Book Review: “Beyond & Within: Solarpunk” by Francesco Verso (Editor)
A Different Kind of Punk
Cyberpunk is an SF genre that has led to many other splintered genres: steampunk comes to mind. Well, new to me is “solarpunk,” which — as its moniker implies — is a genre that tackles the climate crisis but through an optimistic lens. A new short story collection of the genre by Francesco Verso via the Beyond & Within series published by Flame Tree is the latest to gain credence to this bourgeoning fiction subculture. Collecting 14 stories of various quality — as such collections go — the Solarpunk anthology is one of those books you usually must sit with to think about what’s happening here. I don’t want to come out with a negative first, but yes, you can throw the usual charge of nepotism at it: editor Verso includes one of his own short stories here. However, overall, the book is fascinating even when it stumbles occasionally. It is, I must say, beautifully put together. This hardcover-only volume includes foiled covers and printed edges and is the sort of thing you might leave out on a coffee table if only to be looked at and not read. However, this is a collection that you should read — it may teach you a lot about various technologies that are intended for a better tomorrow.
Technology is a huge driver of a collection such as this. Pasture farming is used in skyscrapers in Sarena Ulibarri’s “The Spiral Ranch.” A lighthouse provides solar energy in “The Lighthouse Keeper” by Andrew Dana Hudson. Virtual reality is used to select non-profits worth contributing to in Ken Liu’s “Byzantine Empathy.” However, some stories are less reliant on technology here, too: Jerri Jerreat’s “Rules for a Civilization” is about cultivating the next generation of leaders when killer hurricanes ravage the world. Renan Bernardo’s “Anticipation of Hollowness” (one of the highlights of this book) is the story of a friendship between a woman and an android when all the affordable food is algae sandwiches. That all said, some of these stories are forgettable. For instance, I cannot parse what “For the Snake of Power” by Brenda Cooper was getting on about and “Have Space Bike, Will Travel” by Ingrid Garcia — despite a main character being saddled with an autism spectrum disorder, which is interesting — doesn’t go anywhere.
Perhaps it’s highly telling that the one story that stands head and shoulders above the rest is saved for the very end of Beyond & Within: Solarpunk. D.K. Mok’s “The Spider and the Stars” is SF at its finest: it’s the type of story that doesn’t forget that the human, emotional element should come first, and all the hard SF gobbledegook should be relegated to the background, but still play an essential part of the narrative. It’s so good that it is practically worth owning this collection itself to have it. I will say nothing more about it, not to spoil its transcendent surprises. Don’t be surprised if you see it appear in one of those year’s best SF anthologies that come out around now. Aside from that, I could take or leave this collection. That’s not to be a negative ninny. Many stories here lead with the technological theme, which lacks great storytelling. I suppose it might just boil down to the fact that solarpunk seems a relatively new genre and doesn’t have the type of visionary such as William Gibson yet to make this genre break out and become something exceptional.
Still, the effort is a nice try. If anything, even the weaker stories will usually make you sit down and think. I like that the genre is optimistic and isn’t just the typical doom and gloom of climate activists. Regardless of quality, these stories implore the reader to get their hands dirty and do something — and even small wins are worth having when it comes to the ultimate salvation of our planet. Beyond & Within: Solarpunk is an admirable effort, warts and all, and should be read by anyone craving serious SF that is also lighthearted at times. The ideas are enormous, at least, and the book sure is pretty to look at. And perhaps the former is all that matters. You’re watching something being birthed here, and that’s pretty exciting. Ultimately, this book is highly punk-ish and will be a wake-up call to anyone who wants to go down the paths imagined by these burgeoning authors. It’s worth a look, at least for the curious, and it should dispel hunger for those looking for a way out of our current climate crisis. At least, that hunger should be dispelled for a little while.
Francesco Verso’s Beyond & Within: Solarpunk: Short Stories from Many Futures will be published by Flame Tree Publishing on October 15, 2024.
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