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"Homo Perfectus" by David Farland—This one was really gross. Not sure how to feel about this one. I guess it fits within the theme of the anthology but jesus it's gross. Had a hard time reading this one.

"The Angel of Death has a Business Plan" by Heather Lindsley—Another semi comedic one. It isn't bad perse, but it also wasn't written that compellingly to me. The twist at the end came a little suddenly and didn't really do much for me, at that. I feel like the emotional engagement should have been higher at that point to pull it off.

"The Executor" by Daniel H. Wilson—Concept was interesting but not my favorite.

"Letter to the Editor" by David D. Levine—I liked this one. Probably my favorite so far. Enjoyed the style of this&giving a real&believable depiction of a mad scientist. It's on point w a lot of super hero media bcc there's been more of a speculation on how super heroes would actually be viewed: not just do gooders but people w too much power to be trusted. A really good framing of this narrative and an easy read.

"Laughter at the Academy" by Seanan McGuire—Loved the premise of this and the set up for it. I enjoy the idea of mad scientists being classes as a personality or mood disorder and the idea that there's a process for vetting this out of them. Still a bit silly, but I think that's always going to be the nature of these stories.

"Father of the Groom" by Harry Turtledove—I've heard good things about Turtledove, but unfortunately, I feel like I didn't see what other people have in this. It might be that the comedic/melodramatic concept of this anthology just doesn't really work for me, but I felt like this one leaned far too hard into the absurd.

"Professor Incognito Apologizes: An Itemized List" by Austin Grossman—Better than I initially thought it would be. I don't really enjoy the conversational style of the narrative so much; the voice of the main character is a bit obnoxious, but over all, fine.

💀 i hate how the author keeps using obviously "quotable" lines.

Seems like Eddings' ideas on beating children is slipping in again: "Flogging's a very effective teaching technique, Garion."

I'm really surprised that Garion is making it a point to say that Belgarath is seen as ruthless and unemotional? Maybe, it's just me, but in all the "legend" bits and even with how Belgarath acts, it's pretty obvious that he's not just super goal oriented and cold and ruthless lol. This feels like a retconn.

"Inventory": Not sure how I feel about this one. Something strangely intimate about someone listing their "bodies" but it's not really great either. I don't think I like it too much.

The Husband Stitch: I know there's deeper meaning here. It's all well and good but all I can think about is how the author used a series of kid's book horror stories in this. So many of them. It's so jarring especially when they are referred to over and over again in quick succession. Jesus.

LOL. Three references to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark on one page. My god.