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kamaria's review
4.0
Gut rating, i.e. the rating I feel it should get: 4 stars
Average rating for the stories: 3.15 stars
This anthology, as any other short story collection out there, is a mixed bag. A 3-star rating would be just, since it includes stories I hated or disliked and stories I enjoyed and loved. However, there is a discrepancy between what would be the average rating and what I feel this collection deserves. I really, really liked this. It honestly felt like a 4-star book, which I guess means the good stories outweigh the bad ones: there is great fantasy and sci-fi here. It's diverse, imaginative, and represents a wide range of women and men and everything in between. And it has been terrible for the state of my TBR pile, which is always a good sign!
If I had to choose a top three, I'd include:
- [b:Among the Thorns|21893683|Among the Thorns|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397436000s/21893683.jpg|41184281] (Veronica Schanoes)
- [b:Where the Trains Turn|23127731|Where the Trains Turn|Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409517195s/23127731.jpg|42675908] (Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen)
- [b:Reborn|20653250|Reborn (The Anderson Project, #1)|Ken Liu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391033952s/20653250.jpg|39948796] (Ken Liu)
Some of the stories that I enjoyed because they packed a big emotional punch were:
- [b:In the Sight of Akresa|22886631|In the Sight of Akresa|Ray Wood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407524603s/22886631.jpg|42246795] (Ray Wood)
- [b:The Insects of Love|22313578|The Insects of Love|Genevieve Valentine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400991022s/22313578.jpg|41705902] (Genevieve Valentine), though I had to read it twice to fully get it!
- [b:The Mothers of Voorhisville|22026013|The Mothers of Voorhisville|M. Rickert|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398867475s/22026013.jpg|41344449] (Mary Rickert)
- [b:The Color of Paradox|22439895|The Color of Paradox|A.M. Dellamonica|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402171216s/22439895.jpg|41864948] (A.M. Dellamonica)
And some others that I enjoyed and wanted to highlight just because they're very good:
- [b:Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome|21805681|Unlocked An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397572655s/21805681.jpg|41068587] (John Scalzi)
- [b:Brisk Money|22539556|Brisk Money|Adam Christopher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403419943s/22539556.jpg|41991169] (Adam Christopher)
- [b:Midway Relics and Dying Breeds|22892288|Midway Relics and Dying Breeds|Seanan McGuire|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407772733s/22892288.jpg|42462229] (Seanan McGuire)
- [b:Daughter of Necessity|22823261|Daughter of Necessity|Marie Brennan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406484057s/22823261.jpg|42376194] (Marie Brennan)
And the best thing is that all of them are free on tor.com!
Average rating for the stories: 3.15 stars
This anthology, as any other short story collection out there, is a mixed bag. A 3-star rating would be just, since it includes stories I hated or disliked and stories I enjoyed and loved. However, there is a discrepancy between what would be the average rating and what I feel this collection deserves. I really, really liked this. It honestly felt like a 4-star book, which I guess means the good stories outweigh the bad ones: there is great fantasy and sci-fi here. It's diverse, imaginative, and represents a wide range of women and men and everything in between. And it has been terrible for the state of my TBR pile, which is always a good sign!
If I had to choose a top three, I'd include:
- [b:Among the Thorns|21893683|Among the Thorns|Veronica Schanoes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397436000s/21893683.jpg|41184281] (Veronica Schanoes)
- [b:Where the Trains Turn|23127731|Where the Trains Turn|Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409517195s/23127731.jpg|42675908] (Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen)
- [b:Reborn|20653250|Reborn (The Anderson Project, #1)|Ken Liu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391033952s/20653250.jpg|39948796] (Ken Liu)
Some of the stories that I enjoyed because they packed a big emotional punch were:
- [b:In the Sight of Akresa|22886631|In the Sight of Akresa|Ray Wood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407524603s/22886631.jpg|42246795] (Ray Wood)
- [b:The Insects of Love|22313578|The Insects of Love|Genevieve Valentine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400991022s/22313578.jpg|41705902] (Genevieve Valentine), though I had to read it twice to fully get it!
- [b:The Mothers of Voorhisville|22026013|The Mothers of Voorhisville|M. Rickert|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398867475s/22026013.jpg|41344449] (Mary Rickert)
- [b:The Color of Paradox|22439895|The Color of Paradox|A.M. Dellamonica|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402171216s/22439895.jpg|41864948] (A.M. Dellamonica)
And some others that I enjoyed and wanted to highlight just because they're very good:
- [b:Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome|21805681|Unlocked An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397572655s/21805681.jpg|41068587] (John Scalzi)
- [b:Brisk Money|22539556|Brisk Money|Adam Christopher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403419943s/22539556.jpg|41991169] (Adam Christopher)
- [b:Midway Relics and Dying Breeds|22892288|Midway Relics and Dying Breeds|Seanan McGuire|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407772733s/22892288.jpg|42462229] (Seanan McGuire)
- [b:Daughter of Necessity|22823261|Daughter of Necessity|Marie Brennan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406484057s/22823261.jpg|42376194] (Marie Brennan)
And the best thing is that all of them are free on tor.com!
tundragirl's review
4.0
This thing clocks in at a whopping 700+ pages so I'm glad I got it on my kindle. Not a dud in the bunch.
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