Uranians, Theodore McCombs
Uranians, Theodore McCombs
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Uranians
Stories

Author: Theodore McCombs

Narrator: Gabriel McKnight

Unabridged: 7 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/23/2024


Synopsis

At the end of the Victorian era, a handful of public intellectuals advocated for tolerance of the "Uranian"—a man who loved other men. Some went so far as to propose that these "intermediate sexes" might, in fact, constitute a totally different species, even serve as intrepid guides in our march toward an uncertain future.

The five speculative stories in Theodore McCombs's kaleidoscopic collection span several possible worlds, teasing the boundaries between coexisting realities and taking up the question of queer difference from one surprising vantage after another.

Each story unfolds with the depth and complexity of an entire universe; each is inhabited by characters learning to divest from a society that has marked and rejected them. Discerning which dreams of Western civilization to hold fast to and which to leave behind, these outsiders set their gazes on new horizons and prepare for the changes to come. Arch but tender, clear-eyed and compassionate, Uranians brilliantly illustrates the vital role that queerness plays in every possible version of our world.

About Theodore McCombs

Theodore McCombs's stories have appeared in Guernica, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the anthology Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Born in Thousand Oaks, California, he is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and the Clarion Writers Workshop. He lives in San Diego with his partner and their surly old cat and practices environmental law, with a focus on climate change.


Reviews

Goodreads review by johnny on June 25, 2023

i enjoyed bits and pieces here and there. it just felt a bit random and haphazard.......more

Goodreads review by fatma on February 03, 2023

I liked parts of this collection, but I feel like it never really went as far as I wanted it to go. Uranians consists of 4 short stories and a novella, all of which in some way or another incorporate a speculative or science fiction element. "Six Hangings in the Land of Unlikable Women," I think, is......more

Goodreads review by Queralt✨ on August 24, 2024

I picked this up on a whim and I’m pleased (it’s a 2.5, yes). I’m not a short story girlie and I don’t think the queer/feminist stories in Uranians were spectacular, but they did what they wanted to do. They didn’t work for me but, again, it’s rare for me to enjoy short fiction. The ideas were fine......more

Goodreads review by alexis on June 03, 2023

In a collection of speculative fiction written by an environmental lawyer, “Six Hangings in the Land of Unkillable Women” was conceptually the most interesting. Even with the technically fresh focus on consumer legal protections and regulation within the tech industry, though, some of these still en......more

Goodreads review by Jolene on June 28, 2024

Okay, between my love for 2020's Ministry for the Future and Ned Beauman's Venomous Lumpsucker, which I read back in March, and now this, part of me is like, waaaait, omg, am I a cool sci-fi girly now? *tucks hair behind ear* I guess "speculative fiction" is maybe a more apt term. All I know......more