Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 by Bart R. Leib

Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 Reviews

• 
  Jen

  THIS.
  
  THIS is why I haven’t given up on Levar Burton Reads Podcast yet.
  
  5, ALL the amazing, wonderful, I LOVED it, you need to listen to it, stars!!!
  
  Forgot to mention, trigger warning, animal abuse. Happens off screen, but it’s bad. Will make you angry and sad.
• 
  Shatha

  I actually listened to this on the podcast LeVar Burton reads, and it was phenomenal
• 
  Nancy

  The short story "Black Betty" was about racism through the perspective of a dog who is given a voice modifier and can 'talk' to humans. At first I thought this story of Betty the dog was going to be like Black Beauty and follow the travails of a dog through many families, but it took an interesting turn, and went deeper than that to touch on prejudice and belonging. There was a touch of humor when Betty meets a cat who can talk, then there was a worrisome interlude, before ending on a hopeful note. While the story was a bit uneven, I listened to the last half again so I could pick up on some details I missed the first time around, and enjoyed it more the second time.
• 
  Eva Therese

  Starts as a sci-fi story with a body-modded talking dog, which turns out to actually be a tale of racism as seen through the lens of speciesism, but also a story about what it means to be a pack. It's not a seamless connection, but a very intriguing tale nonetheless and the dog, Betty, felt very real and very much like the dog from Up, although this is a far darker story. I could have used a bit more exposition about the world.
• 
  Betsy Gant

  Overall, I thought it was okay. This is a short story about a dog dealing with racism and "pack-identity." I wish modern writers didn't feel the need to insert foul language because this would've been a hit otherwise. Can't recommend because of that.
• 
  Tawallah

  Nisi Shawl writes an intriguing tale using Betty, a non human protagonist who learns to understand human quirks and life in general. It is not a light fluffy tale as it shifts its tone to deal with racism and being different can be treated by others. Well read by Levar Burton.
  
  
• 
  David Blaylock

  Back Betty is a dog.
• 
  Sierra

  Black Betty.
• 
  Chrysten Lofton

  4.0⭐ “ She could speak for herself. She had to.”
  ***Spoilers***
  
  I’ve finally made it to the first June (LIVE) episode of Stitcher’s
  LeVar Burton Readss, and we’re gifted with “Black Betty” by Nisi Shawl.
  
  Ugh, dog narratives kick me in the teeth. They really do. It’s that perspective of total innocence. I try to keep away from misanthropic thoughts, but at the end of the day, I prefer the company of animals.
  
  This story has a lot of different values and commentaries peppered throughout, but my favorite is the idea that a person or thing with consciousness, even if they’re naturally passive, can choose to take up their own autonomy. They may choose any time they like.
  
  The author heavily underlines this future’s racial discord, but we’re so used to that in our current time, I think it’s easy to miss the what the racial discord is actually pointing to. This is a future setting, humanity hasn’t learned it’s lesson, and the senseless clinging to prejudice has now caused it to spread to other species in a really macabre way. There’s something…a bit fucked up about a culture that has defeated the language barrier with animals, and still insists on keeping them as pets, complete with kennels.
  
  This isn’t an accident, I think it’s the point of the story. “The Fraziers took possession of Betty when she was a mere pup, freshly weaned from her mother’s satiny nipples.” Humans are (still) plucking puppies from parents, who they know are self aware. Betty became distraught being left alone in a house for three days—imagine how her mother felt when a human took possession of her babies. What would Betty’s mother have said with a communication mod?
  
  And what have humans done with this technology? What they tend to do—reserve it for the wealthy, and market it as a novelty. Your cat can talk and tell you it doesn’t belong to you, and you have the audacity to call it Baby Boo.
  
  There’s no reason humans and animals couldn’t maintain companionship in this reality, but it would require consent, equality, rights. But as shown in the Dunnett’s morbid attitude toward Betty’s vernacular, the humans still haven’t even achieved these most basic principals for themselves.
  
  Autonomy is the side effect of consciousness. Betty assimilates from family to family, and she’s good hearted, she gives the love that’s in her nature to give. But when she makes a true friend, she makes a choice for herself. Her consciousness and compassion outweighs the instinctive command to stay blindly loyal to a pack, and to me, that theme was everything.
  
  Baby Boo didn’t care about how Betty spoke, he cared about freedom. I’d like to think after this story ends, their friendship is built around care for one another and an exploration of freedom. This story inlays heavy social commentary into a frame of whimsy and innocence. Shawl is a writer to keep an eye on. As always, LeVar's reading was incredible.
  
  I'm wrapping up, but can we talk about that electric cello player for a second? The tension that music created was despairing and moving, I was so impressed. And impressed with LeVar for keeping pace with it, weaving the prose into it for that effect. Wonderful.
  
  Sip your hot teas and coffees so they don’t go cold, and I’ll see you guys on the next one. - 📚☕♥
• 
  Shelly

  Review of 'Black Betty' by Nisi Shawl only - 5 stars
  
  Loved, loved, loved! Such an interesting story, loved the perspective from the dog. I want to know so much, and feel just like Betty, not really understanding what is really going on with life outside of the small surroundings. Clearly something has happened to regular life. We only know what Betty knows, and are as inquisitive and interested in learning, but also a bit scared and timid. Loved LeVar Burton's reading, and loved the character of Baby Blue. Made me want to cry! LOVE!
• 
  Chuck Engelhardt

  A wide variety of stories and I admit to being somewhat surprised by the quality. I bought the book for the story included authored by my daughter-in-law, but found most of the stories rum to read. I am a bit old-school and fail to understand why so many modern artist find it necessary to include vulgar language, the classical masters didn't and their stories worked. Fortunately, not all of these writers thought compensating for imagined lack of talent with language shock the best approach.
• 
  Mason Bundschuh

  Amazing writers in this collection, telling amazing stories.
  
  Some of the most creative and boundary-pushing speculative fiction comes out of small presses, and few deliver so consistently as Crossed Genres.
  
  I won't speak for my own story in this collection, but everything else between these pages challenged me on a profound level. We need more of this kind of transcendence in fiction.
• 
  Jessie

  This story was read on one of the LeVar Burton’s podcasts. There was nothing wrong with the author’s writing. I only gave this story three stars because of a personal preference against violence towards animals.
• 
  Audrey

  All the stars. All the stars.
  
  I want to know more about this world, what is happening within and throughout.
  
  But even without fully knowing the world around this story, that final line got me.
  
  Listened to this story on Levar Burton Reads.
• 
  Kerynne Tejada

  A tad confusing at first, this story told through a talking dog is a story about identity, sense of belonging, and race.
• 
  Adrien Julious

  I enjoyed this story so much. There was so much action for such a short story. I loved the way the author dealt with the complex issues of racism.
• 
  Wendie

  Loved this story, will be checking out more from this author very soon!
• 
  Rune

  The idea of talking animals is always fun. The fact that Betty sounds like the first family she lived with is super awesome. Although I liked the idea some of the language out me off the story.
• 
  Lauren

  Specifically reviewed for "Black Betty" by Nisi Shawl as read on Levar Burton Reads.