Take us to your chief – short stories

Written by: Sriram Chadalavada
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In the world of science fiction, non-mainstream cultural perspectives are usually rare. So to find a collection of short stories from a native American author is a reason to take notice. And when the stories are stylistically inspired from legendary science fiction authors such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and Ray Bradbury, it is a reason to celebrate.

Just look at the quality of story themes: “I am.. am I” is about a sentient artificial intelligence who identifies with ‘All things have spirit’ belief, empathizes with the tragedy of native American history and suffers an existential angst; “Dreams of Doom” is about a conspiracy theory of big government controlling populations in a malicious manner; “Lost in Space” is about an astronaut whose Siri like companion in space helps him mourn his deceased grandfather; two tonally contrasting stories of first alien contact: “A culturally inappropriate armageddon” is a dystopian tale that draws inspiration from the brutal colonization of native people, and the hilarious “Take us to your Chief“.

The fascinating part of the stories are the psychological underpinnings. For example, “Mr Gizmo” has a toy robot come alive to counsel a troubled teen whereas “Petropaths” has a teen make time travel by following the mystic technology of his ancestors with tragic consequences. Many stories of the anthology are both futuristic and poignant, they achieve the remarkable consonance of emotional depth with scientific speculation.

All in all, it is a must read. This book deserves to become more popular. Highly recommended!

(Another review on this book, in Telugu, here)