Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather
Started: 8/26/22
Finished: 8/28/22
Sequel to Sisters of the Vast Black, we continue the adventures of our nuns who live in a living space ship, but now they’re on the run.
Hugo nominee
Tangles by Seanan McGuire
Started: 8/12/22
Finished: 8/12/22
Short story by an author who never misses. I want more (which is the best and worst feeling I can have about a short story). Dryads (kind of?) and magic and getting lost in a forest.
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Short story by an author I LOVE, and I LOVED this story. The premise is that the lyrics to a traditional ballad are posted online, and the action happens in the comments. It’s great, and everyone should read it. (Also, it won the Hugo Award for short stories this year.)
Unknown Number by Blue Neustifter
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Short story in the form of text messages between a character and their alternate self. Sad, but also not?
That Story Isn’t the Story by John Wiswell
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Creepy, sad, uplifting sometimes, but also not the story you think it’s going to be (see title).
Proof By Induction by José Pablo Iriarte
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Sad (all of these short stories are sad, I guess), a little obsessive, neat technology.
O2 Arena by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Sad, a really depressing view of the future.
L’Esprit de L’Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente
Started: 8/10/22
Finished: 8/10/22
I think I just don’t like Cat Valente, which is a shame. I feel like I should, but I keep striking out. Hello, another depressing story.
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Started: 8/7/22
Finished: 8/10/22
Fascinating. A really good example of advanced technology looking like magic, from the points of view of both the scientist and the other.
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
Started: 8/6/22
Finished: 8/7/22
A sad one – this poor character just wants to be loved and is only being used by everyone around her.
Colors of the Immortal Palette by Caroline M. Yoachim
Started: 8/6/22
Finished: 8/6/22
A novelette about art and immortality and it didn’t really speak to me.
Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer
Started: 8/2/22
Finished: 8/6/22
I love Suzanne Palmer’s bot stories, and she won a Hugo for this one, too. It’s a sequel to her previous bot short story, The Secret Life of Bots. Links to both!
Secret Life of Bots: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palmer_09_17/
Bots of the Lost Ark: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palmer_06_21/
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Started: 7/31/22
Finished: 8/2/22
Another installment in the Wayward Children series, another heartbreaker. I love these books.
Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow
Started: 7/31/22
Finished: 7/31/22
A devastating short story that came through for me at the end. If it hadn’t, I will fully prepared to abandon Alix Harrow, despite how much I have liked her books and stories.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Started: 7/20/22
Finished: 7/31/22
I’ve read a short story in this universe, so a novel was welcome. It’s a mystery, set in an alternate Egypt with magic. The writing was a little stilted, maybe self-conscious, but it was easy to ignore for the story. I’ll just hope it gets better with the next one.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Started: 6/20/22
Finished: 7/3/22
Industry and politics and families and war and magic. You know, basically The Godfather. Pretty good.
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
Started: 12/4/21
Finished: 12/6/21
Nuns in space! Their spaceship is alive, which is kinda weird, kinda gross. I picture it like a giant whale.
Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer
Started: 11/18/21
Finished: 11/18/21
If only this were a true story! Link: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little-free-library-naomi-kritzer/
Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson
Started: 11/17/21
Finished: 11/18/21
What do you do when you’re about to have a baby but the zombies are attracted to the smell of blood? Isolate and hope you survive! Link: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/badass-moms-in-the-zombie-apocalypse/
Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker
Started: 11/17/21
Finished: 11/17/21
Creepy and interesting, like many of her short stories. Link: https://www.tor.com/2020/06/17/two-truths-and-a-lie-sarah-pinsker/