Hello! Today I bring you a review for a book that I supremely enjoyed and highly recommend picking up next April if you enjoy speculative fiction and discussions about climate change and what it could potentially bring to our futures if unchecked. DEVOURING TOMORROW: Fiction From the Future of Food is an anthology series curated by Jeff Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella out March 25, 2025.
Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food, an
anthology curated by Jeff Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella, imagines a future
where food scarcity is the norm due to various forms of environmental
destruction. I want to start this review by stating that I feel like I
have so rarely read an anthology of short fiction that feels so tightly
edited and knitted together like Devouring Tomorrow is. Each
individual story is unique and each world within these brief pages feels
distinct, and I as a reader had no problems immersing myself into each
world. I continually came out of nearly every story commenting to myself
that I couldn't believe how developed these short pieces of fiction
felt with so little space to do so.
Each story felt intelligently crafted, leaving me with feelings of conflict and uncertainty where I continually asked myself "what is the right thing to do in this circumstance?" I particularly loved how these stories pushed the boundaries of normal society in ways that felt realistic. Each universe within is obviously a "doomsday scenario," but not everything felt black and white, and the various main characters and antagonists ranged from petty influencers to actual political or business partners to renegades and "rogues."
My main criticism however comes to how much focus was put onto being "inside" the world of affluency rather than outside of it. Many of the characters were those who came from the bourgeoisie or upper classes who were using their affluency and wealth to cheat the scarcity systems, and that was not something I found interesting after a while. In a food insecure future, I have far more interest in seeing how the lower classes deal with scarcity than I do seeing the wealthy take advantage of it. I would have liked to see more stories involving marginalized and disabled parties.
Another criticism I had was how little of the stories gave focus into the agricultural and farming side of food insecurity. I would have loved to have seen one or two more stories that talked about the way farmers and those in the meat industry would have responded to scarcity and insecurity of our food systems. One story did answer the question of what do the poor and homeless do in this scenario, Anuja Varghese's "A View Worth All the Aqua In the World," and it's as harrowing as my own speculations would be. This story was the one that made me feel the most sympathy and empathy for the main character involved.
All that said, two more stories in particular regarding both of my criticisms stuck out to me that have stayed with me as I read Devouring Tomorrow and after I finished it, and those two stories are both inventive and interesting, as well as having morals that are long lasting. Dina Del Bucchia's "I Want Candy" follows a popular food influencer who is experiencing all of these delicious meals and restaurants in a future where very few now can do so, and the story is told through a series of reviews and hate comments this influencer receives. Carleigh Baker's "Pollinators" follows a protagonist working at a gherkin farm where the farmers are trying to domesticate night moths in order to pollinate their fields after the collapse of bees, which results in city officials and citizens revolting against the decision to turn off the electricity for a single evening.
Both stories left me with feelings of anger directed at the different parties involved, as well as sympathy for others that many of the stories didn't quite reach for me. I think these two stories are the stand out stories within this anthology alongside Anuja's piece.
All in all, Devouring Tomorrow is a fascinating collection of speculative fiction that I am absolutely grateful to have had the chance to read early. I find it to be more relevant than ever in our increasingly fraught lives in dealing with climate change.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella, each author involved, and Dundurn Press for this advance copy!
Each story felt intelligently crafted, leaving me with feelings of conflict and uncertainty where I continually asked myself "what is the right thing to do in this circumstance?" I particularly loved how these stories pushed the boundaries of normal society in ways that felt realistic. Each universe within is obviously a "doomsday scenario," but not everything felt black and white, and the various main characters and antagonists ranged from petty influencers to actual political or business partners to renegades and "rogues."
My main criticism however comes to how much focus was put onto being "inside" the world of affluency rather than outside of it. Many of the characters were those who came from the bourgeoisie or upper classes who were using their affluency and wealth to cheat the scarcity systems, and that was not something I found interesting after a while. In a food insecure future, I have far more interest in seeing how the lower classes deal with scarcity than I do seeing the wealthy take advantage of it. I would have liked to see more stories involving marginalized and disabled parties.
Another criticism I had was how little of the stories gave focus into the agricultural and farming side of food insecurity. I would have loved to have seen one or two more stories that talked about the way farmers and those in the meat industry would have responded to scarcity and insecurity of our food systems. One story did answer the question of what do the poor and homeless do in this scenario, Anuja Varghese's "A View Worth All the Aqua In the World," and it's as harrowing as my own speculations would be. This story was the one that made me feel the most sympathy and empathy for the main character involved.
All that said, two more stories in particular regarding both of my criticisms stuck out to me that have stayed with me as I read Devouring Tomorrow and after I finished it, and those two stories are both inventive and interesting, as well as having morals that are long lasting. Dina Del Bucchia's "I Want Candy" follows a popular food influencer who is experiencing all of these delicious meals and restaurants in a future where very few now can do so, and the story is told through a series of reviews and hate comments this influencer receives. Carleigh Baker's "Pollinators" follows a protagonist working at a gherkin farm where the farmers are trying to domesticate night moths in order to pollinate their fields after the collapse of bees, which results in city officials and citizens revolting against the decision to turn off the electricity for a single evening.
Both stories left me with feelings of anger directed at the different parties involved, as well as sympathy for others that many of the stories didn't quite reach for me. I think these two stories are the stand out stories within this anthology alongside Anuja's piece.
All in all, Devouring Tomorrow is a fascinating collection of speculative fiction that I am absolutely grateful to have had the chance to read early. I find it to be more relevant than ever in our increasingly fraught lives in dealing with climate change.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella, each author involved, and Dundurn Press for this advance copy!
Thank you for reading!
B.
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