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fantasynovel's review
5.0
I loved most of these stories, though my favorite was definitely the first one. Some of stories weren't so well written, including the one about the AIs who changed spaceship shells and the one about the pandemic in the year 2040 or something like that. But "Let's Play Dead", "Crawfather", "How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary", "Our Language", "Schroödinger's Catastrophe", "The Cleaners", "And This Is How To Stay Alive", "The Beat Adjoins", "The Long Walk", "Skipping Stones in the Dark", and "Two Truths and a Lie" were all great. "Two Truths and a Lie" could have been much creepier, but it was good as it was, too.
ohclaire's review
4.0
a good variety of stories! 2020 (the year these stories were published) was the first year I started reading short speculative fiction online, so I recognized a good many of these but enjoyed rereading them regardless.
drknightingale's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not as familiar with this series as I am the essays series, but I'm finding it enjoyable. Nice to read on a kindle while at a hot springs.
blairconrad's review
3.0
As usual with an anthology, hits and misses. Most of the stories were "well, I'll read them to see if it gets good; at least it's short". And some of them got good…
The ones I enjoyed more than others
The ones I enjoyed more than others
- The Cleaners
- The first part of The Long Walk
- Two Truths and a Lie
- And This is How to Stay Alive
- The Rat
- One Time, a Reluctant Traveler
- Skipping Stones in the Dark
- Brother Rifle
- Schrodinger’s Catastrophe (probably the best of the lot, both for idea and execution)
- The first part of The Pill
- the idea from The Beast Adjoins
yogarshi's review
4.0
Anthologies are always a mixed bag, and this was no different. Particular favorites, in descending order of how much I enjoyed them :
* Schrodinger’s Catastrophe by Gene Doucette - This was an extremely interesting idea that was hilariously executed. Comedic science fiction has a very high bar in my head, so this one really impressed me.
* How to Pay Reparations: a Documentary by Tochi Onyebuchi - A great example of how "good intentions" are almost always never enough.
* Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker - Deliciously creepy, love me some good horror.
* Crawfather by Mel Kassel - Straight up weird, with an extremely funny ending. A good riff on the clash between family traditions and modernity.
* The Pill by Meg Elison - Sometimes the best science fiction is about things that are not too implausible, and this story is almost certainly in that category
* And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda - Beautiful tale that plays around with the idea of time and memory
* The Plague Doctors by Karen Lord - Nothing special, but just a simple, good 'ol pandemic story.
* Schrodinger’s Catastrophe by Gene Doucette - This was an extremely interesting idea that was hilariously executed. Comedic science fiction has a very high bar in my head, so this one really impressed me.
* How to Pay Reparations: a Documentary by Tochi Onyebuchi - A great example of how "good intentions" are almost always never enough.
* Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker - Deliciously creepy, love me some good horror.
* Crawfather by Mel Kassel - Straight up weird, with an extremely funny ending. A good riff on the clash between family traditions and modernity.
* The Pill by Meg Elison - Sometimes the best science fiction is about things that are not too implausible, and this story is almost certainly in that category
* And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda - Beautiful tale that plays around with the idea of time and memory
* The Plague Doctors by Karen Lord - Nothing special, but just a simple, good 'ol pandemic story.
scubacat's review
4.0
Very interesting collection of sci fi and fantasy short stories! Some hit me more than others. I'm writing this review purely so I can remember and identify the stories later.
Let's Play Dead - Anne Boleyn won't stay dead.
Excellent start to the series - 5 stars
Survival Guide - Automated education system corrupting the minds of our youth.
It was okay - 3 stars
Tiger's Feast - Bullied girl feeds a tiger her rage.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
The Pill - Everyone wants a quick fix to thin-ness.
Disturbing, but good - 4 stars
Crawfather - Excellent title. Will never forget this story. Family legacy of fighting a monster.
5 stars
How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary - Reparations experiment and it's aftermath.
Good - 4 stars
Our Language - Girl grows up to be a Ciguapa, but is she really a monster?
Very good - 4.5 stars
Schrodinger's Catastrophe - An empty part of space that isn't quite empty, and a ship that gets too close.
Good, but predictable - 3.5 stars
The Cleaners - Gui runs the family business of cleaning memories.
Promising idea, but doesn't deliver - 2.5 stars
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Anna Kim needs to find out why the ships are refusing to fly.
Thoughtful and interesting - 5 stars
And This is How to Stay Alive - Older sister mourns brother's death, but can she change it?
I liked it - 3.5 stars
The Beast Adjoins - Yet another AI story, but with a small, powerful twist.
I really liked it - 4.5 stars
The Long Walk - Old lady is sent away to die, but it doesn't go as planned.
I fell asleep while trying to finish this story. Feels like I should have liked it more than I did, but I found it aggravating - 2 stars
One Time, a Reluctant Traveler - girl mourning her family heads up to the mythical endless ocean at the top of the mountain.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
Glass Bottle Dancer - middle age lady takes up bottle dancing.
I had trouble with the language and didn't love it - 2 stars
Skipping Stones in the Dark - ship tells a story of it's passengers.
Reminding me of Aniara, which I just read last month. I enjoyed it - 4 stars
The Plague Doctors - Team on a small island tries to solve a pandemic.
I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better. 3.5 stars
Two Truths and a Lie - Girl loses track of where her lies end and her truth begins.
I didn't get it. 1.5 stars
Brother Rifle - Marine goes through therapy to deal with head trauma.
It was predictable, but I still enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
The Rat - Girl tries to cut out her grief.
Ewww... 2 stars
Scores, divided by 20 = 3.5 stars, which feels about right. Five of the stories got a 2.5 or lower. That means 15 are a 3 or higher, and 8 were above a 4. That's actually pretty good - I'm a very tough grader. Since Goodreads doesn't allow half points, I will round this one up to a 4, as I'm glad I read it and definitely can recommend it.
Let's Play Dead - Anne Boleyn won't stay dead.
Excellent start to the series - 5 stars
Survival Guide - Automated education system corrupting the minds of our youth.
It was okay - 3 stars
Tiger's Feast - Bullied girl feeds a tiger her rage.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
The Pill - Everyone wants a quick fix to thin-ness.
Disturbing, but good - 4 stars
Crawfather - Excellent title. Will never forget this story. Family legacy of fighting a monster.
5 stars
How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary - Reparations experiment and it's aftermath.
Good - 4 stars
Our Language - Girl grows up to be a Ciguapa, but is she really a monster?
Very good - 4.5 stars
Schrodinger's Catastrophe - An empty part of space that isn't quite empty, and a ship that gets too close.
Good, but predictable - 3.5 stars
The Cleaners - Gui runs the family business of cleaning memories.
Promising idea, but doesn't deliver - 2.5 stars
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Anna Kim needs to find out why the ships are refusing to fly.
Thoughtful and interesting - 5 stars
And This is How to Stay Alive - Older sister mourns brother's death, but can she change it?
I liked it - 3.5 stars
The Beast Adjoins - Yet another AI story, but with a small, powerful twist.
I really liked it - 4.5 stars
The Long Walk - Old lady is sent away to die, but it doesn't go as planned.
I fell asleep while trying to finish this story. Feels like I should have liked it more than I did, but I found it aggravating - 2 stars
One Time, a Reluctant Traveler - girl mourning her family heads up to the mythical endless ocean at the top of the mountain.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
Glass Bottle Dancer - middle age lady takes up bottle dancing.
I had trouble with the language and didn't love it - 2 stars
Skipping Stones in the Dark - ship tells a story of it's passengers.
Reminding me of Aniara, which I just read last month. I enjoyed it - 4 stars
The Plague Doctors - Team on a small island tries to solve a pandemic.
I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better. 3.5 stars
Two Truths and a Lie - Girl loses track of where her lies end and her truth begins.
I didn't get it. 1.5 stars
Brother Rifle - Marine goes through therapy to deal with head trauma.
It was predictable, but I still enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
The Rat - Girl tries to cut out her grief.
Ewww... 2 stars
Scores, divided by 20 = 3.5 stars, which feels about right. Five of the stories got a 2.5 or lower. That means 15 are a 3 or higher, and 8 were above a 4. That's actually pretty good - I'm a very tough grader. Since Goodreads doesn't allow half points, I will round this one up to a 4, as I'm glad I read it and definitely can recommend it.
doc_savage's review
4.0
This was an interesting mix of stories! Some I truly enjoyed, while others left me feeling uncomfortable, which is probably the point.
juli_drozda's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
5.0
colinmeldrum's review
4.0
Favorites:
The Beast Adjoins by Ted Kosmatka
Skipping Stones in the Dark by Amman Sabet
The Pill by Meg Elison
And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda
The Beast Adjoins by Ted Kosmatka
Skipping Stones in the Dark by Amman Sabet
The Pill by Meg Elison
And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda