engaging tale about an obedient daughter whose search for her missing brother leads her to an underground world that reveals some startling truths about her identity and the government. Daniel H. Wilson's "Freshee's Frogurt" stands out with its distinctive format; it's written as an interview conducted by a police officer investigating a robot-gone-rogue case. Each story entertains and provides the opportunity for underrepresented readers to find themselves on the pages. Contributors range from newly published authors to award winners, such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Cindy Pon. A first purchase for collections needing diversity titles or where short stories and dystopia are popular.—Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

School Library Journal

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