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Title details for Uranians by Theodore McCombs - Available

Uranians

Stories

by Theodore McCombs
ebook
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"Playful and provocative . . . McCombs’s mix of heart and zany ideas is often reminiscent of George Saunders. Readers will find plenty of earthy and unearthly delights."
—Publishers Weekly
“I have been waiting for this sumptuous, prismatic collection for literal years. Theodore McCombs is a poet of queer pasts, presents, and futures, and Uranians is a formidable debut.”
—Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties
At the end of the Victorian era, a handful of public intellectuals advocated for tolerance of the “Uranian”—a man who loved other men. Some went so far as to propose that these “intermediate sexes” might, in fact, constitute a totally different species, even serve as intrepid guides in our march toward an uncertain future.
The five speculative stories in Theodore McCombs’s kaleidoscopic collection span several possible worlds, teasing the boundaries between coexisting realities and taking up the question of queer difference from one surprising vantage after another. In “Toward a Theory of Alternative Lifestyles,” a heartbroken gay man waits in line at an exclusive Berlin rave promising visions of parallel lives across the multiverse. In “Six Hangings in the Land of Unkillable Women,” at the turn of an alternate 20th century, a policeman’s wife feels that if you want an execution done right, you just have to do it yourself. And in the operatic novella “Uranians,” an expedition of queer artists, scientists, and one trans priest embark on a lifelong interplanetary voyage that requires them to renegotiate their connections to a remote and hostile Earth, while keeping their ship’s biome—and each other—alive.
Each story unfolds with the depth and complexity of an entire universe; each is inhabited by characters learning to divest from a society that has marked and rejected them. Discerning which dreams of Western civilization to hold fast to and which to leave behind, these outsiders set their gazes on new horizons and prepare for the changes to come. Arch but tender, clear-eyed and compassionate, Uranians brilliantly illustrates the vital role that queerness plays in every possible version of our world.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 30, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781662601958

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781662601958
      • File size: 2740 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 6, 2023
      McCombs weaves science and fantasy in his playful and provocative debut collection. In the opener, “Toward a Theory of Alternative Lifestyles,” the narrator reflects on a prior relationship in terms of quantum mechanics (“if it’s true that... every possible version of you exists somewhere... in at least one of those realities... you got everything you ever wanted, and were loved as much as you loved”). In “Lacuna Heights,” set in a near-future San Francisco where the beaches are gone and people wear Wi-Fi glasses, a lawyer begins to disassociate as he questions his marriage. “Six Hangings in the Land of Unkillable Women” counterpoints brief accounts of 1909 executions with the grim dystopian mission of a police superintendent’s wife to bring back public hangings. The main event is the glorious novella “Uranians,” which takes its name from a Victorian term for queer people. Somewhere in space, the opera La Traviata is performed on a spaceship, its motley mix of passengers on a mission to study other planets. On board, a trans priest lusts after a “power lesbian” doctor. Though not all of the concepts take off, McCombs’s mix of heart and zany ideas is often reminiscent of George Saunders. Readers will find plenty of earthy and unearthly delights. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

    • Booklist

      April 14, 2023
      McComb's debut collection, four stories and the titular novella, are in theory loosely united around the idea of sexual or gender difference, referencing the late Victorian idea of gay men as intermediately gendered beings known as ""Uranians,"" popular with writers and poets like Edward Carpenter and Oscar Wilde. Whether or not the shorter stories, such as ""Lacuna Heights"" about a man with a memory erasing implant possibly cheating or possibly just evading his own traumas, fit this theme is debatable. The novella on the other hand, with its artist's colony generation ship crewed primarily by gay and trans people, fits the bill. McCombs prose, often focused on profound moments, asides, and meditations, is accomplished. And while at times, particularly in the novella, McCombs ideas and concepts can overwhelm or even harm his style and plotting, his focus on chronicling queer and trans futures and pasts is admirable. While not entirely successful, this collection is certainly of interest to queer sf fans, particularly for fans of Carmen Maria Machado looking for more to scratch that particular itch.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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