| Title | : | Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1937009440 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781937009441 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 366 |
| Publication | : | First published December 13, 2016 |
Read stories inspired by tropes such as the Chainmaille Bikini, Love at First Sight, Damsels in Distress, Yellow Peril, The Black Man Dies First, The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood, The Singularity Will Cause the Apocalypse, and many more...then discover what these tropes mean to each author to find out what inspired them.
Join Maurice Broaddus, Adam Troy-Castro, Delilah S. Dawson, Shanna Germain, Sara M. Harvey, John Hornor Jacobs, Rahul Kanakia, Alethea Kontis, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Haralmbi Markov, Sunil Patel, Kat Richardson, Nisi Shawl, Ferrett Steinmetz, Anton Strout, Michael Underwood, Alyssa Wong and many other authors as they take well-worn tropes and cliches and flip them upside down.
Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling Reviews
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I've said before that anthologies are notoriously hard to review. This one is no exception. In a way the difficulty is doubled because I'm not just rating the stories on their own merit but also by how well they subverted the tropes they're trying to flip. I'm going to try not to reveal the trope they're trying to flip but sometimes it's not easy.
As I usually do, I'll rate each story and then wrap it up at the end. So, let's get started!
On Loving Bad Boys: A Villainelle - Valya Dudycz-Lupescu 3 Stars
Since this one is pretty obvious what the trope is (Good Girls Love Bad Boys) I'm not going to bother with hiding it. I'm not a huge reader of poetry so I don't really know what the 'standards' are. It was ok, in my opinion, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Then again, someone else might like it better.
Single/Singularity - John Hornor Jacobs 4 Stars
I really, really liked the story. It's got a great story but I don't think it really flips the trope around that much. In fact, it's a story about a computer becoming self-aware and sentient. So I'm not exactly sure how it flips that particular trope by creating a story with that very same trope at the heart of it. I enjoyed the story immensely though.
Lazzrus - Nisi Shawl 4 Stars
I liked this story a lot. It's a good inversion of the trope they were (if you'll pardon the expression) taking aim at. It seems to be a trope that's slowly starting to fade but not soon enough.
Seeking Truth - Elsa Sjunneson Henry 4 Stars
I haven't read this trope in horror in a while but I don't read all that much fantasy so for all I know it might be alive and well in that genre. I did love the story, though. I think it would make a great thriller series.
Thwock - Michelle Muenzler 2 Stars
I didn't care for this story too much. It's just my opinion of course, but it's short and it doesn't feel like much effort was given to it. I also don't think the author explores the 'Names Have Power' trope as fully as it could be.
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place? - Michael Underwood 4 Stars
It kind of reminded me of a mix between Sesame Street and Five Nights at Freddy's mixed together. It is a good, dystopian story. I do believe it could be shortened just a tad though as some parts seemed a bit repetitive. I also loved the idea of the Brand Wars.
Chosen - Anton Strout 4 Stars
This story was hilarious and a great spoof of The Chosen One cliche. Ok, the ending is slightly depressing but I loved the rest of the story. It's got each variety of Chosen One (which always makes me think of the movie Kung-Pow). There's the Gunslinger/Brawler, the Antiquarian/Sorcerer/Spell-caster, The Mystical Asian Child and The One raised from birth to fight evil. I think they missed only one trope in that genre: The Hapless Bystander who ends up being the key to the whole thing.
The White Dragon - Alyssa Wong 4 Stars
Again, a trope that is used often, particularly the 'Asian Crime Syndicate' but hopefully will be on the wane soon. Of course, 'The Villainous Crime Syndicate' isn't exactly unique to Asian culture, the Italians get hit with that one as well, quite often.
Her Curse, How Gently It Comes Undone - Haralambi Markov 4 Stars
An awesome story with a great flip on the infamous Damsel in Distress trope. That also seems to be a trope that's trying to wane but is dying hard. For every three that break the mold there are another ten out there that do nothing but reinforce it. No offense to romance readers but this seems to be a genre that highlights that in particular.
Burning Bright - Shanna Germain 5 Stars
I actually couldn't figure out what the trope for this was supposed to be because this is one that, at least in books, is starting to die out. In video games I don't think it's ever really been a trope too much. I also love the main character, she is awesome, ass-kicking and smart but without having it shoved down your throat. It flows naturally from the story. Women have been getting much more physical in books, movies and games for quite a while now.
Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint) - Alethea Kontis 4 Stars
I really liked this one a lot. It's perfectly timed with all of the Krampus stories on the upswing. It also defines the trope very well. I don't really see this one going anywhere anytime soon but it really doesn't need to. It's a cliche, but it's an inoffensive one and a lot of good stories can start from cliche ideas. It's where the author takes it from there that makes or breaks a story. This story is very well-made.
Requiem for a Manic Pixie Dream - Katy Harrad and Greg Stolze 4 Stars
This one was perfect and I loved the flip. I was more expecting the Manic Pixie would be a male Manic Pixie (because you rarely see those, if ever) but I liked the way this story went as well.
The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend - Adam-Troy Castro 3 Stars
The trope they're going for is kind of obvious but the story was just so-so to me. It flipped the words around but did nothing for the trope itself which was a little disappointing. It also is a little creepy. Not in a good way, either. It just feels like so much more could have been done with it than was attempted here.
The First Blood of Poppy Dupree - Delilah S. Dawson 4 Stars
I loved this story as well. I kind of figured where it was going but I loved the ending. I can see this trope being on its way out. With the internet and everything there's almost no way a girl could not know the facts of menstruation and all the wonderfulness that goes with it.
Red Light - Sara M. Harvey 4 Stars
Another very good story. I've seen stories in a similar vein. This one was very good though. I'm not sure if it really flips the trope but I'm not really sure how you could flip it without going the total opposite way and running into a whole other trope, the Druggie Hooker.
Until There is Only Hunger - Michael Matheson 5 Stars
A very good story. Awesome imagery. The trope is the world ending/resetting/rebooting and it's not clear which is going on in the story. I would assume that it's ending but it's hard to tell.
Super Duper Fly - Maurice Broaddus 3 Stars
It would be nice if this stereotype got buried. It goes with the Mystical Fill-in-the-Blank Other. The only reason for the lower stars is because the story is kind of choppy.
Drafty as a Chain Mail Bikini - Kat Richardson 5 Stars
Even though I do believe this trope is almost dead this story is hilarious. I love the practicalities of trying to deal with a chain mail bikini. I also love that they also worked in the "If you didn't want to be attacked why would you wear that?". That's something that I would happily see die out, in fiction and real life. I also love the Stolen Honour part of it.
Swan Song - Michelle Lyons-McFarland 3 Stars
It's written well but it's not exactly a new spin on either trope: The "You're Enchanted So Now You Must Marry Me" and the "Wicked Step-Mother".
Those Who Leave - Michael Choi 5 Stars
Great story. I can definitely see what the author means. I've never thought that way but the general media portrayal certainly goes in that direction. Cold, emotionless and robotic. Just because people don't display their emotions does not mean they're robots.
Noun of Nouns: A Mini Epic - Alex Shvartsman 4 Stars
I love the mini-ness of it. As the author puts it the "Epic-fantasy genre is known for it's extra-thick volumes filled with Important People doing World-altering things and engaging in heroic quests." I've actually stayed away from quite a few of them because I don't want to get sucked into a hundred volume series. I'm looking at you Dungeons and Dragons.
Excess Light - Rahul Kanakia 3 Stars
The story was well-written. So why the three stars? I just didn't get what was going on, how the city worked or what they were. I didn't know if they were human or fish-people or what. I'm unfamiliar with the trope but I wouldn't knock stars off for that. It's not one that I run into much because I don't read much futuristic sci-fi stories. I usually only run into it in short story collections. Again, like the 'Pro's Last Job' it seems like a cliche, but a cliche you can take a lot of different places.
The Origin of Terror - Sunil Patel 5 Stars
I loved this story a lot. Because what the author says in their notes is true. If a villain has a bad upbringing nobody thinks twice about it. "Of course, they did that! Look at their childhood!" It almost seems like an excuse for what they've done. A lot of people that do evil things come from backgrounds that are just fine, though. It certainly gives you something to think about.
The Tangled Web - Ferrett Steinmetz 3 Stars
A really creepy (as in creepy crawly creepy) love story about beetles (I think) that sit alone watching romantic comedies and digging knives under their carapaces for pleasure. They live in hope of finding the right female to eat them and fulfill their function. It's supposed to be 'love at first sight' but it struck me more as a failed romance kind of thing. While the story is ok, it doesn't really highlight the trope too well.
Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa, Tfu, Tfu, Tfu - Alisa Schreibman 4 Stars
I loved the story and the mythology behind it. The female lead was also awesome.She was intelligent and a bad ass without them thrusting it in your face saying "Look at me, I'm sooo much an ass-kicking woman!" I also do get what they're trying to say. Any Jewish characters are always super-stereotypes or secret ones until they need a show minority.
Real Women Are Dangerous - Rati Mehrotra 3 Stars
I think the issues brought up are explored decently. At the same time the woman is what spurs the male to genius so, it's still a little on the icky side. She's also very sub-serviant and the male goes running back to her because he wants her, not a 'real' woman. so I'm not sure if it went where the author was hoping for it too.
Section II contains different essays which go into further depth on some of the tropes that were not mentioned and deeper into some that were. These include: I'm Pretty Sure I've Read This Before... - Patrick Hester, Fractured Souls - Lucy A. Snyder, Into the Labyrinth: The Heroine's Journey - A.C Wise, Escaping the Hall of Mirrors - Victor Raymond, and Tropes as Erasers: A Transgender Perspective - Keffy R.M. Kehrli.
I didn't care for two of them and I may go further into the Fractured Souls essay at some other time. I think their reading of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is off but now's not the time to go into it. I've demanded far too much of your attention already.
My only other complaint in how it's set up is that it would have been much easier to read the author's trope explanations come at the end of the story they were writing. Or perhaps a link to the back of the book and the story it goes with. Or, at the very least, in the Index of Tropes at the back to list them in order of their appearance in the book.
I don't know about other people but my memory isn't very good and it would be much easier to just be able to flip the page and get the trope rundown or at the very least be linked to them.
So, there is my rather lengthy review and I hope it was at least enjoyable reading.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review -
Upside Down is a collection of short stories intended to subvert common tropes in storytelling and essays discussing trope usage. The vast majority of the collection is short stories, and wow are there a lot of stories. Like in any collection, there were stories that impressed me and stories that didn’t. However, on the whole I found the collection to be on the weaker side.
Going into the collection, I wasn’t aware of most of the contributing authors. I picked it up mainly for Delilah S. Dawson, Alyssa Wong, and Nisi Shawl. I found Shawl’s story to be all right if not exceptional, but I did love both Wong and Dawson’s work. Alyssa Wong took on Yellow Peril in her short story “The White Dragon,” about a girl with the ability to see curses. I loved how magic was described here! Alyssa Wong never disappoints. Dawson twisted First Period Panic in her story “The First Blood of Poppy Dupree,” creating an intriguing mix of Southern Gothic and Greek mythology.
There were other stories I enjoyed as well. Micheal Choi’s “Those Who Leaves” centers on the relationship between a girl, her mother, and the sea. He manages to make a heartrendingly beautiful story out of the Asian Scientist trope. In another #ownvoices story, “Seeking Truth,” Elsa Sjunneson-Henry tackles Blind People Are Magic in her tale of a blind criminal interrogator who always finds the truth.
Other stories had some interesting ideas at their heart. In “The Tangled Web,” Ferrett Steinmetz crafts a tale of a race of insect people where the males’ greatest desire is to find true love and be devoured by eggs a female lays in him. It was the strangest version of Love at First Sight I’ve ever encountered. “No Saint” by Alethea Kontis uses the trope of The Retired Pro’s “Last” Job, but the “pro” in this instance is none other than Santa Claus!
“Super Duper Fly” by Maurice Broaddus had a shaky start but ended up being a hilarious parody of the Magical Negro trope and The Green Mile. On the flip side, Michael Underwood’s “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place?” was hands down the most depressing story of the collection. Yes, I know the ending’s optimistic, but still.
Other stories felt contrived or one note. Some of these it was clear what trope the author was using, others it wasn’t. Kat Richardson’s “Drafty as a Chainmaille Bikini” felt simplistic and didn’t add much new to criticisms of female characters in chain mail bikinis. I think it was intended to be funny, but it left me cold. Alex Shvartsman tries to work with all of epic fantasy in “Noun of Nouns: A Mini Epic,” but it never feels more than juvenile. And is epic fantasy even a trope? I think of it more as a genre. Another story that never felt more than surface level was “The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend” by Adam-Troy Castro. He never engages with the criticisms of Woman in the Refrigerator and does little more than flip the words to create an absurd scenario.
I found other stories more confusing in what tropes they were using, but there’s a section at the end of the book connecting each trope to each story. Rati Mehrotra attempts to take on Gendercide in “Real Women Are Dangerous,” but ends up with a very gender binary story focused around men. I could tell while reading it that “Chosen” by Anton Strout was trying to do something with the Chosen One trope, but it felt rather aimless and confusing.
There’s twenty-six short stories in this collection. I’ve only gone over fourteen here, but the other twelve felt completely forgettable and not even worth getting into. I did have hopes for the nonfiction section, but I ended up disappointed there as well. Most of the essays felt incredibly boring. The only one I made it all the way through was Keffy R.M. Kehrli’s “Tropes as Erasers: A Transgender Perspective,” which I actually did like.
There were stories I liked but they felt largely outweighed by stories I didn’t care for. This isn’t a collection I’ll be recommending in the future.
Originally posted on
The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC of Upside Down from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review. -
I almost didn't read this book because I've had such horrible luck with the last few anthologies I've tried, but I don't think there was a single bad story in here. There were a few that I thought were just a okay, but they were generally the ones that were more sci-fi based and I don't like sci-fi nearly as much as I like fantasy.
I think what made this book so good is that obviously all the authors were very aware of the tropes they were using and also actively worked to subvert them and make them interesting. Tropes are not a bad thing in and of themselves, but it can often make for a boring story that paints completely by the numbers, or else something that is incredibly racist/sexist/homophobic because it uses bad stereotypes. These are all stories that are actively trying to do something new and different and I think that makes them more interesting to read. There are also a few non-fiction essays about the nature of tropes in general at the back of the book.
If you are someone that often struggles with short stories and anthologies then I think this would be a good book for you. It is definitely a cut above most of the anthologies that I have read [which usually get 2 or 3 stars]. -
I have a funny relationship with short stories. If they're bad stories, I'm happy with them because at least they were short. If they're good stories I get mad at them because they should have been longer. I mostly was angry with this book because I wanted all the stories to be longer. Which means it was good I guess.
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I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I'm a bit of a sucker for turning tropes on their ears. I have soft spots for movies that throw them out the window OR turn them up to eleven to the point to where they're ridiculous. Some do both at the same time.
The issue with collections of short stories is that you are probably going to love a few, dislike a few, and the rest are going to be somewhere in the middle. It tends to leave you with a general 'eh' sort of feeling once you get to the end of them. I usually like to note ratings for each individual story, but in this case I didn't really have the option while I was reading it. -
A cool idea for a collection of short stories....take a bunch of tired fictional tropes and have different authors write stories that turn them on their ear. I became aware of this book after finishing (and loving) John Horner Jacob's book A Lush and Seething Hell, and seeing that he was one of the contributing authors. His story for the book, Single/Singularity was really good IMO. The end of the book also contains a handful of essays that do a deeper dive into tropes (and the often all too real world harm they do) and these were really interesting as well. I particularly enjoyed the essay Fractured Souls by Lucy A. Snyder that compares and contrasts the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story with Stephen King's portrayal of Detta Walker and Odetta Holmes in his Gunslinger books.
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I've said before that anthologies are notoriously hard to review. This one is no exception. In a way the difficulty is doubled because I'm not just rating the stories on their own merit but also by how well they subverted the tropes they're trying to flip. I'm going to try not to reveal the trope they're trying to flip but sometimes it's not easy.
As I usually do, I'll rate each story and then wrap it up at the end. So, let's get started!
On Loving Bad Boys: A Villainelle - Valya Dudycz-Lupescu 3 Stars
Since this one is pretty obvious what the trope is (Good Girls Love Bad Boys) I'm not going to bother with hiding it. I'm not a huge reader of poetry so I don't really know what the 'standards' are. It was ok, in my opinion, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Then again, someone else might like it better.
Single/Singularity - John Hornor Jacobs 4 Stars
I really, really liked the story. It's got a great plot but I don't think it really flips the trope around that much. In fact, it's a story about a computer becoming self-aware and sentient. So I'm not exactly sure how it flips that particular trope around by creating a story with that very same trope at the heart of it. The reason for the destruction of humanity is a little different though.
Lazzrus - Nisi Shawl 4 Stars
I liked this story a lot. It's a good inversion of the trope they were (if you'll pardon the expression) taking aim at. It seems to be a trope that's slowly starting to fade but not soon enough.
Seeking Truth - Elsa Sjunneson Henry 4 Stars
I haven't read this trope in horror in a while but I don't read all that much fantasy so for all I know it might be alive and well in that genre. I did love the story, though.
Thwock - Michelle Muenzler 2 Stars
I didn't care for this story too much. It's just my opinion of course, but it's short and it doesn't feel like much effort was given to it. I also don't think the author explores the[su_spoiler title="Spoiler Tidbit" icon="arrow-circle-1"] 'Names Have Power'[/su_spoiler] trope as fully as it could be.
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place - Michael Underwood 4 Stars
It kind of reminded me of a mix between Sesame Street and Five Nights at Freddy's mixed together. It is a good, dystopian telling of the [su_spoiler title="Spoiler Tidbit" icon="arrow-circle-1"]'Super Soldier'[/su_spoiler] trope.
Chosen - Anton Strout 4 Stars
This story was hilarious and a great spoof of The Chosen One cliche. Ok, the ending is slightly depressing but I loved the rest of the story. It's got each variety of Chosen One (which always makes me think of the movie Kung-Pow). There's the Gunslinger/Brawler, the Antiquarian/Sorcerer/Spell-caster, The Mystical Asian Child and The One raised from birth to fight evil. I think they missed only one trope in that genre: The Hapless Bystander who ends up being the key to the whole thing.
The White Dragon - Alyssa Wong 4 Stars
Again, a trope that is used often particularly the 'Asian Crime Syndicate' but hopefully will be on the wane soon. Of course, 'The Villainous Crime Syndicate' isn't exactly unique to Asian culture, the Italians get hit with that one as well, quite often.
Her Curse, How Gently It Comes Undone - Haralambi Markov 4 Stars
An awesome story with a great flip on the infamous Damsel in Distress trope. That also seems to be a trope that's trying to wane but is dying hard. For every three that break the mold there are another ten out there that do nothing but reinforce it. No offense to romance readers but this seems to be a genre that highlights that in particular.
Burning Bright - Shanna Germain 5 Stars
I actually couldn't figure out what the trope this was supposed to be for because this is one that, at least in books, is starting to die out. In video games I don't think it's ever really been a trope too much. The whole [su_spoiler title="Spoiler Tidbit" icon="arrow-circle-1"]"Guys Smash, Girls Shoot" [/su_spoiler]thing I just don't see much anymore. Women have been getting much more physical in books, movies and games for quite a while now.
Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint) - Alethea Kontis 4 Stars
I really liked this one a lot. It's perfectly timed with all of the Krampus stories on the upswing. It also defines the trope very well. I don't really see this one going anywhere anytime soon but it really doesn't need to. It's a cliche, but it's an inoffensive one and a lot of good stories can start from cliche ideas. It's where the author takes it from there that makes or breaks a story. This story is very well-made.
Requiem for a Manic Pixie Dream - Katy Harrad and Greg Stolze 4 Stars
This one was perfect and I loved the flip. I was more expecting the Manic Pixie would be a male Manic Pixie (because you rarely see those, if ever) but I liked the way this story went as well.
The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend - Adam-Troy Castro 3 Stars
The trope they're going for is kind of obvious but the story was just so-so to me. It flipped the words around but did nothing for the trope itself which was a little disappointing. It also is a little creepy. Not in a good way, either.
The First Blood of Poppy Dupree - Delilah S. Dawson 4 Stars
I loved this story as well. I kind of figured where it was going but I loved the ending. I can see this trope being on its way out. With the internet and everything there's almost no way a girl could not know the facts of menstruation and all the wonderfulness that goes with it.
Red Light - Sara M. Harvey 4 Stars
Another very good story. I've seen stories in a similar vein. This one was very good though. I'm not sure if it really flips the trope but I'm not really sure how you could flip it without going the total opposite way and running into a whole other trope, the Druggie Hooker.
Until There is Only Hunger - Michael Matheson 5 Stars
A very good story. Awesome imagery. The trope is the [su_spoiler title="Spoiler Tidbit" icon="arrow-circle-1"]world ending/resetting/rebooting[/su_spoiler] and it's not clear which is going on in the story. I would assume that it's ending but it's hard to tell.
Super Duper Fly - Maurice Broaddus 3 Stars
It would be nice if this stereotype got buried. It goes with the Mystical Fill-in-the-Blank Other. The only reason for the lower stars is because the story is kind of choppy.
Drafty as a Chain Mail Bikini - Kat Richardson 5 Stars
Even though I do believe this trope is almost dead this story is hilarious. I love the practicalities of trying to deal with a chain mail bikini. I also love that they also worked in the "If you didn't want to be attacked why would you wear that?". That's something that I would happily see die out, in fiction and real life.
Swan Song - Michelle Lyons-McFarland 3 Stars
It's written well but it's not exactly a new spin on either trope: The[su_spoiler title="Spoiler Tidbit" icon="arrow-circle-1"] "You're Enchanted So Now You Must Marry Me" and the "Wicked Step-Mother".[/su_spoiler]
Those Who Leave - Michael Choi 5 Stars
Great story. I can definitely see what the author means. I've never thought that way but the general media portrayal certainly goes in that direction. Cold, emotionless and robotic. Just because people don't display their emotions does not mean they're robots.
Noun of Nouns: A Mini Epic - Alex Shvartsman 4 Stars
I love the mini-ness of it. As the author puts it the "Epic-fantasy genre is known for it's extra-thick volumes filled with Important People doing World-altering things and engaging in heroic quests." I've actually stayed away from quite a few of them because I don't want to get sucked into a hundred volume series.
Excess Light - Rahul Kanakia 3 Stars
The story was well-written. So why the three stars? I just didn't get what was going on, how the city worked or what they were. I didn't know if they were human or fish-people or what. I'm unfamiliar with the trope but I wouldn't knock stars off for that. It's not one that I run into much because I don't read much futuristic stuff. Again, like the 'Pro's Last Job' it seems like a cliche, but a cliche you can take a lot of different places.
The Origin of Terror - Sunil Patel 5 Stars
I loved this story a lot. Because what the author says in their notes is true. If a villain has a bad upbringing nobody thinks twice about it. "Of course, they did that! Look at their childhood!" It almost seems like an excuse for what they've done. A lot of people that do evil things come from backgrounds that are just fine, though. It certainly gives you something to think about.
The Tangled Web - Ferrett Steinmetz 3 Stars
A really creepy (as in creepy crawly creepy) love story about beetles (I think) that sit alone watching romantic comedies and digging knives under their carapaces for pleasure (ok, that's just creepy creepy). They live in hope of finding the right female to eat them (the males) and fulfill their function. It's supposed to be 'love at first sight' but it struck me more as a failed romance kind of thing. While the story is ok, it doesn't really highlight the trope too well.
Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa, Tfu, Tfu, Tfu - Alisa Schreibman 4 Stars
I loved the story and the mythology behind it. The female lead was also awesome. But I also do get what they're trying to say. Any Jewish characters are always super-stereotypes or secret ones until they need a show minority.
Real Women Are Dangerous - Rati Mehrotra 3 Stars
I think the issues brought up are explored decently. At the same time the woman is what spurs the male to genius so it's still a little on the icky side. She's also very sub-serviant and the male goes running back to her because he wants her, not a 'real' woman. So I'm not sure if it went where the author was hoping for it to go.
Section II contains different essays which go into further depth on some of the tropes that were not mentioned and deeper into some that were. These include: I'm Pretty Sure I've Read This Before... - Patrick Hester, Fractured Souls - Lucy A. Snyder, Into the Labyrinth: The Heroine's Journey - A.C Wise, Escaping the Hall of Mirrors - Victor Raymond, and Tropes as Erasers: A Transgender Perspective - Keffy R.M. Kehrli.
I didn't care for two of them and I may go further into the Fractured Souls essay at some other time. I think their reading of 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is off but now's not the time to go into it. I've demanded far too much of your attention already.
My only other complaint in how it's set up is that it would have been much easier as a read if the author's trope explanations came at the end of the story they were writing. Or perhaps a link to the back of the book and the story it goes with. Or, at the very least, in the Index of Tropes at the back to list them in order of their appearance in the book.
I don't know about other people but my memory isn't very good and it would be much easier to just be able to flip the page and get the trope rundown or at the very least be linked to them.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review -
[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.]
3.5/4 stars; I liked quite a few of these short stories, none of them made me roll my eyes, and to be fair, the essays at the end of the book were also quite interesting.
My favourites:
* “Single, Singularity”: While it doesn’t really invert the trope it’s based on, I’m a sucker for AI stories, and this one was both thrilling, and chilling in its ending.
* “Seeking Truth”: The ‘blind psychic’ trope, subverted in that here, the blind person is extremely skilled at reading other people, no need for special powers for that.
* “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place?”: A mix of Sesame Stree-like TV shows and jaded ex-super soldiers trying to go home. Very nostalgic, perhaps a wee bit long, but a good read nonetheless.
* “Chosen”: A comic twist on ‘the Chosen’, with jabs at tropes like the gun-toting weapons maniac, the Buffy-like teenager fighting demons, and pedantic occultist scholar. This one was really fun.
* “The White Dragon”: A different take on the ‘yellow peril’, in a 1920s San Francisco (also, I liked revisiting that city in such a light, now that I’ve finally been able to actually travel there).
* “Her Curse, How Gently It Comes Undone”: The Witch and the Damsel In Distress, poised against each other, each with their wiles and strengths, and with the story playing on the trope of men rescuing the Damsel... only they’re not the right people to do the job.
* “Burning Bright”: I really liked the main character here, just the right mix of slightly hinged and yet fairly grounded at the same time.
* “Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint)”: This story plays well on both the Santa Claus/Christmas and ‘old soldier goes back to war’ tropes.
* “The First Blood of Poppy Dupree”: At first I thought this would be about werewolves, and it turned out it was something else, which I liked.
* “Until There is Only Hunger”: A strong story, with a definite end-of-the-world feeling, dwindling hope mixed with growing despair, and characters trying to find whatever comfort they can, although this rings more and more hollow. Bonus point for characters not being typical cis/hetero/white.
* “Drafty as a Chain Mail Bikini”: I suspected where this one was going, but I liked it, and it made me laugh.
* “The Tangled Web”: Love at first sight and romance woes... but not among humans, which lent a different dimension to this story.
The essays: definitely read those. They deal with the Hero’s Journey, its limitations, the Heroine’s Journey, its limitations as well, and push further, when it comes to trans and gay/lesbian heroes, which is really needed. Because let’s be honest: it’s already difficult to find a good story where a woman is not reduced to accomplishment = family/motherhood/taking care of others, but it’s even worse when you’re non-binary. -
This book offers a collection of short stories where each presents a typical trope used in science fiction or fantasy such as Gendercide in “Real Women Are Dangerous”; The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood in “The Origin of Terror”; The Super Soldier in “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place?” and The Pro’s Last Job in “No Saint”. To add to the fun, the authors inverted the accepted theme for the trope. In other words, instead of The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood this particular story was about a villain who is the child of two super heroes and had a very warm and loving childhood.
With any collection of short stories, there are high and low spots. Every story in this collection, though, is by very experienced authors. When taken on the whole, this book is a high spot.
A mentor of mine once suggested that I write a story that did not use any tropes. The fact is, I’m not sure that is truly possible. As this book shows, there are more tropes than one first thinks of. The other issue of writing a “trope-less” story is that that readers expect resolutions to stories that follow accepted norms. The simple fact is, heroes can’t die or the couple, regardless of all the hardship, must fall in love. Simply put, to do otherwise, does not bring readers back for more. What I gained from this book was to look at tropes in a different way: to turn them upside-down and play with them. Doing this makes for fun reading.
Phillip M. Johns -
I picked this up because it sounded really cool, based on one of the blogs I read. The stories were a mixed bag, and unfortunately quite a few of them took "invert a trope" to mean "make it a horror story," which I'm not particularly fond of. The stories got better as the book went on, and I really enjoyed the last few and wish they'd been longer. There's also a large discussion section in the back about the tropes themselves and how they were twisted or flipped, if that sort of analysis is your bag.
Worth a read, but prepared for some horror. -
The trick with this book is that you don't have to be an expert to understand the trope exploration and reversals, where applicable. The short story book comes with companion information that explains each story from both the author's and tropes perspectives. Some of the stories have sexual content, so it would be wise to screen these if you are giving it to pre teen or early teen aged readers. The prose itself has its good moments and I really didn't find enough faults or flaws to complain about the book and give it a bad rating. Excellent find and read, especially during Comic Con weekend.
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A better than average collection of shorts aimed at trope busting, also includes essays on tropes and cliches as well as author's notes on the tropes they roasted. The articles also have a decent bibliography. A combination of very funny and sad, it also has the obligatory Lovecraft pastiche and an Asimov err... homage. This apparently was a Kickstarter book, awesome.
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A short story collection of science-fiction and fantasy topics, twisting some kind of tropes. Like most short story collections, it's hit or miss. My favorite stories were: Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place; The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend; Nouns of Nouns a Mini Epic; and The Tangled Web. The essays analyzing the tropes were also great.
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A great Anthology. I enjoyed all off it.
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I read this completely cover to cover. Each of the short stories was a treat that kept me guessing and I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about some of them. I loved the essays to, they gave me a lot to think about and touched on a wide range of issues and ideas.
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This book was a bit of fresh air to read. A lot of books have become a bit predictable lately, and while not the authors fault as it seems the only the cliche-ish of books seem to get popular (at least to me). I really did enjoy this, but I am really happy that it was short stories as opposed to one long story. I like that I was not able to predict what was going to happen. I was also eager to check out every new story to see where the author would take it.
Of course you know that when you have a anthology filled with stories not all of them could be great and I did not like every single one of them. I wont list them here but I will list a couple of my favorite stories
On Loving Bad Boys: A Villainelle by: Valya Dudycz Lipescu
Single, Singularity by: John Hornor Jacobs
Chosen by: Anton Strout
Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint) by: Alethea Kontis
The First Blood of Poppy Dupree by: Deliah S. Dawson
While there were much more I like, these were the stories I wish the author would expand upon. I would love full books on this especially the Santa CIS. The stories I did like far out-weighed the stories I didn't like. I recommend this book for anyone who is tired of the everyday fairy tale and needs something new -
Upside Down provided an anthology of surprising, norm-defying short stories and a collection of thought-provoking essays that challenged and explored common and not-so-common literary tropes. From a tale about a computer system gone rogue to an essay exploring the Heroine Journey by looking at Labyrinth, this work is interesting, concise, and serves its stated purpose of encouraging the reader to address familiar tropes well.
The stories are all creative and unique, quick reads that delve into the fantastical, science-fiction, and psychological. Because of the nature of the project and process of the anthology, some of the stories do feel more contrived and slightly forced, like a response to a creative writing prompt that hasn't been completely pulled off or thought through. The essays in section two are also thought-provoking and fascinating. Most provide insightful and much-needed commentary on topics like feminism and transphobia in the arts, although a couple seem not quite as in-depth and less evidence-based. The sectioning of the work (particularly the division between section one and two) was a little clunky in that the style of my reading experience was immediately switched, but the rationale behind the split also seems logical.
Overall, an anthology of interesting short stories and insightful essays that fabulously addresses the book's purpose of challenging and starting dialogue concerning troubling literary tropes as well as their role in the greater arts world.
Thanks to the publisher for a digital copy! -
Relationships with anthologies and short story compilations can be a seriously complicated matter. It seems that regardless of who is contributing, there will be highs and lows. From my experience, this is unavoidable, and I approach each collection with this knowledge in advance. Such was the case with Upside Down.
Read my thoughts
here. -
The stories are good and the essays are thought-provoking, but I wish they had made the choice of interweaving the three sections instead of separating them. Still, I'm glad I supported this on Kickstarter.
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An impressive sci-fi collection. I find myself wanting to recommend each short story after I read it to others. How the various tropes were treated made for intriguing discussion with friends and just musings. Overall an excellent collection.
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I received a galley copy for review from NetGalley.
I DNF this one. I couldn't get pulled into the stories, I tried to read several of them and I just couldn't get into this. I couldn't feel any draw to the stories. -
As a kickstarter backer I was happy with the product delivered. However, this collection confirmed my suspicion that I much prefer longer form stories to short stories.
