Status Updates From Space Opera

Bird in the Hand by Anne McCaffrey - interesting premise, but I think it would have been better were it a bit longer. Or something. I always want to add commas to McCaffrey's writing.

Calling Them Home by Jody Lynn Nye - the contained space of the beacon worked well for the contained format of the short story. Really liked it.

Saskia by Charles de Lint - one of the longer and also better stories of the collection. Mysterious, magical, everyday.

Songchild by Robin Wayne Bailey - interestingly of its time. That is to say, a fantasy story of a well-meaning youth who finds something of power, aims to use it to do good, causes harm, and ultimately learns to rectify their mistake--that feels very '90s. I wasn't into it, but it was decent at being what it was.

A Song of Strange Revenge, by Josepha Sherman - hooked from the first sentence but got a little lost near the end. Interesting stylistic choices with the language. The "why I wrote it" paragraph at the end confused me more than the story did. Nice job implying breadth in a short text.

Our Father's Gold by Elisabeth Waters - I'm sorry but I thought the writing was lackluster from the get-go. There's something interesting in the premise, but I think Percy Jackson tackled a similar concept with significantly more success.

Thunderbird Road by Leslie Fish - quite liked it, 4 stars, interesting exploration of the conflict and cohesion of mystical and rational, also just a cool, kinda suspenseful, powerful story.

Scarborough Fair by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough - interesting choice to frame it in the author's first person--I'm not sure I loved it. Would have appreciated if she'd been able to print the song lyrics, to help me understand the riddle/references. (The details - I do know the song.)

Soulfedge Rock by Suzette Haden Elgin - 3 stars, interesting vignette about a family.

Ever After by Paula Lalish - odd piece of satire; I felt like I fell to hands and knees after all the times Lalish pulled the rug out from under me. Mostly a meh read. Yet another story that would have benefitted from a different title/cover/premise to the anthology.

The Impossible Place by Alan Dean Foster - liked it, but it suffers from coming on the heels of the previous story, which offers a similar mysterious take on the musical traditions of Africa, but with more depth. I had issues with Anna's characterization and found the ending predictable and a bit "blah."

A Hole in the Sky by Margaret Ball - quite liked this one, even if it is kind of pandemic-dystopian vibes. Makes me think of many other stories.

Drift by Steven Brust - really enjoyed it, upwards of 4 stars. Does have that odd sensation of historical speculative fiction, where it references events in the characters' past that haven't actually happened in the past 30 years. Someone who knows more about drums could probably appreciate this story more. I'm starting to think that "Space Opera" was the wrong title for the anthology.

Swan Song by Lyn McConchie - basically knew I didn't like it from the first sentence. I felt it was poorly written.

Space Station Annie by Cynthia McQuillin - quite liked it, maybe 4 stars. This vision of bars on space stations reminds me of Star Trek, which was airing then--you know, Quark, Guinan. Very much liked the commentary on beauty and age and womanhood. Almost found the plot a little under-baked, but I'm not easily identifying how I would change it. Cool to be able to look up and listen to the songs.

Roundelay by Mary C. Pangborn - meh. Kinda liked the end.

The Last Song of Sirit Byar by Peter S. Beagle - hooked me from the 2nd sentence, great story, 5 stars. Such a strong voice for the protagonist.

To Drive the Cold Winter Away by Marion Zimmer Bradley - pretty sure she's cancelled or something and we don't like her anymore. Makes sense this is backstory for an existing character; it was a little nothing of a story. Felt like Bradley kept contradicting herself, for some reason. Felt pulled out of the high fantasy by anachronisms. Reminded me of The Harp of Imach Thyssel, which I enjoyed significantly more.

Bluesberry Jam by Gene Wolfe - not exactly sure where it's heading at the end, but Wolfe is happy to give this peek: just a day or two in one person's life. I like the pun on "jam." I've got questions about the world.

Calling Them Home is the kind of story I was hoping for.

Saskia was a legitimate story, at least, but it felt a little half-baked. MPDG mixed with 'I dunno, magic I guess.' Could have used more fleshing out.

Songchild was insubstantial. Kind of a nice idea, but not much depth to it. Written well.

I found A Song of Strange Revenge to be impenetrable. Super short, not sci-fi at all, and, perhaps, incoherent. Bluh.

Our Father's Gold was sloppy. There might have been a decent story there, but it was rushed, confused, and at times just bad.

Thunderbird Road is a little tough to figure out. On one level it's the cringe-y American Indian new age voodoo nonsense, but it's also a little self-aware, and a little anti-anti-racism thrown in? Overall I guess it was okay, maybe even a little better, but I was disappointed that she didn't theorize that she was a murderer. It was the likeliest scenario, in my mind.

Scarborough Fair was one of the better ones so far, at least on a technical level. It, at least, felt like a complete story. The sci-fi and even the fantasy parts were distinctly lacking, however.

Soulfedge Rock was surprisingly pleasant. Maybe a tad insubstantial, but nice enough.

Ever After was all over the place. There might have been something to it, but it was buried in way too many (very dated) ideas.