Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 7 by Kate Osias
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology.)
Probably the strongest PSF volume to date. The quality of stories this time around is just staggering, with several stories worthy of treasured re-reading.
My favorites: “All the Best of Dark and Bright” by Isabel Yap, “East of the Sun” by Dean Francis Alfar, “Pet” by Kristine Ong Muslim, “The Changes” by Benito Vergara, “The Likeness of God” by Crystal Koo, “The Little Things the Datu Did” by Andrew Drilon, “What You See” by Ian Rosales Casocot, and “The Love Spell” by Julian dela Cerna.
Huh, that seems like 80 percent of the book.
These three stories I also liked, but I had problems with. (Spoiler warning.) “Chasers” by Chris Mariano is beautifully written, but I think I’m missing something here. I’m trying to look for the speculative element in the story (since this is a spec fic anthology) but couldn’t find it. I loved the haunting ending of “Sarsarita Time” by Melissa Sipin but I was bothered by the plot error in Alamat ng Pinya (the girl was turned into a pineapple because she kept saying that she couldn’t find things, so she was given many eyes) and how the name “Archangel” was introduced but not used. She was named Archangel and turned into a mirror? Loved the details and the language of “The Nature of Apocalypse” by Joseph Anthony Montecillo, but I wished it pumped up its oddness, its magical realism.
All in all, a great read.
Eliza Victoria 
Hello ma’am eliza!
I am a student who wants to write a thesis on magic realism as post-colonialist device in some Filipino short stories/novels. I am wondering if you can suggest titles of fiction and their respective authors… Thank you ma’am..
Hi April! Oh man, I could only think of Rushdie and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But hey, look into Nick Joaquin’s stories – notably “May Day Eve” and “The Summer Solstice”. Maybe even “Candido’s Apocalypse” could fit the bill.
You may also want to read this: http://kritikakultura.ateneo.net/images/pdf/kk4/baroque.pdf