Sarena Ulibarri – Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters

Now this book is a bit of a departure. Not only because it's my first 'proper' run-in with Solarpunk - the aesthetics are familiar, but I had not engaged with the mindset, or the fiction before. But also because of fact that, in a collection containing predominantly stories by established, published authors I fail to recognise most names – fascinating, as Spock would have put it!
But it's even more of a departure given the sequence I read this in, coming straight of the dark tail end of Peter Watt's blogging ('Peter Watts is an Angry Sentient Tumour'. Recommended, if pessimistic about the times we live in) and straight into stories which, by definition, are positive in outlook, optimistic to some extent, based in cooperation, and sometimes plucky to the point of reminisce of some of Eric Frank Russell's stories. A disorienting and jarring change, trust me.

Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters is the 2nd book in a series by World Weaver Press; the first one is called Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers (also edited by Sarena Ulibarri) – not sure if there are more of these in planning, or which settings or seasons they would cover! But I'm planning to seek out the Summers book now, and might well be interested in more, should my reading time allow...

But back to the Book at hand – it kicks off with an Introduction by the editor, introducing us to the general idea of Solarpunk as well as the criteria for the selection of stories - climate change, unpredictable weather, greenhouses, alternative living arrangements, cooperation et al. But it also talks us through some of the stories, and the mindsets and tropes visible.
This might be about living in areas where humans could not before Global Warming, or about more extreme weather patters. It could be about abolishing Winter entirely, or about going back to the good old days of having 'proper' winters (don't get me started...). Or, in some stand-out cases, about having glasshouses where winter is preserved (now, how's that for a reversal), or about embracing winter on an artificial ice sheet created for a year-end party at the North Pole, some kind of icy Burning Man (great story that, too!).

The approaches of the stories vary greatly, from re-purposing and survival in a post-apocalyptic world all the way to large scale geo-engineering. And whilst the quality is consistently high I found that some concepts and the storytelling weaving around them were, in my opinion, heads and shoulders above some more pedestrian efforts (it's a collection, after all. And your opinions and tasted might well be entirely different to mine!).
Every story has a short biography of the author at the end, giving some more detail and background; I felt that, whilst interesting in themselves as I was not familiar with the authors, that these didn't really add anything to my understanding or enjoyment of the stories themselves.

But enough of this – below are capsule reviews of the individual stories; so if you want to avoid spoilers stop here, and go get the book, it's worth your attention!

Wendy Nikel – Wings of Glass
Cooperation in a post-eco-collapse world. And the first case of 'I want more' with the first story. A splendid start to the book.

Holly Schofield – Halp's Promise
This could nearly be a continuation of the first story in terms of setting and approach, with more of a coming-of-age slant. All good!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan – A Shawl for Janice
Post-eco-breakdown story, around a future bird count, and a transgender girl participating, going to her family's roots and trauma.

Sandra Van Goethem – The Healing
Rather heavy-handed simile of systemic health issues in an ecological city, set in yet another post-eco-breakdown Earth, which is going through a healing period...

Steve Toase – The Fugue of Winter
A story of music and beauty in a world struggling for survival, and the price worth paying for it. And maybe even a story of what makes us human, a civilization. Deeply affecting and suffused, somehow, in sadness, despite the positive spin on events 9and the overall aim of the collection).

Heather Kitzman – The Roots of Everything
A love story set in a post-searise and post-Earthquake Easter Seaboard. Abendones, and re-settled, but really that's just backdrop to the story. Maybe a bit too drawn out for my taste, but impressive and affecting.

Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio – Viam Inveniemus aut Faciemus
Fictionalised life, telling how the command pulls together to save a village cut off in deep snow with its heating out of action. Commando Jugendstil (10/10 points for the name!) is a real-life Solarpunk collective, EV Studios “a posse of emigrant Italian writers”, bringing the vision of the Commando to life in writing and comics.

Tessa Fisher – Recovering the Lost Art of Cuddling
Not half as cuddly as the title suggests, with the protagonist nearly getting herself killed in a Blizzard after venturing out to save a neighbour without heating. Good storytelling. Also – author describes herself as 'possibly the world's only openly trans lesbian astrobiologist'. It has a certain ring to it, no?

Jennifer Lee Rossman – Oil and Ivory
Climate Change Weather Extremes vs age-old migration patterns, and indigenous livestyles vs eco-destroying resource extradition – I loved the story, despite some heavy-handed similes and the forced, abrupt ending. A writer to look out for.

Thomas Badlan – Orchidaceae
Trying not only to keep the genetic richness of the world alive from the vault in Svalbard, but also to trying to re-populate it after the end of the global ice age which followed global warming: has humanity really learned anything? Affecting, and very very real question. I would have answered it differently...

Lex T. Lyndsay – The Things that Make It Worth It
Putting personal conflicts behind oneself, and make it snow, for the first time in 100 years, for the centennial of the Green Revolution which blew away the old structure – the things that make it worth it, eh? Neat story.

R. Jean Mathieu – Glâcehouse
A longer story, set in a world with runaway climate change, which preserves native special (and winter, snow, et al) in huge cold houses (see title for clever naming!). And about Gallic snootyness towards a smart-arse, know-it-better student. Very entertaining.

Brian Burt – Snow Globe
A tale of outsiders and derring-do in a setting of sovereign tribal territory around Lake Superior, with floating cities in a loose association of (native) nations.
From an award-winning SF writer – and I'd love to see more stories set in this world!

Jerri Jerreat – Rules for a Civilization
A future school in Toronto, properly messed-up weather, and a teacher trying to deal with a class bully. Maybe a touch inwards-facing and self-indulgent, but great and absorbing storytelling.

Catherine F. King – On the Contrary, Yes
Two stories, intertwined. A space traveller, visiting the Earth the abandoned as doomed in the far past. And a local girl, competing in the local, eco-focused community in the annual ice-carving festival for the first time, taking over a family tradition from her Grandmother.
Interesting, absorbing and affecting, set in a world I'd love to hear more of.

Andrew Dana Hudson – Black Ice City
There's no fixed ice sheet at the North Pole anymore. But human ingenuity fuses one together for the New Year's celebrations – some kind of Burning Man festival set on ice instead of the desert. And interspersed with very realistic political wrangling about how to heal Earth and move onwards.
Grand storytelling and imagination; and I'd love to know what the author is smoking ;-)

Overall, I hear you ask? Great stuff, I guess. Some of it can be repetitive given the restricted topic, and the positivity and cooperativity swings between refreshing and annoying depending a bit on how it is handled, but this comes recommended, both for style and content, but also for being a bit different.


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Title: Solarpunk Winters
Editor: Sarena Ulibarri
Series: Glass and Gardens
Series Number: 2
Reviewer: Markus
Reviewer URL: http://thierstein.net
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Publisher URL: http://www.worldweaverpress.com
Publication Date: 2020
Review Date: 200301
ISBN: 2940156531141
Pages: 265
Format: BN/ePub
Topic: Solarpunk
Topic: Winter

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

I enjoy dystopias and postapocalyptic wastelands, but they don't present the future I want for myself or future generations. I want an optimistic future founded on renewable energies. I believe people can coexist peacefully with nature. Yes, I'm that naive.

Solarpunk's ideas are close to my heart. In short, the genre can be described as a type of optimistic science fiction that focuses on visions of a brighter future.

The seventeen stories packed into this anthology approach a variety of ethical and technological issues while trying to present a sustainable world. I loved most ideas and conceptions presented in the stories. Some of them are simply mind-blowing, some merely exciting.

However, clever ideas and thought-provoking concepts aren't enough to make an excellent story. As a reader, I want strong conflict and distinct characters. I didn't get much of it in Glass and Gardens.

I don't want to discourage anyone from giving this anthology a try. I think that most stories here are based on great ideas. Unfortunately, with two or three exceptions they lack a strong narrative voice or a conflict that would engage the reader.

Having said that, I plan to delve into the solarpunk genre. I hope I'll find the books that not only display the kind of sustainable future I want but also relatable and three-dimensional characters.

I'm new to all of these authors, which is unfortunate since there's a good amount of talent represented. There is a wide variety scenarios presented here, and it's a nice change of pace to get stories that are more optimistic than dystopian. I guarantee all of the stories won't resonate, but overall, this is a good bet. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!

I love science fiction short stories, and these are well-done. I had no idea what 'solarpunk' meant before this book, and I really like its theme and the new authors I've read in this anthology.

This is an anthology of short stories written by: Sarena Ulibarri, Wendy Nikel, Holly Schofiel, Sandra Ulrich Almazan, Sarah Van Goethem, Steve Toase, Heather Kitzman, Tales from the EV Studio, Commando Jugendstil, Tessa Fisher, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Thomas Badlan, Lex T. Lindsay, R. Jean Mathieu, Brian Burt, Jerri Jerreat, Catherine F. King, Shel Graves, and Andrew Dana Hudson.

World Weaver Press and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published January 7th.

Many of the stories are set after world disaster. Much of the time it was natural failure due to humans using everything up. There are several same-sex couples in the stories.

What I found most intriguing was that no one gave up. They found other ways to do things. They hid in shelters, grew their own food, and still found joy in life.

From saving narwhals, to trying to bring snow back to Maine, to eating moss, there are many tales of fantasy. These authors used their imaginations.

I found it to be an enjoyable read. All the stories were good.

There was a lot of variety in the stories, in every way: quality, focus, theme, mood. If that's something you like, great news. I thought it felt kind of disjointed-- some stories are about futuristic settings, and the plots are secondary, but some are about people and events with the futuristic details being a minor point.

Some of the short stories felt crowded. Sci-fi is hard to do in a short stories, because there's such a limited space to set up the world. It was refreshing that each story featured (pretty exclusively, even to minor characters) other-abled, non cis-het-white characters, but it made it even harder to set the scene. Not only do you have very limited space to tell a story, but it's futuristic, so set up how the world ended; oh, and also explain how the main character was raised by her lesbian biracial grandmothers and then go into the local culture. Too compressed to do justice to characters who deserve to be full people.

Recommended primarily for readers who want hopeful sci-fi, or who want more gender-diverse short stories. Not a must-read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley..

I really wasn't sure what I was going to be getting with this book... and if i'm being honest, i'm still not 100% sure what i think about it. It was an okay read. NOthing really popped out to me as amazing.

When I saw this title available for download on Netgalley I was ecstatic! I have been interested in and part of the Solarpunk community since around 2015, but I haven’t always managed to get my hands on the short story anthologies, so I was really excited to read this one. Of course, with any short story collection, it becomes challenging to review, since there are so many different voices and stories, but I chose to rate this book by rating each story individually, and then averaging all of them together, which came out to 3.7 stars, which I will round up to <b>4 stars</b>, especially since I think the editing and order of the stories was spot on. I won’t go into every story individually, but I’ve listed each story’s rating at the end of this review.

I would like to highlight a few of my favorite stories, in order of appearance. First was "The Fugue of Winter" by Steve Toase. I really enjoyed the premise of this story, since it took into account things that other stories did not, like what would happen to extremely fragile wooden instruments as temperatures dropped. Within the limited word count, Toase managed to give us a strong sense of place, high stakes, and a meaningful message.

Next, "Glâcehouse" by R. Jean Mathieu. This is another one where the sense of place was really strong for me, and being fluent in French I also enjoyed it and thought the bilingual parts were done pretty well. In particular, I liked how this story flipped the script of many of the other stories—instead of it being set in a world in which climate change had veered toward another ice age, it explored people who tried to preserve the winters of the past in a warming future ("Black Ice City" also did this, but I think it was not as effective). I also liked how Mathieu left some details out, details which would have made an appearance if it were a full length novel, but which would have been extraneous in a short story (for example, why Corriveau is an ass and why he’s famous. It’s intriguing, but ultimately not as important).

The bilingual/French aspects in several of these stories really appealed to me, which leads me to my next 5-star story—"On the Contrary, Yes" by Catherine F. King. In this story, the Solarpunk aspects didn’t jump out at me as much as in other stories, but I really loved the characters and the situation in which they found themselves. I liked how this story featured the arts instead of the sciences, or politics, and I liked how the characters found meaning in each other’s works at the end.

The last story I’d like to highlight is "Set the Ice Free" by Shel Graves. This story, I’d like to see more of. I would love to see it turn into a full novel. I just think the concept is so cool—the people who choose to stay behind on Earth while others search the galaxy for another home. There were essentially two storylines in this short story, which is of course challenging with such limited space, but Graves did it really well. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the plot. This is definitely my favorite story in the book.

All in all, I had a wonderful time with "Glass and Gardens" and would highly recommend. I’d be happy to talk about any of the stories more in depth, and if you’ve just finished this anthology and would like to become more active in the Solarpunk movement and would like to be a part of our Discord, let me know and I can contact a mod for you!

Wings of Glass by Wendy Nikel - 4 stars
Helps’ Promise by Holly Schofield - 3 stars
A Shawl for Janice by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan - 4 stars
The Healing by Sarah Van Goethem - 3 stars
The Fugue of Winter by Steve Toase - 5 stars
The Roots of Everything by Heather Kitzman - 4 stars
VIAM INVENIEMUS AUT FACIEMUS by Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio - 2 stars
Recovering the Lost Art of Cuddling by Tessa Fisher - 3 stars
Oil and Ivory by Jennifer Lee Rossman - 4 stars
Orchidaceae by Thomas Badlan - 3 stars
The Things That Make It Worth It by Lex T. Lindsay - 3 stars
Glâcehouse by R. Jean Mathieu - 5 stars
Snow Globe by Brian Burt - 3 stars
Rules For a Civilization by Jerri Jerreat - 4 stars
On the Contrary, Yes by Catherine F. King - 5 stars
Set the Ice Free by Shel Graves - 5 stars
Black Ice City by Andrew Dana Hudson - 3 stars

Perhaps it’s just that I’m in winter now, but this book really captured my attention. I love the idea and the beauty is that readers are sure to find authors whose visions connect with them. Creative and original.