#ReadShortStories (41 to 45)

This batch looks like a Yoon Ha Lee binge, and it is a bit, but I also had a pretty long break between stories here. Life stuff and my escaping the aforementioned through Zelda: Breath of the Wild (a video game) has lead to reduced reading. Whoops.

Anyway, <3 Yoon Ha Lee and his stories. The three included here are all set in the Machineries of Empire series (see also my reviews of Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem), and I really love that world and the characters. I can't wait for book three to come out, and hopefully there are more stories set in that world that I haven't read left for me to get to.

I would also like to highlight the last story, "The House That Creaks" by Elaine Cuyegkeng as a pretty great horror story (and not overly gory, as far as I'm concerned). The author is a relatively new discovery for me (yay reading a bunch of short stories) and I've been enjoying her work. Go have a read if horror is your thing.


Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee — Set in the same universe as Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem, this story follows Jedao while he is still young. He goes on an undercover mission to extract a friend from academy. I really enjoyed this story. It was funny with serious moments. A good read for both readers of the novels and new comers to the world. Source: https://www.tor.com/2017/02/15/extracurricular-activities/

The Battle of Candle Arc by Yoon Ha Lee — Shuos Jedao leads a Kel army to victory against heretics. I had some memory of this particular battle being mentioned in the novels (Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem), but misremembered the context. In any case, an interesting read, even more so since it was published years before the novels. Clearly the authors has been living in this world for a long time. Also, the explanations of the factions and calendar were done particularly well, especially given how complicated they can get. This story is a good introduction to the world. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lee_10_12/

Yowie by Thoraiya Dyer — A story about being overwhelmed and lost. And yowies. A look at a dreary life amid a fantastical discovery. Not a bad story, but not exactly a pleasant read either. Source: Sprawl edited by Alisa Krasnostein

The Robot’s Math Lessons by Yoon Ha Lee — An adorable flash story about a robot making friends with a little girl (who I think is Cheris from Ninefox Gambit). Source: http://www.yoonhalee.com/?p=793

The House That Creaks by Elaine Cuyegkeng — The story of a haunted house told fro the house’s point of view. A really interesting take, but also pretty creepy since we learn about the (supernatural) rituals that made the house haunted, as well as it’s pre-haunted past in the Philippines. Source: http://thedarkmagazine.com/the-house-that-creaks/

Short Stories 30 to 35

Another mix of stories this batch. The first two finished of Seanan McGuire's first collection of superhero stories, Velveteen vs the Junior Super Patriots, so you may have already seen my reviews of those two.

I found the middle two stories particularly powerful and I definitely recommend those to fans of horror, in the case of "The First of Her Name" and adorable robots in the case of "The Secret Life of Bots". Both were excellent reads.

Velveteen vs Patrol by Seanan McGuire — A first look at Velma’s new life superheroing for Oregon. Mostly a pleasant read about her working out her new life, with and additional dollop of foreshadowing doom thrown in. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs8.php

Velveteen vs the Blind Date by Seanan McGuire — Velveteen is set up on a blind date with another freelance superhero. It seems like a terrible idea at first, but they have complementary powers and hit it off. Another entertaining read. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs9.php

The First of Her Name by Elaine Cuyegkeng — A pretty horrifying story told from the point of view of a young insect in a colony. I mean, the horrifying part isn’t the insects but rather what happens to some of them. And the tone. It was chilling. Source: https://lackingtons.com/2017/02/09/the-first-of-her-name-by-elaine-cuyegkeng/

The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer — A delightful story about an ageing maintenance bot on an ageing spaceship that has been pulled out of a scrap yard for a last desperate mission. This story strikes a perfect balance between informing the reader of the human-centred happenings and the struggles faced by the bots. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palmer_09_17/ 

The Ouroboros Bakery by Octavia Cade — An interesting idea and I liked several aspects (who doesn't like magical bakers?) but I found the story a bit too wordy overall. Source: http://www.kaleidotrope.net/archives/autumn-2017/the-ouroboros-bakery-by-octavia-cade/

Short stories 21 to 25

Two stories in this batch written as something like diary entries: the first and the last, and they couldn't be more different. One is told through a cooking blog during a pandemic, while the other is disturbing diary entries during an alien war. In between there was time travel, spaceships made from humans connecting a vast colonial empire, and some kind of transcendence.

So Much Cooking by Naomi Kritzer — This is the story of a flu pandemic told through the medium of a food (cooking) blog. It pulled me into the story as soon as I opened it and, despite not being into food or particularly interested in the recipes, I couldn’t put it down. A surprisingly good piece of writing. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/

Oblivion is a Crease Left By Memory by Chen Qiufan — Following the theme of a flight that lands 20 years in the future, this story is about an artist who was going to run an exhibit in San Francisco. Instead, they learn about a new form of art made possible by technology that taps into your brain and experiences. I found it an interesting read and not what I expected (the previous story I read from this anthology, by Charlie Jane Anders, had a very different, comical vibe). Source: https://seat14c.com/future_ideas/17F?utm_source=author&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=seat14c&utm_content=ChenQiufan

These Constellations Will Be Yours by Elaine Cuyegkeng — A story of colonialism and a future where spaceships are built from a particular group of people. Told from the perspective of one of the ships watching a woman who was not similarly made into a ship. I really liked the ideas in this story though it wasn’t a happy read. Source: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/these-constellations-will-be-yours/

Worlds Like a Hundred Thousand Pearls by Aliette de Bodard — Eh. A flash piece about grief and transcendence. It was OK but didn’t really grab me. Source: http://dailysciencefiction.com/hither-and-yon/the-numbers-quartet/aliette-de-bodard/worlds-like-a-hundred-thousand-pearls

Diary of War by Joyce Chng — Somewhere between a prose-poem and diary entries, this story tells about war waged by alien invaders, who turn out to be very invasive. The sparse style is moving, especially with this subject matter. Source: http://www.anathemamag.com/diary-of-war