1st: I only read half of these stories. I ran out of time on my Hoopla borrow, but that happened because, frankly, they were not that exciting to read. But I'm glad they exist!These were upbeat stories that tried to think out of the box. I appreciated that most of them were not black and white and acknowledged that there aren't perfect solutions to our problems. These imagined futures aren't utopias.This is a newish subgenre and I felt like the authors were still figuring it out. Most of the sto...

I LOVE the idea of Solarpunk: an emerging genre that shares optimistic takes of our future in light of the climate crisis. However, with the exception of 2-3 of these short stories, I found the anthology itself a bit dull. But still—it was very nice to read and imagine alongside the authors all of these potential solutions and new challenges we may face in the future.

These stories of optimism, passion, and science are beautiful.Caught Root by Julia K. Patt ★★★★☆ Two communities are rebuilding civilization separately, high rise vs adobe. One botanist must make the first strides towards a working relationship. Short, sweet, and romantic.The Spider and the Stars by D.K. Mok ★★★★★ “Dedicated to Artemis, whose children reached the stars.” I cannot believe you just had me crying fat tears over a spider! I haven’t done that since Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web. The...

4.0⭐ 🔥 t h e f u t u r e i s b r i g h t 🔥**mild spoilers** If you’re here, and you’re following my reviews, thank you for rolling with me. We’re on episode 31 of Stitcher’s LeVar Burton Reads, and we’re gifted with “Fyrewall” by Stefani Cox.So, this was a really nice story. My gut instinct was to give it a three, but am I so bored by optimism? I hope you’ll divulge me one sci-fi tangent. LeVar brought up Star Trek, but in my assessment, I’m bringing up Rick & Morty. For those of you groaning,

Finally a solarpunk anthology where the majority of the stories aren't climate apocalypse. Visionary science fiction is more important than ever. But we don’t need more dire warnings. We need emergency optimism. I need fiction where we get it right, where the world isn’t irradiated but brilliant with hope. Solarpunk is the way forward, neon green and thriving. Show us cities glittering with solar-paneled windows and alive with citizens who care. When we’re living in a dystopia, cutting-edge writ...

Another anthology I found through the Solarpunk group. I've posted most of my reading notes in the discussion topic there too.If I have one complaint about the majority of the stories here, it's the lack of more grown-up human beings in them. Imagining how humanity--and not just its technology--will continue to evolve seems a daunting task. (But perhaps not as daunting as facing a more mature humanity and trying to figure out its mentality and reactions ... wait till you see "Loving Loney Lone,"...

Review originally published hereI was very lucky to be offered an ARC of this straight from the editor due to the fact I previously reviewed Sunvault, another solarpunk collection of short stories. I leapt at the chance and read it straight away as I adore solarpunk and am always happy to read more of it.Again, as this is a short story collection it’s hard to review because all the stories were so different. It was delightful to see all the different locations and interpretations used in the sto...

I've read a bunch of solarpunk anthologies now this year, but this was definitely the best of them all. I liked that the stories didn't have any major conflicts in them, but instead they seemed to be about how people change.I've felt the need for stories not centered around a conflict for a really long time and this book finally delivered. For me the most defiant action in this world right now is to tell stories that don't feed the conflicts but offer something simple and calm for everyone. This...

Group read with the excellent Solarpunk group!This collection of eco-positive/dystopianish stories absolutely blew my mind (dystopianish because a lot of these futures were extremely appealing). While I would usually pick out a couple of favourites to highlight, I find myself completely unable to choose between about eight of them - the quality of these stories was SO consistently good.And even besides the quality of the writing, the overall tone of this collection was so uplifting and positive

I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.The short stories in this book are light, bright and optimistic. That does not mean everything is easy and perfect. It does mean they are full of hope.Off course, as always with short stories, there were stories that resonated with me better than others. I did like them all, and feel motivated by them to look into the future.

I don’t think I’ve ever read solarpunk before, and this anthology was an awesome start! I enjoyed every story, but my favorite is definitely “The Heavenly Dreams of Mechanical Trees” by Wendy Nikel.The intelligent, insightful way climate change is discussed in all of these stories is fantastic. Some of the worlds readers get to glimpse are also uncannily realistic futures.A full review will follow on Reader Views. 😊😊

This collection of stories is unlike any other I have read. While I do enjoy dystopian fiction, I admit that sometimes it is a lot to take in. There are so many ways our society can (and often does) go astray, sometimes it is nice to actually read a story that is full of hope for the future. While I often hear complaints IRL (in real life) about what the youth of today are like, these stories offer the opposite perspective. Rather than entitled, shiftless layabouts, the youth in these stories ar...

So #solarpunk is this awesome sf sub-genre that is all kinds of cool. Head over to the Goodreads “Solarpunk” Group - which introduced me to the genre (thanks for the invite Lena) - touted as radical optimism or eco positive fic to counter the dystopias out there. Think earth ships, arcologies, sky gardens, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and the like! I still enjoy my dystopias but this was a breathe of fresh air! Short story collections really make me want to review the stories one by...

This collection of short stories imagines futures beyond dystopia - wondering instead what would a hopeful future possibly look like. I am a huge fan of utopia stories, and SF stories that consider these kinds of huge question - what positive futures can we behold, with technology assisting us? Like any collection, I liked some stories more than others (and had to downright skip one because I just couldn’t make it through and it was jeopardizing my ability to finish the book at all). These stori...

Caught Root: 3/5 ⭐️The Spider and the Stars: 4/5 ⭐️Riot of the Wind and Sun: 2/5 ⭐️Fyrewall: 3/5 ⭐️Watch Out, Red Crusher!: 2/5 ⭐️The Call of the Wold: 2/5 ⭐️Camping with City Boy: 2/3 ⭐️A Field of Sapphires and Sunshine: 2/5 ⭐️Midsummer Night's Heist: 2/5 ⭐️The Heavenly Dreams of Mechanical Trees: 4/5 ⭐️New Siberia: 3/5 ⭐️Grover: Case #C09 920, "The Most Dangerous Blend": 2/5 ⭐️Amber Waves: 2/5 ⭐️Grow, Give, Repeat: 2/5 ⭐️Cable Town Delivery: 2/5 ⭐️Women of White Water: 2/5 ⭐️Under the Northern...

Note: I have a story in this collection and optimistic science fiction is my jam!"...if you can’t imagine something, you sure as hell can’t make it real." — Commando Jugendstil and the EV Studio on the World Weaver Press BlogIt's fulfilling to have a story included in Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers about optimist futures based on renewable energy (and to be joining in Solarpunk Chat June 16 on Twitter)."...optimism is way punk. Not that we will emerge from catastrophic dystopia into a diff...

First reading in the solarpunk genre, really enjoyed it. Most of the stories had a creative and imaginative twist on the future, and I especially loved Stefani Cox’s story Fyrewall. Nice collection.

The publisher provided this book to me in exchange for an honest review.I was impressed by this book. Each one felt like a universe in a grain of sand - much larger on the inside than their page length. I highly recommend this book :)

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)So can I just say I'm in love with the premise? That is what drew me to the book and it didn't disappoint. This anthology gives you just enough story, science, and hope.

Actual rating: 2.5/5I 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...