From the Neck Up by Aliya Whiteley

​     I quite enjoyed the author’s Skyward Inn, so I figured I’d check out her short fiction. Granted, quite enjoyed isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but it’s…accurate, for there’s something about her writing that just doesn’t’ grab me as much as, say, pancakes, but it is, objectively very good.
    This author seems to get slotted into the sci fi genre, but one can argue she’s more of a New Weird, some kind of weird anyway. These aren’t conventional science fiction stories, they consistently veer into the realm of surrealism. It’s good, it’s interesting, it’s genre busting…but it also stands to reason that it won’t be the right fit for fans of more conventional science fiction.
     And because these tales spin so dreamily, so deliberately strange, so trippy at times, it’s difficult to know what to expect or how to describe them. They are conventional enough structurally, but thematically and tonally they are more of an experience, if you will. Meaning you have to be in the right mood for them and I was, mostly.
    I didn’t like them all evenly, but then again they weren’t even enough to invite that kind of blanket adoration. But there’s magic within these pages. There were at least three stories I really loved…Many Eyed Monsters, Into Glass, Tears of a Building Surveyor. Actually, thinking of it now, those were the ones that were mostly metaphors on relationships, albeit exceptionally creative ones. There were other good ones the titles of which elude me presently, the first and longest story was an interesting read of agricultural sci fi. Is that a thing? Agri sci fi? There are so many subgenres out there.
     Agriculture in general is heavily featured in this collection. Or…this collection, like all good diets, is heavily plant based. Literally. Gives it an interesting green angle.
     Overall, this is an imaginative, original and intelligent collection and it’s certainly worth a read. Even if your personal emotional connection to these stories might vary or take its time establishing or just not show up, there’s still within these pages to appreciate on a purely intellectual level. Stimulate your brain, it is, after all, a muscle, and muscles should be exercised. Recommended for fans of something different and infinitely strange. Thanks Netgalley.