The Long List Anthology Volume 5: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List

by David Steffen, Kelly Robson, Kij Johnson

This is the fifth 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 5 collects 20 science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories from that nomination list, totalling over 450 pages of fiction by writers from all corners of the world. From science fiction mysteries to studying wish-granting fairies, research on haunted houses to extracting language knowledge from your brain, from sex-changing dinosaurs to survival stories in a wild alien environment. There is a wide variety of styles and types of stories here, and something for everyone.

The stories included are:
"Mother Tongues" by S. Qiouyi Lu
"Field Biology of the Wee Fairies" by Naomi Kritzer
"Meat and Salt and Sparks" by Rich Larson
"Sour Milk Girls" by Erin Roberts
"Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" by Isabel Yap
"The Starship and the Temple Cat" by Yoon Ha Lee
"Waterbirds" by G.V. Anderson
"You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can't Help Me" by K.M. Szpara
"And Yet" by A.T. Greenblatt
"She Still Loves the Dragon" by Elizabeth Bear
"An Agent of Utopia" by Andy Duncan
"A Study in Oils" by Kelly Robson
"The Substance of My Lives, the Accident of Our Births" by José Pablo Iriarte
"No Flight Without the Shatter" by Brooke Bolander
"How to Swallow the Moon" by Isabel Yap
"A World to Die For" by Tobias S. Buckell
"Thirty-Three Percent Joe" by Suzanne Palmer
"The Privilege of the Happy Ending" by Kij Johnson
"The Nearest" by Greg Egan
"Umbernight" by Carolyn Ives Gilman

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

463 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 16, 2019

Reviews

[Jersy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second anthology I've read from this series, and while I liked the other, vol. 2, more, because I connected better to the stories and themes, and think more of the entries had unique subjects or ways of handling them, this was very enjoyable, too.
There were a couple of stories that didn't speak to me and few that I consider masterpieces (like Mother Tongue), most of them were really good.
There is a successful mix of different topics and styles. The setting could be something close to our reality, exploring themes like gender roles, identity or sexuality, or something foreign asking "what if" or showing an adventure.
If you want to experience modern SFF in short format, I guess every book from this series might be a good pick.

[Joe Stack · Rating 2 out of 5]

For this reader, six stories in this anthology stood out. I’d rate the following four stories 3 stars each:

THE SUBSTANCE OF MY LIVES, THE ACCIDENTS OF OUR BIRTHS, by José Pablo Iriarte, is a story of past lives, identities, and justice. HOW TO SWALLOW THE MOON, by Isabel Yap, is about the power of love. A WORLD TO DIE FOR, by Tobias S. Buckell, explores climate change, refugees, and crossing over into other worlds. THIRTY-THREE PERCENT JOE, by Suzanne Palmer, is a wonderfully creative story of artificial body parts having a life that changes the life of their soldier. It’s not what I expected when I started reading it.

I rate these two stories 4 stars each:

THE PRIVILEGE OF THE HAPPY ENDING, by Kij Johnson, is a survival fairy tale with a 6-year old girl and a talking chicken being the heroes. It is uniquely told with the author having fun with the reader by offering possible happy endings.

My favorite story in this collection is UMBERNIGHT, by Carolyn Ives Gilman. I marvel at the unique alien creatures and their environment Ms. Gilman created for this tale of exploration and survival on an inhospitable planet. The story is a reflection on the meaning of heroism and the conflict of science & reason versus the irrationality of aspirational thinking.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology consists of stories nominated for the Hugo in 2019 but didn't become finalists.

Out of the twenty tales in this collection, I really enjoyed about a third, but the rest are mostly readable and entertaining. My favorites were:

- "Field Biology of the Wee Fairies" by Naomi Kritzer
- "Waterbirds" by G. V. Anderson
- "Umbernight" by Carolyn Ives Gilman
- "Meat and Salt and Sparks" by Rich Larson
- "Thirty-Three Percent Joe" by Suzanne Palmer
- "The Nearest" by Greg Egan
- "The Privilege of the Happy Ending" by Kij Johnson

[Michelle Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would Rate Higher If Possible

These short stories are amazing. I loved nearly all of them. They are extremely well-written and transport you into lives and places and really bring you into the narrative.

A couple of the stories are not appropriate for young children but most of them are. Teens and adults can absolutely enjoy these beautiful stories of life and death, love and loss,and finding our place in existence

[Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleased

This, for myself, was refreshing against the previous two LLA releases. The mix was good, well written, and spoke to me whereas the previous two were just 'meh' overall. There was also only one or two stories here that I had read before in other anthologies. I look forward to this particular anthology every year and this years didn't disappoint. I cannot wait to read next year's addition!

[Taldragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth 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.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of great fantasy and sci-fi short stories! Plus, many of the authors have published longer works, so this is a great way to discover new authors.
Sci-fi and fantasy both work well in the short story medium.
There a seven anthologies like this, so I've already moved on to Volume 2.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly great! There were a couple that didn't do anything for me but this had a better hit rate for me than most anthologies have had lately.

[Alecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I didn't like was the order they put the stories in.

[Leah]

on the to-read list because: story by Kingfisher

[Bing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short stories from the first half of the book more than the longer ones from the second half. The plot seems to get less creative for the second half.

[Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So good to be reading SFF again, I’ve missed it.