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xan_van_rooyen's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Some stories I loved. Some stories I just didn't get. Always the way it is with an anthology.
Some stories I loved. Some stories I just didn't get. Always the way it is with an anthology.
stephanieleary's review against another edition
4.0
Like all collections, there were a few stories that made me go, "Meh," but most of these were very good. I'd already read most of the stories that were available online. Of those that were new to me, I especially liked "Confessor," "Leavings of the Wolf," and "Cryptic Coloration." I'm intrigued by the shared setting of "Dolly" and "In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns," and I hope Bear continues writing in that world.
Update! "In the House of Aryaman..." is now online.
Update! "In the House of Aryaman..." is now online.
coolcurrybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Shoggoths in Bloom is a collection of short stories by prolific science fiction and fantasy writer Elizabeth Bear. Like any collection, there were stories I liked and stories that I didn’t care for. However, I’d say that I enjoyed the majority of stories in the collection.
At least a few of the short stories relate to full length novels or series by Elizabeth Bear. “Love Among the Talus” is the story of a princess in the world of her Eternal Skies series, a fantasy series in a setting based on Central Asia. However, it stands completely alone and you don’t at all need to be familiar with the series.
Another short story, “Cryptic Coloration” was about a mage in New York. I enjoyed it enough that I would actually really love to read a full length novel… and apparently one exists! Now there’s yet another book added to my TBR list. Possibly one of the reasons I liked it so much was that I was convinced the main character was ace (it’s not textual, but just let me have this one).
Two of the stories “Tideline” and the titular “Shoggoths in Bloom” had previously won awards. Between the two, I preferred “Tideline,” the story of an aging AI built for war raising a boy while it rusts away on a beach after the apocalypse. I’m guessing “Shoggoths in Bloom” draws on Lovecraft, but I’m not familiar with the mythos.
Other highlights include “Annie Weber,” a short but striking tale from the perspective of a barista, puzzled by the numerous people claiming to be Annie Weber. “Orm the Beautiful” is the story of the last dragon and how he responds when his hoard is destroyed. “The Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe,” the story of the last man, woman, and shark left in the universe, was too conceptual for me, but I really loved these lines:
The whole trope about the last man and woman left in the world inevitably hooking up is one that’s always annoyed me, so I appreciating the way this story went.
The stories are all speculative in nature, but they span a wide variety of genres and subgenres, from alternate history to urban fantasy to science fiction mysteries. Overall, I’d say it was worth the time I put into it.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
At least a few of the short stories relate to full length novels or series by Elizabeth Bear. “Love Among the Talus” is the story of a princess in the world of her Eternal Skies series, a fantasy series in a setting based on Central Asia. However, it stands completely alone and you don’t at all need to be familiar with the series.
Another short story, “Cryptic Coloration” was about a mage in New York. I enjoyed it enough that I would actually really love to read a full length novel… and apparently one exists! Now there’s yet another book added to my TBR list. Possibly one of the reasons I liked it so much was that I was convinced the main character was ace (it’s not textual, but just let me have this one).
Two of the stories “Tideline” and the titular “Shoggoths in Bloom” had previously won awards. Between the two, I preferred “Tideline,” the story of an aging AI built for war raising a boy while it rusts away on a beach after the apocalypse. I’m guessing “Shoggoths in Bloom” draws on Lovecraft, but I’m not familiar with the mythos.
Other highlights include “Annie Weber,” a short but striking tale from the perspective of a barista, puzzled by the numerous people claiming to be Annie Weber. “Orm the Beautiful” is the story of the last dragon and how he responds when his hoard is destroyed. “The Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe,” the story of the last man, woman, and shark left in the universe, was too conceptual for me, but I really loved these lines:
“There, under the false and dying sun, becalmed on a make-believe sea, they do not make love. She is a lesbian. He is sworn to a celibate priesthood.”
The whole trope about the last man and woman left in the world inevitably hooking up is one that’s always annoyed me, so I appreciating the way this story went.
The stories are all speculative in nature, but they span a wide variety of genres and subgenres, from alternate history to urban fantasy to science fiction mysteries. Overall, I’d say it was worth the time I put into it.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
princesscochlea's review against another edition
4.0
I found this through Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth's Lovecraft Reread over on Tor. I've been on a Lovecraftian kick this week, touched off by reading Emrys' Winter Tide. Shoggoths in Bloom took me an initial read and then a second, more thoughtful read to really absorb, but it's really good.
(This review isn't finished, but I need to articulate some more thoughts, especially after reading Emrys' and Pillsworth's excellent Tor commentary.)
(This review isn't finished, but I need to articulate some more thoughts, especially after reading Emrys' and Pillsworth's excellent Tor commentary.)
kitsana_d's review against another edition
Bad timing I think. I enjoyed the first two immensely, and then couldn't get into the next like 4. Will revisit later.
lesliebee's review
4.0
(3.5 Stars)
There are a few...iffy stories in this one, but what was good made up for it. Almost. Cryptic Coloration was my least favorite story and it was one of the longest. Fortunately, three of my favorite stories were as long or a little longer (In the House of Aryaman a Lone Signal Fire Burns, Forge of the Gods and the other one set in the same world).
There are a few...iffy stories in this one, but what was good made up for it. Almost. Cryptic Coloration was my least favorite story and it was one of the longest. Fortunately, three of my favorite stories were as long or a little longer (In the House of Aryaman a Lone Signal Fire Burns, Forge of the Gods and the other one set in the same world).
careythesixth's review
4.0
This is really an incredible collection. I read Shoggoths in Bloom and enjoyed every page. Some of the stories weren't what I would normally read (yay for broadening horizons!), but I can say with confidence that every single one was beautifully written. Elizabeth Bear has a gift for language. I can't wait to read more of her work.
morgandhu's review
5.0
i have long felt that Elizabeth Bear is a very good writer in the process of becoming a great writer. It easy to see this progression in her most recent short fiction collection Shoggoths in Bloom - all but one of the pieces are reprints and they show how over the past decade her writing has been evolving, growing ever more incisive and provocative and finely crafted. I'd read some of these before - the thought-provoking title story, the heart-breaking Orm the Beautiful, the multi-layered In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns - but when assembled in one place, the range and depth of this collection was striking.
Bear writes about uncomfortable things, and she wants you to think and feel strongly about those things even as she wraps those things in prose that is often a delight to read. She writes about evil and accident and caprice and entropy and just plain bad luck, and about people who find ways to keep fighting no matter what. She writes about hard choices and missed chances and those times where everything you have just isn't enough, but still you give everything because fighting to the end is better than giving up. And she writes about something that has always resonated with me, the willing sacrifice, the knowledge that there are prices to pay and the only thing you can do to keep your soul is pay the price.
That's some of what you'll find in this collection. The hardest truths of all, woven into the most beautiful of fictions.
Bear writes about uncomfortable things, and she wants you to think and feel strongly about those things even as she wraps those things in prose that is often a delight to read. She writes about evil and accident and caprice and entropy and just plain bad luck, and about people who find ways to keep fighting no matter what. She writes about hard choices and missed chances and those times where everything you have just isn't enough, but still you give everything because fighting to the end is better than giving up. And she writes about something that has always resonated with me, the willing sacrifice, the knowledge that there are prices to pay and the only thing you can do to keep your soul is pay the price.
That's some of what you'll find in this collection. The hardest truths of all, woven into the most beautiful of fictions.
bookbybook's review
4.0
Like with all collections of short stories, some were better than others. But none were terrible.