Copyright Date:
2017
Edition Date:
2017
Release Date:
04/11/17
ISBN:
1-7716-2131-1
ISBN 13:
978-1-7716-2131-1
Dewey:
Fic
Language:
English
Reviews:
School Library Journal
(Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)
Gr 5-8Taylor delights with humorous short stories that will have readers longing for more. This volume of short science fiction tales from a First Nations perspective invites contemplation. In one piece, men living in a nursing home are conquered by aliens, thereby seeing history repeat itself. In "I AM&30;AM I," a computer develops artificial intelligence and human emotion, struggling to identify what it is. It turns to Native spirituality as a way to relate, only to become depressed by what it learns. In "Dreams of Doom," a slightly scary and sarcastic entry, dream catchers are used to subdue First Nations into passive people. In "Superdisappointed," a Native man discovers that being the first Aboriginal superhero isn't as glamorous as one might think. Taylor's writing is entertaining and thought provoking. While these tales employ familiar tropes, the First Nations point of view is a refreshing change of pace from typical sci-fi fare. VERDICT Recommended for most libraries. With its appealing cover art, this will be a great addition to short story collections.Amy Zembroski, Indian Community School, Franklin, WI
A forgotten Haudenosaunee social song beams into the cosmos like a homing beacon for interstellar visitors. A computer learns to feel sadness and grief from the history of atrocities committed against First Nations. A young Native man discovers the secret to time travel in ancient petroglyphs. Drawing inspiration from science fiction legends like Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, Drew Hayden Taylor frames classic science-fiction tropes in an Aboriginal perspective. The nine stories in this collection span all traditional topics of science fiction--from peaceful aliens to hostile invaders; from space travel to time travel; from government conspiracies to connections across generations. Yet Taylor's First Nations perspective draws fresh parallels, likening the cultural implications of alien contact to those of the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, or highlighting the impossibility of remaining a "good Native" in such an unnatural situation as a space mission. Infused with Native stories and variously mysterious, magical and humorous, Take Us to Your Chief is the perfect mesh of nostalgically 1950s-esque science fiction with modern First Nations discourse.