Sci-fi shorts
This tenth anniversary edition of The Beauty comes with additional short story The Arrival of Missives, also by Aliya Whiteley which I have included in my review.
THE BEAUTY
Having read Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley earlier this year, I would really like to spend some time in her brain, because all three books of her that I have read have been completely crazy and so very different from anything else I've read. The Beauty is no exception and seems to really divide readers. 6 years ago all of the women in this camp of survivalists (and possibly of the world in general) have died of a fungal disease, but when Thomas notices a new large fungus growing on their gravesites, The Beauty, a new race of sentient feminine mushrooms are discovered - can they replace the women and ultimately, do the men want them to?
It's a crazy premise and a crazy read through and through. It's a very short story and to be honest, I wish some extra detail had been given. I would have loved to know more about what happened to the women and whether the same thing was happening around the world. I also thought the ending was very weak - it seemed to peter out to a bit of a boring cliffhanger at the end. I also thought it was odd that the men couldn't remember what the women were like, despite it only being 6 years since they'd gone. The action ramps up though and the story gets progressively weirder. It kept my interest throughout.
THE ARCHIVE OF MISSIVES
I'm not really sure why this book had been grouped together with The Beauty for this edition, as they are both very different books. In the aftermath of the Great War, Shirley becomes enamoured with her school teacher Mr Tiller. However, Mr Tiller holds a terrible secret which will change Shirley's life for good.
I think the sci-fi elements actually ruined this novel as a lot of it was left unexplained. I was expecting the twist to be that Mr Tiller was a normal teacher who manipulated Shirley into doing what he wanted. The sci-fi element muddied this, and I left the book a little confused at the ending.
Overall The Beauty and The Archive of Missives are both very different books, horror mixed with sci-fi and a dose of the absurd. Worth a read as they are both so short. Thank you to NetGalley & Rebellion Publishing - Solaris for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
