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A review by theaurochs
Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2020 edition by Charlie Jane Anders
3.0
Average rating 2.9 stars! There are a few really standout stories in this collection, but the majority are pretty forgettable. Mini-reviews of each short story below!
How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobucar- Rich Larson
-Cool cyberpunk Barcelona heist story. Tightly constructed, clever world-building, fun classic heist-style twists. 4/5
Girlfriend's Guide to Gods- Maria Dahvana Headley
-Yes, we get it, greek myths are misogynist. This isn't quite the hot take you think it is. The attempts at self-affirmation fall flat and hollow 1/5
St Valentine, St Abigail, St Brigid- C.L. Polk
-Interesting look at witchcraft and folk magic; a sweet and effective little story 3/5
If you get my meaning- Charlie Jane Anders
-Continuation of The City in the Middle of the Night. A short and sweet story that makes no effort to hide its themes of trauma, personal growth and emotional communication. I think its pretty clever but I still think the conclusion of TCitMotN goes in the wrong direction, and this follows it. 3/5
Sinew and Steel and What they Told- Carrie Vaughan
-Really powerful emotional little story about a cyborg being 'outed', and how this effects their relationships and person. Very well written and told, short, snappy and well-formed. Hints of the wider world-building, while establishing everything necessary for the story as it is. 4/5
Little Free Library- Naomi Kritzer
-Fine and very short short story about a mysterious interaction with another world. Somewhat charming, but nothing really outstanding or impressive. 2/5
An Explorer's Cartography of Already Settled Lands- Fran Wilde
-Enchanting, enthralling story of alien belonging. What an incredible little piece of writing, beautiful prose and thoughtful narrative. 5/5
The Night Sun - Zin E. Rocklyn
-Suprisingly scary horror story, with some effective body horror and chilling elements. Like the best horror, it uses its fantastic elements to make points about the human condition. There are a few issues that prevent it from really shining, but solid story. 3/5
Anything Resembling Love - S. Qiouyi Lu
-I felt distinctly, hideously uncomfortable reading this. So mission accomplished. A heavy but effective metaphor for rape specifically and wider rape culture or just societal expectations on women and how this affects them. 4/5
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Yoon Ha Lee
-Pretty meh. Lacklustre prose with some extended tortured metaphors that deserve to be put out their misery. Lots of exposition delivered in a clunky way. 2/5
Of Kings and Roses - Melissa Marr
-Not really into it- Alice in Wonderland fan-fiction. Fairly well-written but just nothing for me to really latch on to. 2/5
We're here, we're here - KM Szpara
-Fine? Again not really much to say about this one. Very basic look at a black-mirror type scenario, with a queer-tinter lens. 2/5
Two Truths and a Lie - Sarah Pinsker
-Interesting and creepy story, possibly pushing one too many ideas in its short space, but it plays into this and mostly carries it off. Gets more unsettling the more you think about it. 4/5
The Night Soil Salvagers - Gregory Norman Bossert
-Disjointed and too whimsical for my tastes. An interesting idea with a different take on modern fairies, but the execution left a lot to be desired. 1/5
The Ones Who Look - Katherine Duckett
-A fairly standard overview of some of the issues involved in digital immortality. Not bad, but no original takes on the idea. 3/5
Everything's Fine - Matthew Pridham
-Creepy and unnerving, but possibly over-the-top with it. A lovely examination of how we try to deal with un-deal-with-able things, full of zeitgeist for those of us who live in an ending world, but for some reason are deemed crazy if we ever address it. 4/5
Yellow and the Perception of Reality - Maureen McHugh
-Seems at once to push certain things a little too far, and other elements not nearly enough. Definitely has the makings of a great story, but the pieces don't fully align into something final. The basic premise that we can't understand reality directly, if we did it would drive us insane, is interesting but it doesn't take centre stage enough 3/5
Exile's End - Carolyn Eves Gilman
-Pretty great sci-fi that channels James Acaster's "Finders Keepers Shut Up" look at cultural appropriation in museums. Shame Le Guin did the same thing, better, 50 years ago. Also plagued by some very poor editing, but still manages to be a good story. 4/5
Flight - Claire Wrenwood
-Another fine story. Almost a tone-poem, an exercise in mood. For a story that takes place over the course of thirty years, precious little happens otherwise. It's a decent allegory for the damage done by beauty standards, and how these harmful images can be deeply ingrained. Not sure how effective the reverse chronology is. Also a good highlight on the cycle of abuse. Overall just fine, 2/5
Wait for Night - Stephen Graham Jones
-Yep, it's a vampire story all right. Drenched in Americana and a machismo that feels like a holdover from an earlier age, not necessarily in a good way. You could say there's a lot going on between the lines here, but to me it comes across more as lazy. Take just a little more time to show us something. Not super interested 2/5
Solution - Brian Everson
-It is, wait for it, fine. A fun take on the scientist-despairing-at-the-state-of-humanity trope, who then takes action to change the world. For the better? Who could say. Perhaps we deserve to let go of our time in this world. There are interesting elements here that should have been explored further, like the relationship with the daughter. 2/5
Hearts in the Hard Ground - G. V. Anderson
-Ok, now this is a brilliant ghost story. Genuinely haunting, emotional, ghosts that tie in to the psyche/trauma of the characters. Lovely detailed setting, I can see the house very clearly. Only a couple of characters but they are well fleshed out in the time we spend with them. Excellent 5/5
The Perfection of Theresa Watkins - Justin C. Key
-A little confused, with some fairly heavy racial commentary. Interesting look at identity and controlling relationships. Definitely has the seeds of an interesting story. 3/5
The Ashes of Around Twenty-Three Strangers - Jeremy Packert Burke
-Not really sure. As in, have read it and still not sure what its about. Could have been a tale about humans wrecking the planet but thenwe've got the weird rain-in-houses thing going on, plus the corpses of giant gods? I never got a sense of the world we are in, so it all felt a little disconnected. Great title though. 2/5
Placed into Abyss - Rachel Swirsky
-Very similar in idea to HitHG from earlier, but could not be more opposite in execution. Really heavy-handed "the ghosts are your trauma" story that shoe-horns in some quantum woo nonsense as well. None of this worked for me unfortunately 1/5
City of Red Midnight: Usman T. Malik
-Excellent and gorgeous fairy-tale, with delightful interlocking layers of narrative, each on feeling distinct in voice and setting. The ability to bring worlds to life so vividly in such a small handful of words is just delightful. 5/5
The Little Witch- M. Rickert
-Fine whimsical little story about Halloween. Didn't love it, and the edges were poorly defined. Some people like this in a short story, for me it was too far, frustrating. 2/5
Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law - Laive Tidhar
-Really cool vampire story! I like this one a lot. Spooky, atmospheric, that great feeling of good vampire stories with entrenched rules and regulations governing the secret horrors of the night. We are also in the indistinct medieval Europe that best suits this kind of monster. Great work 4/5
The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex - Tamsin Muir
-I strongly dislike the tone that Muir strikes. Sorry. I didn't like it in Gideon the Ninth and I don't like it here. This is a short enough dose of it that it is manageable, and the story and world-building here is quite interesting. Not sure if it would work as a standalone, maybe it does. There's a distinct air here of Sherlock Holmes, deducing the answer to impossible mysteries. There isn't enough set-up for the reader to reach these conclusions independetly, so the mystery aspect doesn't work for me either. 2/5
How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobucar- Rich Larson
-Cool cyberpunk Barcelona heist story. Tightly constructed, clever world-building, fun classic heist-style twists. 4/5
Girlfriend's Guide to Gods- Maria Dahvana Headley
-Yes, we get it, greek myths are misogynist. This isn't quite the hot take you think it is. The attempts at self-affirmation fall flat and hollow 1/5
St Valentine, St Abigail, St Brigid- C.L. Polk
-Interesting look at witchcraft and folk magic; a sweet and effective little story 3/5
If you get my meaning- Charlie Jane Anders
-Continuation of The City in the Middle of the Night. A short and sweet story that makes no effort to hide its themes of trauma, personal growth and emotional communication. I think its pretty clever but I still think the conclusion of TCitMotN goes in the wrong direction, and this follows it. 3/5
Sinew and Steel and What they Told- Carrie Vaughan
-Really powerful emotional little story about a cyborg being 'outed', and how this effects their relationships and person. Very well written and told, short, snappy and well-formed. Hints of the wider world-building, while establishing everything necessary for the story as it is. 4/5
Little Free Library- Naomi Kritzer
-Fine and very short short story about a mysterious interaction with another world. Somewhat charming, but nothing really outstanding or impressive. 2/5
An Explorer's Cartography of Already Settled Lands- Fran Wilde
-Enchanting, enthralling story of alien belonging. What an incredible little piece of writing, beautiful prose and thoughtful narrative. 5/5
The Night Sun - Zin E. Rocklyn
-Suprisingly scary horror story, with some effective body horror and chilling elements. Like the best horror, it uses its fantastic elements to make points about the human condition. There are a few issues that prevent it from really shining, but solid story. 3/5
Anything Resembling Love - S. Qiouyi Lu
-I felt distinctly, hideously uncomfortable reading this. So mission accomplished. A heavy but effective metaphor for rape specifically and wider rape culture or just societal expectations on women and how this affects them. 4/5
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Yoon Ha Lee
-Pretty meh. Lacklustre prose with some extended tortured metaphors that deserve to be put out their misery. Lots of exposition delivered in a clunky way. 2/5
Of Kings and Roses - Melissa Marr
-Not really into it- Alice in Wonderland fan-fiction. Fairly well-written but just nothing for me to really latch on to. 2/5
We're here, we're here - KM Szpara
-Fine? Again not really much to say about this one. Very basic look at a black-mirror type scenario, with a queer-tinter lens. 2/5
Two Truths and a Lie - Sarah Pinsker
-Interesting and creepy story, possibly pushing one too many ideas in its short space, but it plays into this and mostly carries it off. Gets more unsettling the more you think about it. 4/5
The Night Soil Salvagers - Gregory Norman Bossert
-Disjointed and too whimsical for my tastes. An interesting idea with a different take on modern fairies, but the execution left a lot to be desired. 1/5
The Ones Who Look - Katherine Duckett
-A fairly standard overview of some of the issues involved in digital immortality. Not bad, but no original takes on the idea. 3/5
Everything's Fine - Matthew Pridham
-Creepy and unnerving, but possibly over-the-top with it. A lovely examination of how we try to deal with un-deal-with-able things, full of zeitgeist for those of us who live in an ending world, but for some reason are deemed crazy if we ever address it. 4/5
Yellow and the Perception of Reality - Maureen McHugh
-Seems at once to push certain things a little too far, and other elements not nearly enough. Definitely has the makings of a great story, but the pieces don't fully align into something final. The basic premise that we can't understand reality directly, if we did it would drive us insane, is interesting but it doesn't take centre stage enough 3/5
Exile's End - Carolyn Eves Gilman
-Pretty great sci-fi that channels James Acaster's "Finders Keepers Shut Up" look at cultural appropriation in museums. Shame Le Guin did the same thing, better, 50 years ago. Also plagued by some very poor editing, but still manages to be a good story. 4/5
Flight - Claire Wrenwood
-Another fine story. Almost a tone-poem, an exercise in mood. For a story that takes place over the course of thirty years, precious little happens otherwise. It's a decent allegory for the damage done by beauty standards, and how these harmful images can be deeply ingrained. Not sure how effective the reverse chronology is. Also a good highlight on the cycle of abuse. Overall just fine, 2/5
Wait for Night - Stephen Graham Jones
-Yep, it's a vampire story all right. Drenched in Americana and a machismo that feels like a holdover from an earlier age, not necessarily in a good way. You could say there's a lot going on between the lines here, but to me it comes across more as lazy. Take just a little more time to show us something. Not super interested 2/5
Solution - Brian Everson
-It is, wait for it, fine. A fun take on the scientist-despairing-at-the-state-of-humanity trope, who then takes action to change the world. For the better? Who could say. Perhaps we deserve to let go of our time in this world. There are interesting elements here that should have been explored further, like the relationship with the daughter. 2/5
Hearts in the Hard Ground - G. V. Anderson
-Ok, now this is a brilliant ghost story. Genuinely haunting, emotional, ghosts that tie in to the psyche/trauma of the characters. Lovely detailed setting, I can see the house very clearly. Only a couple of characters but they are well fleshed out in the time we spend with them. Excellent 5/5
The Perfection of Theresa Watkins - Justin C. Key
-A little confused, with some fairly heavy racial commentary. Interesting look at identity and controlling relationships. Definitely has the seeds of an interesting story. 3/5
The Ashes of Around Twenty-Three Strangers - Jeremy Packert Burke
-Not really sure. As in, have read it and still not sure what its about. Could have been a tale about humans wrecking the planet but thenwe've got the weird rain-in-houses thing going on, plus the corpses of giant gods? I never got a sense of the world we are in, so it all felt a little disconnected. Great title though. 2/5
Placed into Abyss - Rachel Swirsky
-Very similar in idea to HitHG from earlier, but could not be more opposite in execution. Really heavy-handed "the ghosts are your trauma" story that shoe-horns in some quantum woo nonsense as well. None of this worked for me unfortunately 1/5
City of Red Midnight: Usman T. Malik
-Excellent and gorgeous fairy-tale, with delightful interlocking layers of narrative, each on feeling distinct in voice and setting. The ability to bring worlds to life so vividly in such a small handful of words is just delightful. 5/5
The Little Witch- M. Rickert
-Fine whimsical little story about Halloween. Didn't love it, and the edges were poorly defined. Some people like this in a short story, for me it was too far, frustrating. 2/5
Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law - Laive Tidhar
-Really cool vampire story! I like this one a lot. Spooky, atmospheric, that great feeling of good vampire stories with entrenched rules and regulations governing the secret horrors of the night. We are also in the indistinct medieval Europe that best suits this kind of monster. Great work 4/5
The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex - Tamsin Muir
-I strongly dislike the tone that Muir strikes. Sorry. I didn't like it in Gideon the Ninth and I don't like it here. This is a short enough dose of it that it is manageable, and the story and world-building here is quite interesting. Not sure if it would work as a standalone, maybe it does. There's a distinct air here of Sherlock Holmes, deducing the answer to impossible mysteries. There isn't enough set-up for the reader to reach these conclusions independetly, so the mystery aspect doesn't work for me either. 2/5