The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction on Tor.com

Some of the Best from Tor.com

by Gregory Benford (Contributor), Beth Bernobich (Contributor), Jedediah Berry (Contributor)

To celebrate our fifth birthday, Tor.com assembled the last five years of our award-winning original fiction into downloadable ebook files!

Table of Contents:

1. When We Were Heroes (Wild Cards #21.2) by Daniel Abraham
2. Olga by C.T. Adams
3. Foundation (Razorland 0.5) by Ann Aguirre
4. The Department of Alterations (Crewel World 0.5) by Gennifer Albin
5. The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model by Charlie Jane Anders
6. Six Months, Three Days by Charlie Jane Anders
7. Intestate by Charlie Jane Anders
8. Legacy Lost by Anna Banks
9. The Witch of Duva, by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Too-Clever Fox, by Leigh Bardugo
11. The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder, by Elizabeth Bear
12. The Horrid Glory of Its Wings, by Elizabeth Bear
13. Faster Gun, by Elizabeth Bear
14. The Final Now, by Gregory Benford
15. Grace Immaculate, by Gregory Benford
16. Backscatter, by Gregory Benford
17. River of Souls, by Beth Bernobich
18. A Window or a Small Box, by Jedediah Berry
19. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, by Michael Bishop
20. Catch ‘Em in the Act, by Terry Bisson
21. TVA Baby, by Terry Bisson
22. The Cockroach Hat, by Terry Bisson
23. Shall We Gather, by Alex Bledsoe
24. Prophet, by Jennifer Bosworth
25. The Ruined Queen of Harvest World, by Damien Broderick
26. Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order, by Damien Broderick
27. The Memory Coder, by Jessica Brody
28. The Desecrator, by Steven Brust
29. Brother. Prince. Snake., by Cecil Castellucci
30. We Have Always Lived on Mars, by Cecil Castellucci
31. Our Human, by Adam Troy Castro
32. The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere, by John Chu
33. Fare Thee Well, by Cathy Clamp
34. The Commonplace Book, by Jacob Clifton
35. What Makes a River, by Deborah Coates
36. The Ghosts of Christmas, by Paul Cornell
37. The Elephant in the Room, by Paul Cornell
38. Day One, by Matthew Costello
39. Am I Free To Go?, by Kathryn Cramer
40. Tourists, by Sean Craven
41. Eve of Sin City, by S.J. Day
42. The Cage, by A.M. Dellamonica
43. Among the Silvering Herd, by A.M. Dellamonica
44. Wild Things, by A.M. Dellamonica
45. Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away, by Cory Doctorow
46. On 20468 Petercook, by Andy Duncan
47. The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday, by G.D. Falksen
48. Men Who Wish to Drown, by Elizabeth Fama
49. The Iron Shirts, by Michael Flynn
50. A Clean Sweep With All the Trimmings, by James Alan Gardner
51. Lightbringers and Rainmakers, by Felix Gilman
52. Shade, by Steven Gould
53. Bugs in the Arroyo, by Steven Gould
54. Steampunk Quartet, by Eileen Gunn
55. Mother, Crone, Maiden, by Cat Hellisen
56. The Ink Readers of Doi Saket, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
57. Too Fond, by Leanna Renee Hieber
58. At the Foot of the Lighthouse, by Erin Hoffman
59. Ghost Hedgehog, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
60. A Spell of Vengeance, by D.B. Jackson
61. The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, by Kij Johnson
62. Ponies, by Kij Johnson
63. Crazy Me, by James Patrick Kelly
64. First Flight, by Mary Robinette Kowal
65. How to Make a Triffid, by Kelly Lagor
66. A Water Matter, by Jay Lake
67. The Speed of Time, by Jay Lake
68. The Starship Mechanic, by Jay Lake and Ken Scholes
69. Dress Your Marines in White, by Emmy Laybourne
70. A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel, by Yoon Ha Lee
71. Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz, by Marissa Lingen
72. Earth Hour, by Ken MacLeod
73. Farewell Performance, by Nick Mamatas
74. Though Smoke Shall Hide the Sun, by Brit Mandelo
75. The Finite Canvas, by Brit Mandelo
76. The Hanging Game, by Helen Marshall
77. The Courtship of the Queen, by Bruce McAllister
78. Heads Will Roll, by Lish McBride
79. Swift, Brutal Retaliation, by Meghan McCarron
80. Preparations, by Mark Mills
81. About Fairies, by Pat Murphy
82. Fire Above, Fire Below, by Garth Nix
83. Ruled, by Caragh M. O’Brien
84. Hello, Moto, by Nnedi Okorafor
85. Sacrifice of the First Sheason, by Peter Orullian
86. The Great Defense of Layosah, by Peter Orullian
87. The Battle of the Round, by Peter Orullian
88. Sweetheart, by Abbi Mei Otis
89. Ragnarok, by Paul Park
90. Four Horsemen, at Their Leisure, by Richard Parks
91. The Rotten Beast, by Mary E. Pearson
92. Angel Season, by J.T. Petty
93. Silver Linings, by Tim Pratt
94. The Button Man and the Murder Tree, by Cherie Priest
95. Clockwork Fairies, by Cat Rambo
96. The Next Invasion, by Robert Reed
97. Our Candidate, by Robert Reed
98. Swingers, by Robert Reed
99. The Cairn in Slater Woods, by Gina Rosati
100. Jack of Coins, by Christopher Rowe
101. Jack and the Aktuals, or, Physical Applications of Transfinite Set Theory, by Rudy Rucker
102. Good Night, Moon, by Rudy Rucker
103. Loco, by Rudy Rucker
104. Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill, by Marie Rutkoski
105. The Film-Makers of Mars, by Geoff Ryman
106. Firstborn, by Brandon Sanderson
107. After the Coup, by John Scalzi
108. The President’s Brain is Missing, by John Scalzi
109. Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue, by John Scalzi
110. A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon, by Ken Scholes
111. Making My Entrance Again With My Usual Flair, by Ken Scholes
112. Two Stories, by Ken Scholes
113. If Dragon’s Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear, by Ken Scholes
114. Rag and Bone, by Priya Sharma
115. Do Not Touch, by Prudence Shen
116. The Night Children: An Escape From Furnace Story, by Alexander Gordon Smith
117. King of Marbury, by Andrew Smith
118. Beauty Belongs to the Flowers, by Matthew Sanborn Smith
119. Overtime, by Charles Stross
120. Down on the Farm, by Charles Stross
121. A Tall Tail, by Charles Stross
122. Zeppelin City, by Michael Swanwick
123. The Trains That Climb the Winter Tree, by Michael Swanwick
124. The Dala Horse, by Michael Swanwick
125. The Mongolian Wizard, by Michael Swanwick
126. The Fire Gown, by Michael Swanwick
127. Day of the Kraken, by Michael Swanwick
128. Eros, Philia, Agape, by Rachel Swirsky
129. A Memory of Wind, by Rachel Swirsky
130. The Monster’s Million Faces, by Rachel Swirsky
131. Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia, by Rachel Swirsky
132. Sing, by Karin Tidbeck
133. What Doctor Gottlieb Saw, by Ian Tregillis
134. Vilcabamba, by Harry Turtledove
135. The Star and the Rockets, by Harry Turtledove
136. The House That George Built, by Harry Turtledove
137. We Haven’t Got There Yet, by Harry Turtledove
138. Shtetl Days, by Harry Turtledove
139. Lee at the Alamo, by Harry Turtledove
140. Running of the Bulls, by Harry Turtledove
141. The City Quiet as Death, by Steven Utley
142. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While, by Catherynne M. Valente
143. Terrain, by Genevieve Valentine
144. Last Son of Tomorrow, by Greg van Eekhout
145. Errata, by Jeff VanderMeer
146. A Stroke of Dumb Luck, by Shiloh Walker
147. Last Train to Jubilee Bay, by Kali Wallace
148. Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction, by Jo Walton
149. The Nostalgist, by Daniel H. Wilson
150. Super Bass, by Kai Ashante Wilson
151. The Palencar Project, by Gregory Benford, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., James Morrow, Michael Swanwick, and Gene Wolfe, Edited by David G. Hartwell

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Horror, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

3817 pages, ebook

First published July 15, 2013

About the author

Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.

As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.

Reviews

[Shel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phew! Started in October, finally finished in July! I'm giving the collection 5 stars, even though not all of the stories were 5 star pieces, because of the sheer volume of new authors I was exposed to and the wide variety of topics and styles.

Overall:
28 5-star ratings, 67 4-star, 35 3-star, 15 2-star, 4 1-star, and one unrated. Not bad! Thanks, tor.com!

1. When We Were Heroes, by Daniel Abraham - 4 stars. Made me want to know more about the Wild Cards universe, which I have not ventured into before.
2. Olga, by C.T. Adams - 4 stars
3. Foundation, by Ann Aguirre - 4 stars. Definitely going to look up the series this is prequel to.
4. The Department of Alterations, by Gennifer Albin - 4 stars and ditto what I said about Foundation.
5. The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model, by Charlie Jane Anders - 5 stars. Loved it!
6. Six Months, Three Days, by Charlie Jane Anders - 5 stars. I had seen this one before when it was first published online and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time.
7. Intestate, by Charlie Jane Anders - 4 stars. Weird, but good.
8. Legacy Lost, by Anna Banks - 2.5 stars. I liked the premise, but the way it turned out was weird. And the sample chapter of the Syrena series that followed didn't grab me at all. Meh.
9. The Witch of Duva, by Leigh Bardugo - 5 stars. Really enjoyed this re-imagined version of Hansel and Gretel.
10. The Too-Clever Fox, by Leigh Bardugo - 4 stars. Clever.
11. The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder, by Elizabeth Bear - 5 stars. Poignant meditation on art vs. immortality.
12. The Horrid Glory of Its Wings, by Elizabeth Bear - 4 stars. Beautifully written and somewhat sad.
13. Faster Gun, by Elizabeth Bear - 5 stars. LOVED this one. Doc Holliday + time travel + aliens in the wild west? Yes please!
14. The Final Now, by Gregory Benford - 5 stars. This was just gorgeous.
15. Grace Immaculate, by Gregory Benford - 4 stars. Interesting premise.
16. Backscatter, by Gregory Benford - 3 stars. I liked the premise, but something about it didn't grab me.
17. River of Souls, by Beth Bernobich - 3 stars. Liked, didn't love, a sweet story.
18. A Window or a Small Box, by Jedediah Berry - 4 stars. Not sure I understood it, but I liked it!
19. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, by Michael Bishop - 2 stars. I get what he was trying to do but just found it bizarre and nonsensical.
20. Catch ‘Em in the Act, by Terry Bisson - 4 stars. Fairly silly premise, fun to read.
21. TVA Baby, by Terry Bisson - 1 star. Didn't like this one at all. I don't know if I missed something or what, but I kept waiting for the punch line and in the meantime growing more and more disgusted with the narrator - glad it was short enough that I didn't waste much time with it.
22. The Cockroach Hat, by Terry Bisson - 3 stars. Mildly entertaining surrealism.
23. Shall We Gather, by Alex Bledsoe - 5 stars. Faeries in rural Appalachia!
24. Prophet, by Jennifer Bosworth - 2 stars. I understand that this is backstory for the villain in her book "Struck" but without having read that (and from reading the reviews, I have no intention of ever reading it) it lacked interest.
25. The Ruined Queen of Harvest World, by Damien Broderick - 1 star. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on. Might have just been too tired to appreciate it, though.
26. Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order, by Damien Broderick - 4 stars. A neat twist on time travel.
27. The Memory Coder, by Jessica Brody - 3 stars. Interesting, yet predictable.
28. The Desecrator, by Steven Brust - 4 stars. A fun little piece of backstory for the Vlad Taltos series, but don't bother with it if you haven't read any of the Vlad books because you probably won't get it.
29. Brother. Prince. Snake. by Cecil Castellucci - 4 stars. a fairy tale retelling that I quite liked.
30. We Have Always Lived on Mars, by Cecil Castellucci - 4 stars. predictable ending, but still I enjoyed it.
31. Our Human, by Adam Troy Castro - 3 stars. I wanted more backstory, it was interesting but felt like there was some fascinating history that I really wanted to know about.
32. The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere, by John Chu - 5 stars. Beautiful story about how relationships change when all lies are exposed.
33. Fare Thee Well, by Cathy Clamp - 4 stars. Never thought I'd describe a short story that takes place in a mortuary as fun, but this one was!
34. The Commonplace Book, by Jacob Clifton - 4 stars. Great characters.
35. What Makes a River, by Deborah Coates - 3 stars. Enjoyable, but felt a little thin.
36. The Ghosts of Christmas, by Paul Cornell - 3 stars. Neat concept, but the main character annoyed me.
37. The Elephant in the Room, by Paul Cornell - 3 stars. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I been more familiar with the Wild Cards books, because it seems this story is a sequel to something that happened in one of the novels
38. Day One, by Matthew Costello - 3 stars. Standard zombie apocalypse fare. Doesn't catch my interest enough to make me go read the series it's prequel to.
39. Am I Free To Go?, by Kathryn Cramer - 1 star. I had no idea what this was about.
40. Tourists, by Sean Craven - 2 stars. Aliens enamored of Christian Science? Weird.
41. Eve of Sin City, by S.J. Day - 4 stars. I think I would have enjoyed it even more had I been familiar with the world and the characters; I'm definitely intrigued.
42. The Cage, by A.M. Dellamonica - 5 stars. Love seeing LGBT characters pop up in speculative fiction (and a little annoyed with myself at how long it took for me to catch on to the fact that the narrator was a lesbian, not a man). And also, baby werewolf!
43. Among the Silvering Herd, by A.M. Dellamonica - 4 stars. Really enjoyed the worldbuilding on this one. Reading some of the reviews of this individual story, it seems there's a rumor that the author is working on a novel set in this world. I hope so!
44. Wild Things, by A.M. Dellamonica - 4 stars. Nice little love story.
45. Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away, by Cory Doctorow - 5 stars. I know some people who belong in the Order of Reflective Analytics!
46. On 20468 Petercook, by Andy Duncan - 2 stars. I get what he was trying to do, but I was bored with the story. Yes, I know that was kind of the point.
47. The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday, by G.D. Falksen - 4 stars. Fun steampunky story. Love the idea of the tit-tat.
48. Men Who Wish to Drown, by Elizabeth Fama - 4 stars. Lovely. I'll be looking up the novel that this was prequel to.
49. The Iron Shirts, by Michael Flynn - 2 stars. Maybe I was just tired while I was reading it, but I had trouble keeping track of all the Gaelic names and kept getting confused who was who, so I didn't really know what was going on.
50. A Clean Sweep With All the Trimmings, by James Alan Gardner - 3 stars. Weird little story - I wanted to know more.
51. Lightbringers and Rainmakers, by Felix Gilman - 4 stars. Really enjoyed the narrative voice in this one, may pick up the novel that was the first introduction to this world..
52. Shade, by Steven Gould - 4 stars. Definitely made me want to pick up the Jumper series.
53. Bugs in the Arroyo, by Steven Gould - 4 stars. Evidently this is a sneak peak at a novel yet-to-be-published, and though I loved it I could tell it wasn't quite a complete story.
54. Steampunk Quartet, by Eileen Gunn - 3 stars. I may have appreciated it more had I been more familiar with the source material she was riffing off of. I guess the chance to be a character in the stories had been auctioned off, so that must have been fun for the people who got to be included, but for the rest of us wasn't especially interesting.
55. Mother, Crone, Maiden, by Cat Hellisen - 3 stars. Yet another short story that's a prequel to an already-published book. It was ok, but didn't really grab me enough to make me buy the book, even having read the sample chapters that were included.
56. The Ink Readers of Doi Saket, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - 4 stars. I really enjoyed this bittersweet tale of wish granting. I do feel like I missed some of the reading between the lines just because I read it late a night and was sleepy, so I should go back and read it again at some point.
57. Too Fond, by Leanna Renee Hieber - 4 stars. Beautifully written dark tale.
58. At the Foot of the Lighthouse, by Erin Hoffman - 5 stars. A girl with a disturbing gift in a Japanese internment camp during the war.
59. Ghost Hedgehog, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - 4 stars. A fifth grade boy finds himself collecting ghosts who have unfinished business.
60. A Spell of Vengeance, by D.B. Jackson - 3 stars. I think I would have appreciated it more had I read the books that this story is prequel to. I'm finding that's the case with a lot of these stories. It did interest me enough that I might read the Thieftaker Chronicles, so I suppose Jackson did his job :)
61. The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, by Kij Johnson - 4 stars. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Lovely.
62. Ponies, by Kij Johnson - 3 stars. I'd read this one before, when it was first published on tor.com, and it's just as disturbing the second time around.
63. Crazy Me, by James Patrick Kelly - 4 stars. An opthamologist with a doppelganger living in his garage - who's the "real" one, Crazy Me or Demented Me?
64. First Flight, by Mary Robinette Kowal - 5 stars. Utterly charming time travel story involving the Wright brothers and an unlikely friendship between a centenarian woman from the present and a 12-year-old boy in 1905.
65. How to Make a Triffid, by Kelly Lagor - 2 stars. The narrator starts off somewhat sympathetic but got annoying real fast.
66. A Water Matter, by Jay Lake - 4 stars. From the reviews of the novel this was based on, I don't have much interest in reading it, but I did like the short story, particularly the group hunt.
67. The Speed of Time, by Jay Lake - 2 stars. Just weird.
68. The Starship Mechanic, by Jay Lake and Ken Scholes - 4 stars. A neat take on first contact.
69. Dress Your Marines in White, by Emmy Laybourne - 4 stars. An insider's look at the development of a horrifying new bioweapon.
70. A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel, by Yoon Ha Lee - 5 stars. Not really a story with a plot at all, but an intriguing glimpse into various alien civilizations and their attitudes towards starflight.
71. Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz, by Marissa Lingen - 4 stars. The price of innocence.
72. Earth Hour, by Ken MacLeod - 3 stars. Not a whole lot to say about this one - it was mildly entertaining, anyway.
73. Farewell Performance, by Nick Mamatas - 2 stars. I understood it, but didn't really get it, if that makes any sense.
74. Though Smoke Shall Hide the Sun, by Brit Mandelo - 4 stars. I liked this take on a vampire story.
75. The Finite Canvas, by Brit Mandelo - 5 stars. Haunting and beautiful.
76. The Hanging Game, by Helen Marshall - 2 stars. Disturbing premise. I suppose it was well done but I was definitely not in the right frame of mind to appreciate it when I read it. I might have given it a higher rating another time.
77. The Courtship of the Queen, by Bruce McAllister - 3 stars. I liked the seashells.
78. Heads Will Roll, by Lish McBride - 4 stars. Lots of fun. A unicorn named Steve!
79. Swift, Brutal Retaliation, by Meghan McCarron - 3 stars. Sad portrait of a family struggling to deal with a loss.
80. Preparations, by Mark Mills - 2 stars. This was just silly.
81. About Fairies, by Pat Murphy - 4 stars. Interesting take on fairy tales.
82. Fire Above, Fire Below, by Garth Nix - 4 stars. Dragons and firefighters!
83. Ruled, by Caragh M. O’Brien - 3 stars. I think this is another one of those that would make more sense if I were familiar with the novels, since it apparently takes place between books 2 and 3 of a trilogy. Hints of the backstory intrigued me, but I don't know if it caught my interest enough to make me seek them out.
84. Hello, Moto, by Nnedi Okorafor - 2 stars. Neat idea to combine witchcraft and modern technology, but the story didn't do it for me. Too bad, because I was looking forward to this one, having really enjoyed her novel Who Fears Death.
85. Sacrifice of the First Sheason, by Peter Orullian - 5 stars. I really liked this origin story and will definitely be looking up the Vault of Heaven series!
86. The Great Defense of Layosah, by Peter Orullian - 4 stars. Set in the same world as the above at a much later time.
87. The Battle of the Round, by Peter Orullian - 5 stars. An immediate sequel to the above. I just requested the first book of the series from the library :)
88. Sweetheart, by Abbi Mei Otis - 4 stars. How to stop a war? Unite humanity against a common enemy.
89. Ragnarok, by Paul Park - no rating. It's not fair of me to give this one star just because I don't like poetry. I'm sure this is a lovely poem, done in the style of the Icelandic Sagas, I believe, I just don't like this kind of thing and couldn't finish it.
90. Four Horsemen, at Their Leisure, by Richard Parks - 5 stars. Loved this one! What do the four horsemen do with themselves when the Apocalypse is over?
91. The Rotten Beast, by Mary E. Pearson - 4 stars. It's been a while since I read The Adoration of Jenna Fox but I remembered enough to appreciate this story. Not sure how it would hold up if you weren't familiar with the source material.
92. Angel Season, by J.T. Petty - 3 stars. Interesting premise, didn't love the characters.
93. Silver Linings, by Tim Pratt - 4 stars. At first I dismissed the story as just a silly riff on an old idiom, but it took an interesting twist with the revelation of the protagonist's identity and the reason he was in hiding.
94. The Button Man and the Murder Tree, by Cherie Priest - 4 stars. It might have been 3 stars had I not already been a little familiar with the Wild Cards universe, having read up on the Wikipedia page after reading the first few Wild Cards stories in this collection!
95. Clockwork Fairies, by Cat Rambo - 3 stars. I liked the premise, but the chauvinistic narrator couldn't be more annoying! I know this was intended, to make a point, and the point was definitely made, but ugh!
96. The Next Invasion, by Robert Reed - 3 stars. Fans of "Night of the Body Snatchers" will enjoy this one ;)
97. Our Candidate, by Robert Reed - 3 stars. Politicking.
98. Swingers, by Robert Reed - 2 stars. Really, really weird.
99. The Cairn in Slater Woods, by Gina Rosati - 4 stars. Lovely story, somewhat predictable but very well-done otherwise.
100. Jack of Coins, by Christopher Rowe - 3 stars. Okay story, nothing especially noteworthy about it one way or another - could have been an interesting setting for a longer piece.
101. Jack and the Aktuals, or, Physical Applications of Transfinite Set Theory, by Rudy Rucker - 4 stars. It kind of made my head hurt, but in a good way.
102. Good Night, Moon, by Rudy Rucker - 2 stars. A little too surreal and cyberpunky for me.
103. Loco, by Rudy Rucker - 1 star. Bizarre little piece of nonsense.
104. Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill, by Marie Rutkoski - 3 stars. I actually really liked this, but it left me unsatisfied and not quite understanding. From the other reviews, it seems that this is another example of a story that would make more sense had I read the book it is based on.
105. The Film-Makers of Mars, by Geoff Ryman - 4 stars. Barsoom is real??
106. Firstborn, by Brandon Sanderson - 5 stars. The man is just that good :) Really liked this one.
107. After the Coup, by John Scalzi - 4 stars. Probably would be a little confusing if I hadn't already read Old Man's War, though.
108. The President’s Brain is Missing, by John Scalzi - 4 stars. A use for futuristic technology that I hadn't thought of!
109. Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue, by John Scalzi - 3 stars. I'd read this one before. A very silly spoof on fantasy tropes.
110. A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon, by Ken Scholes - 5 stars. This was really lovely. On the long-ish side for a short story, which allowed for some real character development.
111. Making My Entrance Again With My Usual Flair, by Ken Scholes - 4 stars. An aging clown finds inspiration in an unexpected place!
112. Looking for Truth in a Wild Blue Yonder, by Ken Scholes - 4 stars. Not sure I fully GOT it, but I really liked it! This was bundled with "The Starship Mechanic" (collaboration with Jay Lake which I already reviewed above) under the title "Two Stories".
113. If Dragon’s Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear, by Ken Scholes - 5 stars. Mining for hope while awaiting the Santaman and his sword (ho ho ho). I'd not heard of Ken Scholes before this collection and given that I've just rated all of his stories 4 or 5 stars, I'll definitely be looking up more of his work!
114. Rag and Bone, by Priya Sharma - 4 stars. An alternate England where the wealthy buy body parts from the poor.
115. Do Not Touch, by Prudence Shen - 5 stars. Adventures in museum paintings - this was fun!
116. The Night Children: An Escape From Furnace Story, by Alexander Gordon Smith - 3 stars. Like a lot of these stories, I think I'd have appreciated it more had I been familiar with the novels.
117. King of Marbury, by Andrew Smith - 3 stars. ditto above.
118. Beauty Belongs to the Flowers, by Matthew Sanborn Smith - 3 stars. A spoiled 17-year-old girl navigates future Nagasaki.
119. Overtime, by Charles Stross - 3 stars. Half asleep & struggling to stay awake while reading this, so I'm not entirely certain I understood what was going on...

The rest of the reviews are in the comments, because of Goodreads' silly 20,000 character review limit ;)

[Kam Yung Soh]

1. When We Were Heroes, by Daniel Abraham
2. Olga, by C.T. Adams
3. Foundation, by Ann Aguirre
4. The Department of Alterations, by Gennifer Albin
5. The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model, by Charlie Jane Anders
6. Six Months, Three Days, by Charlie Jane Anders
7. Intestate, by Charlie Jane Anders
8. Legacy Lost, by Anna Banks
9. The Witch of Duva, by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Too-Clever Fox, by Leigh Bardugo
11. The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder, by Elizabeth Bear
12. The Horrid Glory of Its Wings, by Elizabeth Bear
13. Faster Gun, by Elizabeth Bear
14. The Final Now, by Gregory Benford
15. Grace Immaculate, by Gregory Benford
16. Backscatter, by Gregory Benford
17. River of Souls, by Beth Bernobich
18. A Window or a Small Box, by Jedediah Berry
19. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, by Michael Bishop
20. Catch ‘Em in the Act, by Terry Bisson
21. TVA Baby, by Terry Bisson
22. The Cockroach Hat, by Terry Bisson
23. Shall We Gather, by Alex Bledsoe
24. Prophet, by Jennifer Bosworth
25. The Ruined Queen of Harvest World, by Damien Broderick
26. Time Considered as a Series of Thermite Burns in No Particular Order, by Damien Broderick
27. The Memory Coder, by Jessica Brody
28. The Desecrator, by Steven Brust
29. Brother. Prince. Snake., by Cecil Castellucci
30. We Have Always Lived on Mars, by Cecil Castellucci
31. Our Human, by Adam Troy Castro
32. The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere, by John Chu
33. Fare Thee Well, by Cathy Clamp
34. The Commonplace Book, by Jacob Clifton
35. What Makes a River, by Deborah Coates
36. The Ghosts of Christmas, by Paul Cornell
37. The Elephant in the Room, by Paul Cornell
38. Day One, by Matthew Costello
39. Am I Free To Go?, by Kathryn Cramer
40. Tourists, by Sean Craven
41. Eve of Sin City, by S.J. Day
42. The Cage, by A.M. Dellamonica
43. Among the Silvering Herd, by A.M. Dellamonica
44. Wild Things, by A.M. Dellamonica
45. Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away, by Cory Doctorow
46. On 20468 Petercook, by Andy Duncan
47. The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday, by G.D. Falksen
48. Men Who Wish to Drown, by Elizabeth Fama
49. The Iron Shirts, by Michael Flynn
50. A Clean Sweep With All the Trimmings, by James Alan Gardner
51. Lightbringers and Rainmakers, by Felix Gilman
52. Shade, by Steven Gould
53. Bugs in the Arroyo, by Steven Gould
54. Steampunk Quartet, by Eileen Gunn
55. Mother, Crone, Maiden, by Cat Hellisen
56. The Ink Readers of Doi Saket, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
57. Too Fond, by Leanna Renee Hieber
58. At the Foot of the Lighthouse, by Erin Hoffman
59. Ghost Hedgehog, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
60. A Spell of Vengeance, by D.B. Jackson
61. The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles, by Kij Johnson
62. Ponies, by Kij Johnson
63. Crazy Me, by James Patrick Kelly
64. First Flight, by Mary Robinette Kowal
65. How to Make a Triffid, by Kelly Lagor
66. A Water Matter, by Jay Lake
67. The Speed of Time, by Jay Lake
68. The Starship Mechanic, by Jay Lake and Ken Scholes
69. Dress Your Marines in White, by Emmy Laybourne
70. A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel, by Yoon Ha Lee
71. Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz, by Marissa Lingen
72. Earth Hour, by Ken MacLeod
73. Farewell Performance, by Nick Mamatas
74. Though Smoke Shall Hide the Sun, by Brit Mandelo
75. The Finite Canvas, by Brit Mandelo
76. The Hanging Game, by Helen Marshall
77. The Courtship of the Queen, by Bruce McAllister
78. Heads Will Roll, by Lish McBride
79. Swift, Brutal Retaliation, by Meghan McCarron
80. Preparations, by Mark Mills
81. About Fairies, by Pat Murphy
82. Fire Above, Fire Below, by Garth Nix
83. Ruled, by Caragh M. O’Brien
84. Hello, Moto, by Nnedi Okorafor
85. Sacrifice of the First Sheason, by Peter Orullian
86. The Great Defense of Layosah, by Peter Orullian
87. The Battle of the Round, by Peter Orullian
88. Sweetheart, by Abbi Mei Otis
89. Ragnarok, by Paul Park
90. Four Horsemen, at Their Leisure, by Richard Parks
91. The Rotten Beast, by Mary E. Pearson
92. Angel Season, by J.T. Petty
93. Silver Linings, by Tim Pratt
94. The Button Man and the Murder Tree, by Cherie Priest
95. Clockwork Fairies, by Cat Rambo
96. The Next Invasion, by Robert Reed
97. Our Candidate, by Robert Reed
98. Swingers, by Robert Reed
99. The Cairn in Slater Woods, by Gina Rosati
100. Jack of Coins, by Christopher Rowe
101. Jack and the Aktuals, or, Physical Applications of Transfinite Set Theory, by Rudy Rucker
102. Good Night, Moon, by Rudy Rucker
103. Loco, by Rudy Rucker
104. Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill, by Marie Rutkoski
105. The Film-Makers of Mars, by Geoff Ryman
106. Firstborn, by Brandon Sanderson
107. After the Coup, by John Scalzi
108. The President’s Brain is Missing, by John Scalzi
109. Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue, by John Scalzi
110. A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon, by Ken Scholes
111. Making My Entrance Again With My Usual Flair, by Ken Scholes
112. Two Stories, by Ken Scholes
113. If Dragon’s Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear, by Ken Scholes
114. Rag and Bone, by Priya Sharma
115. Do Not Touch, by Prudence Shen
116. The Night Children: An Escape From Furnace Story, by Alexander Gordon Smith
117. King of Marbury, by Andrew Smith
118. Beauty Belongs to the Flowers, by Matthew Sanborn Smith
119. Overtime, by Charles Stross
120. Down on the Farm, by Charles Stross
121. A Tall Tail, by Charles Stross
122. Zeppelin City, by Michael Swanwick
123. The Trains That Climb the Winter Tree, by Michael Swanwick
124. The Dala Horse, by Michael Swanwick
125. The Mongolian Wizard, by Michael Swanwick
126. The Fire Gown, by Michael Swanwick
127. Day of the Kraken, by Michael Swanwick
128. Eros, Philia, Agape, by Rachel Swirsky
129. A Memory of Wind, by Rachel Swirsky
130. The Monster’s Million Faces, by Rachel Swirsky
131. Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia, by Rachel Swirsky
132. Sing, by Karin Tidbeck
133. What Doctor Gottlieb Saw, by Ian Tregillis
134. Vilcabamba, by Harry Turtledove
135. The Star and the Rockets, by Harry Turtledove
136. The House That George Built, by Harry Turtledove
137. We Haven’t Got There Yet, by Harry Turtledove
138. Shtetl Days, by Harry Turtledove
139. Lee at the Alamo, by Harry Turtledove
140. Running of the Bulls, by Harry Turtledove
141. The City Quiet as Death, by Steven Utley
142. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While, by Catherynne M. Valente
143. Terrain, by Genevieve Valentine
144. Last Son of Tomorrow, by Greg van Eekhout
145. Errata, by Jeff VanderMeer
146. A Stroke of Dumb Luck, by Shiloh Walker
147. Last Train to Jubilee Bay, by Kali Wallace
148. Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction, by Jo Walton
149. The Nostalgist, by Daniel H. Wilson
150. Super Bass, by Kai Ashante Wilson
151. The Palencar Project, by Gregory Benford, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., James Morrow, Michael Swanwick, and Gene Wolfe, Edited by David G. Hartwell

[Francesco]

Non so quando lo finirò (o se lo farò mai).
In ogni caso non riporterò qua ogni singola opinione, perché sarebbero troppe dal momento che intendo lasciare almeno due righe su ogni racconto e non ci starebbero.
Le metterò su Google Docs

[Renee Babcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a massive collection of short fiction originally published at Tor.com. There were maybe a dozen or so stories I didn't read, but on the whole this is a solid collection of contemporary short speculative fiction.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a huge collection of about 150 stories that have appeared over the last five years on Tor's website, that I've been reading in dribs and drabs on my phone over the past year or so.

It's hard to talk about it because there are just so many in there, I honestly can't remember in most cases if a story comes from there, or from another, smaller, short story collection I read in the intervening time. Nor, often, can I really remember many of the details.

In a general sense, though, for me, personally, it was only okay, largely due to two factors... one, the book has a very high proportion of fantasy (maybe even most of it), some of the traditional sword and sorcery, some of the urban fantasy/paranormal romance. There is nothing wrong with any of these genres, except that, largely, they do not interest me. A lot of stories I found myself just wanting to get through because it was so distinctly Not My Thing. A few I outright disliked (there seemed to be at least a couple stories where an amoral being with godlike powers for no apparent reason wanders through the world doing stuff that I didn't give a damn about).

The other problem is that there was a lot of "here are the first few chapters of this novel I've released," which don't really satisfy as stories, and, I may be mistaken, but I believe in every single case, it was in those genres that I have little interest in. I read them, but I feel like it was a waste of time, because I neither want to read the full novel, nor did I get a satisfying complete story (even of a type that isn't my favorite).

There were some stories that I recall remembering... "The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model" by Charlie Jane Anders is one. Also, the set of stories called "The Palencar Project" were quite interesting... basically a set of different authors each wrote a story based on a SF painting (by an artist with the last name Palencar)... it's fascinating to see how different ideas can spring from the same source.

But because of the high proportion of stories that did not interest me, I can only give the collection two stars... it was okay.

[Logan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading through this entire collection was one of the worst reading experiences I have ever had. I kept thinking that there just HAD to be some good stories in it. And there were, about five or so that I really liked and maybe 10 that were at least entertaining. But most of them were pointless, postmodern drivel that oh, might have the hero dying, or end in a state of hopelessness, or just be completely pointless or insane. Maybe I'm just not "sophisticated" enough to enjoy things like this but depressing, pointless stories are not what I want to read. The author's job is to entertain his reader, not to make some existential artistic "statement".

I read the entire thing and was repulsed by most of the stories, bored by more, and left completely clueless after still others. It's just not worth wading through all the garbage.

[Augusto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this collection was a disappointment. There were some really good short stories such as "The Fermi Paradox is our Business Model" that deserve a five star rating, but I did not really enjoy the bulk of the stories. I recommend that anyone who is planning on reading this simply look at some of the other reviews and read only the stories that other people have mentioned as being worth reading.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me some time to get through, and there was a real mixture. Some of the stories were complete within themselves, and others were teasers for complete novels. Like many anthologies I enjoyed some tales more than others, but because I didn't really keep track of things as I was reading it I would probably have to spend a fair bit of effort to dig through and remind myself of authors and stories I would want to read again. Oops.

[Jeremy Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

The collection is very up and down - I found some good, enjoyable stories, and a lot of postmodern drivel, where everyone dies or turns out to be twisted in some way. But I found a few authors I will be looking to read again.

If reading through this one, be prepared to skip over stories you don't like; the good ones for me were all fairly quickly obvious, and for the most part so was the junk.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories were very good, but I don't think I ever want to tackle a collection this big, ever again.
(1%)
I'm starting The Stories: I've finished one story and half a novella and I'm still not up to 2%? This could take a while! —

[Nathan Shumate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. That's a LOT of stories. And only a couple of woofers in there.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

this counts as at least three books

[Deryl Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

150 of stories, but not all that many good ones. The vast majority where the kind where you even forget what is was about 2 minutes after you've finished reading it.

[Shawn Dvorak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge, almost overwhelming collection of short stories, novellas, and excerpts from some of today's best sci-fi and fantasy authors.