This anthology has truly achieved diversity in more than one way. It contains stories that take place in all kinds of places, not limited to earth, under all kinds of circumstances and time frames. Even if they are all sci-fi and fantasy stories, they are incredibly different from each other in subject, style and mood. Some are light while others will leave you filled with emotions. The characters can be human or not, alive or death, from little kids to elderly, with superpowers, enhancements or handicapped. All these wonderful stories are presented with very unique and intriguing plots developed over Asian backgrounds (Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Japanese, Philippine, Korean, Indonesian, etc.)

Most of the stories carry deep teachings, sometimes boldly presented as the main theme while other times it can be subtly left there for the reader to analyze. Loss, struggle, hope and the continuous search for ourselves and a place to belong to, were themes I felt constantly reappearing in these lovely stories. This book took me longer than usual to finish, partly because a couple of stories were most definitely not of my liking. I found them confusing and had to slow down to keep a good level of comprehension. That can ruin the mood for the next story, so I took more breaks than usual while reading this anthology.

When I finished reading I realized I loved some stories, others remained in a gray area and couple of them I disliked. Yet, I could sympathize with all of them, which was great, because that's what happens when you are presented with diversity, with options that are truly different from each other. Quite probably you wont love them all, but you can get a real taste of diverse short stories that you will enjoy if you like science fiction and fantasy. My top 3 favorite stories were: Memoriam by Priya Sridhar, Old Souls by Fonda Lee and Rose's Arm by Calvin D.Jim
I got my eArc from Laksa Media Groups ( )

Where the Stars Rise is a short story anthology that didn’t quite meet my high expectations.
Where the Stars Rise collects twenty-three short stories from authors living in Asia or who are part of the Asian diaspora. I was already familiar with a few of the authors in the table of contents, but most were new to me.

Going in, I was probably most excited about the stories by Karin Lowachee (author of the phenomenal Warchild) and Fonda Lee (whose new release Jade City I adored). Sure enough, both authors ended up having some of my favorite stories in the collection. Lowachee’s was actually set in the same universe as Warchild, following the younger brother of Captain Azarcon. Like other Warchild stories, it’s about a young boy who falls through the cracks during times of conflict. The protagonist’s birth family is destroyed, and he’s adopted by a small trading family. But they soon find him to be too “damaged” and end up sending him to become functionally a child solider. Karin Lowachee’s not known for uplifting stories.

Fonda Lee’s story, “Old Souls,” was my favorite of the collection. The heroine is a young woman who can remember all her previous lives, and in every single one she dies young. She knows that her death is imminent, and she desperately wants a way to change her pattern. When she meets an immortal woman, a solution may be in sight. It’s a great concept that sort of reminded me of some of Claire North’s work. I’d love to read more about it, but I think it works very well for the short story format.

I’d read S.B. Divya’s novella (Runtime), but I actually prefer her short story here, “Looking Up.” The heroine wins a spot on a colonizing trip to Mars, meaning she’ll leave Earth forever. With her departure imminent, she has to make peace with her past and the relatives who won’t speak to her.

I also enjoyed some stories by new to me authors. Amanda Sun’s “Weaving Silk” is the tale of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo and two sisters who’s parents died in the earthquakes. The older cares for the youngest, and the two make a living by selling food the scavenge and prepare themselves. I loved the relationship between the sisters and how the country as a whole tried to find some semblance of normalcy in the midst of disaster.

One of my other favorites was “The Observer Effect” by E.C. Myers. It’s a superhero story, where the heroine is determined to find her favorite superhero. In addition to being a lot of fun, the story also tackles whitewashing and the need for Asian American representation.

“Rose’s Arm” by Calvin D. Jim was a pretty solid steampunk story about a one armed girl who’s desperate to help her father after her mother dies. To do so, she aims to get a mechanical limb, but what will it cost her? The ending packs a strong emotional punch.

I was ambivalent about the majority of stories in the collection. In “Memoriam” by Priya Sridhar, a robot might not just be a robot. “A Star Is Born” by Miki Dare deals with Japanese internment camps through the medium of time travel. “Spirit of Wine” by Tony Pi is a light-hearted story about two scholars who get possessed by a drunken spirit the night before their exam. “Vanilla Rice” by Angela Yuriko Smith addresses internalized racism and white beauty standards. In “DNR” by Gabriela Lee, a Filipina mortician remembers her life on Earth. “Back to Myan” by Regina Kanyu Wang has alien mermaids and remembering where you came from. “Wintry Hearts of Those Who Rise” by Minsoo Kang is a historic story set in ancient China. “Joseon Fringe” by Pamela Q. Fernandes is another historic story, this time about a Korean emperor being given ideas by a time traveler. “Decision” by Joyce Chng has a pregnant spider-jinn reflecting on her life. “Moon Halves” by Anne Carly Abad is a folkloric tale where the monsters might not be entirely monstrous. In “A Visitation for the Spirit Festival” by Diana Xin, Mrs. Liu inherits a ghost and travels back to China. “The Orphans of Nilaveli” by Naru Dames Sundar is a sci-fi tale dealing with conflict between the Tamil and Sinhalese.

Other stories feel on the negative side of ambivalent. The worst was probably “The Bridge of Dangerous Longings” by Rati Mehrotra, which I absolutely hated. It had what felt like a completely unnecessary sexual assault scene, and the story has a whole felt so vague and pointless. I’ve been planning on reading Rati Mehrotra’s new novel, and this story made me look forward to it less.
“The dataSultan of Streets and Stars” by Jeremy Szal had some interesting ideas but felt needlessly violent. I also wasn’t so fond of the characters. “My Left Hand” by Ruhan Zhao was just plain boring. I can hardly remember what happened in “Udātta Śloka” by Deepak Bharathan. “Crash” by Melissa Yuan-Innes had potential, but it ended much too soon, just where I felt like the story was about to really start.

Like all short story collections, Where the Stars Rise is a mixed bag. There were some highlights and stories I’d recommend, but there were too many stories I was “meh” on for me to really recommend this collection as a whole.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review. ( )