The Price of Memory and Other Stories

I do enjoy a set of short stories. There are typically two types that you can get, a collection, or a theme. The Price of Memories and Other Stories by Sally McBride is a classic style collection of an author’s works brought together over years into a curated whole. Are there themes that imbue the stories? Not as such, but there is a sense of the author in all the stories and a refreshing leaning into science fiction. No cop outs here; we have dystopian futures, vampires, sci fi fantasy and more. 

With tales that were originally published between 1988 to 2021, this collection brings together thirty years of McBride’s writing, so it is interesting to consider what stories were chosen to go in the book. The collection opens magnificently with The Doll Ladies, a punchy short story that considers what would happen if we used Great Apes as surrogate mothers should humans become infertile. It has layers of dystopia in the very concept, but it is sensitively told and is an uplifting tale. 

Putting the best story first is a bold move but other stories are still of a high standard. The second tale, Her Eyes as Bright as Unsheath’d Swords, does suffer from being comparable to the first. This is one of the oldest stories in the book and does have that complex 80s feel to it that I always found so perplexing of the decade in science fiction. Many books of the great eras of sci fi have proved too complex to me and this story comes into that category. 

McBride’s stories are best when they are both entertaining and presenting interesting science fiction or fantasy conundrums. After the First Death is a twist on the vampire story but has a grounded style reminiscent of I Am Legend. Little Feather is a retelling of a classic fairy tale, but once again it has a modern urban feel to it. Two interesting takes on what can be tired genres. 

Doing Drugs has more of a punky cyber horror feel to the story and highlights that even when exploring different subgenres, the author’s voice always shines through. The concepts may be outlandish at times, but there is a solid core of a philisophical idea to the majority of the tales. Fantastical things may be happening, but the questions being posed are very real.  

The story that follows this rule the least and is the longest tale is the titular Price. This is a novelette, having its own chapters and gives enough time for you to start to really know the characters. It centres on the spiky relationship between an exiled ‘thief’ and a Prince. Around them the mix of sci fi and fantasy city is embroiled in revolution. This is a less serious story and shows that McBride is an author willing to have fun. 

As a collection, there is a nice mix of subgenres, there should be at least one tale that any type of science fiction fan will enjoy. It is wonderful to see an author dipping their toes into diverse types of landscapes and characters. McBride cannot be accused of writing the same story for thirty years. This makes the fact that the author’s voice rings throughout even more impressive. I felt a love of science fiction in the stories and a love of the art of short storytelling. There are exceptional highs, Doll Ladies could make a best of anthology easily, and a few dips, but overall, a great collection.