Track Changes Reviewed at Locus

Oh, how the tables have turned. Now it is the reviewer who is reviewed! Happily, the reviews for Track Changes so far have been very positive, and perhaps none more so than Ian Mond's in the August issue of Locus. I mentioned this review already in my appearance on the most recent episode of Critical Friends, and I'm glad to be able to share it in full online.
In her introduction, Nussbaum explains that the title, Track Changes, captures the book's intent – to not only "track changes in the world – in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, [but also] my own growth as a writer and critic." To achieve this, the book is structured into five sections – "Space", "Systems", "Places", "Bodies", and "Tales" – with the reviews in each section placed in chronological order. I want to say that I saw significant shifts in Nussbaum's style and concerns across the decade and a half these pieces cover. But the reality is that Nussbaum appeared on the scene fully formed. Her voice, her approach, and her interests are as evident in a review of Nova Swing by M. John Harrison, published in 2006, as it is in a piece on The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itaranta, which came out 16 years later (the review that caps off the section "Space"). I’m sure Nussbaum can point to numerous tweaks to how she structures up an argument; she might even disagree with those earlier reviews – view them as naïve or not fully fleshed out. But that's not how I read them. If anything, Nussbaum has always been a mature, thoughtful voice, never falling prey to the latest bit of literary clickbait – unless she can embed it into her criticism as she does with her terrific review of Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, where she brilliantly weaves in a provocative piece by Edward Docx about Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
It was genuinely thrilling to see such a generous, thoughtful appreciation of both the book and my work as a critic. Track Changes: Selected Reviews is available in ebook and paperback at the Briardene Books shop, and on Amazon (US, UK).

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