Whether we like it or not, every day we are at war— with the elements, with our friends, with our parents, with Fate itself. Conflict permeates our day from the misunderstanding that leads to a fight with our best friend to the missed bus that makes us late for first period. We can’t escape the conflict, the war, in our lives.
Or can we?
The authors in the nineteen stories in this book have set out to explore just that idea: Is conflict an inevitable part of the story of our lives? Does every story have to have conflict? And surprisingly, the answer is no.
The idea behind this anthology originated when we (Madeline and Hope) first discovered an online article on Kishōtenketsu, a traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese narrative structure. To our surprise, these traditions had an entire story form that eschewed conflict in their plots. Having both grown up here in the United States, firmly rooted in the Western narrative tradition, such an idea was revolutionary to both of us. Could we create a science fiction and fantasy anthology that combined stories containing the conflict of Western tradition and stories inspired by the Kishōtenketsu form? We asked authors to submit their stories, and we have been awed by the response.
In this anthology you’ll find conflict in expected places: a transgendered girl stands up to her bullies, a child soldier fights to keep his comrades alive, a group of teens wrestle with the elements to survive a time storm. At the same time though, you’ll also find conflict missing in places where you would expect it to occur: aliens visit without the army becoming involved, a girl comes to terms with her friend’s death. And finally, there are stories that combine elements of both, stories that combine the conflict of the Western tradition into the structured four part format of a Kishōtenketsu tale.
What all of the stories have in common, whether they contain conflict or dispense with it entirely, is their overall message of hope. Perhaps we are at war our entire life with time. Perhaps our day is filled with little battles. But even when we lose that battle, there is always hope for a better day. There is always the chance tomorrow for peace.
Madeline Smoot & Hope Erica Shultz