Claws and Starships

"Claws and Starships" is a great entry point for the Peltedverse. Personally I was already somewhat familiar with it so it was even more fun reading these short stories about the different Pelted people."A Distant Sun" The first story in this anthology tells the reader the story of how the Pelted came to be and shows us the consequences of this gengineering. Instead of being an origin story, a sort of prequel, "A Distant Sun" takes place in the present and history is shown through the eyes of a mixed class of high school seniors studying “Ethical Perspective on History”. This is a course that I believe would serve well RL students as well as these fictional characters. Maybe that way we could raise a generation less likely to repeat old mistakes. The story is enchanting and introduces some hard topics that mirror problems of our own society. Usually in fiction the world is idealized to some extend and often it’s easy to choose a side, to know what’s right and what’s wrong from the get go. Here, however, there’s no easy answer, no black and white, even when something’s wrong you can’t say it shouldn’t have happened, because it gave birth to something good. Which leads to the question “Was it truly a bad thing if it resulted in something good? “ and then the opposite question “Does something stop being evil just because it led to a good thing?”. Those should be easy questions to answer but I find myself incapable of doing so. And that makes me love this story."Rosettes and Ribbons" While I enjoyed learning new stuff about the Seersa and meeting my first Aera, the story was very predictable. From the moment Du’er showed on page I knew he was up to no good and by the time of the party I had his motives figured out. Peli was way too naïve but hey I have met people like her in real life so I can’t say it’s unrealistic. I liked the way things were resolved, even if it was easy to predict."The Elements of Freedom" These Ciracaana are weird! I know it’s a very narrow minded of me to say it but why would you voluntarily give away all technology and live as a barbarian nomad? And while I can see how several individuals might do it how come an entire race would do it? And they did give it up because they’re just one of the gengineered species peopling the Alliance. So they did have tech, at least they had a spaceship to get to the planet they now call their own. I just can’t warp my head around the idea."Pantheon" Very short but entertaining. I tried to guess all the human deities from the new deck but failed miserably. I should learn more about the Asian mythologies."Tears" Another very short story. And not too impressive at that. Still it was a nice slice of life in the Alliance."Butterfly" This story really captured my attention. I’ve always liked wolves and anthropomorphic wolves in all their variations in fiction so I found the Hinichi people fascinating. The family dynamic was strange and confusing, especially with all those untranslated Hinichi words thrown in the text but it was otherwise nice. Add the frigid planet and I was in heaven :) There are some unanswered questions that I really want to know the answer to at the end and maybe I'll find it somewhere in another of M.C. A Hougarth's fascinating universe.

Claws and Starships was the first book I've read by the author outside of the Her Instruments trilogy. Overall, I walked away with warm feelings and a huge anticipation to further explore the Pelted Universe. Each story was beautifully unique, and worth commenting on. I won't go into summaries, but instead my impression on each one."A Distant Sun" was the hardest one for me to read, mainly because I wasn't anticipating its novella length. It felt like a story that could easily be made into a full novel, and ended too soon. I might have been spoiled by the wonderfully long denouement from Her Instruments, but it felt like I was finally, truly getting into the story when it just... ended. It was still an amazing tour of the history of the Pelted and the problems they face simply by being born."Rosettes and Ribbons" was a fun and clever twist on what could have been a painfully predictable classic tale. It was hard to mentally shift gears from the world of A Distant Sun, but I found myself more and more intrigued with the alien culture, and I absolutely loved the peculiar speech pattern of the natives. Though the solution to the protagonist's problem was quite obvious and easily guessed, the delivery still had me thrilled."The Elements of Freedom" was what absolutely captured my love for this book. The theme of losing one's self to find one's self struck a very deep, very personal chord with me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was in blinding tears, struggling to read the last words through them. The descriptions were incredible, and the climax felt like a spiritual experience just reading it. This is a story that will stick with me for many, many years to come."Tears" was touching, and filled with enough warm-fuzzies to last through a bitter winter. Though it didn't run quite as deep for me as The Elements of Freedom, it was still a very dear story that illustrated the power of love and friendship."Pantheon" was the breath of fresh air I needed. The game was well thought-out, and the story itself was very well-paced. I would have loved to have seen more of the world, but there was still enough on the culture to satiate at least some of my curiosity. The climax had me on the edge of my seat, and though the ending was somewhat predictable, it was once more executed so well that I cheered outloud from the outcome."Butterfly" felt a much slower pace compared to the previous stories. So little is said of the Hinichi in the Her Instruments trilogy that I had no clue what to expect. It was a little difficult to get into, but once I did I was completely intrigued. Some of the characterization was a little clichéd, but it was well-written enough to be more than forgivable. Once more, the ending was a touch predictable, but allowed me to walk away with the warm fuzzies and hope that the author's books seem to constantly inspire.Overall, I love this anthology. Some stories didn't quite strike me, but still offered interesting characters and more clues to the various different cultures within a truly intriguing universe. Other stories will be sticking with me for as long as memory allows, buried deep within my heart, quietly whispering, "You're not alone."Thank you, Ms. Hogarth, for planting the seeds for something the world could use more of: Hope.

sweet little stories, with decent plots, brief glimpses of different cultures, tribes, religions, in an interesting universe...the protagonists are gentle, somewhat naive, and reach their various insights with the help of wise mentors...their emotions are the plots...they find themselves,or at least a platform from which to search...very young teenage stuff, but kind and sweet...

Found this as end of dream series. New author to me, definitely will read others. Engaging stories and characters, which keep me interested and curious to the end

I really love these books and the all the series

"A Distant Sun", 3 stars: Explains the origins of the pelted universe a little. Pretty sad."Rosettes and Ribbons”, 2.5 stars: Another race in the Pelted Universe is given a closer look. The male MC is very over the top, the female one is clueless and naive. Pretty simplistic and moralistic little tale."The Elements of Freedom", 4 stars: Yoda talking, he is. Much Native American his compatriots sound. This was my favourite of the collection. I liked the setting and the tone."Pantheon", 3 stars: Very short. I would love to get a look at that card deck!"Tears": snippet"Butterfly", 3 stars: Slightly longer story about family, tradition and the sometimes stupid things people do in the name of those traditions.The collection as a whole was ok. Nothing terribly exciting, but a nice enough read for a Sunday afternoon on the sofa.

This is the first collection of shorts I've read by this author. They were enjoyable and this author has introduced me to a new genre that I didn't know about.