Resurrections

This collection of short stories and poems by Ada Hoffmann traverses extraordinary universes packed with faeries, cyborgs, talking otters, punitive gods, lovestruck sea creatures, fossil hunters, extraterrestrials, and much more. Exploring themes of love and self-existence, community and otherness, and perseverance, Resurrections is a wondrous blend of genres and literary forms.

In “Jenny’s House,” a young girl brings a slimy souvenir from a playdate gone wrong to show-and-tell. “Variations on a Theme from Turandot” is the story of a devout slave’s struggle with a stubborn, ruthless princess, replayed as an epic opera every night. In “Transitional Chords,” an unmotivated conservatory student finally connects with music when he falls victim to an otherworldly voice. “Harmony Amid the Stars” chronicles a spaceship’s inhabitants’ descent into madness through a cleaning lady’s diary. “I Sing Against the Silent Sun” is about the unbreakable bond between a fugitive and his ship’s AI.

Each universe contains an intricately crafted history, cast of characters, places, and paradoxes. From layered magical realms to beauty supply storerooms, Hoffmann brings often-overlooked characters and perspectives to life and lets their unfettered reality expand our imaginations. Resurrections is a glimpse into the spectrum of human existence, flitting from world to world in Hoffmann’s spectacular style.

Table of Contents

I -- DUSK

Variations on a Theme from Turandot
How I Knew My Professor Was a Faerie in Disguise (poem)
Jenny's House
Culvet Kelpie (poem)
Transitional Chords
The Pattern of Eightfold Limbs (poem)
Back Room
Kraken Quatrain (poem)
Nightmare II (poem)
Harmony Amid the Stars
Dunkleosteus (poem)
Nightmare IV
Melting Like Metal

II -- MIDNIGHT

The Giantess's Dream (poem)
Rabbit Pulls a Magician Out of Her Hat
As Hollow as a Heart
Bluebells (poem)
A Lover, Asleep (poem)
A Spell to Retrieve Your Lover from the Bottom of the Sea
Married Men (poem)
Snowflake (poem)
The Herdsman of the Dead
Fairest of All

III -- THE SMALL HOURS

The Button
Who Do You Think You Are (poem)
Five Songs and a River
A Glance Across the Ballroom (poem)
Research Lab Electricity Usage Timesheet Reporting
Dream Logic (poem)
Across the Ice

IV -- DAWN

Minor Heresies
Prayer: A Cautionary Tale (poem)
The Scrape of Tooth and Bone
Roar (poem)
Held Tongue (poem)
The Raising of Lazarus (poem)
I Sing Against the Silent Sun

Excerpt

From "Variations on a Theme from Turandot" by Ada Hoffmann

No one will sleep until the Princess learns the Stranger’s name.

Liù, the slave girl, has loved the Stranger since before his exile, when he was a Prince, when he smiled at her—Liù alone knows who he really is. So it is Liù who is dragged to the Princess’s garden by night, bound, ankles twisting as she stumbles through the peonies.

“You know what he will do to me if I do not win,” says the Princess, cold and resplendent, moonlight glinting like a star from her veils.

“He will be your husband,” says Liù. “He will love you. You will both be so happy. Please, Daughter of Heaven.”

The trouble is that the Stranger loves the Princess, and the Princess—heir to the throne of Imperial China—despises love. On behalf of her ancestress, Lo-u-Ling, she has sworn not to marry until a man appears who can answer her riddles. Dozens have died trying. The Stranger, the man Liù loved and served her whole life, succeeded. If the Princess cannot learn his name by morning, he will marry her, whether she wills it or not. But princesses are not taught to lose gracefully.

"You know what I will do to you if I do not win,” says the Princess, “I have seen you with him. I know that you know. Tell me his name. I will not ask politely again.”

The executioner at her side shifts his weight, a shadowy bulk, knives and pincers glinting.

For a moment, as Liù despairingly weighs her options, her view of the garden shifts. She is not really in China—not even in anything that resembles the real China. She is in an opera house in America. The garden with its pond and arching bridges is only a set. Yet Liù is Liù. The pain and terror are real. She has died protecting the Stranger’s secret, hundreds of times, and will die again each night, as a spellbound audience looks on.

Liù is a faithful slave, too good and too in love to complain. Her sacrifice will save the Stranger, which is all she has ever wanted. Yet, just for a moment, Liù thinks: There must be another way.

The moment fades. The executioner advances. With a beautiful, musical sigh, as she has done hundreds of times, Liù snatches the dagger out of his hands and stabs herself to death.

Reviews

"I loved this varied collection of thoughtful and often hopeful stories and poems, many of which challenge accustomed views of the world or twist tropes in satisfying ways. Hoffman writes vividly imagined worlds peopled with characters - frequently queer and/or neurodiverse - with fascinating experiences of the world. Well worth diving into."
‒Juliet Kemp, author of The Deep and Shining Dark and The City Revealed.

"A stellar collection. Ada Hoffmann's stories are vivid and transporting."
‒Kelly Robson, author of Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach

About the Author

Ada Hoffmann is the author of the OUTSIDE space opera trilogy, the collections MONSTERS IN MY MIND and MILLION-YEAR ELEGIES, and dozens of speculative short stories and poems. Ada’s work has been a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award (2020, THE OUTSIDE), the Compton Crook Award (2020, THE OUTSIDE), and the WSFA Small Press Award (2020, “Fairest of All”).