John Williams’s Reviews > The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 > Status Update

"Falling Bodies," by Rebecca Roanhorse; some exciting sci-fi world building around a narrative of revolution. "If Someone You Love Has Become a Vurdalak," by Sam J. Miller; the undead as a metaphor for co-dependence and addiction.

"Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont," by P. A. Cornell; a lovely time travel romance; previously read: "How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" by P. Djèlí Clark

"Bruised-Eye Dusk," by Jonathan Louis Duckworth, a witch-hunt mystery with some serious local color made of gators and skeeters, an interesting take on good magic vs. evil, and a wandering gunslinger "spellbreaker" which I'd gladly follow across a whole anthology of more mysteries.

"Emotional Resonance" by V. M. Ayala; a love story between two corporate murder robots. It's cool to see another young, emerging writer featured in these anthologies.

"The Ankle Snatcher" by Grady Hendrix; legit a monster-under-the-bed story but with a sociological twist. This one was good.

"The Four Last Things" by Christopher Rowe. Probably brilliant, but I found it almost insufferably pretentious. If your content is enigmatic, I think your prose should be clear. If your prose is enigmatic, I think your content should be clear. And if both your prose and your content are enigmatic, it better be worth it. Some really good stories were excluded so this one could be part of this volume.

"Resurrection Highway" by A. R. Capetta, introduced me to the word "automancy." Aka, bringing cars back from the dead. Very Mad Max, but with magic.

"Form 8774-D," by Alex Irvine. A workplace superhero romantic comedy that nails putting the mundane and the fantastic side by side. The phrases "office Slack channel" and "Armageddon Phalanx" appear within pages of each other. Good fun for anyone who loved that feature on the Incredibles bonus disc with the superhero interviews when they were growing up.

"The Blade and the Bloodwright" by Sloane Leong - a sinuous and terrifying pirate nightmare of body horror sorcerery

"The Long Game" by Ann Leckie. A disorienting (and then all-too re-orienting) fable about colonization, exploitation, longevity, and The Way Things Are from the perspective of an alien slug.
Previously read: "John Hollowback and the Witch" by Amal El-Mohtar