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A review by scubacat
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021 by John Joseph Adams, Veronica Roth
4.0
Very interesting collection of sci fi and fantasy short stories! Some hit me more than others. I'm writing this review purely so I can remember and identify the stories later.
Let's Play Dead - Anne Boleyn won't stay dead.
Excellent start to the series - 5 stars
Survival Guide - Automated education system corrupting the minds of our youth.
It was okay - 3 stars
Tiger's Feast - Bullied girl feeds a tiger her rage.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
The Pill - Everyone wants a quick fix to thin-ness.
Disturbing, but good - 4 stars
Crawfather - Excellent title. Will never forget this story. Family legacy of fighting a monster.
5 stars
How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary - Reparations experiment and it's aftermath.
Good - 4 stars
Our Language - Girl grows up to be a Ciguapa, but is she really a monster?
Very good - 4.5 stars
Schrodinger's Catastrophe - An empty part of space that isn't quite empty, and a ship that gets too close.
Good, but predictable - 3.5 stars
The Cleaners - Gui runs the family business of cleaning memories.
Promising idea, but doesn't deliver - 2.5 stars
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Anna Kim needs to find out why the ships are refusing to fly.
Thoughtful and interesting - 5 stars
And This is How to Stay Alive - Older sister mourns brother's death, but can she change it?
I liked it - 3.5 stars
The Beast Adjoins - Yet another AI story, but with a small, powerful twist.
I really liked it - 4.5 stars
The Long Walk - Old lady is sent away to die, but it doesn't go as planned.
I fell asleep while trying to finish this story. Feels like I should have liked it more than I did, but I found it aggravating - 2 stars
One Time, a Reluctant Traveler - girl mourning her family heads up to the mythical endless ocean at the top of the mountain.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
Glass Bottle Dancer - middle age lady takes up bottle dancing.
I had trouble with the language and didn't love it - 2 stars
Skipping Stones in the Dark - ship tells a story of it's passengers.
Reminding me of Aniara, which I just read last month. I enjoyed it - 4 stars
The Plague Doctors - Team on a small island tries to solve a pandemic.
I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better. 3.5 stars
Two Truths and a Lie - Girl loses track of where her lies end and her truth begins.
I didn't get it. 1.5 stars
Brother Rifle - Marine goes through therapy to deal with head trauma.
It was predictable, but I still enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
The Rat - Girl tries to cut out her grief.
Ewww... 2 stars
Scores, divided by 20 = 3.5 stars, which feels about right. Five of the stories got a 2.5 or lower. That means 15 are a 3 or higher, and 8 were above a 4. That's actually pretty good - I'm a very tough grader. Since Goodreads doesn't allow half points, I will round this one up to a 4, as I'm glad I read it and definitely can recommend it.
Let's Play Dead - Anne Boleyn won't stay dead.
Excellent start to the series - 5 stars
Survival Guide - Automated education system corrupting the minds of our youth.
It was okay - 3 stars
Tiger's Feast - Bullied girl feeds a tiger her rage.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
The Pill - Everyone wants a quick fix to thin-ness.
Disturbing, but good - 4 stars
Crawfather - Excellent title. Will never forget this story. Family legacy of fighting a monster.
5 stars
How to Pay Reparations: A Documentary - Reparations experiment and it's aftermath.
Good - 4 stars
Our Language - Girl grows up to be a Ciguapa, but is she really a monster?
Very good - 4.5 stars
Schrodinger's Catastrophe - An empty part of space that isn't quite empty, and a ship that gets too close.
Good, but predictable - 3.5 stars
The Cleaners - Gui runs the family business of cleaning memories.
Promising idea, but doesn't deliver - 2.5 stars
Beyond the Dragon's Gate - Anna Kim needs to find out why the ships are refusing to fly.
Thoughtful and interesting - 5 stars
And This is How to Stay Alive - Older sister mourns brother's death, but can she change it?
I liked it - 3.5 stars
The Beast Adjoins - Yet another AI story, but with a small, powerful twist.
I really liked it - 4.5 stars
The Long Walk - Old lady is sent away to die, but it doesn't go as planned.
I fell asleep while trying to finish this story. Feels like I should have liked it more than I did, but I found it aggravating - 2 stars
One Time, a Reluctant Traveler - girl mourning her family heads up to the mythical endless ocean at the top of the mountain.
It was okay - 3.5 stars
Glass Bottle Dancer - middle age lady takes up bottle dancing.
I had trouble with the language and didn't love it - 2 stars
Skipping Stones in the Dark - ship tells a story of it's passengers.
Reminding me of Aniara, which I just read last month. I enjoyed it - 4 stars
The Plague Doctors - Team on a small island tries to solve a pandemic.
I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better. 3.5 stars
Two Truths and a Lie - Girl loses track of where her lies end and her truth begins.
I didn't get it. 1.5 stars
Brother Rifle - Marine goes through therapy to deal with head trauma.
It was predictable, but I still enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
The Rat - Girl tries to cut out her grief.
Ewww... 2 stars
Scores, divided by 20 = 3.5 stars, which feels about right. Five of the stories got a 2.5 or lower. That means 15 are a 3 or higher, and 8 were above a 4. That's actually pretty good - I'm a very tough grader. Since Goodreads doesn't allow half points, I will round this one up to a 4, as I'm glad I read it and definitely can recommend it.