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A review by taranana
The Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination List by David Steffen
4.0
"The Long List Anthology" edited by David Steffen [3.75/5]
The stories in this anthology were very different in content, genre, and in how much I enjoyed them. I think the stories in this anthology were all well chosen though as I think everybody will find stories in this one as they're so different.
"The Breath of War" by Aliette de Bodard [4/5]
The setting in this story is really good. It has kind of a fantastic vibe but this story is a science-fiction story. The main character is also really likeable and she has an amazing personality. the ending was also really good. But I think the story is a bit too long in some parts.
"When it Ends, He Catches Her" by Eugie Foster [5/5]
Oh my god, this one is one of my favourite stories in this anthology and I had all my friends read it because I was that amazed. It is atmospheric, the style is amazing and this plot-twist ending...woah. This story is everything I love about short stories.
"Toad Words" by T. Kingfisher [3.5/5]
This story is really short but I think this is good because it is an idea-based story and they tend to get boring when they are too long.
"Makeisha In Time" by Rachael K. Jones [4.5/5]
The idea behind this story is amazing and I am guilty to wish to have this kind of time travelling ability. The writing style is also amazing and the story had exact the right lenght. The conflicts in this story are also understandable but to me the end was kind of meh...
"Covenant" by Elizabeth Bear [3/5]
I have to say I did not get the point of this story and that makes me a bit sad. But the story is well crafted and it wass a thrilling read. I don't know if the flashbacks are necessary but I think they kind of belonged to the story? I am not a big fan of flashbacks in short stories.
"The Truth about Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar [2/5]
Another story I missed the point of.
It is cute and the writing style is beautiful but I cannot say much of the story.
"A Kiss with Teeth" by Max Gladstone [5/5]
I already knew (and loved) this story and I happily read it again. I love this kind of vampire story and sometimes it is serious, sometimes it is hilarious. I dig this kind of stories and this twist on Vlad Dracula makes the character so much more likeable. And I love his wife and son too.
"The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family" by Usman T. Malik [4.5/5]
The only problem I have with this story is that I had to google a lot of words I was not familiar with. This is not really the fault of the author but it diminished my love of the story a bit. The story is gripping and I shivered a lot. I like the relevance of the story and how it gives you hope for everything will be better some day.
"This Chance Planet" by Elizabeth Bear [3.5/5]
This one has a strong message and I would say this is worth a read if you like the story itself or not. Most of the time I am not a fan of message heavy stories but this one is executed quite well. I also love the setting in this one but this is much more on the magical realism end on the speculative fiction spectrum.
"Goodnight Stars" by Annie Bellet [5/5]
This story was taken from an anthology about apocalypse and I really enjoyed its idea how the apocalypse comes upon earth. But everything is good in this story; the main character, the realistic actions of the characters, and how there is both white and black in a world like that. but the point I love most about this story is how it shows family.
"We are the Cloud" by Sam J. Miller [4/5]
The characters in this one are really interesting (one of them has also a well implented linguistic disorder). The POV was chosen well by the author and you get really invested in theme of this story.
"The Magician and Laplace's Demon" by Tom Crosshill [4/5]
This story is really weird. I have expected something entirely different but this is a good story. The POV is different from your typical POV and I think most authors would have picked the magician as the POV but I really like this choice of the A.I.
"Spring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy" by Xia Jia [4/5]
The characters in this story are all unique and offer interesting inside in their life's perspective. It also allowed insight in a different culture. And it is wonderfully atmospheric.
"The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado
I don't want to say anything to this as I don't think Goodreads is a platform to discuss political views.
"The Bonedrake's Penance" by Yoon Ha Lee [4/5]
Another story that is different than I expected. But it is also very atmospheric and i love the family theme in this. But it takes a bit of time for the story to really begin.
"The Devil in America" by Kai Ashante Wilson [4/5]
The storytelling in this is amazing. The writing style of the author grabs you and does not allow you to not finish this story. The turning points of this story are really interesting and the characters have multiple-layers. The writing is atmospheric and all.
It is sometimes a bit confusing but what I really do not like about the story is that you need to know french to understand every part of the dialogue and I don't know any french exept "bonjour".
"The Litany of Earth" by Ruthanna Emrys [4.5/5]
I love Lovecraft's Cuthulhu mythology so when I realised this is a lovecraftian story I was very happy. this is kind of the prequel story to Emrys's lovecraftian novel (and after loving this story you better be sure I will pick up the book). This story is interesting and atmospheric and I love all the references to Lovecraft's work.
"A Guide to the Fruits of Hawaii" by Alaya Dawn Johnson [3/5]
The setting is quite interesting. This is the second vampire centric story in this anthology but it is quite different from Gladstone's "A Kiss with Teeth". In Johnson's stories the humans are not longer the dominant species but the vampires are. The characters are well crafted and the amount of worldbuilding in this story is amazing.
But I do not like the development of Key's character and the female character called rachel was annoying me to no end.
"A Year and a Day in Old Theradane" by Scott Lynch [5/5]
This is a story you expect from the man who writes the Gentlemen Basterds series. A con and amazing characters and a detailed world building.
"The Regular" by Ken Liu [4/5]
The amount of character background is fantastic for the investiagtor and it blends really well with the story. The setting is a bit cyber-punky i guess and I like how it feels like near future scincefiction. I like there are two POVs in this story. The pacing is a bit slow but that is okay.
"Grand Jeté (The Great Leap) by Rachel Swirsky [2/5]
I think I understand why people might like this story but I am not the right audience for this story. I appreciate the characterisation and the well crafted story but I am not the type of reader who likes to read about illnesses that exist in the real world and I couldn't connect with the religious themes in this story.
The stories in this anthology were very different in content, genre, and in how much I enjoyed them. I think the stories in this anthology were all well chosen though as I think everybody will find stories in this one as they're so different.
"The Breath of War" by Aliette de Bodard [4/5]
The setting in this story is really good. It has kind of a fantastic vibe but this story is a science-fiction story. The main character is also really likeable and she has an amazing personality. the ending was also really good. But I think the story is a bit too long in some parts.
"When it Ends, He Catches Her" by Eugie Foster [5/5]
Oh my god, this one is one of my favourite stories in this anthology and I had all my friends read it because I was that amazed. It is atmospheric, the style is amazing and this plot-twist ending...woah. This story is everything I love about short stories.
"Toad Words" by T. Kingfisher [3.5/5]
This story is really short but I think this is good because it is an idea-based story and they tend to get boring when they are too long.
"Makeisha In Time" by Rachael K. Jones [4.5/5]
The idea behind this story is amazing and I am guilty to wish to have this kind of time travelling ability. The writing style is also amazing and the story had exact the right lenght. The conflicts in this story are also understandable but to me the end was kind of meh...
"Covenant" by Elizabeth Bear [3/5]
I have to say I did not get the point of this story and that makes me a bit sad. But the story is well crafted and it wass a thrilling read. I don't know if the flashbacks are necessary but I think they kind of belonged to the story? I am not a big fan of flashbacks in short stories.
"The Truth about Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar [2/5]
Another story I missed the point of.
It is cute and the writing style is beautiful but I cannot say much of the story.
"A Kiss with Teeth" by Max Gladstone [5/5]
I already knew (and loved) this story and I happily read it again. I love this kind of vampire story and sometimes it is serious, sometimes it is hilarious. I dig this kind of stories and this twist on Vlad Dracula makes the character so much more likeable. And I love his wife and son too.
"The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family" by Usman T. Malik [4.5/5]
The only problem I have with this story is that I had to google a lot of words I was not familiar with. This is not really the fault of the author but it diminished my love of the story a bit. The story is gripping and I shivered a lot. I like the relevance of the story and how it gives you hope for everything will be better some day.
"This Chance Planet" by Elizabeth Bear [3.5/5]
This one has a strong message and I would say this is worth a read if you like the story itself or not. Most of the time I am not a fan of message heavy stories but this one is executed quite well. I also love the setting in this one but this is much more on the magical realism end on the speculative fiction spectrum.
"Goodnight Stars" by Annie Bellet [5/5]
This story was taken from an anthology about apocalypse and I really enjoyed its idea how the apocalypse comes upon earth. But everything is good in this story; the main character, the realistic actions of the characters, and how there is both white and black in a world like that. but the point I love most about this story is how it shows family.
"We are the Cloud" by Sam J. Miller [4/5]
The characters in this one are really interesting (one of them has also a well implented linguistic disorder). The POV was chosen well by the author and you get really invested in theme of this story.
"The Magician and Laplace's Demon" by Tom Crosshill [4/5]
This story is really weird. I have expected something entirely different but this is a good story. The POV is different from your typical POV and I think most authors would have picked the magician as the POV but I really like this choice of the A.I.
"Spring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy" by Xia Jia [4/5]
The characters in this story are all unique and offer interesting inside in their life's perspective. It also allowed insight in a different culture. And it is wonderfully atmospheric.
"The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado
I don't want to say anything to this as I don't think Goodreads is a platform to discuss political views.
"The Bonedrake's Penance" by Yoon Ha Lee [4/5]
Another story that is different than I expected. But it is also very atmospheric and i love the family theme in this. But it takes a bit of time for the story to really begin.
"The Devil in America" by Kai Ashante Wilson [4/5]
The storytelling in this is amazing. The writing style of the author grabs you and does not allow you to not finish this story. The turning points of this story are really interesting and the characters have multiple-layers. The writing is atmospheric and all.
It is sometimes a bit confusing but what I really do not like about the story is that you need to know french to understand every part of the dialogue and I don't know any french exept "bonjour".
"The Litany of Earth" by Ruthanna Emrys [4.5/5]
I love Lovecraft's Cuthulhu mythology so when I realised this is a lovecraftian story I was very happy. this is kind of the prequel story to Emrys's lovecraftian novel (and after loving this story you better be sure I will pick up the book). This story is interesting and atmospheric and I love all the references to Lovecraft's work.
"A Guide to the Fruits of Hawaii" by Alaya Dawn Johnson [3/5]
The setting is quite interesting. This is the second vampire centric story in this anthology but it is quite different from Gladstone's "A Kiss with Teeth". In Johnson's stories the humans are not longer the dominant species but the vampires are. The characters are well crafted and the amount of worldbuilding in this story is amazing.
But I do not like the development of Key's character and the female character called rachel was annoying me to no end.
"A Year and a Day in Old Theradane" by Scott Lynch [5/5]
This is a story you expect from the man who writes the Gentlemen Basterds series. A con and amazing characters and a detailed world building.
"The Regular" by Ken Liu [4/5]
The amount of character background is fantastic for the investiagtor and it blends really well with the story. The setting is a bit cyber-punky i guess and I like how it feels like near future scincefiction. I like there are two POVs in this story. The pacing is a bit slow but that is okay.
"Grand Jeté (The Great Leap) by Rachel Swirsky [2/5]
I think I understand why people might like this story but I am not the right audience for this story. I appreciate the characterisation and the well crafted story but I am not the type of reader who likes to read about illnesses that exist in the real world and I couldn't connect with the religious themes in this story.