The City of the Saved: Furthest Tales of the City [REVIEW]

After a great first outing in the form of Tales of the City, a shaky-but-serviceable sequel, and a quite charmingly themed third entry (sorry for the lack of a review on that one – I'm not much of a Sherlock aficionada so I hadn't much to say), the City of the Saved anthology series continues with Furthest Tales of the City. This is an entry dedicated to the stranger corners of the afterlife – the members of the resurrected human population who don't quite fit in with the idea of an all-human, zero-death afterlife. Anyone aware of my The City of the Saved takes at large will know that my favorite story from the first couple of anthologies is "Bruises", which covers this theme marvelously – and in turn I was very much looking forward to Furthest Tales.

And here's the thing about this series: when all's said and done, The City of the Saved series is a "like, not love" from me. Turns out when you try to assemble a series about anyone and everyone who ever lived, there's just as much potential for great stories as there is for ones that are just okay. But with those expectations in place, I feel comfortable saying that Furthest Tales is another solid outing for the series that lives up to its predecessors, with some particular standout entries along the way.

Let's start with the obvious – Philip Purser-Hallard's contributions to the docket. Purser-Hallard's talent in prose never ceases to impress me; he's got a vivid way with words, with every sentence painting as colorful a picture as the last. I think this guy could make an entire novel about paint drying and I still wouldn't be able to put it down – and when he's got topics this rich to work with, it's straight-up magical. His introductory story "Salutation" covers a discussion between the embodiment of all human machinery and the Compassion, creator of the afterlife, about the humans who won't fit into the afterlife. It's simple and brief, but gives insight into Compassion's character and the themes of the anthology moving forward (as well as the series as a whole!). And as if it bears repeating, the prose is beautiful.

Purser-Hallard's ending story for the anthology is also worth discussing in the same breath, seeing as this pair of stories frames the rest so intently. "God Encompasses" is a sequel to "A Hundred Words from a Civil War" from A Romance in Twelve Parts, a Faction Paradox anthology, and though I question the decision to follow up that plot point in a nominally different series, it's a quality story in and of itself. The story tells of the ultimate fate of the City as it's enveloped by the culmination of human evolution – and it's quite a fun read which sheds some more light on what exactly went on in "Hundred Words". It's, again, well-written, and the themes capture the mind well – though personally I wasn't a fan of resurrecting the City at the end given it somewhat undercuts the thematic and emotional impact of the City's apocalyptic fate.

It frames the body of the anthology quite nicely, though. The City of the Saved as a concept has always been about the conflict between evolution and stagnation, and "God Encompasses" is just a very literal depiction of that. Furthest Tales hones in on this premise in more concentrated ways, with its premise of humans who go beyond the "standard"; their struggles are a microcosm of what is to follow, a conflict given an answer (of sorts) when Compassion resurrects the City at the end. In that sense "Encompasses" feels like a reasonable way to thematically cap off the rest of the anthology, at least; it's just strangely incongruous story-wise, being an abrupt and intense follow-up to a story from a different series.

Let's talk about those middle stories, though – they form the bulk of the anthology, after all. "Weighty Stories" is the first, a simple but effective story about class structure in one of the more closed-off societies in the City. It's the latest in a string of Faction stories by Juliet Kemp, an author whose work I tend to enjoy for its themes of queerness and the difficulties behind activism. This is no exception – it's not a showstopper by any means, but it doesn't have to be. It's plenty interesting and good fun.

Following it is "Sleeping Giants", my personal favorite of the anthology. Media and its place in our culture as both an influence and a product of the same is something I love to see media itself try and discuss (look no further than my love of Lawrence Miles' Interference). This is a story about a sleeping giant whose body forms a whole District, and the relationships different people have with it as a concept; how people try to free it, exploit it, revere it, and occasionally all of the above at once. A camera crew using it as a set piece for a tourism show; a scientist attempting to free it while ignoring its denizens; citizens that conduct religious rituals around it. Everyone looks up to this giant but nobody can speak for it, and so there's a fascinating tinge of dehumanization running throughout the piece in the perspectives of pretty much every character. And then, well, the ending is depressing yet compelling. Every piece I read from Elizabeth Evershed, I like more than the last.

The next few pieces I found to be a bit shakier, if still all with their own merits. "Giants" is followed up by Lawrence Burton's "Driving Home for Atonatiuh", a piece about a certain bunch of Aztecs who just couldn't leave their old rituals and beliefs behind in the City. This one's not bad at all – just ends rather abstractly, and probably mandates a few rereads from me before I can "get" it. Still, there's some interesting character and worldbuilding work in there. I struggled more with "The Smallest Spark" by Paul Hiscock, which discusses a citizen with barely any human ancestry who's shunned and exoticized in the City. The premise is interesting, but the story takes an (admittedly foreshadowed) hard left turn partway through, making the main character a real unlikeable mess who's got prejudices of her own to work through. I absolutely see the vision in highlighting the situation's tragedy and how social biases get to us, but to me the final product felt overly uncomfortable and structurally messy more than anything.

And after that is "The Places Above, Between, and Below" by Louise Sellers, with a relatively intriguing plot but rather bland prose, and a protagonist I just couldn't find any points of interest in. I wish I could say more about it; my attention ended up being reserved more for the following story, Helen Angove's "We Only Live Twice (But the City is Not Enough)". This is perhaps the most direct thematic follow-up to "Bruises", exploring citizens who just can't get over the loss of the ability to die. Sometimes you just need to feel risk – and an organization dedicated to providing that is an intriguing concept that's delivered via some beautiful prose work by Angove. Its main flaw is in the deluge of exposition at the end, but as a whole I quite enjoyed the piece.

And then, of course, all these stories are tied together by the theme of "surpassing standard humanity" and the way the bookend stories emphasize that theme. It's this idea that really grants this anthology intrigue: yes, perhaps some individual stories work more than others, but all of them give readers something to chew on. And that overarching theme places every story in conversation with every other – the mark of a well-constructed anthology. That's what makes Furthest Tales of the City work, perfect as it isn't. And besides, the anthology demonstrates that in the City of the Saved, personal differences and subjectivity are key – so let's just accept that nothing's for everyone, and enjoy the unique perspectives we're granted by each individual. That's what the City series is all about, and Furthest only serves as a strong reminder.