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starfleeting's review
3.0
I'm not really into what could be called "hard" sci-fi - or the depressing, apocalyptic kind. Some people are into that and that's great for them. It's just never been my bag (I'm more into the hopeful, explorative kind, mixing with alien races, alternate universes, etc). I wish there was more actual fantasy here, some fantastical horror, too. It feels like the selections all lean too much towards one genre.
Thus, a lot of these didn't appeal to me, but two really stood out that I enjoyed more than I expected to.
"Thirty-Three Wicked Daughters" and "The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt From Lucy Westenra's Diary)" are worth reading in this volume alone.
Trying to get into reading some shorter fiction (mostly because I have rarely done that) and this felt like a pretty decent start to that, even if a lot of the sci-fi bent didn't appeal to me.
Thus, a lot of these didn't appeal to me, but two really stood out that I enjoyed more than I expected to.
"Thirty-Three Wicked Daughters" and "The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt From Lucy Westenra's Diary)" are worth reading in this volume alone.
Trying to get into reading some shorter fiction (mostly because I have rarely done that) and this felt like a pretty decent start to that, even if a lot of the sci-fi bent didn't appeal to me.
ohclaire's review
4.0
I started reading a lot of scifi/fantasy short stories in the past 2 years, and it's very interesting to see these notably pre-pandemic perspectives as opposed to current reads. Anyways my faves were 'Life Sentance', 'Between the Dark and the Dark', 'The Achronology of Love', 'Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island', and 'The Time Invariance of Snow', which I think shows that I need to read harder scifi, and that I love interesting formats.
hneite's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jamiep's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ddillon154's review
5.0
Several stories from "New Suns" and "A People's Future of the United States," which were themselves in my top reads for the year.
enbyglitch's review
5.0
Another wonderful volume of SF&F stories! "The Eight People Who Murdered Me" by Gwendoline Kiste was probably my favorite; a brilliant feminist lens into Dracula written by someone who clearly loves and respects the original text.
Other highlights include... the vast majority haha. Lots of reimaginings and alternate perspectives on popular stories and themes that made me think.
There were a couple that ended a little too early for my taste - I love that authors so often feel comfortable leaving their works up to interpretation, but sometimes I just don't have the data after one reading.
Other highlights include... the vast majority haha. Lots of reimaginings and alternate perspectives on popular stories and themes that made me think.
There were a couple that ended a little too early for my taste - I love that authors so often feel comfortable leaving their works up to interpretation, but sometimes I just don't have the data after one reading.
catbooking's review
4.0
Favorites:
Bullet Point by Elizabeth Bear – I would love a whole survivalist series like this story.
The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt From Lucy Westenra’s Diary) by Gwendolyn Kiste – good twist on the old story, would love to follow the protagonist's future adventures
Shape-Ups At Delilah’s by Rion Amilcar Scott – this one was both uncomfortable and funny. Light musings over society's demands, expectations, and restrictions.
Canst Thou Draw Out The Leviathan by Christopher Caldwell – I enjoyed the subversion of the tropes. Had to blink away tears on more than one occasion.
Thoughts And Prayers by Ken Liu – the reason I quit most of social media.
The Time Invariance Of Snow by E. Lily Yu – I cannot even articulate what the story is about, and I don't want to try for fear of loosing all the feels.
Erase, Erase, Erase by Elizabeth Bear – Victim-hood and self hate. Self erasure via rewriting history.
Up From Slavery by Victor Lavalle – I would read the whole series. Taking back the power from the masters, the eldritch abominations.
Bullet Point by Elizabeth Bear – I would love a whole survivalist series like this story.
The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt From Lucy Westenra’s Diary) by Gwendolyn Kiste – good twist on the old story, would love to follow the protagonist's future adventures
Shape-Ups At Delilah’s by Rion Amilcar Scott – this one was both uncomfortable and funny. Light musings over society's demands, expectations, and restrictions.
Canst Thou Draw Out The Leviathan by Christopher Caldwell – I enjoyed the subversion of the tropes. Had to blink away tears on more than one occasion.
Thoughts And Prayers by Ken Liu – the reason I quit most of social media.
The Time Invariance Of Snow by E. Lily Yu – I cannot even articulate what the story is about, and I don't want to try for fear of loosing all the feels.
Erase, Erase, Erase by Elizabeth Bear – Victim-hood and self hate. Self erasure via rewriting history.
Up From Slavery by Victor Lavalle – I would read the whole series. Taking back the power from the masters, the eldritch abominations.
lyriclorelei's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read the 2021 one for a book challenge and then got this one from the library on a whim after seeing the author list, and now I think I'm gonna read this whole series which thankfully only started in the 2010s.