Travel Documents 127: Humans Wanted

by Jody Nye, A Merc Rustad Et Al

Genre:  sci-fi, near-future, social change, cultural change

The Dust Cover Copy

Humans are tough. Humans can last days without food. Humans heal so quickly, they pierce holes in themselves or inject ink under their epidermis for fun. Humans will walk for days on broken bones in order to make it to safety. Humans will literally cut off bits of themselves if trapped by a disaster.

You would be amazed what humans will do to survive. Or to ensure the survival of others they feel responsible for.

That's the other thing. Humans pack-bond, and they spill their pack-bonding instincts everywhere. Sure it's weird when they talk sympathetically to broken spaceships or try to pet every lifeform that scans as non-toxic. It's even a little weird that just existing in the same place as them for long enough seems to make them care about you.

But if you're hurt, if you're trapped, if you need someone to fetch help? You really want a human.

Twelve authors provide their perspectives on human ingenuity and usefulness as we try to find our place among the stars. From battletested to brokenhearted, humans are capable of amazing things. Humans Wanted shows not only what we are, but how awesome we can be.

The Scene

Worldbuilding

Oh, this one is such a treat! From the madcap goofiness of DesJardin’s Human Engineering to the deep and poignant exploration of colonialism in Becker’s The Dowager, from the delightfully Pythonesque parody of bureaucracy in Thomas’s New Union Requirement to the shivering awe and terror of Runstad’s Brightened Star, Ascending Dawn, every story in this collection is a little bundle of wonders.
In this anthology, the authors really worked at getting us outside of our own human boxes and letting us see the universe through other eyes: amphibious eyes, eyes that see UV light, compound eyes, and eyes that see eternity. From these vantage points, we can learn about ourselves, each other, and maybe a little bit about empathy. And that’s what we need so badly right now.

The Crowd

Characterization

Every story in this motley crew has people you’ll be interested to meet. By far, the most intense and poignant exploration of character was showcased in Dowager, a painfully intimate tale between a colonizing alien on hospice care and her colonized human servant. My favorite cast shows up in WWHD, which was just delightful. I particularly appreciated the ensemble of the aforementioned Human Engineering, along with the characters in Sidekick (which made me happy cry) and No Way This Could Go Wrong (which made me laugh loud enough to scare the cat).

Writing Style

Each of these styles is different, but each one serves its purpose well: to illuminate, to illustrate cultural points, to entertain. And maybe even to open our eyes.

The Moves

Plot

As usual, I’m not diving deep on any specific story. But what I can say is that every plot in this collection is solid, well done, and perfectly timed.

Overall Rating

Such bright stars in this constellation. You’ll be glad to see them all sparkle.