Futures To Live By - by Ana Sun
I would like to thank NewCon Press for an advance copy on this collection in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - NewCon Press
Published - Out Now
Price - £13.99 paperback £4.99 ebook
Now resident in the UK, Ana Sun has lived in various parts of the world, having spent her childhood in Malaysian Borneo and grown up on islands.
Ana Sun is fast making a name for herself, her unique voice instilling solarpunk with fresh vitality. Inspired by her passion for nature, water, and community, Ana's work has featured on award shortlists and in Year’s Best anthologies. We are thrilled to be presenting this, her debut collection: a selection of deftly told near-future fictions that explore how we might adapt to climate change and other challenges, showcasing the author's ability to craft tales of hope from even the darkest of circumstance.
There is a strong desire in me for getting some more hope in my reading. It may be that I’m just about to come out of my October horror reading phase but also the world feels on multiple edges. But I’m naturally suspicious of overly hopeful messages. I definitely got this when I read the amazing When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift but I’ve had it again now in Ana Sun’s new short story collection Futures To Live By. Stories that explore options for us that while never easy do underline that a future is possible if we can put the effort in. It’s a delight to read.
In this collection we start with the eloquent ‘Shadows Among The Leaves’ set in a future version of Malaysia. It’s a tale with a mix of science fiction and fantasy where narrator is being haunted by what appears to be the ghost of a lost friend. Sun really helps us explore this world where the ecosystem is being repaired and a communal approach is being taken to decision making while also exploring our character’s feeling of loss and grief. For me it’s a story of moving on, letting the past go but honouring it in some way and it’s quite a powerful read.
We are off to a future version of London in ‘Dandelion Brew’ a story named about the reverent for coffee that is very popular as climate change change not just what can be grown but the London landscape. Our main character operates a cafe but she is worried by a group of scientists using drones and cutting off parts of the city for harvesting her crop. The subtle way we undertand the world has changed is handled very well but we also get some interplay on the way science and everyday people can rub people the wrong way but here actual communication is the key to the two sides working together. It’s also got a great dramatic scene on the water to add some tension!
I absolutely love ‘The Perpetual Metamorphosis of Primrose Close’ this very much in the book’s theme in one story. We follow a London street and the community living there making changes. It’s full of little dramas, revelations and yet subtly we see climate change, technical change and very much the way people when people are having trouble pull together. Full of little details insights and works so very well.
We go time travelling in ‘La bibliotheque d’objets quotidiens’ focused around Montmartre in Paris - past and future. It’s a place a time travelling librarian likes to visit but one adventure means she ends marooned institute and separated from her technical companion Satchel. It stands really well explaining the concepts but also the feel of this fascinating part of Paris and how does our character move on. The idea of a future library helping people is well played and the drama also has a fine ending too.
Another story that really worked for me is ‘Soul Noodles’ this combines a future where food sources have had to change thanks to climate change, a population distant that meant many young children had to be minded by older people and then centres on two young scientists trying to make a match for noodles. They way all these themes get combined is dramatic and has themes of grief and hope for the future that made it a gorgeous read and underlined how food is so much a key part of culture not just diet.
The tale ‘Night Fowls’ again has a fascinating mix of ideas. People being able to understand the language of birds, trying to be a diplomat between animal populations and also an exploration on land management. It looks like a potential murder is about to bring about war and a young woman has to try and sort this out. As well as a character finding their confidence it also has a key environmental theme that works well even with all the ideas thrown into it.
Another tale that really impressed was ‘Coriander’ a young woman makes the long ocean voyage to a remote island her family came from. As well as showing us another future this story explored heritage, family commitments and also breaking into your own dreams and careers. The sense of history and geography here added with our main character’s dilemma as to what is next is told beautifully. The resolution really works too
The collection ends with ‘Safe Haven for the Lost and Found’ our narrator is retiring to a remote place her family survived when times were tough. Similar to Coriander it’s about finding your own future but I loved the colouration of the past, how attitudes to relationships have changed and very much how it’s a feeling that a new direction is about to begin.
We also have tales of fires, fabrics, dice and more. Inventive, beautifully told and hard won hopeful tales await you and as we head into the colder and darker months what more do you need? Strongly recommended!
