Book Review: The Astronaut Among the Flowers

A superbly written and deeply human collection of SF stories that tugs at the heart from P.A. Cornell.

I received a free advance reader copy/uncorrected proof of The Astronaut Among the Flowers from Stars & Sabers Publishing. I’ve been really enjoying a lot of short story collections recently—both from self-published authors and small presses, and The Astronaut Among The Flowers from the latter is no exception. I wrote recently of other collections that exemplify the art of the short story. It’s a fantastic medium for authors to be free to exhibit their range and creativity, so it’s a great place to look for some of the weirdest and most experimental work. The Astronaut Among the Flowers is certainly a great debut collection!

Blurb

This debut collection by Nebula-nominated author P.A. Cornell brings together twenty-one tales of fantasy and science fiction that run the gamut from lighthearted to dark. The stories examine our connections to each other, to technology, to the world that surrounds us, and even to ourselves. Journey through circumstances that defy explanation, and explore events yet to come, that have come before, or that exist outside of time altogether. Included are Cornell’s acclaimed story “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont,” as well as the award-winning “Splits,” and two brand new works published here for the first time.

Review

I had a great time with this short story collection. The stories within are superbly well-written and run the gamut of sci-fi from time travel to post-apocalypse; from sympathetic robots abandoned by their makers and an incisive jab at the evils of generative AI to a grounded look at off-world immigration. Every one was a treat in itself. Cornell’s writing is deeply character-driven and each one, no matter the length, draws you in with the human connection—Even for the non-human characters.

The titular story, The Astronaut Among the Flowers was a personal favourite in the line-up, but it’s so tough to pick because all of them are honestly great. I particularly enjoyed Vinyl Wisdom, Once Upon a Time at the Oakmont (which made me fully tear-up), Everything That I Am, and The Smell of Sawdust. There’s also some more experimental styles that were really interesting and worked very well, like in 8 Laws I Wound Up Breaking While Attempting to Restore the Timeline.

Cornell’s prose is easy-to-read and versatile. You can go from beautiful descriptive writing that tugs at the heartstrings in one story to an action-packed fist-fight in the next. The transition is effortless and shows the author’s exceptional range.

If you’re looking for a new sci-fi short story collection, this one is absolutely for you. And I for one am definitely going to check out more of Cornell’s work. Bravo!

Keep an eye out for this one when it releases on 18 August.