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edwindownward's review
4.0
As with all anthologies this one has a few ups and downs.
Honourable mention goes to: The Tear Closet and Muffy and the Belfrey.
Honourable mention goes to: The Tear Closet and Muffy and the Belfrey.
speculativebecky's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this short story collection. I've definitely realized that I react much more favorably to genre short stories than realistic fiction short stories, a more pronounced preference than the same comparison for novels. Imaginative and generally satisfying.
nakedsteve's review
5.0
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this from tor.com for free, which is always a good price. Perhaps it made me like the book more. (Though I doubt it.)
This is a masterful collection of short, speculative fiction. Masterful. And I do mean short. Many of these stories are less than twenty pages long (one is only 117 words). If other writers are to be believed (and I certainly believe them), stories of this length are extremely hard to get right.
Church gets it right.
These stories are all set in various odd situations or environments, and have extremely high emotional impact. I was left reeling, pondering, and rethinking over and over again.
And I've got to say: I really like the length of story presented here. It's ideal for the just-before-bedtime time frame, when I've got a bit of time before my eyes roll up in my head. These stories can actually be finished during that time. Wonderful.
Pay attention to Suzanne Church. There's some serious talent there. 5 of 5 stars.
(I was going to write separate reviews for each story, a goal which lasted all of two stories. They follow...)
Coolies: A fantastic short work that was terse yet extremely evocative, about a group of soldiers whose job it is to harvest organs from fallen combatants in the hope of patching up those who survive. Thought-provoking. The amount of story (not just plot) that got crammed into those 12 pages was astounding. This is exactly the kind of short fiction I love. 5 of 5.
The Wind and the Sky: A post-apocalyptic tale of an emotional android longing to bring the wonders of modernity to the just-barely civilized humans still living on the earth. This was cute, but failed to really grab me. 3 of 5.
This is a masterful collection of short, speculative fiction. Masterful. And I do mean short. Many of these stories are less than twenty pages long (one is only 117 words). If other writers are to be believed (and I certainly believe them), stories of this length are extremely hard to get right.
Church gets it right.
These stories are all set in various odd situations or environments, and have extremely high emotional impact. I was left reeling, pondering, and rethinking over and over again.
And I've got to say: I really like the length of story presented here. It's ideal for the just-before-bedtime time frame, when I've got a bit of time before my eyes roll up in my head. These stories can actually be finished during that time. Wonderful.
Pay attention to Suzanne Church. There's some serious talent there. 5 of 5 stars.
(I was going to write separate reviews for each story, a goal which lasted all of two stories. They follow...)
Coolies: A fantastic short work that was terse yet extremely evocative, about a group of soldiers whose job it is to harvest organs from fallen combatants in the hope of patching up those who survive. Thought-provoking. The amount of story (not just plot) that got crammed into those 12 pages was astounding. This is exactly the kind of short fiction I love. 5 of 5.
The Wind and the Sky: A post-apocalyptic tale of an emotional android longing to bring the wonders of modernity to the just-barely civilized humans still living on the earth. This was cute, but failed to really grab me. 3 of 5.
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