Katie’s Reviews > Robots vs. Fairies > Status Update

The Blue Fairy's Manifesto by Annalee Newitz
3.75 stars
I was expecting not to like this story since I disliked Newitz's novel "Autonomous" but I was pleasantly surprised. While I find her writing a bit stiff, I found, by the end of the story, that the author made her point clearly, and I liked the development of the central idea. I didn't realize it was a Pinocchio retelling until the end where the author explains

The Buried Giant by Lavie Tidhar
4 stars

This was a story within a story, and after reading the end bit by the author I realised this was a reversed Pinocchio retelling. This was the second Pinocchio inspired story, and this was my preferred of the two, mostly because you couldn't tell that it was a fairytale retelling at all. This stood alone as it's own story, and was interesting in it's writing and scale.

Second to the Left, and Straight on by Jin C. Hines
2.5 stars

This was a Peter Pan retelling. While the writing was readable, this didn't feel like anything original, and felt like a forced sequel to Peter Pan, without feeling like it's own original idea.

Work Shadow/Shadow Work by Madeline Ashby
4.5 stars

The mix of magic and robots hadn't really worked for me until this story. I liked how this talked about believe (in magic) but also in the supernatural, and therefore in soles, which made "the assistants" place in the story fundamental. I really enjoyed this one, and liked how it developed the relationship between the two main characters in a short amount of time.

Sound and Fury by Mary Robinette Kowal
2 stars

I've actually read a novel by Kowel, which I enjoyed, so I was disappointed by my reaction to this. I found this story really boring. It didn't have much of a robot vibe.

The Bookcase Expedition by Jeffrey Ford
3 star.

The idea of this was cute, but the ending was unsatisfactory and the idea itself placed a distance between the readers and the characters/events.

Ironheart by Jonathan Maberry
2.5 stars
This had one or two interesting ideas, but it was boring overall and didn't stand out compared to some of the other stories.

Just Another Love Song by Kat Howard
2.5 stars
The faeries in this felt more human than others in the collection. It felt more like humans with powers over magical creatures. In the end this fell flat and felt typical instead of fresh.

Ironheart by Jonathan Maberry
2.5 stars
This had one or two interesting ideas, but it was boring overall and didn't stand out compared to some of the other stories.

Just Another Love Song by Kat Howard
2.5 stars
The faeries in this felt more human than others in the collection. It felt more like humans with powers over magical creatures. In the end this fell flat and felt typical instead of fresh.

Bread and Milk and Salt by Sarah Gailey
5 stars
Right from the start this story grabbed me. The voice of the fairy was potent, and had the right amount of inhumanity to make it really feel like a creature that wasn't at all human. The story as a whole was compelling and I adore the fact that it didn't go in the obvious direction. It was so disturbing and dark and I loved it. I will look out for more from this author.

The Blue Fairy's Manifesto by Annalee Newitz
3.75 stars
I was expecting not to like this story since I disliked Newitz's novel "Autonomous" but I was pleasantly surprised. While I find her writing a bit stiff, I found, by the end of the story, that the author made her point clearly, and I liked the development of the central idea. I didn't realize it was a Pinocchio retelling until the end where the author explains

Murmured Under the Moon by Tim Pratt (4 stars)
I loved the first half of this story. It had a lot of creative ideas without overloading the reader. I liked the main character and her girlfriend, but as the plot and other characters were introduced, it was still good, but not as promising as the set up made me hope for.