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Bad Power
Hate superheroes?
Yeah. They probably hate you, too.
‘There are two kinds of people with lawyers on tap, Mr Grey. The powerful and the corrupt.’
‘Thank you.’
‘For implying you’re powerful?’
‘For imagining those are two different groups.’
From Crawford Award nominee Deborah Biancotti comes this sinister short story suite, a pocketbook police procedural, set in a world where the victories are only relative, and the defeats are absolute. Bad Power celebrates the worst kind of powers both supernatural and otherwise, in the interlinked tales of five people — and how far they’ll go.
If you like Haven and Heroes, you’ll love Bad Power.
Yeah. They probably hate you, too.
‘There are two kinds of people with lawyers on tap, Mr Grey. The powerful and the corrupt.’
‘Thank you.’
‘For implying you’re powerful?’
‘For imagining those are two different groups.’
From Crawford Award nominee Deborah Biancotti comes this sinister short story suite, a pocketbook police procedural, set in a world where the victories are only relative, and the defeats are absolute. Bad Power celebrates the worst kind of powers both supernatural and otherwise, in the interlinked tales of five people — and how far they’ll go.
If you like Haven and Heroes, you’ll love Bad Power.
130 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2011
About the author
Deborah Biancotti
37 books117 followersDeborah Biancotti is co-author of the ZEROES series with Scott Westerfeld and Margo Lanagan. Her collections BAD POWER and A BOOK OF ENDINGS are available from Twelfth Planet Press and her novella WAKING IN WINTER will be available from PS Publishing in March 2016.
She's been nominated for the William L. Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy Book, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Aurealis & Ditmar Awards.
Deborah lives and writes in inner-city Sydney, Australia.
She's been nominated for the William L. Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy Book, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Aurealis & Ditmar Awards.
Deborah lives and writes in inner-city Sydney, Australia.
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August 4, 2014Well, OF COURSE I read it! I wrote the darn thing.
December 14, 2011
In the hands of a more pedestrian writer these stories might have seemed too...X-men. But Biancotti is different. In a good way. And I loved the Sydney settings. "Palming the Lady" and "Bad Power" both affected me very strongly and I would count them amongst the best short stories I've read this year.
May 22, 2013
These stories are a real departure for Deborah Biancotti - her previous work, such as the brillant short story collection A Book Of Endings, is considerably more fantastical, and also quite obtuse and obscure (in the best possible ways, of course!). But with Bad Power, we get to see a new side of her writing, one which I believe she's exploring more these days. It's more crime fiction than science fiction, with the bare-boned no nonsense prose that the genre excels at. It's uniquely interstitial, like Raymond Chandler writing for X-Men. If I had to make a criticism, it would be that, as individual stories, the parts that make up Bad Power are a little slight, more vignettes than fully fleshed out stories. But I suspect that's on purpose; when taken as a whole, and reading between the lines (and between the stories), the book paints a picture of a world where superpowers (both good and bad) are starting to emerge, and how people react to this. I'd love to see Biancotti explore this same world in novel form.
May 29, 2012
A masterful short story suite which explores what it might really be like to have super powers, or to simply live in a world where others possess them. And it doesn't give too much away to say, it ain't that great, kids! Biancotti imagines a society where the haves and have-nots are even more starkly delineated than our own, allowing for a smart, nuanced -- and not completely cynical -- examination of inequality, privilege and power of all kinds.
Another superb addition to the Twelve Planets series!
For a more in depth discussion of Bad Power, please listen to my podcast, The Writer and the Critic, episode 19.
Another superb addition to the Twelve Planets series!
For a more in depth discussion of Bad Power, please listen to my podcast, The Writer and the Critic, episode 19.
March 31, 2015
Fascinating set of short stories about what super-powers might look like if no-one ever admits to them. And how it can go wrong.
January 8, 2012
This review forms part of my contribution to the Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading Challenge.
Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti is one of the Twelve Planets series published by Twelfth Planet Press (12 boutique collections of stories by Australian women writers). It is made up of five shorter stories, including:
- Shades of Grey
- Palming the Lady
- Web of Lies
- Bad Power
- Cross That Bridge
This is the first work by Ms Biancotti that I've read and I really enjoyed it. The five stories are set it the same world, a version of modern Australia where some people have highly unique and personalised powers (the exception being the short story Bad Power which is set in the same world but in an earlier time period).
I think the setting established in this collection would lend itself well to a longer story as well, and this collection did an excellent job at establishing a very interesting background if Ms Biancotti ever decided to go in that direction.
I loved the way the stories related. They were very cleverly crafted to fit in to one other well. Minor characters introduced in one story become dominant in another. I don't think you'd get anywhere near as much impact/understanding if you read the stories out of order. The writing is fairly dark but with very balanced characters and each story contains an interesting exploration of aspects of human nature and how people react to the unknown.
Shades of Grey introduces the world and Samuel Rainer ("Esser") Grey, a wealthy man used to getting his own way in life who finds that he is literally indestructible and isn't impressed. It is an interesting exploration of a man who, through both his wealth and his power, finds himself living a consequence free life and the lengths he goes to in order to try and re-introduce consequences into it to feel more human. This is not a pleasant tale - Ms Biancotti takes Grey to a dark place. But as a result the story packed more of a punch.
Palming the Lady takes a minor character from the first story, Detective Enora Palmer and makes her the lead. In this story, she is investigating a complaint by a university student (Matthew Webb - somewhat unlikeable in this story which is unfortunate given our shared last name) about being stalked by a homeless woman. It turns out the homeless woman has a power as well. I liked the way the unnamed homeless woman was described, taking the reader from a superficial description of her appearance (mimicking most of our initial reactions to homeless people) to making her a very sympathetic, richly described character, all without telling us her name.
Web of Lies focuses on in on the Matthew Webb character. His father has just died, and it turns out that Webb has a power as well, one that his father has kept him medicated against for most of his life. The story is mostly told from Webb's drug/alcohol/hangover addled perspective. With Webb's disintegration we also see his mother's emergence from her own prescription drug haze. The mother character is very interesting/chilling, and by the end of the story I found myself rethinking the entire family power dynamics.
Bad Power was very interesting. Told in first person and in a different (much earlier) time period, it tells the story of one of the first people in Australia to have emerging powers and the reaction of those around her. The style of story telling is very different, and to be honest it took me a couple of pages to work out what was going on (the connection between the first three stories is a lot clearer, this one you have to work at a bit). The story telling is strong and quite dark, but the ending is more surprising as a result. Having finished the book and looking back, I would say this is probably my favourite story of the lot although I might not have said that when I was in the middle of reading it. I think the shift in time and setting worked well to provide a contrast to the other stories.
Cross That Bridge is back to modern Australia, this time focusing on Detective Palmer's new partner Detective Maxillius Ponti. Detective Ponti has a knack for finding lost children and uses it to track down Angie, a young girl who has used a power of her own to leave her suburban life behind. It is probably the most optimistic of the five stories, with Detective Ponti seeming comfortable with his power and using it for good. It nicely rounds out the collection.
The blurb for this book says "If you like Haven and Heroes, you'll love Bad Power". Having just watched season 1 of Haven, I can certainly see where the comparison is coming from - Detective Palmer reminded me a lot of Special Agent Audrey Parker and the view of powers as more of a curse than a blessing is a theme that runs through both shows. Bad Power is sufficiently different as to stand apart though - as much as I enjoyed Haven, Bad Power is a much more intelligent treatment of the subject.
This is an excellent collection, and I highly recommend it.
I also reviewed this book on my website.
Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti is one of the Twelve Planets series published by Twelfth Planet Press (12 boutique collections of stories by Australian women writers). It is made up of five shorter stories, including:
- Shades of Grey
- Palming the Lady
- Web of Lies
- Bad Power
- Cross That Bridge
This is the first work by Ms Biancotti that I've read and I really enjoyed it. The five stories are set it the same world, a version of modern Australia where some people have highly unique and personalised powers (the exception being the short story Bad Power which is set in the same world but in an earlier time period).
I think the setting established in this collection would lend itself well to a longer story as well, and this collection did an excellent job at establishing a very interesting background if Ms Biancotti ever decided to go in that direction.
I loved the way the stories related. They were very cleverly crafted to fit in to one other well. Minor characters introduced in one story become dominant in another. I don't think you'd get anywhere near as much impact/understanding if you read the stories out of order. The writing is fairly dark but with very balanced characters and each story contains an interesting exploration of aspects of human nature and how people react to the unknown.
Shades of Grey introduces the world and Samuel Rainer ("Esser") Grey, a wealthy man used to getting his own way in life who finds that he is literally indestructible and isn't impressed. It is an interesting exploration of a man who, through both his wealth and his power, finds himself living a consequence free life and the lengths he goes to in order to try and re-introduce consequences into it to feel more human. This is not a pleasant tale - Ms Biancotti takes Grey to a dark place. But as a result the story packed more of a punch.
Palming the Lady takes a minor character from the first story, Detective Enora Palmer and makes her the lead. In this story, she is investigating a complaint by a university student (Matthew Webb - somewhat unlikeable in this story which is unfortunate given our shared last name) about being stalked by a homeless woman. It turns out the homeless woman has a power as well. I liked the way the unnamed homeless woman was described, taking the reader from a superficial description of her appearance (mimicking most of our initial reactions to homeless people) to making her a very sympathetic, richly described character, all without telling us her name.
Web of Lies focuses on in on the Matthew Webb character. His father has just died, and it turns out that Webb has a power as well, one that his father has kept him medicated against for most of his life. The story is mostly told from Webb's drug/alcohol/hangover addled perspective. With Webb's disintegration we also see his mother's emergence from her own prescription drug haze. The mother character is very interesting/chilling, and by the end of the story I found myself rethinking the entire family power dynamics.
Bad Power was very interesting. Told in first person and in a different (much earlier) time period, it tells the story of one of the first people in Australia to have emerging powers and the reaction of those around her. The style of story telling is very different, and to be honest it took me a couple of pages to work out what was going on (the connection between the first three stories is a lot clearer, this one you have to work at a bit). The story telling is strong and quite dark, but the ending is more surprising as a result. Having finished the book and looking back, I would say this is probably my favourite story of the lot although I might not have said that when I was in the middle of reading it. I think the shift in time and setting worked well to provide a contrast to the other stories.
Cross That Bridge is back to modern Australia, this time focusing on Detective Palmer's new partner Detective Maxillius Ponti. Detective Ponti has a knack for finding lost children and uses it to track down Angie, a young girl who has used a power of her own to leave her suburban life behind. It is probably the most optimistic of the five stories, with Detective Ponti seeming comfortable with his power and using it for good. It nicely rounds out the collection.
The blurb for this book says "If you like Haven and Heroes, you'll love Bad Power". Having just watched season 1 of Haven, I can certainly see where the comparison is coming from - Detective Palmer reminded me a lot of Special Agent Audrey Parker and the view of powers as more of a curse than a blessing is a theme that runs through both shows. Bad Power is sufficiently different as to stand apart though - as much as I enjoyed Haven, Bad Power is a much more intelligent treatment of the subject.
This is an excellent collection, and I highly recommend it.
I also reviewed this book on my website.
December 20, 2011
This fourth in the Twelve Planets series, from Alisa at Twelfth Planet Press, comes back to the idea presented by the first collection - that of an interconnected suite of stories, which build on and enhance one another but also stand by themselves. I think this comes second only to Love and Romanpunk for me, so far, and as I've already discussed, I'm in no way unbiased about that delightful little book.
The overarching idea here in Deborah Biancotti's set is, as the title suggests, the use and abuse of power - especially when it is given to ordinary, or even undeserving people. The blurb asks "Hate superheroes? Yeah. They probably hate you, too." It feels to me that the idea of ordinary people having powers and struggling with them is something that's only become interesting in the last few years. Biancotti does not present unreservedly heroic or villainous people, in general, here. They do some stupid things... but they're not out for world domination. They do some heroic things... but they have their struggles and failures, too.
The first story is "Shades of Grey," in which Esser Grey confronts the idea of immortality and finds it not really to his liking. His reasons for not liking it involve some intriguing of character development, and the consequences should be ruinous for him but mostly end up being so for other people around him instead. I don't think you can like Grey, exactly, but his story is an excellent introduction to the issues of power as Biancotti imagines them. And we are also introduced to the wonderful Detective Palmer, who keeps popping up throughout the rest of the sequence. Like in the second story.
"Palming the Lady" might be my favourite of the set. Not that it's a pleasant story, by any stretch of the imagination. There's a somewhat spoilt rich boy, son of a famous father, who claims to being stalked by a homeless woman; Detective Palmer, newly in the bad books at work, is assigned to look into it. Which means talking to said homeless woman at much closer quarters than she is comfortable with, and finding out more information than she is comfortable with. The 'stalker' is confronting on a number of levels: for her appearance, and her (lack of) status, and her talent. And for the conjunction, too, of a remarkable talent in an unremarkable woman. I did not like the rich boy, Matthew, but fortunately most of the story is actually about Palmer, who shows delightful tenacity as well as an endearing capacity for not understanding things immediately. Also, a weary love of humanity.
My dislike of Matthew made me slightly wary of "Web of Lies," the third story, because it features him again. Fortunately, this is quite a different story, and quite a different Matthew too. It begins at his father's funeral an unspecified amount of time after the second story,and - appropriately - features his mother to a much greater extent than "Palming the Lady." There, Palmer met her once and dismissed her as having "a prescription problem." This story delves into her life and shows it to be about far more than simply a bored housewife and overuse of valium. This one creeped me out quite a lot; somewhat sinister mothers will do that. Matthew is theoretically the centre of the story, with his problems in understanding the power that he is coming into, but the mother is where my interest really lay.
The fourth story is quite different, and it took me a while - in fact, until reading the next story - before I really understood how "Bad Power" really fit into the suite. I think it works overall, but certainly when I first started it I was a bit confused. Partly this is the difference in narrative voice: where the first three are third-person, modern Australia, and set in wealthy enough areas, this one is first-person, somewhere ill-defined, and very definitely not well-educated. It's an unpleasant story (again). In this case the unpleasantness comes about because of other people's reactions to our narrator's power, which haven't been explored on a medium-to-large scale in any of the other stories. And it definitely provides interesting context about how attitudes towards 'power' have changed, as well as attitudes towards individuals and, hmm, maybe social responsibility? After I got into the rhythm of the narrative style this was a really good story.
Exploding the Twelve Planets paradigm, this collection has FIVE stories, finishing off with "Cross That Bridge." In many ways it ties together aspects of all four of the previous stories in nice, but not too neat, ways - ways that still leave me hungering for more story set in this world, for sure. We're back with police work, this time with a Detective Ponti (heh, Latin joke!) at the helm, looking for a missing child. This is probably the most hopeful of all of the stories, where power is used largely for good - or at least mostly non-destructive - purposes, and where indeed an actual purpose for the powers exhibited so far can be imagined, and undertaken.
As should be obvious, all of these stories tie together, and I can see the reasoning behind the sequencing. However, I think you could probably read them in any order (hmm, except perhaps #2 and 3, which should be read in sequence) and enjoy the exploration of ideas they present. You could also, crucially, enjoy them completely independently - although I would imagine that that would leave you wanting more, to an even greater extent than I do at the moment. This collection really works.
March 10, 2012
Review originally posted here: http://tsanasreads.tumblr.com/post/17...
Bad Power is set (mostly) in modern Sydney in a world where some people have an inexplicable power: talking to dead people, seeing the future, immortality, and a few less common powers. And, although most of the protagonists have super powers, none of them are heroes (well, with one possible exception).
A few words about each of the stories:
Shades of Grey
The first thing that struck me about Biancotti’s writing when I started reading this story was the cinematic quality of the mental images it conjured up. The opening story grabbed me from the first paragraph and thrust me into the collection.
In “Shades of Grey” we meet Esser Grey, a wealthy businessman who recently discovered his power and is testing the limits (and not really finding any). We also meet detective Palmer, a recurring character throughout the collection who keeps being given the weird cases. (I enjoyed the continuity of seeing Palmer in later stories and also the mentions of Grey later on.) This story really sets the scene for the rest of the collection.
Palming the Lady
In this story, a young medical student, Matthew Webb, goes to the police and is directed to detective Palmer. He is being stalked by a homeless woman who knows where he’s going to be and gets there before he does. But his future isn’t he only future she sees.
Web of Lies
We meet Matthew again, this time just after his father’s death when he and his mother and discovering how to live again, free from the old man’s dictatorship. They both struggle with it in different ways and both learn there is more power in their family than they had realised.
As a side note, Matthew is mentioned in passing the last two stories. After the tumultuous stories in which he played a central role, it was nice to read that he had a slightly more stable future ahead of him. A neat way of letting us know that it was all OK in the end.
Bad Power
This is the only story not set in modern Sydney and also the only one written in first person. It also stood out for me as being the one story with a less thoroughly described setting — I was slightly confused about the time period it was set in, but turns out my first instinct was correct.
It’s a story about someone with a self-described “bad” power and about the horrible things people do to each other. This was easily the most horrific story in the collection and, for that reason, my least favourite. However, the link the previous and subsequent stories made it a relevant and integral part of the collection. I think without this story, the whole collection would have felt slightly more bland. (And it does make a good title for the collection as a whole.)
Cross That Bridge
This was the story that, when I heard a brief description on Galactic Suburbia, made me want to read the whole collection. Max works for the police. His power is the ability to find lost children, even when there is no discernible trail. As one might imagine, people find his talent creepy and he is constantly under suspicion.
~
It’s hard to choose a favourite story in this collection. Aside from “Bad Power”, they read almost like chapters from the same book (except with resolutions and different protagonists). The idea of normal people discovering superpowers isn’t a new one (cf Heroes), nor is the idea of an organisation such as the Grey Institute hinted at in the background throughout the collection (cf X-Men, Union Dues, etc). However, Biancotti pulls the world off uniquely and fascinatingly.
I really enjoyed the exploration of human nature and the wildly different coping mechanisms the powered characters employ. My favourite take home message? Power is not always empowerment.
Bad Power is set (mostly) in modern Sydney in a world where some people have an inexplicable power: talking to dead people, seeing the future, immortality, and a few less common powers. And, although most of the protagonists have super powers, none of them are heroes (well, with one possible exception).
A few words about each of the stories:
Shades of Grey
The first thing that struck me about Biancotti’s writing when I started reading this story was the cinematic quality of the mental images it conjured up. The opening story grabbed me from the first paragraph and thrust me into the collection.
In “Shades of Grey” we meet Esser Grey, a wealthy businessman who recently discovered his power and is testing the limits (and not really finding any). We also meet detective Palmer, a recurring character throughout the collection who keeps being given the weird cases. (I enjoyed the continuity of seeing Palmer in later stories and also the mentions of Grey later on.) This story really sets the scene for the rest of the collection.
Palming the Lady
In this story, a young medical student, Matthew Webb, goes to the police and is directed to detective Palmer. He is being stalked by a homeless woman who knows where he’s going to be and gets there before he does. But his future isn’t he only future she sees.
Web of Lies
We meet Matthew again, this time just after his father’s death when he and his mother and discovering how to live again, free from the old man’s dictatorship. They both struggle with it in different ways and both learn there is more power in their family than they had realised.
As a side note, Matthew is mentioned in passing the last two stories. After the tumultuous stories in which he played a central role, it was nice to read that he had a slightly more stable future ahead of him. A neat way of letting us know that it was all OK in the end.
Bad Power
This is the only story not set in modern Sydney and also the only one written in first person. It also stood out for me as being the one story with a less thoroughly described setting — I was slightly confused about the time period it was set in, but turns out my first instinct was correct.
It’s a story about someone with a self-described “bad” power and about the horrible things people do to each other. This was easily the most horrific story in the collection and, for that reason, my least favourite. However, the link the previous and subsequent stories made it a relevant and integral part of the collection. I think without this story, the whole collection would have felt slightly more bland. (And it does make a good title for the collection as a whole.)
Cross That Bridge
This was the story that, when I heard a brief description on Galactic Suburbia, made me want to read the whole collection. Max works for the police. His power is the ability to find lost children, even when there is no discernible trail. As one might imagine, people find his talent creepy and he is constantly under suspicion.
~
It’s hard to choose a favourite story in this collection. Aside from “Bad Power”, they read almost like chapters from the same book (except with resolutions and different protagonists). The idea of normal people discovering superpowers isn’t a new one (cf Heroes), nor is the idea of an organisation such as the Grey Institute hinted at in the background throughout the collection (cf X-Men, Union Dues, etc). However, Biancotti pulls the world off uniquely and fascinatingly.
I really enjoyed the exploration of human nature and the wildly different coping mechanisms the powered characters employ. My favourite take home message? Power is not always empowerment.
April 23, 2016
Bad Power is the fourth collection in Twelfth Planet Press’s Twelve Planets series, and features five short stories by Deborah Biancotti.
These interconnected stories all take place in a world where superhuman powers exist. There are no capes here, however – no heroes trying to save cities, no villains trying to take over the world, just people trying to make the best (and sometimes the worst) of what having their power means to them.
The collection opens with Shades of Grey, which introduced Esser Grey, a wealthy businessman who has recently discovered his power and is trying to explore the limits of it. This is an extremely visceral story (both literally and figuratively), and Biancotti manages to make Grey a compelling character, even as he takes some horrific lengths to push his limits. Notably, this story also introduces Detective Palmer, whose presence becomes a thread linking all of the stories in the collection.
Next is Palming the Lady, in which Detective Palmer takes focus. Medical student Matthew Webb is being followed by a homeless woman who seems to have the ability to know where he’ll be before he does, and Palmer is called in to investigate. This story really highlights Biancotti’s fabulous characters, and her ability to make every one of them feel like a living, breathing–and more importantly, sympathetic and understandable–person. I challenge anyone to read this story and not fall at least a little in love with Palmer. I would happily read a novel (or series of novels) about all the strange cases she investigates.
Web of Lies continues Matthew Webb’s story. The medical student has recently lost his father, and he and his mother are adjusting to life without him–and, more importantly, without the drugs he used to medicate them for what he called mental illness. This is a story which cuts close to the bone, treading the line where powers meet mental illness. Particularly notable here is Matthew, who wasn’t a particularly likeable character in the previous story, and who becomes much more sympathetic here, as well as the characterisation of Matthew’s mother, and how much her newfound strength changes things.
Bad Power reads more like a vignette than a full story, and is perhaps the least grounded. It is told from the point of view of someone with a power living in a different time and place, and really reflects on power–both in terms of a superhuman gift and in terms of personal power and strength. This is probably the darkest of the stories in the collection, and also the one that, for me, shows off Biancotti’s extraordinary talent the most.
The last story in the collection, Cross the Bridge, is my favourite. This one brings us back to Detective Palmer again, this time given a partner in Detective Ponti. Ponti has a very useful power, being able to track lost children. There is a quiet horror in this story, with children being the victims of crimes, and yet there is also hope, and a quiet realisation that, for all of the horror and awfulness that’s happened in this world, there are still people who are good, people like Palmer and Ponti who will try to do good with their powers.
Overall, this is another stunning addition to the Twelve Planets, and one of my favourites (unsurprising, since I am a huge fan of all of Biancotti’s work). The basic trope of superpowered humans has been explored many times, but few authors have the ability to really make the stories about the humans and not the powers (or the battles they fight). Biancotti does all of this, and more, making this a collection I would recommend whole-heartedly to anyone, and especially those burned out on superheroes.
These interconnected stories all take place in a world where superhuman powers exist. There are no capes here, however – no heroes trying to save cities, no villains trying to take over the world, just people trying to make the best (and sometimes the worst) of what having their power means to them.
The collection opens with Shades of Grey, which introduced Esser Grey, a wealthy businessman who has recently discovered his power and is trying to explore the limits of it. This is an extremely visceral story (both literally and figuratively), and Biancotti manages to make Grey a compelling character, even as he takes some horrific lengths to push his limits. Notably, this story also introduces Detective Palmer, whose presence becomes a thread linking all of the stories in the collection.
Next is Palming the Lady, in which Detective Palmer takes focus. Medical student Matthew Webb is being followed by a homeless woman who seems to have the ability to know where he’ll be before he does, and Palmer is called in to investigate. This story really highlights Biancotti’s fabulous characters, and her ability to make every one of them feel like a living, breathing–and more importantly, sympathetic and understandable–person. I challenge anyone to read this story and not fall at least a little in love with Palmer. I would happily read a novel (or series of novels) about all the strange cases she investigates.
Web of Lies continues Matthew Webb’s story. The medical student has recently lost his father, and he and his mother are adjusting to life without him–and, more importantly, without the drugs he used to medicate them for what he called mental illness. This is a story which cuts close to the bone, treading the line where powers meet mental illness. Particularly notable here is Matthew, who wasn’t a particularly likeable character in the previous story, and who becomes much more sympathetic here, as well as the characterisation of Matthew’s mother, and how much her newfound strength changes things.
Bad Power reads more like a vignette than a full story, and is perhaps the least grounded. It is told from the point of view of someone with a power living in a different time and place, and really reflects on power–both in terms of a superhuman gift and in terms of personal power and strength. This is probably the darkest of the stories in the collection, and also the one that, for me, shows off Biancotti’s extraordinary talent the most.
The last story in the collection, Cross the Bridge, is my favourite. This one brings us back to Detective Palmer again, this time given a partner in Detective Ponti. Ponti has a very useful power, being able to track lost children. There is a quiet horror in this story, with children being the victims of crimes, and yet there is also hope, and a quiet realisation that, for all of the horror and awfulness that’s happened in this world, there are still people who are good, people like Palmer and Ponti who will try to do good with their powers.
Overall, this is another stunning addition to the Twelve Planets, and one of my favourites (unsurprising, since I am a huge fan of all of Biancotti’s work). The basic trope of superpowered humans has been explored many times, but few authors have the ability to really make the stories about the humans and not the powers (or the battles they fight). Biancotti does all of this, and more, making this a collection I would recommend whole-heartedly to anyone, and especially those burned out on superheroes.
January 29, 2012
Bad Power is the Twelfth Planet collection featuring the work of Crawford award nominee Deborah Biancotti.
The jacket copy says “If you like Haven or heroes, you’ll love Bad power.” While I think Heroes suffers from the American propensity to drag successful ideas out to the point where they lose dramatic tension, I really like Haven.
Bad power is more akin to the later, more subdued, and understated. It also makes me think of Misfits, in the sense that having powers is never quite the as good asit might seem.
With Bad Power Biancotti has given us 5 stories that connect very smoothly with one another through the theme of power, the setting and the characters. It’s more in line with previous Twelve Planet releases like Love and Romanpunk and Nightsiders but I would argue that Bad Power touches on becoming novella such is the smooth flow of the narrative between each of the stories.
The Stories
Shades of Grey - A rich man finds that he can’t kill or injure himself – What to do? Well what he does lands himself in gaol and we are introduced to the ever present Detective Palmer.
Palming the Lady – A homeless woman is harassing the son of a rich doctor. Detective Palmer questions her only to find that she carries the power to see the future.
Web of Lies – Features the rich son from Palming the Lady who discovers that he hears the voices of the dead. His mother previously thought to be a drug addled trophy wife turns out to be …well sinister.
Bad Power – This story breaks the temporal connection of the previous three harking back to an earlier time, possibly set in Australia certainly around the 19 century. A woman who can bind others with her words. It deals with the emergence of the “power”.
Cross the Bridge – Detective Ponti ( a descendant of the narrator in Bad Power) can track missing children, usually runaways or the victims of child abusers. This story features him tracking something new and teaming up with Detective Palmer.
Biancotti has done such a wonderful job with character and setting that I would gleefully return to the world of Bad Power. I love speculative fiction books set in Australia, in places where I have walked the streets. Fingers crossed Biancotti has something longer in the works based on her ideas presented here.
I think that Bad Power deserves some close reading once you get past the sheer enjoyment of reading what are very engaging stories. She raises questions subtly - about power and its use.
I also love the skilful play with words, evident most obviously in the tiles of the above pieces. Tight layered writing.
The jacket copy says “If you like Haven or heroes, you’ll love Bad power.” While I think Heroes suffers from the American propensity to drag successful ideas out to the point where they lose dramatic tension, I really like Haven.
Bad power is more akin to the later, more subdued, and understated. It also makes me think of Misfits, in the sense that having powers is never quite the as good asit might seem.
With Bad Power Biancotti has given us 5 stories that connect very smoothly with one another through the theme of power, the setting and the characters. It’s more in line with previous Twelve Planet releases like Love and Romanpunk and Nightsiders but I would argue that Bad Power touches on becoming novella such is the smooth flow of the narrative between each of the stories.
The Stories
Shades of Grey - A rich man finds that he can’t kill or injure himself – What to do? Well what he does lands himself in gaol and we are introduced to the ever present Detective Palmer.
Palming the Lady – A homeless woman is harassing the son of a rich doctor. Detective Palmer questions her only to find that she carries the power to see the future.
Web of Lies – Features the rich son from Palming the Lady who discovers that he hears the voices of the dead. His mother previously thought to be a drug addled trophy wife turns out to be …well sinister.
Bad Power – This story breaks the temporal connection of the previous three harking back to an earlier time, possibly set in Australia certainly around the 19 century. A woman who can bind others with her words. It deals with the emergence of the “power”.
Cross the Bridge – Detective Ponti ( a descendant of the narrator in Bad Power) can track missing children, usually runaways or the victims of child abusers. This story features him tracking something new and teaming up with Detective Palmer.
Biancotti has done such a wonderful job with character and setting that I would gleefully return to the world of Bad Power. I love speculative fiction books set in Australia, in places where I have walked the streets. Fingers crossed Biancotti has something longer in the works based on her ideas presented here.
I think that Bad Power deserves some close reading once you get past the sheer enjoyment of reading what are very engaging stories. She raises questions subtly - about power and its use.
I also love the skilful play with words, evident most obviously in the tiles of the above pieces. Tight layered writing.
February 17, 2012
Bad Power contains five short stories set in a world where there are people with powers, though no superheroes. Instead, people slowly come to realise that they have abilities – some of them very subtle – and have to confront what it means for their everyday lives.
Anyone who has read Biancotti’s Book of Endings will already be familiar with her ability to infuse the everyday - the mundanely human - with a sense of creeping horror. Her work is full of the textures of human frailty as well as strength.
Biancotti has other qualities as a writer, too. I love how distinctive each of her characters is. Everyone has their own voice, the way they speak in their dialogue as well as how they think and act.
The eponymous story, Bad Power, features the very distinctive voice of an unnamed woman. It’s not easy to write a dialectical patois without sounding awkward or somehow pantomime, but Biancotti is seamless. It’s full of surprises too, but as the revelations come they always feel natural, as though now the truth is out, you always suspected it was there.
The story comes midway through the collection, and we’re led there through the gently interconnected stories. In Shades of Grey, the futilely suicidal Esser Grey meets Detective Palmer, who has troubles of her own. These are explored in more detail in Palming the Lady, and the consequences of her investigation of a stalker continue in Web of Lies, one of the creepiest and least expected stories of the collection.
The young doctor, Matthew Webb, who hears things, surfaces in Bad Power, while characters from that tale meet up with others we’ve met before along with Ponti, a detective with a knack for finding lost children, in Cross that Bridge.
You can see how the characters are echoed in the story titles as well as weaving around each other in the stories. Even in a world without powers, bad or otherwise, we all have an effect on each other. The ripples and whorls of individual choices are visible throughout this satisfying little book.
Bad Power is satisfying – yet also leaves you craving more. I want to read more about this world that has super powers but no super heroes. Hell, I just want more Biancotti.
Anyone who has read Biancotti’s Book of Endings will already be familiar with her ability to infuse the everyday - the mundanely human - with a sense of creeping horror. Her work is full of the textures of human frailty as well as strength.
Biancotti has other qualities as a writer, too. I love how distinctive each of her characters is. Everyone has their own voice, the way they speak in their dialogue as well as how they think and act.
The eponymous story, Bad Power, features the very distinctive voice of an unnamed woman. It’s not easy to write a dialectical patois without sounding awkward or somehow pantomime, but Biancotti is seamless. It’s full of surprises too, but as the revelations come they always feel natural, as though now the truth is out, you always suspected it was there.
The story comes midway through the collection, and we’re led there through the gently interconnected stories. In Shades of Grey, the futilely suicidal Esser Grey meets Detective Palmer, who has troubles of her own. These are explored in more detail in Palming the Lady, and the consequences of her investigation of a stalker continue in Web of Lies, one of the creepiest and least expected stories of the collection.
The young doctor, Matthew Webb, who hears things, surfaces in Bad Power, while characters from that tale meet up with others we’ve met before along with Ponti, a detective with a knack for finding lost children, in Cross that Bridge.
You can see how the characters are echoed in the story titles as well as weaving around each other in the stories. Even in a world without powers, bad or otherwise, we all have an effect on each other. The ripples and whorls of individual choices are visible throughout this satisfying little book.
Bad Power is satisfying – yet also leaves you craving more. I want to read more about this world that has super powers but no super heroes. Hell, I just want more Biancotti.
March 7, 2022
2022 review: I think I got more out of this collection/story this time, so I'm glad I rediscovered it in my kindle. It has quiet, odd, compelling things to say about differences, conformity, despair, wealth, wants, needs, and adaptability, and how power or lack of it affects everything else. It is not anything like the current superhero movies. Not at all. :)
Previous review:
I got this ebook as a prize for supporting Defying Doomsday (an anthology with disabled protagonists as lead characters), and I chose from the list the only one featuring super powers.
This is a story woven together through several distinctive short stories, and I loved it, I loved the threads of continuity and I loved where it ended. It's a relatively quick read, but that's in part because the characters are compelling. If you like realistic characters dealing with the very odd, I recommend this.
Previous review:
I got this ebook as a prize for supporting Defying Doomsday (an anthology with disabled protagonists as lead characters), and I chose from the list the only one featuring super powers.
This is a story woven together through several distinctive short stories, and I loved it, I loved the threads of continuity and I loved where it ended. It's a relatively quick read, but that's in part because the characters are compelling. If you like realistic characters dealing with the very odd, I recommend this.
December 31, 2011
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
Constantly well written, enthralling and very well presented. I loved how they were all woven together and would love to have seen more.
Constantly well written, enthralling and very well presented. I loved how they were all woven together and would love to have seen more.
December 23, 2013
A wonderful writer. Biancotti's prose flows seamlessly and her dialogue is sharp and insightful. Loved this intertwined collection of five 'meaty' long-short stories, all with juicy narratives. Australia has a wealth of talent in the spec-fic field and this collection is certainly further evidence of this.
Look forward to reading more of her work.
Look forward to reading more of her work.
January 21, 2013
Loved these stories about Supernatural powers misused or just going wrong. Biancotti is a master storyteller and I'd love to see a whole book about Detective Palmer. Thank you Twelth Planet Press for producing this little book.
"Hate superheros? Yeah they probably hate you, too."
"Hate superheros? Yeah they probably hate you, too."
July 26, 2017
A solid collection exploring superpowers in everyday folk, neatly combined into police procedural stories and one historical yarn. This is a suite of five stories, all connected in some ways, with cool recurring characters.
December 17, 2011
Thoroughly THOROUGHLY enjoyed every one of these! Fabulous collection, beautifully written. This is what smart superpower stories look like, right here.
April 23, 2016
Bad Power is the fourth book in the Twelve Planets series, released by Twelfth Planet Press, which showcase the talent of female Australian authors. There is now to be a thirteenth in the series, but that's a review for another time. The brief given to authors was to write 4-5 short stories of up to 40,000 words in total. The stories could be separate, discrete narratives or linked through character, setting or theme.
This collection contains five interwoven contemporary short stories, set in Sydney. It shows people blessed/cursed with powers, and the ramifications this has on their lives and those around them. It's also the book that had Scott Westerfeld approach Deborah about Zeroes, also co-written with Margo Lanagan, so if you like that book then you totally have to come back to the start to see how it all began.
Shades of Grey
A man discovers that he's immortal, and it drives him crazy. Rich and powerful, he's used to having anything and everything he could ever desire within his reach, so now that something has been taken away from him - his ability to die - it's the one thing he wants most of all.
If you like character-driven stories, Biancotti is excellent for them. Although we're not supposed to like this character we certainly understand him, and the struggle and way he sees Sydney and life in general is described so eloquently though this short story that it makes it easy to devour without pause. Biancotti's way of writing makes it staggeringly easy to visualise everything in crisp and raw detail, and although I've read some damn good books already this month, I really took note of just how good her writing is.
This has the introduction of Detective Palmer, who is the link between all following stories.
Palming the Lady
A homeless woman can see the future. She has charisma and knows exactly what to say in order to get under your skin. She follows a young man because he will be amazing some day, and Detective Palmer has to step in to investigate - stalking isn't against the law strictly, in this State, but it's certainly not nice. She takes the woman in for questioning and assessment, but they can't hold her... even though she's certainly interesting enough to want to know more.
This piece shows the layers in how people may have something you want, but overall it's so awkward and complex to stick around. This woman has amazing powers but she's not exactly easy to talk to or be around, and it makes you think what if someone has the ability to do amazing things, but they get looked over because they simply don't fit into society?
Web of Lies
From the previous short story, we have the young man, Matthew, who is going to be amazing some day, now a little closer to his greatness. His all-ruling father has now passed away, leaving both son and wife floating lost... until things spiral and reveal their true selves. We also have Grey from the first short story, weaving now into this one.
This one was a little harder to read as it was more sinister, less about yay powers and more about how easily powers could be associated with mental health. It's good, but depressing.
Bad Power
This one takes a slightly different path to the others, not set in the same time/place, and written in first person suddenly, so it takes some getting used to rather than the easy slide we have had into the previous stories. This is easily the most horrific piece in the collection as it deals with the title - Bad Power. The horrible things one could do with power in the wrong hands, or the type of power that twists even a decent person into a different path of life.
This one also had the most surprising ending, and it was the most grim that gave shock to the collection. Without this piece it would have been an easier read for sure, but this certainly makes it more memorable and depth. It's brave and it does the job well - I just miss the delicate wonder that we saw in the first piece.
Cross the Bridge
Back we are to more familiar territory. Detective Palmer is still stuck with the weird cases, but now she has a new partner, Detective Ponti, who has a very useful power indeed. He can track lost children, which gives hope to all in general, and is especially decent to end a collection with, showing that all powers aren't going to result in grim and dark places.
This is probably close to my favourite piece of the collection, as it's written with a light hand, and the dialogue is excellent. We're back to character-driven stories where they're trying to make sense of the weird an unexplainable, but they're also willing to believe in just about anything.
This collection contains five interwoven contemporary short stories, set in Sydney. It shows people blessed/cursed with powers, and the ramifications this has on their lives and those around them. It's also the book that had Scott Westerfeld approach Deborah about Zeroes, also co-written with Margo Lanagan, so if you like that book then you totally have to come back to the start to see how it all began.
Shades of Grey
A man discovers that he's immortal, and it drives him crazy. Rich and powerful, he's used to having anything and everything he could ever desire within his reach, so now that something has been taken away from him - his ability to die - it's the one thing he wants most of all.
If you like character-driven stories, Biancotti is excellent for them. Although we're not supposed to like this character we certainly understand him, and the struggle and way he sees Sydney and life in general is described so eloquently though this short story that it makes it easy to devour without pause. Biancotti's way of writing makes it staggeringly easy to visualise everything in crisp and raw detail, and although I've read some damn good books already this month, I really took note of just how good her writing is.
This has the introduction of Detective Palmer, who is the link between all following stories.
Palming the Lady
A homeless woman can see the future. She has charisma and knows exactly what to say in order to get under your skin. She follows a young man because he will be amazing some day, and Detective Palmer has to step in to investigate - stalking isn't against the law strictly, in this State, but it's certainly not nice. She takes the woman in for questioning and assessment, but they can't hold her... even though she's certainly interesting enough to want to know more.
This piece shows the layers in how people may have something you want, but overall it's so awkward and complex to stick around. This woman has amazing powers but she's not exactly easy to talk to or be around, and it makes you think what if someone has the ability to do amazing things, but they get looked over because they simply don't fit into society?
Web of Lies
From the previous short story, we have the young man, Matthew, who is going to be amazing some day, now a little closer to his greatness. His all-ruling father has now passed away, leaving both son and wife floating lost... until things spiral and reveal their true selves. We also have Grey from the first short story, weaving now into this one.
This one was a little harder to read as it was more sinister, less about yay powers and more about how easily powers could be associated with mental health. It's good, but depressing.
Bad Power
This one takes a slightly different path to the others, not set in the same time/place, and written in first person suddenly, so it takes some getting used to rather than the easy slide we have had into the previous stories. This is easily the most horrific piece in the collection as it deals with the title - Bad Power. The horrible things one could do with power in the wrong hands, or the type of power that twists even a decent person into a different path of life.
This one also had the most surprising ending, and it was the most grim that gave shock to the collection. Without this piece it would have been an easier read for sure, but this certainly makes it more memorable and depth. It's brave and it does the job well - I just miss the delicate wonder that we saw in the first piece.
Cross the Bridge
Back we are to more familiar territory. Detective Palmer is still stuck with the weird cases, but now she has a new partner, Detective Ponti, who has a very useful power indeed. He can track lost children, which gives hope to all in general, and is especially decent to end a collection with, showing that all powers aren't going to result in grim and dark places.
This is probably close to my favourite piece of the collection, as it's written with a light hand, and the dialogue is excellent. We're back to character-driven stories where they're trying to make sense of the weird an unexplainable, but they're also willing to believe in just about anything.
August 2, 2013
Hate superheroes?
Yeah. They probably hate you, too.
‘There are two kinds of people with lawyers on tap, Mr Grey. The powerful and the corrupt.’
‘Thank you.’
‘For implying you’re powerful?’
‘For imagining those are two different groups.’
From Crawford Award nominee Deborah Biancotti comes this sinister short story suite, a pocketbook police procedural, set in a world where the victories are only relative, and the defeats are absolute. Bad Power celebrates the worst kind of powers both supernatural and otherwise, in the interlinked tales of five people — and how far they’ll go.
If you like Haven and Heroes, you’ll love Bad Power.
Superheroes and supernatural powers are a very common thing nowadays, with plenty of comic books, movies and books focused on one or more figures with uncommon abilities, it is almost impossible to not have heard of at least one. However, most of these superheroes tend to be shallow figures, hidden behind a disguise that wears itself very thin on a closer inspection, the human element that lies beneath their supernatural powers is missed almost completely. Deborah Biancotti tackles this issue in her latest collection of short stories, “Bad Power”.
Deborah Biancotti’s collection consists of five stories interdependent with each other, but that can also be read independently without any difficulty. However, I do believe that “Bad Power” is much better treated a single story with multiple points of view and repays the reader more if approached as one solid product. The five stories bridge each other, mainly through characters, but also through intrigue. “Shades of Grey” has the longest grip, reaching its grasp until the last story, but also introduces Detective Enora Palmer who investigates a case of harassing in “Palming the Lady”. The subject of harassment, Matthew Webb, is the protagonist of “Web of Lies”, but the previous story holds a key of Matthew’s future of which only the reader is aware of. “Bad Power” has a slender connection with “Web of Lies”, but a deeper and meaningful one with the next, “Cross the Bridge”. Five different tales, five different characters, but read them as one single story and “Bad Power” will reveal new layers.
The stories are bridged together, but there are other connections within the stories as well. Links between the main characters and the titles of the stories, “Shades of Grey” the story of Esser Grey, “Palming the Lady” of Detective Enora Palmer, “Web of Lies” of Matthew Webb, “Bad Power” of the character who names herself Bad and “Cross the Bridge” of Maxillius Ponti, his surname meaning bridges in Italian. Not only the characters have a close correlation with the titles, their supernatural abilities share the same correspondence, dissecting the meaning of the stories for new implications that earn new and delightful prizes to the reader. Deborah Biancotti masters these connections playing wonderfully with words, skillfully mastering the language and tone. She even makes a small display of force with “Bad Power”, a story that digresses from the other four in time and tonality, but integrates admirably with the rest. And following the order of stories set by Deborah Biancotti will bring the best out of “Bad Power”.
What I loved the most at Deborah Biancotti’s “Bad Power”, however, is that no superheroes make their presence felt within their pages, only humans with supernatural abilities. The way the characters of the stories come in possession of their powers holds no importance, what matters is the impact these abilities have on their lives, the new implications and emotions the new discovered potentials bring. Flawed and insecure reactions, satisfactions and frustrations, all present the unbreakable link between the supernatural power and the human who holds it. For these reasons all the five characters are very strong, with very engaging stories, but I do like Maxillius Ponti more. For me he was the most emotional one and his story a little more sensible.
After finishing “Bad Power” I am afraid I will not look the same upon superheroes, but then again, it is not very different situation than before. I have always looked for the human behind the superhero, but I was always left deeply unsatisfied by the answers found. It is not the case with “Bad Power”, because Deborah Biancotti’s main concern with the human rather than the superpower finally brought the response I was craving for. For all these and something more I ardently recommend Deborah Biancotti’s “Bad Power”.
Yeah. They probably hate you, too.
‘There are two kinds of people with lawyers on tap, Mr Grey. The powerful and the corrupt.’
‘Thank you.’
‘For implying you’re powerful?’
‘For imagining those are two different groups.’
From Crawford Award nominee Deborah Biancotti comes this sinister short story suite, a pocketbook police procedural, set in a world where the victories are only relative, and the defeats are absolute. Bad Power celebrates the worst kind of powers both supernatural and otherwise, in the interlinked tales of five people — and how far they’ll go.
If you like Haven and Heroes, you’ll love Bad Power.
Superheroes and supernatural powers are a very common thing nowadays, with plenty of comic books, movies and books focused on one or more figures with uncommon abilities, it is almost impossible to not have heard of at least one. However, most of these superheroes tend to be shallow figures, hidden behind a disguise that wears itself very thin on a closer inspection, the human element that lies beneath their supernatural powers is missed almost completely. Deborah Biancotti tackles this issue in her latest collection of short stories, “Bad Power”.
Deborah Biancotti’s collection consists of five stories interdependent with each other, but that can also be read independently without any difficulty. However, I do believe that “Bad Power” is much better treated a single story with multiple points of view and repays the reader more if approached as one solid product. The five stories bridge each other, mainly through characters, but also through intrigue. “Shades of Grey” has the longest grip, reaching its grasp until the last story, but also introduces Detective Enora Palmer who investigates a case of harassing in “Palming the Lady”. The subject of harassment, Matthew Webb, is the protagonist of “Web of Lies”, but the previous story holds a key of Matthew’s future of which only the reader is aware of. “Bad Power” has a slender connection with “Web of Lies”, but a deeper and meaningful one with the next, “Cross the Bridge”. Five different tales, five different characters, but read them as one single story and “Bad Power” will reveal new layers.
The stories are bridged together, but there are other connections within the stories as well. Links between the main characters and the titles of the stories, “Shades of Grey” the story of Esser Grey, “Palming the Lady” of Detective Enora Palmer, “Web of Lies” of Matthew Webb, “Bad Power” of the character who names herself Bad and “Cross the Bridge” of Maxillius Ponti, his surname meaning bridges in Italian. Not only the characters have a close correlation with the titles, their supernatural abilities share the same correspondence, dissecting the meaning of the stories for new implications that earn new and delightful prizes to the reader. Deborah Biancotti masters these connections playing wonderfully with words, skillfully mastering the language and tone. She even makes a small display of force with “Bad Power”, a story that digresses from the other four in time and tonality, but integrates admirably with the rest. And following the order of stories set by Deborah Biancotti will bring the best out of “Bad Power”.
What I loved the most at Deborah Biancotti’s “Bad Power”, however, is that no superheroes make their presence felt within their pages, only humans with supernatural abilities. The way the characters of the stories come in possession of their powers holds no importance, what matters is the impact these abilities have on their lives, the new implications and emotions the new discovered potentials bring. Flawed and insecure reactions, satisfactions and frustrations, all present the unbreakable link between the supernatural power and the human who holds it. For these reasons all the five characters are very strong, with very engaging stories, but I do like Maxillius Ponti more. For me he was the most emotional one and his story a little more sensible.
After finishing “Bad Power” I am afraid I will not look the same upon superheroes, but then again, it is not very different situation than before. I have always looked for the human behind the superhero, but I was always left deeply unsatisfied by the answers found. It is not the case with “Bad Power”, because Deborah Biancotti’s main concern with the human rather than the superpower finally brought the response I was craving for. For all these and something more I ardently recommend Deborah Biancotti’s “Bad Power”.
January 22, 2015
I really hate Goodreads refusal to implement half stars as it forces me to downgrade books I like so as to ensure that 5 stars holds meaning.
I loved this read. First of all there is the language. Such unusual, disturbing and beautiful use of language. The only other writer I know of who operates in the same language space is Margo Lanagan, whose novel Sea Hearts is one of the best I've ever read in the genre. Back to Biancotti. I felt like I could visualize everything that happened in all five stories. At the same time, there was a cynical realness to dialogue that grounded me in the moment.
The collection is also clever and fairly unique because of the way that each story ties explicitly into the next. Setting and characters carry over, revealing gradually more and more about the world of Bad Power. This also means that interesting characters bound up in noir ambiguity, darkness and light and confusion and pain can make continual comebacks. My favourite stories were those that featured Detective Palmer, she who slowly begins to realise that there are people in this world with powers, some of them used for good, some for bad and all leading back to the mysterious Grey Institute. In particular, Palming The Lady and Cross That Bridge stand out. It probably goes without saying that Detective Palmer is a wonderfully feminist character.
Bad Power is exceptionally well written, but it is also exceptionally smart, investigating the common crime themes of corruption, power play and desire through the lens of humans who discover their super powers and begin to use them for ill as much as for good. Powers might vary, Biancotti seems to say, but human foibles do not, with even the police force having their moments of greed and doubt and insecurities. You’d think that this would make for a rather depressing read, and it does to an extent, but Biancotti is humanist and small acts of kindness and decency protect against a modern world which smothers us in deception and lies and deceit.
This book was so good I teetered on the verge of giving it five stars. The only reason I haven’t is because the story ends in medias res with quite a few elements unresolved. I presume this is because Deborah is working on the novels or a follow up collection set in the same universe. If she isn’t there is no justice in this world and I will chuck a temper tantrum. This is the most I’ve enjoyed a short story collection since Gaiman’s Fragile Things.
Bad Power: 4.5/5 inky stars
I loved this read. First of all there is the language. Such unusual, disturbing and beautiful use of language. The only other writer I know of who operates in the same language space is Margo Lanagan, whose novel Sea Hearts is one of the best I've ever read in the genre. Back to Biancotti. I felt like I could visualize everything that happened in all five stories. At the same time, there was a cynical realness to dialogue that grounded me in the moment.
The collection is also clever and fairly unique because of the way that each story ties explicitly into the next. Setting and characters carry over, revealing gradually more and more about the world of Bad Power. This also means that interesting characters bound up in noir ambiguity, darkness and light and confusion and pain can make continual comebacks. My favourite stories were those that featured Detective Palmer, she who slowly begins to realise that there are people in this world with powers, some of them used for good, some for bad and all leading back to the mysterious Grey Institute. In particular, Palming The Lady and Cross That Bridge stand out. It probably goes without saying that Detective Palmer is a wonderfully feminist character.
Bad Power is exceptionally well written, but it is also exceptionally smart, investigating the common crime themes of corruption, power play and desire through the lens of humans who discover their super powers and begin to use them for ill as much as for good. Powers might vary, Biancotti seems to say, but human foibles do not, with even the police force having their moments of greed and doubt and insecurities. You’d think that this would make for a rather depressing read, and it does to an extent, but Biancotti is humanist and small acts of kindness and decency protect against a modern world which smothers us in deception and lies and deceit.
This book was so good I teetered on the verge of giving it five stars. The only reason I haven’t is because the story ends in medias res with quite a few elements unresolved. I presume this is because Deborah is working on the novels or a follow up collection set in the same universe. If she isn’t there is no justice in this world and I will chuck a temper tantrum. This is the most I’ve enjoyed a short story collection since Gaiman’s Fragile Things.
Bad Power: 4.5/5 inky stars
March 27, 2012
Question: Who wouldn’t love to have a superpower?
Answer: The characters in the short stories of Bad Power, who discover that power isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The power to never die, to see the futures of those around you, to tell others what to do (and they do it!) – all of these seem like good things, until they rule your life and you can’t escape them. Unable to escape their “bad” powers, they become resigned or submit to their fates.
Characters from one story will appear in others and they all interconnect, weaving in and out of each others’ lives. The rich language of the stories allows them to flow smoothly into one another and carries the reader along for a fascinating ride with small "aha" moments.
My one complaint was that the collection was too short. I was just getting into the rhythm of the stories when they were over. While I enjoyed the buildup of the stories, I never felt there was a satisfying conclusion to the collection.
I would recommend this book to those wanting interesting short stories with an unusual slant.
I received this book in a giveaway from the Goodread’s First Reads program.
Answer: The characters in the short stories of Bad Power, who discover that power isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The power to never die, to see the futures of those around you, to tell others what to do (and they do it!) – all of these seem like good things, until they rule your life and you can’t escape them. Unable to escape their “bad” powers, they become resigned or submit to their fates.
Characters from one story will appear in others and they all interconnect, weaving in and out of each others’ lives. The rich language of the stories allows them to flow smoothly into one another and carries the reader along for a fascinating ride with small "aha" moments.
My one complaint was that the collection was too short. I was just getting into the rhythm of the stories when they were over. While I enjoyed the buildup of the stories, I never felt there was a satisfying conclusion to the collection.
I would recommend this book to those wanting interesting short stories with an unusual slant.
I received this book in a giveaway from the Goodread’s First Reads program.
December 12, 2015
An Australian sf/fantasy publisher Twelfth Planet Press is releasing a series of collections by Australian writers. I picked up Tansy Rayner Roberts' "Love and Romanpunk" on a recommendation, loved it to itty pieces, and subscribed to the full set on a whim. Deborah Biancotti's "Bad Power" deals with super powers, so it was logical as the comics/superhero fan that I am, I'd be drawn to read that one next. But this is not the shiny four colored extravaganza you're used to with comics, this is more the gritty twisted approach that typified that first season of "Heroes". These are stories are not just about people with powers but what the power does to them and how people react to those that have powers. My favorite character throughout the series is Detective Palmer and how she approaches the "crazy" cases and yet remains mostly unflappable. I would have liked to have seen more of the mysterious Grey Institute -- I was reminded of Anne McCaffrey's Parapsychic Institute for her Talents only a bit more dysfunctional.
July 31, 2016
Interlinked stories in a normal clothed X-Men-like universe. Felt a lot like the show Heroes but Biancotti manages to keep it real and understated. Biancotti is a writer to watch out for. I might track down Zeroes as I'm also a Lanagan fan. Everyone of the handful of stories here is a winner.
April 28, 2019
Excellent fantasy noir. Biancotti captures Sydney’s gritty and fantastical underside with a darkly humorous tone that fans of hard-boiled mysteries will love.
February 24, 2022
This is a plain clothes X-Men type of collection, with the superhero element dialed down and the human element dialed up. Superb stuff. Like the fluid easy-to-read style too.
February 18, 2012
Really liked this one - crime infused with weird. Proper review to come.
July 10, 2012
4.5/5
January 2, 2018
First book of 2018 is a Deborah Biancotti book again woop woop!
Bad Power is an awesome little read for anyone who desperately misses the Zeroes series. I loved how the three shorts were all intertwined and ahh I love Deb’s writing 💖💖
Bad Power is an awesome little read for anyone who desperately misses the Zeroes series. I loved how the three shorts were all intertwined and ahh I love Deb’s writing 💖💖
May 6, 2016
This review is presented as part of my contribution to the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016, and as part of the Journey Through the Twelve Planets Reading Challenge. This review has been mirrored from my blog The Conversationalist.
I can positively say that the anthologies that utilise a shared universe in which to tell stories in a collection is one of my favourite ways to read short stories (whether novelettes, short stories, flash pieces, or novellas). Biancotti has delivered a very tight collection that weaves together beautifully. I almost didn’t like this collection much until I realised that I’d have lapped up every moment if it was in television form – and it’s like something clicked for me and I was in love.
I feel like in some ways these stories explore the idea of super-powers and the assumption that these encourage the emergence of heroes who do good in the world. Biancotti explores a more realistic and somewhat darker exploration of the idea of powers – we’re all individuals after all, and not all of us are Superman, Wonder Woman or Batman. It’s not even like we’re all villains either – Biancotti deftly melts away the archetypes that go with the presentation of stories involving super powers and explores instead the ordinary ways of corruption, of getting by and are more about capitalism than making a difference to others. This is truly a unique exploration of super powers and a thorough dressing down of the idea of the super hero.
I would like to read more stories featuring Detective Palmer, who threads each of the stories, although I think they tie together in ways that are much more satisfying than her appearance alone. Her character interests me and her adventures in law enforcement, the weird cases she catches appeals to me a lot. She leaps of the page in a way that I love best from characters I read.
I think in this case I can’t look at the stories individually because it was only when I thought of them together in context that these stories came together as they were supposed to for me. I think this is partly that I’m less familiar with crime reading overall, especially gritty crime that tends toward the dark – this much more closely matches my television watching habits so that’s partly the lens through which I’m considering my review.
I didn’t find myself feeling sympathetic towards Grey or Webb as characters, the personality of Webb’s mother was quite chilling. I’m really sad that the old woman ended up dead – I was really taken with her character, and yet her death had weight and meaning for me as a reader – I missed her. It won’t surprise anyone who knows me that Crossing the Bridge was my favourite story of the collection – it brought a fulmination to Palmer’s character in connection with a character we’re newly introduced to, but who represents the idea of optimism and that just because several people with powers are evil, jerks or simply opportunistic and amoral if otherwise benign, not everyone is and occasionally you get someone who really does want to make a difference, and has the power to do.
This is my first introduction to Biancotti’s work actually, and I really enjoyed the read. However, it is unlike anything else I’ve read before and sometimes that lack of familiarity meant I found it harder to slide into the story and immerse myself. I’m not much of a crime reader – particularly where it’s darker and a bit more gritty. However, the speculative element to this story really rounded it out for me as an experience I could really enjoy and trust in the individual narratives and their connection to one another to show me a good time.
Bad Power is another fantastic addition to the Twelve Planets series by Twelfth Planet Press and truly shows the versatility of the Press in the work it produces while maintaining a consistently high quality calibre of stories published. I have a not so secret hope that Biancotti may return to this universe, and in particular the character of Detective Palmer as I’d enjoy being able to continue reading about her adventures. That to me is really a sign of how much I enjoyed this collection – the world and its characters living beyond the reading of the last page.
I can positively say that the anthologies that utilise a shared universe in which to tell stories in a collection is one of my favourite ways to read short stories (whether novelettes, short stories, flash pieces, or novellas). Biancotti has delivered a very tight collection that weaves together beautifully. I almost didn’t like this collection much until I realised that I’d have lapped up every moment if it was in television form – and it’s like something clicked for me and I was in love.
I feel like in some ways these stories explore the idea of super-powers and the assumption that these encourage the emergence of heroes who do good in the world. Biancotti explores a more realistic and somewhat darker exploration of the idea of powers – we’re all individuals after all, and not all of us are Superman, Wonder Woman or Batman. It’s not even like we’re all villains either – Biancotti deftly melts away the archetypes that go with the presentation of stories involving super powers and explores instead the ordinary ways of corruption, of getting by and are more about capitalism than making a difference to others. This is truly a unique exploration of super powers and a thorough dressing down of the idea of the super hero.
I would like to read more stories featuring Detective Palmer, who threads each of the stories, although I think they tie together in ways that are much more satisfying than her appearance alone. Her character interests me and her adventures in law enforcement, the weird cases she catches appeals to me a lot. She leaps of the page in a way that I love best from characters I read.
I think in this case I can’t look at the stories individually because it was only when I thought of them together in context that these stories came together as they were supposed to for me. I think this is partly that I’m less familiar with crime reading overall, especially gritty crime that tends toward the dark – this much more closely matches my television watching habits so that’s partly the lens through which I’m considering my review.
I didn’t find myself feeling sympathetic towards Grey or Webb as characters, the personality of Webb’s mother was quite chilling. I’m really sad that the old woman ended up dead – I was really taken with her character, and yet her death had weight and meaning for me as a reader – I missed her. It won’t surprise anyone who knows me that Crossing the Bridge was my favourite story of the collection – it brought a fulmination to Palmer’s character in connection with a character we’re newly introduced to, but who represents the idea of optimism and that just because several people with powers are evil, jerks or simply opportunistic and amoral if otherwise benign, not everyone is and occasionally you get someone who really does want to make a difference, and has the power to do.
This is my first introduction to Biancotti’s work actually, and I really enjoyed the read. However, it is unlike anything else I’ve read before and sometimes that lack of familiarity meant I found it harder to slide into the story and immerse myself. I’m not much of a crime reader – particularly where it’s darker and a bit more gritty. However, the speculative element to this story really rounded it out for me as an experience I could really enjoy and trust in the individual narratives and their connection to one another to show me a good time.
Bad Power is another fantastic addition to the Twelve Planets series by Twelfth Planet Press and truly shows the versatility of the Press in the work it produces while maintaining a consistently high quality calibre of stories published. I have a not so secret hope that Biancotti may return to this universe, and in particular the character of Detective Palmer as I’d enjoy being able to continue reading about her adventures. That to me is really a sign of how much I enjoyed this collection – the world and its characters living beyond the reading of the last page.
July 24, 2016
Four and a half stars. Murders, madness, and oh yes, superpowers.
Four distinct tales here, each with a great insight into human psychology, each weaving a different sort of 'power' or two into the storyline. Each playing out never as you expect. Each adding to a world that's woven together over the stories in a way that's quite unlike any other attempt at this sort of thing I've read--even within the other Twelve Planets. You should definitely read these stories all together, of course, but they're not stuck together in expected ways. It's like we're taken around the edges of something wider, tantalisingly close, that we have to piece together ourselves from what remains. It's oddly fascinating and I had a great time with it.
Four distinct tales here, each with a great insight into human psychology, each weaving a different sort of 'power' or two into the storyline. Each playing out never as you expect. Each adding to a world that's woven together over the stories in a way that's quite unlike any other attempt at this sort of thing I've read--even within the other Twelve Planets. You should definitely read these stories all together, of course, but they're not stuck together in expected ways. It's like we're taken around the edges of something wider, tantalisingly close, that we have to piece together ourselves from what remains. It's oddly fascinating and I had a great time with it.
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