Diaspora Ad Astra: An Anthology of Science Fiction from the Philippines by Emil M. Flores

Diaspora Ad Astra: An Anthology of Science Fiction from the Philippines Reviews

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  Ｆｒａｎｋｈ

  The last installment for the Stranger Fiction anthology trilogy is composed of fifteen stories on the genre of speculative science fiction and this is a collection that is personally the most polarizing of the three. I'm fairly new to sci-fi myself since I only started actively reading from it two years ago but I know enough to both enjoy and criticize a literary work in this genre. Unlike the horror and fantasy collections that I previously read(Demons of the New Year and The Farthest Shore respectively), Diaspora Ad Astra has been quite dissonant in scope especially since I don't think a lot of Filipino authors write sci-fi and there isn't exactly a market or demographic in my country that also reads, let alone celebrates, this genre.
  
  As stated in the Foreword of this book, Filipinos don't exactly have our eyes set on the stars or any futuristic landscape when it comes to our fiction as well as in our lives and priorities in general. We are a culture steeped in superstition and spiritual reflection which is why we thrive with our myth-making when it comes to monsters and paranormal entities. But tales and parables on scientific discovery and space travel? We just don't care much for it. Some of us have formed a perplexing association between science fiction and Western influence considering we are also a developing third-world country whose ambitions have usually more to do with pragmatic desires and needs as oppose to those that go beyond what we can readily perceive, what is most tangible.
  
  Simply put, science fiction stories are inaccessible to Filipinos because we don't exactly have a strong space program or a very present scientific community that could inform or encourage us to look up at the skies and dare ourselves to imagine other alien civilizations that could exist.
  
  But perhaps that feeling is only dormant. Everyone, after all, at some point in their lives questioned whether or not we are alone in the universe, or if we could ever leave this planet and build a new home in another. This anthology had encompassed such stories. I think this is why Diaspora Ad Astra will prove a mighty challenge as a reading exercise for people who are not familiar with the genre itself and may have negative pre-conceived notions about Filipinos writing sci-fi stories in the first place. Luckily, I'm neither, and that is why this anthology was vibrant and challenging, a puzzling literary specimen that exhausted and thrilled me in varying degrees. Not all of the stories appealed to me, however, but those that two were maddeningly memorable and deliciously insightful.
  
  I thoroughly loved to pieces the following six stories: Oplan Sanction by Alexander Marcos Osias, The Cost of Living by Vince Torres, the satirical A List of Things We Know by Isabel Yap, The Day the Sexbomb Dancers Invaded Our Brains by Carljoe Javier (that was unexpectedly comedic and quirky); and the endlessly fascinating oneshots Ashes////Embers by Dannah Ruth S. Ballesteros, Gene RX by Katya Oliva-Llego and Robots and a Slice of Pizza by Raydon L. Reyes.
  
  Some stories were more personal oneshots that contemplate the standing of a Filipino or the entire nation in space exploration/colonization like Ina Dolor's Last Stand by Raymond P. Reyes, Taking Gaia by Celestine Trinidad, and Space and Enough Time by Anne Lagamayo; or or how to generally cope with the gradual loss of individual expression as presented in Eliza Victoria's Rizal.
  
  Others managed to only confuse me because of their brevity and vagueness (The Keeper by Audrey Rose Villacorta, Lucky by Raven Guerrero and War Zone Angel by Emil M. Flores) while one story was something I couldn't figure out (or maybe I did but I just couldn't be sure) even though I re-read it thrice now (The Malaya by Dean Francis Alfar).
  
  It took me a whole month to finish this collection but I also felt that I became a better reader after doing so. I'm very pleased that there are Filipino authors who do strive to write in the science fiction genre, and I certainly hope there will be more in the not-so-distant future.
  
  RECOMMENDED: 8/10
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  Dana

  How fun, I especially liked the second to the last story 😌
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  Lois Tanglao

  I love how these stories show that there can be science fiction in the Philippine setting and that we aren't exempt from "the future" even if we don't currently have a state-of-the-art space program or anything of the sort. Many of these stories really made me think about where the Philippines would be in the future, and ngl, it's a bit terrifying. If we continue being subservient to powerful countries and corporations, if we continue chasing meaningless goals like everlasting life, we're basically fucked.
  
  I guess that what most of these stories taught me was that the most important thing to us should be our humanity because it's what gives our life meaning. We could have all the innovations in the world, but without culture, without love, without connection, they wouldn't mean anything.
  
  Now about the stories themselves, in my opinion, some of them kinda tried too hard to be edgy by using futuristic codes and lingo to the point where I couldn't understand them anymore. Others had a good start but didn't really have a proper ending. Still, there were some gems that really made me think about what the future of the Philippines could be.
  
  Here are my ratings for the individual stories (my favorites are in bold):
  The Malaya: 1/5
  Oplan Sanction: 1/5
  Ina Dolor's Last Stand: 3/5
  The Cost of Living: 5/5
  A List of Things We Know: 4/5 It was almost 5, but I just wish they tied all the stories together better. It had so much potential
  The Keeper: 2/5
  The Day the Sexbomb Dancers Invaded Our Brains: 4/5
  Ashes/////Embers: 3/5
  Rizal: 4/5
  Gene Rx: 4/5 I loved the plot twist, but the alien thing was a bit forced
  Robots and a Slice of Pizza 🥵: 4/5 It does a really good job of showing the lack of human connection in online dating, but I just wish that something more thrilling happened at the end
  Lucky: 3/5
  Space Enough and Time: 4.5/5
  Talking Gaia: 4/5 I loved the plot, but I felt like the writer couldn't completely empathize with the characters
  War Zone Angel: 1/5
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  Anne

  There were several stories in this anthology that I really liked, and I'm extremely grateful this book exists. Whoever said Pinoy science fiction won't fly ought to read this book.
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  Ryan

  Good read!
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  Alexandra May

  I read this book for my creative writing thesis, which attempts to answer the question, "Where is Philippine science fiction?"
  
  Roughly a decade ago, the problem with Philippine sci-fi was that it tended to look like a pathetic copy of Western sci-fi. To address this problem, Baryon Posadas challenged new writers to write science fiction that deals with Filipino concerns, and he also called for publishing bodies in the country to pay attention to sci-fi.
  
  I think, based on what I've read in this anthology, both challenges have been accepted.
  
  The sci-fi here is not at all a sad mimicry of Anglo-American sci-fi. It is very Filipino, very human, and very familiar. This book shows us that Philippine sci-fi is alive and kicking, and if more writers follow the trend, Philippine sci-fi will begin to emerge victoriously.
  
  *fresh from RRL, so yeah*
  
  Trivia: Dr. Emil Flores is my professor this semester. In his class, we're required to read comics. This is why I love UP.
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  Anne

  3.5 stars
  
  The Malaya - 2/5 stars
  Oplan Sanction - 2/5 stars
  Ina Dolor's Last Stand - 3/5 stars
  The Cost of Living - 5/5 stars
  A List of Things We Know - 3/5 stars
  The Keeper - 3/5 stars
  The Day the Sexbomb Dancers Invaded Our Brains - 4/5 stars
  Ashes////Embers - 4/5 stars
  Rizal - 3/5 stars
  Gene RX - 4/5 stars
  Robots and a Slice of Pizza - 4/5 stars
  Lucky - 3/5 stars
  Space Enough and Time - 4/5 stars
  Taking Gaia - 5/5 stars
  War Zone Angel - 3/5 stars
  
  * those in bold are my favorites