If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You

English language

Published by Uncanny Magazine.

4 stars (2 reviews)

1 edition

A superhero's journey story with a difference.

4 stars

A superhero story with a difference, when the superhero turns out to be East Asian, in a country where the police prefer their superheroes to be white. Racial and police violence against Asians are part of this story.

It starts of blurry videos of a well-built costumed man jumping and flying. Initially dismissed as viral attempts by some unknown video production company, things get 'real' when the man begins to save people. Problem is, the man is Asian, and in this land, people prefer their superheroes to be white.

As speculations and more videos surface, another Asian man, who works out and like to help people in a gym, speculates that one well-built person in the gym might be that superhero. But it remains speculation even after said person asks him to become his gym partner. Things come to a head when police attempt to arrest him for being the …

If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You

4 stars

I read this novelette here: www.uncannymagazine.com/article/if-you-find-yourself-speaking-to-god-address-god-with-the-informal-you/

It takes a lot for me to care about a superhero story, but I quite enjoyed this one in which a Superman-esque character is a queer Asian-American weightlifter. This recasting lets the story reexamine some superhero tropes like monikers, how cops treat superheros, and alter-egos. With this as backdrop, I really enjoyed the foregrounded slow-building relationship, and the superhero/queer closet parallels.

Content warnings: racial slurs, police violence