Diverse Energies

by 11 Speculative Fiction Authors, Tobias Buckell (Editor), Joe Monti (Editor)

Overview

Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education

A collection of dystopian short stories featuring diverse main characters and by authors of color.

"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 and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful.

In this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another 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 beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction. Includes stories by Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Daniel H. Wilson, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620140116
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	11/20/2012
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	566,096
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Editor 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.

Editor Joe Monti has worn several hats in publishing—from bookstore clerk to buyer, sales to editorial, to literary agent. He 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.

Editorial Reviews

"[T]his book, which feels different than the usual fare—characters, settings, and authors come from all across the global spectrum—and, maybe more to the point, proves to be not that different at all." — Booklist

"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." — Publishers Weekly

"A compelling mixture of stories with a diverse cast of characters from a variety of family backgrounds, including African, Chinese, Indian, Native American, and mixed heritages... Fans will enjoy reading their favorite writers in short form, while readers looking to expand their science fiction horizons will find intriguing new worlds to explore." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education

From the Publisher

As the title promises, this sophisticated science-fiction anthology is diverse in nearly every sense of the word. Beyond their being science fiction, no single element or quality unites the collection's stories. However, the anthology was created in response to concerns that mixed-race characters, non-Western characters, LGBTQ characters and characters of color were underrepresented in young adult fiction, and most stories bring one or more of these underrepresented identities to the foreground. Readers will find poor children working in mines and factories, a have-not yao boy kidnapping a rich you girl and a girl reeling as the world inexplicably changes around her, and no one else notices. Although many stories imagine bleak futures, their tones are refreshingly varied. Daniel Wilson's tale of a robot attack at a frozen-yogurt shop takes the form of an almost-comical police-interview transcript. Ursula K. LeGuin's "Solitude" is a sweeping, nostalgic epic. K. Tempest Bradford's "Uncertainty Principle" is a character-driven time-travel tale. Understanding many of the stories takes patience: Readers are plunged quickly into complex worlds, and exposition often comes slowly. Careful, curious readers will be rewarded, though probably not comforted, by the many realities and futures imagined here. (Science fiction/anthology. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews