Stories
English language
Published Dec. 20, 2022 by Android Press.
A collection of short stories by Sim Kern, Real Sugar is Hard to Find explores intersections of climate change, reproductive justice, queer identities, and family trauma. Whether fantasy, science fiction, or terrifyingly close-to-home, the worlds of these stories are inhabited by flawed characters whose lives are profoundly impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.
Arranged in a progression from dystopian to utopian worlds, the stories chart a path from climate despair towards resilience and revolutionary optimism. Even in the bleakest of futures, however, Kern offers reasons to hope, connect, and keep fighting for a better world.
Like Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners or Karen Russell’s Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Kern's stories are unflinching, intimate explorations of trauma and our deepest fears, rendered irresistible through the infusion of fantastic speculative elements and a dark sense of humor.
"Real Sugar is Hard to Find" ★★★ "The Listener" ★★★½ "The Propagator" ★★★★ "The New Nomad" ★★★ "The Night Heron" ★★★ "Tadpoles" ★★ "Unwhole" ★★★★ "What Can't Be Undone" ★★★★ "Sister, Fly-or-Die" ★★★★ "The End of the Nuclear Era" ★★★★ "The Lost Roads" ★★★★
With each story I thought THIS is my favorite and then the next would take its place.
