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karastotle's review against another edition
4.0
Favorite stories included "Rivers Run Free," "Destroy the City with Me Tonight," "The Last Cheng Beng Gift," "Church of Birds," and "Carnival Nine."
elizanne24's review against another edition
4.0
I particularly enjoyed the stories "Justice Systems in Quantum Parallel Probabilities" (Lettie Prell), "The Greatest One-Star Restaurant" (Rachael K. Jones).
"Carnival Nine" (Caroline M Yoachim) made me cry it was so tender, and "The Orange Tree" (Maria Dahvana Headley) was the type of eerie, odd little story I like, similar to Leigh Bardugo's work.
"Carnival Nine" (Caroline M Yoachim) made me cry it was so tender, and "The Orange Tree" (Maria Dahvana Headley) was the type of eerie, odd little story I like, similar to Leigh Bardugo's work.
wmattgardner's review
3.0
It was more somber than fantastic and more existential than escapist :( I love some of the stories, though, and found some new authors.
kendallreads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
carmenl94's review against another edition
4.0
As is the case with anthologies some stories I really liked, some I liked and one I found kinda boring.
gherlone's review
2.0
excellent writing, but depressing
I used to enjoy these annual anthologies, but hadn’t read one in quite some time. this one has probably cured me of ever doing so again. the stories are all clever & well written, but all carry such a darkness that I’m not sure I want to bother. when part of a collection is dark, you start to look for even a single story of redemption & hope. it’s not here.
I used to enjoy these annual anthologies, but hadn’t read one in quite some time. this one has probably cured me of ever doing so again. the stories are all clever & well written, but all carry such a darkness that I’m not sure I want to bother. when part of a collection is dark, you start to look for even a single story of redemption & hope. it’s not here.
anathema_thorn's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.75
Solid anthology of science fiction and fantasy, though I DNF'd one story ("ZeroS") for being annoyingly jargony and very not to my taste.
Standout stories new to me:
* "Rivers run free" by Charles Payseur
* "Destroy the city with me tonight" by Kate Alice Marshall
* "The last Cheng Beng gift" by Jaymee Goh
* "The greatest one-star restaurant" by Rachel K. Jones
* "Church of birds" by Micah Dean Hicks
* "Carnival Nine" by Caroline M. Yoachim
* "The wretched and the beautiful" by E. Lily Yu
* "The orange tree" by Maria Dahvana Headley
Stories I'd read before and liked:
* "The Resident" by Carmen Maria Machado
* "Don't press charges and I won't sue" by Charlie Jane Anders
Standout stories new to me:
* "Rivers run free" by Charles Payseur
* "Destroy the city with me tonight" by Kate Alice Marshall
* "The last Cheng Beng gift" by Jaymee Goh
* "The greatest one-star restaurant" by Rachel K. Jones
* "Church of birds" by Micah Dean Hicks
* "Carnival Nine" by Caroline M. Yoachim
* "The wretched and the beautiful" by E. Lily Yu
* "The orange tree" by Maria Dahvana Headley
Stories I'd read before and liked:
* "The Resident" by Carmen Maria Machado
* "Don't press charges and I won't sue" by Charlie Jane Anders
sraymartin's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
yeehaw_agenda's review against another edition
5.0
They're "The Best" for a reason, and this collection did not disappoint. Every story was surprising and worth reading dozens of times over.