The best works of speculative fiction don’t just tell stories about aliens or spaceships or futuristic technology, they tells stories about what it means to be human—stories about relationship, grief, compassion. That’s what Sequoia Nagamatsu has accomplished here.

This is strong story-telling precisely because, despite involving things like talking pigs, euthanasia rollercoasters, robotic dogs, and mortuary services that liquify a loved one and turn them into an ice sculpture, these stories are mainly about people. They’re about family, they’re about community, they’re about hope, and they’re about love.

It didn’t get a higher rating simply because by about 75% of the way through, I had mentally checked out and was kind of forcing myself to continue. But I would still recommend this book to any sci-fi lover.