Review of North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher
North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher (Neon Hemlock, 2024) is a collection of six linked sci-fi short stories that span 400 years, but with all but one of the stories taking place in a 100-year span. Featuring queer characters occupying a vast star-faring culture, the stories stand alone but also contribute to the larger storyline.
My favorite stories in the collection were “Closer Than Your Kidneys” and “The Last Tutor.” The former of these is the first story of the collection and does a lovely job setting the tone for the collection, introducing one of the aspects of the culture that winds up as a through line and arguably triggers all the remaining stories. “The Last Tutor” features a younger protagonist struggling against their family’s expectations and trying to find their place in the world, which is a theme that I really love. And while I mention these two stories in particular, all of the stories have wonderful characters and dilemmas for them to face.
If you enjoy shorter sci-fi reads (the longest story in the collection, “A Fisher of Stars,” is novelette length, but the remaining ones are short stories) with a broad cast of queer characters and moral dilemmas, check out North Continent Ribbon!
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