The Long List Anthology Volume 3: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List

by David Steffen (Editor), Aliette de Bodard (Contributor), S.B. Divya (Contributor)

This is the third annual edition of the Long List Anthology. Every year, supporting members of WorldCon nominate their favorite stories first published during the previous year to determine the top five in each category for the final Hugo Award ballot. This is an anthology collecting more of the stories from that nomination list to get them to more readers

The Long List Anthology Volume 3 collects 20 science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories from that nomination list, totaling over 500 pages of fiction by writers from all corners of the world. From intelligent appliances gone feral to Lovecraftian detective noir, from tech-enhanced wilderness races to Egyptian science fantasy steampunk, from hard science fiction to fairy tale to humor and more. There is a wide variety of styles and types of stories here, and something for everyone.

Contents:
*Red in Tooth and Cog (2016) / short story by Cat Rambo
*A Salvaging of Ghosts [Universe of Xuya] (2016) / short story by Aliette de Bodard
*Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 (2016) / short story by Caroline M. Yoachim
*Razorback (2016) / short story by Ursula Vernon
*We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You? (2016) / short story by Rebecca Ann Jordan
*Lullaby for a Lost World (2016) / short story by Aliette de Bodard
*Terminal (2016) / short story by Lavie Tidhar
*Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands (2016) / short story by Seanan McGuire
*Things with Beards (2016) / short story by Sam J. Miller
*The Venus Effect (2016) / novelette by Joseph Allen Hill
*The Visitor from Taured (2016) / novelette by Ian R. MacLeod
*Blood Grains Speak Through Memories [Blood Grains] (2016) / novelette by Jason Sanford
*Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea (2016) / novelette by Sarah Pinsker
*A Dead Djinn in Cairo [Ministry of Alchemy] (2016) / novelette by P. Djèlí Clark
*Red As Blood and White As Bone (2016) / novelette by Theodora Goss
*Foxfire, Foxfire (2016) / novelette by Yoon Ha Lee
*Forest of Memory (2016) / novella by Mary Robinette Kowal
*Chimera (2016) / novella by Gu Shi (trans. of 嵌合体 2015)
*Hammers on Bone [Persons Non Grata • 1] (2016) / novella by Cassandra Khaw
*Runtime (2016) / novella by S. B. Divya

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Horror, Fiction, Dystopia

509 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2017

Reviews

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings)]

Passed to another reader.

[Rachel (Kalanadi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished the last bit of this!

[Deana St. John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this a "good read." I enjoyed some of the stories much more than others, as would most people. Some of the stories were so good, I wanted a whole book on continuing that story.
It's hard to write a review of an Anthology when the only connecting thread is that they are all Science Fiction oriented. It becomes a matter of taste in what kind of science fiction you enjoy.

My advice is, give it a try!
DSJ

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the previous two volumes of this series, and there are always some excellent stories in them, as well as some that are not to my personal taste (but are still well done). The publication is done on a shoestring, and the copy editing reflects that, unfortunately. But there are some remarkable stories, and that's what keeps me coming back.

There was only one story in this volume that I didn't read it its entirety: Seanan McGuire's "Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands," which vigorously signalled early on that it was going to be a gruelling, nasty postapocalyptic. I'm not up for that. She's an excellent writer, but far too dark most of the time for my personal taste.

Not that there weren't plenty of other dark stories. Joseph Allen Hill's "The Venus Effect" explores racist police brutality through multiple attempts to tell a spec-fic story. It's postmodern and meta, but well enough done that I forgave that. It's not the only story in which race plays a powerful role; Sam J. Miller's "Things with Beards," just before it in the volume, features a gay black man and what may be a metaphor for AIDS.

Jason Sanford's "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" shows us a kind of postapocalyptic future in which nanotech created to preserve what's left of the environment has put humanity into a dystopian situation. Sarah Pinsker's "Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea" is also postapocalyptic.

Not everything is, though. "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" by P. Djeli Clark is an interesting take on mythos, with an Egyptian supernatural detective who dresses like an Englishman because she finds it "exotic". There's another mystery, of sorts, in Mary Robinette Kowal's "Forest of Memory". I very much enjoy MRK's contributions to the Writing Excuses podcast, but I have to confess I've never liked her actual writing much. I liked this more than the other things of hers I've read, though I did feel it was wordier than it needed to be.

There does seem to be a predominance of near-horror, dark fantasy, dark SF, dystopian and postapocalyptic in this volume, though; mood of the times, perhaps. It's a tribute to the skill of the authors that, although those subgenres are not usually what I like to read, I didn't hate the stories. Even Cassandra Khaw's "Hammers on Bone" - noir body-horror in a depressed England - didn't put me off. I've mentioned the theme of race; there are oppressed underclasses, lack of access to medical treatment ("Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0" by Caroline M. Yoachim), and other echoes of the contemporary US political situation. I know that stories will always reflect the zeitgeist, but it would have been good to have a few more that ran more counter to it.

Rebecca Ann Jordan's "We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You?" has a wonderfully alien alien, with a moving backstory; Lavie Tidhar's "Terminal" gives us the picture of terminally ill people piloting (for no readily apparent or explicable reason) a swarm of pods to Mars. These were among the strangest stories, but there was a powerful strangeness to most of them, usually in a good way.

Probably my favourite story was the last one, by S.B. Divya, "Runtime," a story of a determined member of an underclass working hard to better herself by means of a competition, in this case a an endurance race (in which personal modification and assistive equipment is permitted).

Overall, while the tone was not my favourite, the skill on display here is remarkable, and I will certainly look for the next volume when it comes out.

[bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red in Tooth and Cog by Cat Rambo: 4.5/5
A Salvaging of Ghosts by Aliette de Bodard: 4.25/5
Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 by Caroline M. Yoachim: 2.75/5
Razorback by Ursula Vernon: 4.75/5
We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You? by Rebecca Ann Jordan: 3.5/5
Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard: 3/5
Terminal by Lavie Tidhar: 3/5
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands by Seanan McGuire: 4.5/5
Things With Beards by Sam J. Miller: 3/5
The Venus Effect by Joseph Allen Hill: 2.75/5
The Visitor from Taured by Ian R. MacLeod: 4.25/5
Blood Grains Speak Through Memories by Jason Sanford: 4.75/5
Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker: 5/5
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark: 3/5
Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss: 4.25/5
Foxfire, Foxfire by Yoon Ha Lee: 4.25/5
Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal: 4.25/5
Chimera by Gu Shi and translated by S. Qiouyi Lu and Ken Liu: 5/5
Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw: 1.75/5
Runtime by S. B. Divya: 5/5

Average rating: 4

[Jeffrey A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection!

Nice variety. Thought provoking stories.

This anthology took me far beyond the world I am used to. To places where I was a stranger, but with motivations I could understand. Not a full story in the lot.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I highly recommend "Chimera" by Gu Shi to anyone looking for a solid science fiction read. Other favorites include "Red as Blood and White as Bone" by Theodora Goss and "We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You?" by Rebecca Ann Jordan.

[Dr. Ann Coker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent as always

Steffen has a true talent for bringing outstanding and diverse writers together to intrigue readers everywhere. Looking forward to Volume 4!

[Deirdre Straughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of stories by fresh and different voices.

[Phil Ellenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup

Started several only finished one. Just too not my cup of science,not weird than good. No real story line presented.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

TLLLA3

In general, I'm not a fan of anthologies; but for the third time in a row, Mr. Steffen has put together a remarkable collection of stories.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Anthology

Terrific stories. Looked forward to reading this anthology for as long as it lasted. Regards to all the great authors.

[Angela Petraline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every story is brilliant! What a collection of treasures.

[Leah]

on the to-read list because: story by Kingfisher

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an enjoyable and forgettable few hours with these. The one that made me think, though, was Cat Rambo's Red in Tooth and Cog. Maybe putting programmable processors in everything and linking them together is not such a great idea long term.

[Lbech]

This collection was not as good as previous years, which is not the editor's fault. Thanks to him, we get to read all the nominees. I will buy the next volume. The last few entries made up for the rest.