James Nicoll Reviews

Susan Palwick’s Philip K. Dick Award nominated 2019 All Worlds Are Real: Short Fictions is a collection of speculative fiction stories.

Introduction (All Worlds Are Real) • essay by Jo Walton

Cries of glee at receiving a Palwick collection.

“Windows” • (2014) • short story 

A poor single mother struggles with the complex logistics involved in visiting her son in prison. She has another child, a daughter who won a spot as a passenger on a generation ship. She carries a memento of her daughter, one she plans to share with her son, one far more precious than she had thought.

The mother sees the generation ship as a prison even more inescapable than the one that confines her son.

“The Shining Hills” • (2017) • short story 

Eerie lights randomly appear on high places; those who see them climb up, hear music, and run toward the light. Some disappear. They may have escaped to a faerie realm … or fallen into hell. None ever return.

The lights appear in Edinburgh, on Arthur’s Seat. An American woman is making her way to the top when she is intercepted by a kindly policeman. Does she really want to do this?

“Ash” • (2016) • short story 

The tree outside her new house miraculously begins to bear fruit: precious items lost in the fire that consumed Penny’s old house. Not all treasures are welcome…

Cucumber Gravy • (2001) • novelette 

Eluding cops is challenge enough for most illicit pot-dealers. Welly has a complication that others don’t; a steady flow of enigmatic aliens who arrive at his home to die. What to do when a would-be client arrives at just the wrong time?

Hhasalin • (2013) • novelette 

Adopted by kindly humans, the young alien has had every element of her native culture stripped from her. As she eventually discovers, it’s the least of the wounds the humans inflicted on her people. 

“Sanctuary” • (2013) • short story 

In the world after the Rapture, charity is rare and precious. What to do when an act of charity threatens to bring the wrath of the mob down on the sanctuary?

“City of Enemies” • short story 

Saved by change, a woman groomed from childhood to be a human bomb is forced to live amongst the enemy — an enemy who can be kind to individual enemies while casually raining bombs down on their cities. 

“Lucite” • (2016) • short story 

A tourist in Hell is affected by the tchotchke he purchases in the gift shop.

“Hodge” • short fiction 

Desperate to conceal the extent of her mental illness from her parents and authorities, Nellene finds an unexpected ally in a foul-smelling, affectionate dog.

Homecoming • (2013) • novelette 

A young woman disguises herself as a man and runs off to sea with her best friend, there to discover the secrets of sea life. 

“Weather” • (2014) • short story 

Cyberspace provides a life after death, but no protection from alienation and loss.

Hideous Flowerpots • (2018) • novelette 

Despite deep-seated, profound reservations, an unhappy woman takes part in an enhanced … support group. 

Remote Presence • (2017) • novelette 

An overworked, stressed hospital chaplain struggles to deal with a well-meaning ghost before it can inadvertently sabotage a hospital inspection. 

Recoveries • (2018) • novelette 

An alienated young woman does her best to help her alcoholic best friend.

“Wishbone” • short fiction 

In this follow up to an earlier story, ​“Windows,” we learn the fate of the generation ship. Good news: it wasn’t destroyed. Bad news: the crew carried with them all the flaws that forced them to flee Earth.

Comments

It’s always an interesting change of pace to encounter a science fiction author who does not hate the human species as a whole, even while depicting characters wrestling with consciously malicious bureaucracies (“Windows”), violent mobs (“Sanctuary”), or just the day-to-day dumbassery of people (“Wishbone”). The classic SF author who comes to mind as epitomizing this sunny acceptance is Zenna Henderson. Palwick is far more flexible than Henderson when it comes to subgenre. She ventures into science fiction or fantasy as demanded by the story she wants to tell. Every story is told in engaging prose.

If you’re curious about Palwick but don’t feel up to tackling a full-scale novel, this would an excellent place to begin. 

All Worlds Are Real is available here (Amazon US), here (Amazon Canada), and here (Amazon UK); it does not appear to be available from Chapters-Indigo.