Short stories (1–5), a seemingly slow start, amidst much hidden reading

So this is my first #ReadShortStories post of 2020. April might seem a bit late, but in defence of my short story reading consistency, I would like to point out that until the end of March I was reading a large number of stories that were submitted to Rebuilding Tomorrow. So any time I thought about reading a short story that wasn't a submission, I felt guilty. But that's over now. The submissions have all been read and responded to (either with a rejection or a hold request, bending a higher level of global stability — if you submitted something but didn't hear back, feel free to query).

Which brings me to this first batch of stories. Without further ado:

~

Did We Break the End of the World? by Tansy Rayner Roberts — Reread in aid of editing a sequel story that will be appearing in Rebuilding Tomorrow. Source: Defying Doomsday edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench

The Frost on Jade Buds by Aliette de Bodard — A story of mindships, the threat of war and galactic foreigners. I didn’t get into this story as easily as I have some of the other Xuya stories. Source: The Dragon that Flew Out of the Sun by Aliette de Bodard

Meat Cute by Gail Carriger — A novelette prequel to the novel Soulless. You don’t have to have read Soulless or the Finishing School books to appreciate this story… but I do think it would help a lot. It’s cute and funny, as one expects from Carriger, and follows Alexia on the night of her very first meeting with Connal. Source: Stand-alone purchase

Inheritance by Emma Newman — An emotional slice of a character’s life, set before the events in Planetfall. A good read, but probably not as impactful if you haven’t read Planetfall. Source: Emma Newman’s newsletter

The Generation Gap by Emma Newman — A significant story (not a vignette) about a father who is worried that there’s something wrong with his kid. I loved the reversal and the plausibility of the resolution. I think it’s my favourite story of this series. Source: Emma Newman’s newsletter