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The Best of Elizabeth Bear
From the start of her career, Elizabeth Bear has been one of the most distinctive voices in modern speculative fiction. Her debut novel, Hammered, won the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 2005, the same year she received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. In the years since, she has produced an impressive array of standalone novels (Undertow) and multi-volume series (The Eternal Sky Trilogy, The New Amsterdam Series), along with a steady stream of stories and novellas, the best of which are gathered in this generous, absolutely necessary volume.
The Best of Elizabeth Bear contains 27 stories and novellas, many never before collected, that encompass an astonishing range of themes, settings, ideas and emotions. The collection opens with “Covenant”, a tale of serial murder unlike any you have ever read, and closes with the extraordinary “Erase, Erase, Erase”. The latter is a surrealist tour de force in which the unnamed narrator, a former cult member, reflects on her life, her nebulous but guilty past, and her constantly diminishing sense of self. In between these bookends are more than two dozen carefully crafted tales that never fail to resonate beyond the final page.
“Tideline”, winner of both the Hugo and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards, tells the surprisingly moving story of Chalcedony, a former “war machine” determined to preserve the memories of her dead human companions. “Shoggoths in Bloom”, another Hugo winner, offers a fresh take on H.P. Lovecraft’s Mythos, setting the action in a pre-WWII world marked by racism and virulent anti-Semitism. “Faster Gun” is a tale of the Old West in which Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo encounter an impossible alien artefact. The long novella “In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns” takes place in Bangalore, India fifty years from now and tells the story of a murder in which the victim’s body is literally turned inside out. In the affecting “Sonny Liston Takes a Fall”, we are brought to an entirely new understanding of one of the iconic moments of boxing history.
Contents:
- Introduction by C.L. Polk
- Covenant (2014)
- She Still Loves the Dragon (2018)
- Tideline (2007)
- The Leavings of the Wolf (2011)
- Okay, Glory (2018)
- Needles (2011)
- This Chance Planet (2014)
- The Body of the Nation (2012)
- Boojum (2008), with Sarah Monette
- The Bone War (2015)
- In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns (2012)
- Shoggoths In Bloom (2008)
- Skin in the Game (2015)
- Hobnoblin Blues (2008)
- Form and Void (2012)
- Your Collar (2008)
- Terrior (2014)
- Dolly (2011)
- Love Among the Talus (2006)
- The Deeps of the Sky (2012)
- Two Dreams on Trains (2005)
- Faster Gun (2012)
- The Heart's Filthy Lesson (2015)
- Perfect Gun (2017)
- Sonny Liston Takes the Fall (2008)
- Orm the Beautiful (2007)
- Erase, Erase, Erase (2019)
Cover illustration by Tom Canty
The Best of Elizabeth Bear contains 27 stories and novellas, many never before collected, that encompass an astonishing range of themes, settings, ideas and emotions. The collection opens with “Covenant”, a tale of serial murder unlike any you have ever read, and closes with the extraordinary “Erase, Erase, Erase”. The latter is a surrealist tour de force in which the unnamed narrator, a former cult member, reflects on her life, her nebulous but guilty past, and her constantly diminishing sense of self. In between these bookends are more than two dozen carefully crafted tales that never fail to resonate beyond the final page.
“Tideline”, winner of both the Hugo and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards, tells the surprisingly moving story of Chalcedony, a former “war machine” determined to preserve the memories of her dead human companions. “Shoggoths in Bloom”, another Hugo winner, offers a fresh take on H.P. Lovecraft’s Mythos, setting the action in a pre-WWII world marked by racism and virulent anti-Semitism. “Faster Gun” is a tale of the Old West in which Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo encounter an impossible alien artefact. The long novella “In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns” takes place in Bangalore, India fifty years from now and tells the story of a murder in which the victim’s body is literally turned inside out. In the affecting “Sonny Liston Takes a Fall”, we are brought to an entirely new understanding of one of the iconic moments of boxing history.
Contents:
- Introduction by C.L. Polk
- Covenant (2014)
- She Still Loves the Dragon (2018)
- Tideline (2007)
- The Leavings of the Wolf (2011)
- Okay, Glory (2018)
- Needles (2011)
- This Chance Planet (2014)
- The Body of the Nation (2012)
- Boojum (2008), with Sarah Monette
- The Bone War (2015)
- In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns (2012)
- Shoggoths In Bloom (2008)
- Skin in the Game (2015)
- Hobnoblin Blues (2008)
- Form and Void (2012)
- Your Collar (2008)
- Terrior (2014)
- Dolly (2011)
- Love Among the Talus (2006)
- The Deeps of the Sky (2012)
- Two Dreams on Trains (2005)
- Faster Gun (2012)
- The Heart's Filthy Lesson (2015)
- Perfect Gun (2017)
- Sonny Liston Takes the Fall (2008)
- Orm the Beautiful (2007)
- Erase, Erase, Erase (2019)
Cover illustration by Tom Canty
574 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2020
40 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
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Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 9, 2024
The Best of Elizabeth Bear is an enormous collection of Bear's short fiction. That's the fantastic thing about it and the difficulty with it. In nearly 600 pages, we, the readers, get 27 stories that range from hard science fiction to fantasies about knights and dragons to westerns (weird ones) to boxing stories. There's such a wide range of stories here that you almost don't believe one person wrote them all. But, that's almost too many stories for the average bear and it's hard to get through them all so overwhelming is the sheer quantity. Nevertheless, unlike most collections which are unabashedly front-loaded, these get even better the deeper you dig.
Here are some notes on 19 of them, particularly from the second half of the collection, the part some might not even reach ( and that would be a mistake):
* Covenant -- "They watched the sun rise from a curve over a cornfield. He strangled her in the backseat a few minutes later." Covenant is in many ways the sequel to Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, except now technology and medicine have advanced beyond simple brainwashing. Given a choice between an eight by ten cell and a medical procedure, which one would a serial killer choose and down what twisted path would it lead him?
* She Still Loves the Dragon -- when you read through this collection, don't be surprised how many dragon stories there are. After all, dragons live forever so you are bound to stumble over one now and then.
* Tideline -- deserves just about every literary award it's won. It's a beautiful story about a battle bot who outlasted the war and waits like buried treasure beneath the sand. "They would have called her salvage, if there were anyone left to salvage her. But she was the last of the war machines, a three-legged oblate teardrop as big as a main battle tank,....".
* The Leavings of the Wolf, a mystical tale of crows and wolves and marriage vows
* Skin in the Game is a tale about life on the road surrounded by money-hungry publicists and agents. It's a story about pop music and authenticity and the drive to be the latest and the greatest with the newest technology.
* Hobnoblin Blues is another riff on the music biz. It features an androgynous rock star, Loki, hailing from middle England and his travails with fame, fortune, and everything that goes with it.
* Form and Void is a story about two teenage girls, umbilically connected as they often are and who can't let go. It's a story about sprouting wings and taking off into space. It's in many ways a transformative story and about real honest-to-God dragons.
* Your Collar is all about ancient myths and legends. There once we are told was a king and a Minotaur and a labyrinth. Now there's a queen and a beast called a Minotaur.
* Terroir reminds us of the re-enactment tours where tour guides take you through the scenes of the Normandy beach D-Day as if you lived through it. But, to thus business executive, the ghosts of Normandy may be even more real than that.
* Dolly-- Any good robot murder mystery absolutely has to pay homage to Asimov and his positronic brains and Bear takes this opportunity to give a shout out. Dolly is a very special robot and it takes a very special detective to ferret the truth out from Dolly.
* Love Among the Talus - They say a princess is so pure and sensitive that she can feel a pea underneath twenty mattresses. Well, this is not that story. But, it is a story about a princess and a magic spell and a prince.
* The Deeps of the Sky -- is a revisit to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but without the mashed potato mountain
* Two Dreams on Trains --is an excellent story about the Waterworld-type world that grows when the levees break and New Orleans is flooded for good. 'Cause you know a city with a history like that you don't just walk away from. And it's all anyone wants to jet up into space.
* Faster Gun -- Based on this story, Bear could very well have made an entire career out of weird westerns. This is Doc Holliday and Tombstone like you never imagined them before. Perfectly crafted, dirty, dusty, and a bit out of what you'd expect to find in the Great American Southwest.
* The Heart’s Filthy Lesson -- is about colonizingVenus in form fitting adaptashells and tangling with giant native monsters that are vaguely like tigers.
* Perfect Gun ---is a sweet little Valentine's story of romance, togetherness, and mercenaries
* Sonny Liston Takes The Fall --is a well-crafted story of a legend whose biggest claim to fame these days was losing the title to the msn formerly known as Cassius Clay. Bear can clearly write in just about any genre. There's not much science fiction here.
* Orm the Beautiful --is yet another bold tale about everyone's favorite creature (and obviously Bear's favorite) the mighty esteemed dragon.
* Erase, Erase, Erase --is the final story in the collection, but one that didn't strike a chord for me.
Here are some notes on 19 of them, particularly from the second half of the collection, the part some might not even reach ( and that would be a mistake):
* Covenant -- "They watched the sun rise from a curve over a cornfield. He strangled her in the backseat a few minutes later." Covenant is in many ways the sequel to Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, except now technology and medicine have advanced beyond simple brainwashing. Given a choice between an eight by ten cell and a medical procedure, which one would a serial killer choose and down what twisted path would it lead him?
* She Still Loves the Dragon -- when you read through this collection, don't be surprised how many dragon stories there are. After all, dragons live forever so you are bound to stumble over one now and then.
* Tideline -- deserves just about every literary award it's won. It's a beautiful story about a battle bot who outlasted the war and waits like buried treasure beneath the sand. "They would have called her salvage, if there were anyone left to salvage her. But she was the last of the war machines, a three-legged oblate teardrop as big as a main battle tank,....".
* The Leavings of the Wolf, a mystical tale of crows and wolves and marriage vows
* Skin in the Game is a tale about life on the road surrounded by money-hungry publicists and agents. It's a story about pop music and authenticity and the drive to be the latest and the greatest with the newest technology.
* Hobnoblin Blues is another riff on the music biz. It features an androgynous rock star, Loki, hailing from middle England and his travails with fame, fortune, and everything that goes with it.
* Form and Void is a story about two teenage girls, umbilically connected as they often are and who can't let go. It's a story about sprouting wings and taking off into space. It's in many ways a transformative story and about real honest-to-God dragons.
* Your Collar is all about ancient myths and legends. There once we are told was a king and a Minotaur and a labyrinth. Now there's a queen and a beast called a Minotaur.
* Terroir reminds us of the re-enactment tours where tour guides take you through the scenes of the Normandy beach D-Day as if you lived through it. But, to thus business executive, the ghosts of Normandy may be even more real than that.
* Dolly-- Any good robot murder mystery absolutely has to pay homage to Asimov and his positronic brains and Bear takes this opportunity to give a shout out. Dolly is a very special robot and it takes a very special detective to ferret the truth out from Dolly.
* Love Among the Talus - They say a princess is so pure and sensitive that she can feel a pea underneath twenty mattresses. Well, this is not that story. But, it is a story about a princess and a magic spell and a prince.
* The Deeps of the Sky -- is a revisit to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but without the mashed potato mountain
* Two Dreams on Trains --is an excellent story about the Waterworld-type world that grows when the levees break and New Orleans is flooded for good. 'Cause you know a city with a history like that you don't just walk away from. And it's all anyone wants to jet up into space.
* Faster Gun -- Based on this story, Bear could very well have made an entire career out of weird westerns. This is Doc Holliday and Tombstone like you never imagined them before. Perfectly crafted, dirty, dusty, and a bit out of what you'd expect to find in the Great American Southwest.
* The Heart’s Filthy Lesson -- is about colonizingVenus in form fitting adaptashells and tangling with giant native monsters that are vaguely like tigers.
* Perfect Gun ---is a sweet little Valentine's story of romance, togetherness, and mercenaries
* Sonny Liston Takes The Fall --is a well-crafted story of a legend whose biggest claim to fame these days was losing the title to the msn formerly known as Cassius Clay. Bear can clearly write in just about any genre. There's not much science fiction here.
* Orm the Beautiful --is yet another bold tale about everyone's favorite creature (and obviously Bear's favorite) the mighty esteemed dragon.
* Erase, Erase, Erase --is the final story in the collection, but one that didn't strike a chord for me.
April 27, 2020
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this short story collection eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:
1. I love Elizabeth Bear! I have read at least eight of her novels;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. This collection has 27 stories and I have never read any of Bear's short fiction.
Out of the 27 stories I loved 14 of them, 7 were just okay, and I didn't like 6. I will say that ye get a lot of bang for yer buck. I will try to give ye an idea of the bare bones and thoughts on the stories:
"Covenant" - Damn. Get inside the head of a convicted and rehabilitated serial murderer and then manage to find compassion for them. I was mesmerized. This was awesome and worth the price of admission.
"She Still Loves the Dragon" - This was weird and I don't think I liked it. It is the story of a female knight and a dragon and their love. I didn't really get it.
"Tideline" - This was a fantastic story about a dying war machine and the boy she befriends on a beach. Sad and lovely.
"The Leavings of the Wolf" - This was an odd story about a woman whose wedding ring haunts her. She is both driven and reluctant to get rid of it. I didn't love the ending of it but it was very engaging.
"Okay, Glory" - I loved this one. A rich recluse's smart house is hacked for ransom. This is how he deals with it. Clever and compelling.
"Needles" - This vampire story was confusing. I didn't understand this one either.
"This Chance Planet" - A street mutt in Moscow helps a woman confront her unhealthy situation that everyone else in her life knows about but won't intrude on. I loved it and thought the ending was excellent.
"The Body of the Nation" - This was a murder mystery with an awesome setting and a fun main character. However, the solving of the mystery was cheating by not giving the reader sufficient clues. It also felt like a snippet of a larger novel and that ye were missing something.
"Boojum" - Living space ships rock! So do space pirates! I actually have read (and loved) this one before but didn't realize it was co-written between Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear.
Side note: I also didn't know that Sarah Monette and Katherine Addison are the same person!
"The Bone War" - I loved this story about a bone wizard who brings a dinosaur back to "life".
"In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns" - Another awesome story with a murder mystery, cool world building, and a cat.
"Shoggoths in Bloom" - Well I didn't know what a Shoggoth was. The First Mate had to explain it me. Loved this historical fantasy fiction set in between the great wars with a black naturalist scientist as the main character. Sad but correct ending.
"Skin in the Game" - A painfully good story about the price of being a rockstar.
"Hobnoblin Blues" - This one was also about a rockstar who happens to be Loki. I have to admit I kinda skimmed the beginning but I liked the ending a bit more. Mixed feelings.
"Form and Void" - A weird, cool story about space, an unhealthy friendship, and odd dragons. I liked it.
"Your Collar" - This story was about the minotaur and a queen. It was interesting but I didn't completely understand the ending.
"Terroir" - I didn't know what this French word meant but dang was it used well as the theme of this story that dealt with memory and ghosts. I thought the story was a bit too long but I enjoyed it.
"Dolly" - Murder-mystery robot story. Absolutely loved it.
"Love Among the Talus" - This was set in the same world as the Eternal Sky trilogy which I read and loved. Loved this story too.
"The Deeps of the Sky" - Ships sailing in the sky. First contact story told from the perspective of an alien meeting a human for the first time. Liked it.
"Two Dreams on Trains" - This was a heart wrenching story set in New Orleans in the distant future. It showcases a mother's love and dreams for her son and her disappointment. Beautifully done.
"Faster Gun" - A western with Doc Holiday, a crashed spaceship in the desert, and magic. Fun.
"The Heart's Filthy Lesson" - An adventurer on Venus is trying to discover a lost civilization while dealing with the conflicted feelings about her lover who happens to share a mind-link with her. I really loved this one.
"Perfect Gun" - A mercenary buys the perfect ship only that ship has her own ideas about her pilot's actions.
"Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" - A weird story about Las Vegas and boxing with a bit of magic and horse racing thrown in. Well written but I didn't like it.
"Orm the Beautiful" - A weird story about the last dragon and how he chose to end his life.
"Erase, Erase, Erase" - I liked the concepts in this one but the plot was kinda tedious.
I be very grateful to have a chance to read these stories. While I didn't love every story, I do have a few new favourites of hers. Arrrr!
So lastly . . .
Thank you Subterranean Press!
The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:
1. I love Elizabeth Bear! I have read at least eight of her novels;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. This collection has 27 stories and I have never read any of Bear's short fiction.
Out of the 27 stories I loved 14 of them, 7 were just okay, and I didn't like 6. I will say that ye get a lot of bang for yer buck. I will try to give ye an idea of the bare bones and thoughts on the stories:
"Covenant" - Damn. Get inside the head of a convicted and rehabilitated serial murderer and then manage to find compassion for them. I was mesmerized. This was awesome and worth the price of admission.
"She Still Loves the Dragon" - This was weird and I don't think I liked it. It is the story of a female knight and a dragon and their love. I didn't really get it.
"Tideline" - This was a fantastic story about a dying war machine and the boy she befriends on a beach. Sad and lovely.
"The Leavings of the Wolf" - This was an odd story about a woman whose wedding ring haunts her. She is both driven and reluctant to get rid of it. I didn't love the ending of it but it was very engaging.
"Okay, Glory" - I loved this one. A rich recluse's smart house is hacked for ransom. This is how he deals with it. Clever and compelling.
"Needles" - This vampire story was confusing. I didn't understand this one either.
"This Chance Planet" - A street mutt in Moscow helps a woman confront her unhealthy situation that everyone else in her life knows about but won't intrude on. I loved it and thought the ending was excellent.
"The Body of the Nation" - This was a murder mystery with an awesome setting and a fun main character. However, the solving of the mystery was cheating by not giving the reader sufficient clues. It also felt like a snippet of a larger novel and that ye were missing something.
"Boojum" - Living space ships rock! So do space pirates! I actually have read (and loved) this one before but didn't realize it was co-written between Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear.
Side note: I also didn't know that Sarah Monette and Katherine Addison are the same person!
"The Bone War" - I loved this story about a bone wizard who brings a dinosaur back to "life".
"In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns" - Another awesome story with a murder mystery, cool world building, and a cat.
"Shoggoths in Bloom" - Well I didn't know what a Shoggoth was. The First Mate had to explain it me. Loved this historical fantasy fiction set in between the great wars with a black naturalist scientist as the main character. Sad but correct ending.
"Skin in the Game" - A painfully good story about the price of being a rockstar.
"Hobnoblin Blues" - This one was also about a rockstar who happens to be Loki. I have to admit I kinda skimmed the beginning but I liked the ending a bit more. Mixed feelings.
"Form and Void" - A weird, cool story about space, an unhealthy friendship, and odd dragons. I liked it.
"Your Collar" - This story was about the minotaur and a queen. It was interesting but I didn't completely understand the ending.
"Terroir" - I didn't know what this French word meant but dang was it used well as the theme of this story that dealt with memory and ghosts. I thought the story was a bit too long but I enjoyed it.
"Dolly" - Murder-mystery robot story. Absolutely loved it.
"Love Among the Talus" - This was set in the same world as the Eternal Sky trilogy which I read and loved. Loved this story too.
"The Deeps of the Sky" - Ships sailing in the sky. First contact story told from the perspective of an alien meeting a human for the first time. Liked it.
"Two Dreams on Trains" - This was a heart wrenching story set in New Orleans in the distant future. It showcases a mother's love and dreams for her son and her disappointment. Beautifully done.
"Faster Gun" - A western with Doc Holiday, a crashed spaceship in the desert, and magic. Fun.
"The Heart's Filthy Lesson" - An adventurer on Venus is trying to discover a lost civilization while dealing with the conflicted feelings about her lover who happens to share a mind-link with her. I really loved this one.
"Perfect Gun" - A mercenary buys the perfect ship only that ship has her own ideas about her pilot's actions.
"Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" - A weird story about Las Vegas and boxing with a bit of magic and horse racing thrown in. Well written but I didn't like it.
"Orm the Beautiful" - A weird story about the last dragon and how he chose to end his life.
"Erase, Erase, Erase" - I liked the concepts in this one but the plot was kinda tedious.
I be very grateful to have a chance to read these stories. While I didn't love every story, I do have a few new favourites of hers. Arrrr!
So lastly . . .
Thank you Subterranean Press!
December 26, 2019
This is a forthcoming collection of Elizabeth Bear’s short stories that I received as an ARC from Subterranean Press. So thanks to them for that.
My prior experience with Elizabeth Bear has been fairly small, relative to what she’s published. I’ve read Karen Memory and the sequel, about a woman working in a brothel in 19th century boomtown Seattle with a dash of the supernatural thrown in for fun, and Ancestral Night, first in an upcoming sci-fi series about a small crew in a future Federation-like galactic alliance. Both were excellent, and very, very different from each other.
Which leads me to the main thing I took away from this collection: my God, does Bear have range. Murder mysteries involving necromancers on 19th century steamboats. Aliens and time travelers in the Old West. Robin McKinley-esque fairy tales. Dragons. Vampires. Sentient spaceships. Shoggoths. It all works, and it all works very, very well.
A few themes emerge. The majority of these stories feature female protagonists, and all of them are super interesting characters. There’s pretty much nothing cliché about any of them, and when you have to sketch characters as quickly as you do in writing short stories, not leaning on established tropes is an impressive feat.
There are a number of murder mysteries, and while a short story doesn’t give time to really explore the mystery in the way you can with a good Agatha Christie, they nevertheless kept me guessing and caught me a bit off-guard with the answers.
There are a few stories with historical characters, notably Doc Holiday and boxer Sonny Liston. One story is set in a quiet New England seaside town, and explicitly in the universe of HP Lovecraft.
An idea that comes up repeatedly is the idea of “rightminding.” I was familiar with the idea already, because it’s a major theme in Ancestral Night, but it’s clear that Bear has been kicking this idea around for a while. The notion is that of a technology, implanted in the brain, that allows one to regulate one’s brain chemistry. With some matters, like people dealing with psychopathy or other mental illness, the benefits are obvious. And one can see the benefit of switching off one’s fear to deal with a frightening situation calmly, or turing off your sex drive if it’s getting in the way of rational decision making. But at some point, you’re turning off part of what it means to be human, and where that line is is far from clear. It’s an interesting sci-fi kind of question, and I’m curious to see where else Bear takes it.
All in all, this is a great way to get to know one of modern science fiction’s best and brightest. Like all good anthologies, you can read this all in one go or spread it out. But highly recommended either way.
My prior experience with Elizabeth Bear has been fairly small, relative to what she’s published. I’ve read Karen Memory and the sequel, about a woman working in a brothel in 19th century boomtown Seattle with a dash of the supernatural thrown in for fun, and Ancestral Night, first in an upcoming sci-fi series about a small crew in a future Federation-like galactic alliance. Both were excellent, and very, very different from each other.
Which leads me to the main thing I took away from this collection: my God, does Bear have range. Murder mysteries involving necromancers on 19th century steamboats. Aliens and time travelers in the Old West. Robin McKinley-esque fairy tales. Dragons. Vampires. Sentient spaceships. Shoggoths. It all works, and it all works very, very well.
A few themes emerge. The majority of these stories feature female protagonists, and all of them are super interesting characters. There’s pretty much nothing cliché about any of them, and when you have to sketch characters as quickly as you do in writing short stories, not leaning on established tropes is an impressive feat.
There are a number of murder mysteries, and while a short story doesn’t give time to really explore the mystery in the way you can with a good Agatha Christie, they nevertheless kept me guessing and caught me a bit off-guard with the answers.
There are a few stories with historical characters, notably Doc Holiday and boxer Sonny Liston. One story is set in a quiet New England seaside town, and explicitly in the universe of HP Lovecraft.
An idea that comes up repeatedly is the idea of “rightminding.” I was familiar with the idea already, because it’s a major theme in Ancestral Night, but it’s clear that Bear has been kicking this idea around for a while. The notion is that of a technology, implanted in the brain, that allows one to regulate one’s brain chemistry. With some matters, like people dealing with psychopathy or other mental illness, the benefits are obvious. And one can see the benefit of switching off one’s fear to deal with a frightening situation calmly, or turing off your sex drive if it’s getting in the way of rational decision making. But at some point, you’re turning off part of what it means to be human, and where that line is is far from clear. It’s an interesting sci-fi kind of question, and I’m curious to see where else Bear takes it.
All in all, this is a great way to get to know one of modern science fiction’s best and brightest. Like all good anthologies, you can read this all in one go or spread it out. But highly recommended either way.
January 15, 2020
This collection of short stories by Elizabeth Bear range from sci-fi to fantasy, from worlds where dragons turn to precious stones to creatures who mine a gas giant and are visited by aliens who are mostly made of molten water (loved that phrase).
While I did not like all the stories equally (does anyone ever?), most if them were quite good. What I loved best about the writing was how Elizabeth Bear could, in a few short pages, help you slip into a mind and a situation total alien to anything you will ever experience. This is what makes her a great and award winning author and what makes this collection of short stories more than worth the read.
My favorite was a story called "The Perfect Gun". The combination of a robotech-like technology with a look into the morality of a mercenary was sci-fi at its best.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
While I did not like all the stories equally (does anyone ever?), most if them were quite good. What I loved best about the writing was how Elizabeth Bear could, in a few short pages, help you slip into a mind and a situation total alien to anything you will ever experience. This is what makes her a great and award winning author and what makes this collection of short stories more than worth the read.
My favorite was a story called "The Perfect Gun". The combination of a robotech-like technology with a look into the morality of a mercenary was sci-fi at its best.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
January 2, 2020
The Best of Elizabeth Bear- This Subterranean Press edition of Elizabeth Bear's short stories and novellas is chock full of powerful, astonishing ideas and inspiring revelations. Weighing in at almost six hundred pages, these twenty-seven outings cover much of her award-winning career so far. "Shoggoths in Bloom", uses the Lovecraft Mythos in a mesmerizing parable about racism and free-will, all the more poignant as Lovecraft himself has been deemed by many to be an avid racist. I always enjoy Mythos stories done by other writers and this one is a sublime mixture of longing and discovery. "Tideline", an award winner as well as Shoggoths, tells a sentimental, moving story of sacrifice and purpose, that echoes the loss and hope of a new tomorrow. So many good stories to choose from, most anthologies have a few clinkers, but I'm not wasting any time searching for one here. Thanks to Subterranean for giving me a digital review copy. I bet the hardback will be gorgeous!
February 10, 2020
If you have not read Elizabeth Bear (and why have you not?), this collection is an excellent place to begin! She writes fantasy, alternate history mysteries, science fiction, fantasy romance, and straight out weird tales that would fit in Lovecraftian anthologies ("Shoggoths in Bloom" for example). And after you have dipped your toes in Elizabeth Bear, you will be ready to go out and decide what other of her works to devour! Happy reading!
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this collection!
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this collection!
July 13, 2021
So, yeah, Bear's name keeps coming up in recommendations. But I've dnf'd at least one of her novels. Ok, try smaller pieces.
---
1/3 done.
Wow. Brilliant. How can one person write so many very good stories of so many different kinds? Now, I don't know if any are truly amazing and should be read by every fan of SFF, but I'm enjoying the heck out of the book.
And yet, I'm not sure that I am ready for her novels. There's a lot of yuck & nasty in these, too.
Hmm.
---
Ok done. Yeah, wow. Definitely want to read again someday. Maybe next time I'll mark a bunch of lines, or recommend particular stories to particular readers, or something. Now, well, I'm just relieved that I managed the whole thing. Huge and dense both... definitely can't read more than a couple stories in a row.
"... HUFF, then tromped punitively away."
I never knew what beryls were before, but if they're "green as emerald, green as poison, green as grass" I want to see if I want.
---
Btw, I had a side thought, as I was also catching up on some much older stuff... I think that both Conklin and Wollheim would have chosen her works for their anthologies, too... we all 4 like similar shorts....
---
1/3 done.
Wow. Brilliant. How can one person write so many very good stories of so many different kinds? Now, I don't know if any are truly amazing and should be read by every fan of SFF, but I'm enjoying the heck out of the book.
And yet, I'm not sure that I am ready for her novels. There's a lot of yuck & nasty in these, too.
Hmm.
---
Ok done. Yeah, wow. Definitely want to read again someday. Maybe next time I'll mark a bunch of lines, or recommend particular stories to particular readers, or something. Now, well, I'm just relieved that I managed the whole thing. Huge and dense both... definitely can't read more than a couple stories in a row.
"... HUFF, then tromped punitively away."
I never knew what beryls were before, but if they're "green as emerald, green as poison, green as grass" I want to see if I want.
---
Btw, I had a side thought, as I was also catching up on some much older stuff... I think that both Conklin and Wollheim would have chosen her works for their anthologies, too... we all 4 like similar shorts....
March 29, 2021
Big, wide-ranging, solid book. Lots of good stories, and the author never gets in the way. And I have read few "best of" collections that had so many good ones and so few I didn't like. Highly recommended.
December 21, 2019
I kept waiting. Waiting for a story to not hit me so hard, to say "oh okay, there it is." There's always a weak link in an anthology, no matter how carefully curated. As I read the last words of 'Erase, Erase' and finished the collection, I realized I would have to keep waiting, maybe in the next Bear collection there will be a dud. There certainly isn't one here.
Elizabeth Bear is a master of short fiction. Her stories have layers upon layers. As I read, I tracked down a few that had been published elsewhere and made my friends read them so we could discuss. And argue. And tease at all the different meta threads Bear effortlessly weaves through her stories.
I received an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review, but I will be purchasing a copy for my library. That's how good this collection is. If you've never read Bear, this will convert you. If you're already a fan, this will enthrall you further.
Standout favorites as follows:
Covenant
She Still Loves the Dragon
Tideline
Your Collar
Love Among the Talus
The Body of the Nation
Elizabeth Bear is a master of short fiction. Her stories have layers upon layers. As I read, I tracked down a few that had been published elsewhere and made my friends read them so we could discuss. And argue. And tease at all the different meta threads Bear effortlessly weaves through her stories.
I received an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review, but I will be purchasing a copy for my library. That's how good this collection is. If you've never read Bear, this will convert you. If you're already a fan, this will enthrall you further.
Standout favorites as follows:
Covenant
She Still Loves the Dragon
Tideline
Your Collar
Love Among the Talus
The Body of the Nation
January 30, 2020
DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
EXPECTED JANUARY 31ST, 2020
3.5 STARS
From Earth to Venus to interstellar space and more…
The Best of Elizabeth Bear is a collection of 27 short stories that cover an entire universe, shifting through time and space with remarkable ease. Some carry over constant themes, like Bear’s exploration of “rightminding,” in which people can chemically alter their brains to no longer produce undesired emotional responses. Others introduce new worlds and new stakes with surprising fluidity and ease. All, however, imagine a world that could have been, or might still be. Bear is a speculative fiction master, and these 27 short stories show that to the fullest in their arrangement.
“You have known many monsters. Many of them have been civilized. Most have been human.”
Bear’s work commonly explores the condition of humanity, especially in relation to the non-human. Her stories regularly explore who deserves human kindness and compassion, who deserves to be considered as a living, thinking, rational being. Whether it’s a rightminded ex-serial killer faced with familiar perils, or a sentient ship trapped on a salt-drenched beach with no hope of scaling the nearby cliffs, there’s always a question of what these characters need, what they deserve.
There’s often a look at who the real monsters are, too. Humans? The machines they create? The thirst for power, money, knowledge? Drawing the line between right and wrong can sometimes be difficult. Other times, however, it’s crystal clear.
And yet I have my reservations about the collection as a whole.
For one, this collection drives home the fact that…short stories often aren’t for me. As often as I was impressed by Bear’s command of language and her willingness to dive deep into questions big and small, I found myself frustrated by the endings of stories, which felt open-ended. Some folks love this, and it does seem more common in short stories. I simply dislike it on a personal level. I prefer endings that feel by and large fixed, and any openness has to be extraordinarily well-crafted.
My other reservation, however, is a more important one. For all of Bear’s phenomenal work exploring time and space and the beings inhabiting it, there were two stories in particular that had me a little wary. Both “Shoggoths in Bloom” and “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall” center Black men, and I found it disconcerting to read these coming from a white woman. “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall” was especially jarring, in that there was a single use of the n-word, and I don’t care for that coming from a white author.
At this time, I’ve yet to find any Black reviewers of these two stories. I’m going to continue searching, however, because I think their input on Bear’s work is more valuable than my own in this case.
Ultimately, we reach a 3.5 star rating, caught between impressive talent and boundaries overstepped.
On the one hand, Bear’s work is truly impressive from a craft standpoint, and she builds diverse worlds in which to stage her big questions. Her character casts are not overwhelming white cishet men, but instead people of varied races, genders, and sexualities (plus some non-human cast members, like the devoted Chalcedony in “Tideline,” or Chairman Miaow in “In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns”). My favorite stories were “The Bone War,” featuring a creative approach to necromancy and a healthy dose of professional interference, “Love Among the Talus,” starring a princess who lets no one interfere with the destiny she desires, and “Faster Gun,” in which the famous Doc Holliday crosses paths with aliens in the Old West.
And yet I cannot set aside what I observed in “Shoggoths in Bloom” and “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall,” well-written as they are. While I think Bear tries to handle issues of race with respect, I’m not convinced this was her place to do so. It remains a lingering hesitation, refusing to be brushed aside, and I have to honor that, have to bring it up at the very least.
The Best of Elizabeth Bear releases on January 31st from Subterranean Press, if you find yourself considering it for purchase.
CW: violence, kidnapping, graphic injury, nudity, child death, loss of a loved one, body horror, gore, racism, anti-Semitism, drug use, alcoholism, disordered eating, smoking, transphobia, animal death, child abuse, police brutality, sexual assault, suicide
EXPECTED JANUARY 31ST, 2020
3.5 STARS
From Earth to Venus to interstellar space and more…
The Best of Elizabeth Bear is a collection of 27 short stories that cover an entire universe, shifting through time and space with remarkable ease. Some carry over constant themes, like Bear’s exploration of “rightminding,” in which people can chemically alter their brains to no longer produce undesired emotional responses. Others introduce new worlds and new stakes with surprising fluidity and ease. All, however, imagine a world that could have been, or might still be. Bear is a speculative fiction master, and these 27 short stories show that to the fullest in their arrangement.
“You have known many monsters. Many of them have been civilized. Most have been human.”
Bear’s work commonly explores the condition of humanity, especially in relation to the non-human. Her stories regularly explore who deserves human kindness and compassion, who deserves to be considered as a living, thinking, rational being. Whether it’s a rightminded ex-serial killer faced with familiar perils, or a sentient ship trapped on a salt-drenched beach with no hope of scaling the nearby cliffs, there’s always a question of what these characters need, what they deserve.
There’s often a look at who the real monsters are, too. Humans? The machines they create? The thirst for power, money, knowledge? Drawing the line between right and wrong can sometimes be difficult. Other times, however, it’s crystal clear.
And yet I have my reservations about the collection as a whole.
For one, this collection drives home the fact that…short stories often aren’t for me. As often as I was impressed by Bear’s command of language and her willingness to dive deep into questions big and small, I found myself frustrated by the endings of stories, which felt open-ended. Some folks love this, and it does seem more common in short stories. I simply dislike it on a personal level. I prefer endings that feel by and large fixed, and any openness has to be extraordinarily well-crafted.
My other reservation, however, is a more important one. For all of Bear’s phenomenal work exploring time and space and the beings inhabiting it, there were two stories in particular that had me a little wary. Both “Shoggoths in Bloom” and “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall” center Black men, and I found it disconcerting to read these coming from a white woman. “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall” was especially jarring, in that there was a single use of the n-word, and I don’t care for that coming from a white author.
At this time, I’ve yet to find any Black reviewers of these two stories. I’m going to continue searching, however, because I think their input on Bear’s work is more valuable than my own in this case.
Ultimately, we reach a 3.5 star rating, caught between impressive talent and boundaries overstepped.
On the one hand, Bear’s work is truly impressive from a craft standpoint, and she builds diverse worlds in which to stage her big questions. Her character casts are not overwhelming white cishet men, but instead people of varied races, genders, and sexualities (plus some non-human cast members, like the devoted Chalcedony in “Tideline,” or Chairman Miaow in “In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns”). My favorite stories were “The Bone War,” featuring a creative approach to necromancy and a healthy dose of professional interference, “Love Among the Talus,” starring a princess who lets no one interfere with the destiny she desires, and “Faster Gun,” in which the famous Doc Holliday crosses paths with aliens in the Old West.
And yet I cannot set aside what I observed in “Shoggoths in Bloom” and “Sonny Liston Takes the Fall,” well-written as they are. While I think Bear tries to handle issues of race with respect, I’m not convinced this was her place to do so. It remains a lingering hesitation, refusing to be brushed aside, and I have to honor that, have to bring it up at the very least.
The Best of Elizabeth Bear releases on January 31st from Subterranean Press, if you find yourself considering it for purchase.
CW: violence, kidnapping, graphic injury, nudity, child death, loss of a loved one, body horror, gore, racism, anti-Semitism, drug use, alcoholism, disordered eating, smoking, transphobia, animal death, child abuse, police brutality, sexual assault, suicide
January 15, 2020
A great collection of some of Bear's truly best work, including short stories and a novella. I'd read some of these before and others were new to me, and most were a pleasure. Bear is best when writing about the deep inner lives of people and things, like in "Boojum," and when reimagining other places and mythos, like in "Faster Gun," set in a Wild West, and "Shoggoths in Bloom," which upends Lovecraft's racism and Cthulhu mythos in an elegant manner. While a few of the stories drag a bit--mainly those that center around the reader being able to understand either alternate-science concepts or rely on large narrative jumps-- the collection as a whole is solid and a great capsule of Bear's work.
February 3, 2020
A massive collection of stories, 27 in all, this book provides a survey of Elizabeth Bear's breadth and storytelling talent. Regardless of the genre, her characters are almost always drawn with specificity and their own particular off-center perspectives. Her stories seldom follow standard genre tropes; instead, things are at least a little askew. A number of these stories involve transformations of one sort or another, almost all unexpected.
January 15, 2020
An unusually strong set of stories, but Bear has also written a lot over a long period of time. A nice job of curation. I haven't much of her work before now, but shows her talent nicely. These are diverse and many are complex. Only a couple entries that were only good. Recommended.
I feel lucky to have received a review copy!!
I feel lucky to have received a review copy!!
August 4, 2020
I liked 4 of them:
"Okay, Glory," "Skin in the Game," "Perfect Gun," and "The Deeps of the Sky."
"Okay, Glory," "Skin in the Game," "Perfect Gun," and "The Deeps of the Sky."
February 20, 2026
"Covenant" - A convicted and rehabilitated (brain altered) serial killer who is caught by a serial killer.
"Tideline" - A dying war robot and the boy she befriends on a beach.
"The Leavings of the Wolf" - Crows! How could you not like that one.
"Okay, Glory" -A rich recluse's smart house is hacked for ransom.
"The Bone War" -A dinosaur is bought back to "life".
"In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns" - A murder mystery, cool world building, and a cat.
"Perfect Gun" - A mercenary buys the perfect ship only that ship has her own ideas about her pilot's actions.
"Dolly" - A billionaire is killed by his sex robot, was she a murder weapon, or the culprit?
"Boojum" - Living space ships, space pirates and creepy brain harvesters.
I'd buy it just for this.
There are in fact 3 stories by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, go seek out the other two - Mongoose and the really creepy The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward. I wish there were more of these. A Sf combination of HP Lovecraft and Lewis Carroll. Sounds weird? But they're not, they are amazing!!
"Tideline" - A dying war robot and the boy she befriends on a beach.
"The Leavings of the Wolf" - Crows! How could you not like that one.
"Okay, Glory" -A rich recluse's smart house is hacked for ransom.
"The Bone War" -A dinosaur is bought back to "life".
"In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns" - A murder mystery, cool world building, and a cat.
"Perfect Gun" - A mercenary buys the perfect ship only that ship has her own ideas about her pilot's actions.
"Dolly" - A billionaire is killed by his sex robot, was she a murder weapon, or the culprit?
"Boojum" - Living space ships, space pirates and creepy brain harvesters.
I'd buy it just for this.
There are in fact 3 stories by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, go seek out the other two - Mongoose and the really creepy The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward. I wish there were more of these. A Sf combination of HP Lovecraft and Lewis Carroll. Sounds weird? But they're not, they are amazing!!
August 9, 2024
Elizabeth Bear is one of those authors who puts the wonder and magic back into science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, and fiction itself. She explores the boundaries of genre and goes beyond them, creating exceptional stories unlike any others.
Here are steampunk mysteries and sentient ships. Here is romance overcoming rivalry on new worlds. Here are myths and legends talking back to their worshippers with a cheeky attitude or sacrificing themselves for something far greater than many could comprehend. Here is the history of our own world, mingling with urban legend and futuristic technology. Here trauma can literally erase you while writing about it can bring you back.
Each of these tales is unique, reminding me of what speculative fiction can become if the writer meets the challenge of its potential. Pick up this book if you’re ready to explore.
Here are steampunk mysteries and sentient ships. Here is romance overcoming rivalry on new worlds. Here are myths and legends talking back to their worshippers with a cheeky attitude or sacrificing themselves for something far greater than many could comprehend. Here is the history of our own world, mingling with urban legend and futuristic technology. Here trauma can literally erase you while writing about it can bring you back.
Each of these tales is unique, reminding me of what speculative fiction can become if the writer meets the challenge of its potential. Pick up this book if you’re ready to explore.
January 9, 2021
This started out great for me. I’m more into the speculative fiction stories than the ones that lean more toward fantasy. For some reason, the lines aren’t clear cut. Sometimes I live an outer space story (Boojum) and then I get to another (The Deeps of the Sky) and am instantly not into it. I bought this book based on hearing the story Tideline on the podcast LeVar Burton Reads. I was really into the book up through Love Among the Talus. I tried but could not do the next 7 stories, but was able to finish the book with the last story - Erase, Erase, Erase. Overall, a great book! Lots of carpet for different interests.
December 9, 2020
Not having read anything by Elizabeth Bear, I didn't realise what a treat I was in for. This collection of short stories covers a wide range of genres from urban fantasy to military sci fi to crime, yet each story manages to look deeply into the humanity of the characters (whether they be human or not) and reveal something about all of us in the process.
Read
July 27, 20213 and a half stars. more of a collected than a selected, so it's fairly uneven - some throwaway, some divine. they often slip between genres, but that's just Elizabeth Bear. some of the stories fill in gaps in her various series (New Amsterdam, Eternal Sky, the world of White Space), so they are important. and others, like "Shuggoths in Bloom", stick because they're simply very fine.
October 21, 2022
These are the best short stories of a very popular author. I've tried a few of her novels and nothing has clicked for me, so I jumped at the chance to try her best stories. Varying mileage for me; again, nothing really clicked on a big level. That just means she isn't my cuppa; fans will certainly love it and other new readers ought to start here.
June 4, 2020
Author #Elizabeth Bear is just one creative writer.Winner of the Hugo And Sturgeon Memorial Awards.This book has 27 stories and novellas.Expect the unexpected with characters,words and worlds.Imaginative fiction it’s purest form.
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Elizabeth Bear, And #Subterranean Press
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Elizabeth Bear, And #Subterranean Press
August 27, 2020
Not every story was to my taste. Soft Science Fiction
November 25, 2021
Excellent collection -- Bear has an incredible range that is fully on display here. The worldbuilding is compelling; I kept finding myself wanting more or longer stories in each scenario.
December 29, 2021
Every story was a masterpiece, she is one of the finest authors I have ever read
July 16, 2022
Didn’t finish before having to return to the library but “Needles”, a short story about a vampire and a lamashtu looking to get a tattoo will stay with me forever.
July 16, 2023
Some of these short stories were amazing and some were just 'ok'. If you like her books there's certainly something in here you will enjoy -- it just might not be everything.
April 1, 2024
Fantástico, profundo
March 17, 2022
Huge collection with incredible range. Even the stories that weren’t particularly my cuppa were powerfully written. Impressive.
Covenant - Locus short story nominee and Hugo long list. Also in Dozois 32. Rightminded serial killer. Dark but 5*.
She Still Loves the Dragon - Hugo long list short story. Beautifully written and strange. 4*
Tideline - Hugo for best short story, 2008. Battle bot and boy on beach. 5*
The Leavings of the Wolf - Exquisite. Short. For divorced women everywhere. 5*
Okay, Glory - Locus novelette nominee. Hey Siri, can’t believe this was written pre-covid. 4*
Needles - Bleak vampire short. 3*
This Chance Planet - Locus short nominee and Hugo long list. A woman and a dog. A bit like the Harlan Ellison story, y’know, except with more kindness and less misogyny. 5*
The Body of the Nation - Late story from New Amsterdam series. Riverboat murder mystery. Not really my thing, though I like the Garrett character. 3.5*
Boojum (with Sarah Monette) - Locus short story nominee. Black Alice and the Boojum spaceship. 5*
The Bone War - Short. Late addition to Eternal Sky series. Animating fossil skeleton. Whimsical. 3*
In the House of Aryaman - Locus novella nominee. Also in Dozois 30. Inspector Ferron #1, noir/first contact mashup, murder mystery in future India. 5*
Shoggoths in Bloom - Hugo novelette 2009 and Locus runner-up. Excising the bigotry from Lovecraft, whilst leaving the weird intact. 5*
Skin in the Game - Story from Microsoft’s Future Visions. Sociopathy and celebrity culture. Anxiety inducing. 4*
Hobnoblin Blues - Short. Loki and companion fall to Earth and challenge silly human notions of gender and sexuality et cetera, while making rock-ish music. Fun. 4.5
Form and Void - Short. Twisted friendship between two girls. Meh. 3*
Your Collar - Short. BSFA nominee. Minotaur and Queen. Agreeably odd. 4*
Terroir - Novelette. Tech inventor in Normandie senses the dead via food terroir. Powerful. 5*
Dolly - Locus list short. Also in Dozois 29. Nothing really new here, but this was quietly appealing and I wanted more. 5*
Love Among the Talus - Short from Eternal Sky series. Princess makes hard choices. 3*
The Deeps of the Sky - Locus short nominee. Gas giant first contact. 3*
Two Dreams on Trains - BSFA short nominee. Moody murky New Orleans drowned. 3*
Faster Gun - Locus novelette runner-up. Doc Holliday and crashed ship. Time becomes a loop? 3*
The Heart’s Filthy Lesson - Locus novelette nominee and Hugo long list. Cross country through the jungles of Venus. 4*
Perfect Gun - Short. Eeee, that’s a dark thing. 4*
Sonny Liston Takes the Fall - Short. 3*
Orm the Beautiful - Short. Locus list. The last dragon. 4*
Erase, Erase, Erase - Novelette. Locus nominee, Hugo long list. Memory and self-erasure. 3.5*
Covenant - Locus short story nominee and Hugo long list. Also in Dozois 32. Rightminded serial killer. Dark but 5*.
She Still Loves the Dragon - Hugo long list short story. Beautifully written and strange. 4*
Tideline - Hugo for best short story, 2008. Battle bot and boy on beach. 5*
The Leavings of the Wolf - Exquisite. Short. For divorced women everywhere. 5*
Okay, Glory - Locus novelette nominee. Hey Siri, can’t believe this was written pre-covid. 4*
Needles - Bleak vampire short. 3*
This Chance Planet - Locus short nominee and Hugo long list. A woman and a dog. A bit like the Harlan Ellison story, y’know, except with more kindness and less misogyny. 5*
The Body of the Nation - Late story from New Amsterdam series. Riverboat murder mystery. Not really my thing, though I like the Garrett character. 3.5*
Boojum (with Sarah Monette) - Locus short story nominee. Black Alice and the Boojum spaceship. 5*
The Bone War - Short. Late addition to Eternal Sky series. Animating fossil skeleton. Whimsical. 3*
In the House of Aryaman - Locus novella nominee. Also in Dozois 30. Inspector Ferron #1, noir/first contact mashup, murder mystery in future India. 5*
Shoggoths in Bloom - Hugo novelette 2009 and Locus runner-up. Excising the bigotry from Lovecraft, whilst leaving the weird intact. 5*
Skin in the Game - Story from Microsoft’s Future Visions. Sociopathy and celebrity culture. Anxiety inducing. 4*
Hobnoblin Blues - Short. Loki and companion fall to Earth and challenge silly human notions of gender and sexuality et cetera, while making rock-ish music. Fun. 4.5
Form and Void - Short. Twisted friendship between two girls. Meh. 3*
Your Collar - Short. BSFA nominee. Minotaur and Queen. Agreeably odd. 4*
Terroir - Novelette. Tech inventor in Normandie senses the dead via food terroir. Powerful. 5*
Dolly - Locus list short. Also in Dozois 29. Nothing really new here, but this was quietly appealing and I wanted more. 5*
Love Among the Talus - Short from Eternal Sky series. Princess makes hard choices. 3*
The Deeps of the Sky - Locus short nominee. Gas giant first contact. 3*
Two Dreams on Trains - BSFA short nominee. Moody murky New Orleans drowned. 3*
Faster Gun - Locus novelette runner-up. Doc Holliday and crashed ship. Time becomes a loop? 3*
The Heart’s Filthy Lesson - Locus novelette nominee and Hugo long list. Cross country through the jungles of Venus. 4*
Perfect Gun - Short. Eeee, that’s a dark thing. 4*
Sonny Liston Takes the Fall - Short. 3*
Orm the Beautiful - Short. Locus list. The last dragon. 4*
Erase, Erase, Erase - Novelette. Locus nominee, Hugo long list. Memory and self-erasure. 3.5*
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews