The Best of Uncanny

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Michael Damian Thomas (Editor), Brooke Bolander (Contributor)

Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas have co-edited and co-published Uncanny Magazine since its launch in 2014. They brought readers stunning cover art, passionate science fiction and fantasy fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, and provocative nonfiction by writers from every conceivable background, including some of science fiction and fantasy’s most fabulous award-winning and bestselling authors. In its first four years, Uncanny Magazine won the Best Semiprozine Hugo Award three times (2016, 2017, 2018), Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas won the 2018 Best Editor—Short Form Hugo Award for their work on the magazine, and numerous stories from Uncanny Magazine have been finalists or winners of Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards-- including the novelette “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu) which won the 2016 Best Novelette Hugo Award and the novelette “You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay” by Alyssa Wong which won the 2017 Best Novelette Locus Award.

This Best of Uncanny anthology collects those two novelettes and many of the other best stories and poems from the first 22 issues of Uncanny Magazine. Naomi Novik plunges you into a delicious fractured fairy tale retelling in “Blessings.” Delilah S. Dawson explores superpowers, harassment, and revenge in"Catcall." Neil Gaimantakes you along to keep pace with his gorgeous and powerful poem “The Long Run.” Charlie Jane Anders shakes up a haunting cocktail of comedy clubs and love with "Ghost Champagne." Mary Robinette Kowal weaves a heartbreaking tale of marriage, duty, and magical curses in "Midnight Hour." N.K. Jemisin ruminates on dangerous fans, awards, and legacy in “Henosis.” Maria Dahvana Headleyslinks into a Classic Hollywood of animal actors and sleazy secrets with “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White.” Catherynne M. Valente travels to a colony world infested with strange psychic cats in “Planet Lion.” Carmen Maria Machado wrestles with predators, identity, and death in“My Body, Herself.” And Seanan McGuire sings a tragic song of misunderstandings and unfortunate consequences with “Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands.”

Those pieces are only the beginning. The Best of Uncanny features some of the uncanniest stories and poetry in SF/F today, by its current leading voices. Sit down and immerse yourself in 44 original science fiction and fantasy stories and poems that can make you feel.

The Uncanny Valley—An Introduction — LYNNE M. THOMAS AND MICHAEL DAMIAN THOMAS
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies — BROOKE BOLANDER
Blessings — NAOMI NOVIK
Folding Beijing — HAO JINGFANG, TRANSLATED BY KEN LIU
The New Ways — AMAL EL-MOHTAR (POEM )
Fandom for Robots — VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD
Catcall — DELILAH S. DAWSON
Wooden Feathers — URSULA VERNON
The Long Run — NEIL GAIMAN (POEM )
Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History — SAM J. MILLER
Ghost Champagne — CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Translatio Corporis — K AT HOWARD
Rose Child — BY THEODORA GOSS (POEM )
The Witch of the Orion Waste and the Boy Knight — E. LILY YU
Monster Girls Don’t Cry — A. MERC RUSTAD
Midnight Hour — MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
Henosis — N.K . JEMISIN
The Persecution of Witches — ALI TROT TA (POEM )
Restore the Heart into Love — JOHN CHU
I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise — SARAH PINSKER
You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay — ALYSSA WONG
肉骨茶 (Meat Bone Tea) — S. QIOUYI LU (POEM )
She Still Loves the Dragon — ELIZABETH BEAR
If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White — MARIA DAHVANA HEADLE Y
archival testimony fragments / minersong — ROSE LEMBERG (POEM )
Sun, Moon, Dust — URSULA VERNON
Planet Lion — CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE
The Hydraulic Emperor — ARKADY MARTINE
Starskin, Sealskin — SHVETA THAKRAR & SARA CLETO (POEM )
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time — K .M. SZPARA
god-date — BRANDON O’BRIEN (POEM )
7 Auspicium Melioris Aevi — JY YANG
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand — FRAN WILDE
An Ocean the Color of Bruises — ISABEL YAP
Dancing Princesses — ROSHANI CHOKSHI (POEM )
Those — SOFIA SAMATAR
Though She Be But Little — C. S. E. COONE Y
Children of Thorns, Children of Water — ALIET TE DE BODARD
Protestations Against the Idea of Anglicization — CASSANDRA KHAW (POEM )
My Body, Herself — CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands — SEANAN MCGUIRE
The Words on My Skin — CAROLINE M. YOACHIM
And Then There Were (N-One) — SARAH PINSKER
The Sea Never Says It Loves You — FRAN WILDE (POEM )
Pockets — AMAL EL-MOHTAR

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Poetry

680 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review and rating is solely "The Hydraulic Emperor" by Arkady Martine
Well-written but kind of pointless short about collecting, and the madness and nuttiness of fanatic collectors. The PC is a vintage-film buff, and the Macguffin is a staged wager-auction with the only aliens humanity has met so far. The prize: a handcrafted box.

I don't know, I kept thinking I would warm up to this story, my first exposure to this young author. I'd read more by her, but didn't much care for this one. Maybe you will. Online at https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read 2/3 of the stories (skipped the poems, sorry, not my thing) and could already conclude that Uncanny has the knack of selecting bizarre and challenging stories from very diverse voices. Sometimes the endings were ambiguous too.

In the last three years, I was introduced to many favorite new authors, so, thank you!

Personal favorites from the 20+ stories I read:
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander
Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Wooden Feathers by Ursula Vernon
The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History by Sam J. Miller
The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E. Lily Yu
You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, so, wow. Arkady Martine is really, really good at making you feel like you've been punched in the gut. This alien world and future is actually alien and future, not just "mostly humanoid with hovercars." At the same time, the dilemma is human enough to be instantly relatable--think "The Gift of the Magi" with aliens and immersive film--making it all to easy to relate to the protagonist's real agony at the choices she has to make. It's maybe a little disappointing not to know who Averill's working for; to not know whose hands Mallory's kept the box out of. Maybe it really is just Averill. Maybe he's just that big of a jerk. In the end, though, Mallory gives up what she wants most in order to prevent what she suspects is something even worse from happening (and even half convinces herself she didn't want it, after all), and that is an all too relatable resolution.

[Kelsea Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly, this was partially a cover buy, a rarity for me these days. I found out about this book through the Subterranean Press newsletter, and with Tran Nguyen's art on the cover and a list of contributors including some of my favorite authors, I KNEW I had to have it.

This is one case in which my gamble paid off big time! Despite pre-ordering the book (pubbed end of 2019), I didn't pick it up until this early year (2021), when I started getting really into writing short stories. As research, I picked up this book, and I quickly fell in LOVE.

It is a chunky book. It took me a month to read through the stories (while simultaneously reading other books), because I wanted to take my time with them. The book is full of thought-provoking, strange, and beautiful pieces, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Sure, as with any story collection (especially with multiple authors), not every single piece was my new favorite, but they were all intriguing, and there were enough stunners that I can confidently give this collection five stars.

Highly recommended! (I'm off to subscribe to Uncanny's Patreon now.)

[Res]

I dropped this about a third of the way in, not because the quality standard was any worse than a typical short story collection - in fact it was shaping up to be a bit better - but because the motif of female rage and pain is not something I can handle in summer 2022.

[bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander: 4/5
Blessings by Naomi Novik: 2/5
Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu: 3.5/5
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad: 5/5
Catcall by Delilah S. Dawson: 2.5/5
Wooden Feathers by Ursula Vernon: 4/5
The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History by Sam J. Miller: 3/5
Ghost Champagne by Charlie Jane Anders: 2/5
Translatio Corporis by Kat Howard: 2/5
The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E. Lily Yu: 4/5
Monster Girls Don't Cry by A. Merc Rustad: 5/5
Midnight Hour by Mary Robinette Kowal: 5/5 (This is probably my favorite of the anthology; not a surprise as I tend to love anything the author writes)
Henosis by N.K. Jemisin: 3/5
Restore the Heart into Love by John Chu: 3.5/5
I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise by Sarah Pinsker: 1.5/5
You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong: 2.5/5
She Still Loves the Dragon by Elizabeth Bear: 3/5
If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley: 1.5/5
Sun, Moon Dust by Ursula Vernon: 4/5
Planet Lion by Catherynne M. Valente: 1.5/5
The Hydraulic Emperor by Arkady Martine: 3/5
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara: 3/5
Auspicium Melioris Aevi by J.Y. Yang: 3/5
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde: 2/5
An Ocean the Color of Bruises by Isabel Yap: 1.5/5
Those by Sofia Samatar: 1.5/5
Though She Be But Little by C.S.E. Cooney: 2/5
Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard: 1.5/5
My Body, Herself by Carmen Maria Machado: 2/5
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands by Seanan McGuire: (Previously read) 4.5/5
The Words on My Skin by Caroline Y. Yoachim: 5/5
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker: 3.5/5
Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar: 2/5

Notable poetry that I liked also:
Rose Child by Theodora Goss
The Persecution of Witches by Ali Trotta

Average rating: 2.94/5, rounded up to a 3/5. To be honest I'm really disappointed in this anthology. There were a few bangers but most stories were forgettable.

[keikii Eats Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keikii eats books!

You can read this for free on Uncanny Magazine.

A extremely powerful short story about a collector chasing after her holy grail. I didn't expect to be walloped by emotions while reading this short story. I completely recommend reading The Hydraulic Emperor because of the range of emotions Martine puts you through in such a short amount of time. You can feel everything the main character, Mallory, feels.

Also check out A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine featuring a diplomat sent as a replacement for another who died under suspicious circumstances, political machinations, and cultural clashes along with technology that passes on memories and personality between people.

[Sam S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beast of a book! Like I'm sure most short story collections are, some I really loved, some not so much.

My standouts:
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander -5
Rose Child by Theodora Goss - 4.5
The Witch of the Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E Lily Yu - 4.5
Monster Girls Don't Cry by A Merc Rustad -4.5
The Persecution of Witches by Ali Trotta - 5
Protestations Against the Idea of Anglicization by Cassandra Khaw -4.5
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker -5

The Rest:
Blessings by Naomi Novik - 3.5
Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang - 3.75
The New Ways by Amal El-Mohtar - 3
Fandom for Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad - 4.25
Catcall by Delilah S Dawson - 4
Wooden Feathers by Ursula Vernon - 3.75
The Long Run by Neil Gaiman - 4
The Heat of Us: Notes Towards an Oral History - Sam J Miller -4
Ghost Champagne by Charlie Jane Anders - 3.75
Translatio Corporis by Kat Howard - 3
Midnight Hour by Mary Robinette Kowal - 4
Henosis by N K Jemisin - 3.5
Restore the Heart into Love by John Chu - 3
I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise by Sarah Pinsker - DNF
You'll Surley Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong - 4
Meat Bone Tea by S Qiouyi Lu - 2.5
She Still Loves The Dragon by Elizabeth Bear - 4
If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley - 4
archival testimony fragments/ minersong by Rose Lemberg - DNF
Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon - 4
Planet Lion by Catherynne M Valente - 2
The Hydraulic Emperor by Arkady Martine - 4
Starskin, Sealskin by Shveta Thakrar & Sara Cleto - 2.5
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K M Szpara - 4
god-date by Brandon O'Brien - 3
Auspicium Melioris Aevi by JY Yang - 4
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand by Fran Wilde - 4
An Ocean the Colour of Bruises by Isabel Yap - 3
Dancing Princesses by Roshani Chokshi - 3
Those by Sofia Samatar - DNF
Though She Be But LIttle by CSE Cooney - 4
Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette De Bodard -3.5
My Body, Herself by Carmen Maria Machado - 3.75
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowalnds by Seanan McGuire - 4
The Words on My Skin by Caroline M Yoachim - 3.5
The Sea Never Says It Loves You by Fran Wilde - 3
Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar - 3.5

[Adri Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncanny has been knocking out of the park in its first few years of existence, so it's no surprise that this Best Of collection is full of almost universally amazing stuff. It's testament to the strength of the stories that I reread almost every story I was already familiar with, when usually I'm inclined to skip repeats - because I just needed that extra hit of Sarah Pinsker's multiverse murder mystery (And Then There Were (N-One)) or Cat Valente's weird space colonisation adventure (Planet Lion). And there's some stuff in here I've been meaning to read for AAAGES, like The Hydraulic Emperor by Arkady Martine, which did not disappoint.

I'm so glad I could get hold of the gorgeous hardback edition too - just an excellent reading experience from start to finish.

[Kaa]

Favorites:
-Fandom for Robots — VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD
-Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time — K .M. SZPARA
-Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand — FRAN WILDE
-And Then There Were (N-One) — SARAH PINSKER
-Folding Beijing — HAO JINGFANG, TRANSLATED BY KEN LIU
-The Witch of the Orion Waste and the Boy Knight — E. LILY YU

Others already read:
-Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies — BROOKE BOLANDER
-Henosis — N.K . JEMISIN
-Planet Lion — CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE
-An Ocean the Color of Bruises — ISABEL YAP
-Children of Thorns, Children of Water — ALIETTE DE BODARD
-Pockets — AMAL EL-MOHTAR
-Wooden Feathers — URSULA VERNON
-Restore the Heart into Love — JOHN CHU
-Auspicium Melioris Aevi — JY YANG
-The New Ways — AMAL EL-MOHTAR (POEM)
-The Persecution of Witches — ALI TROTTA (POEM)
-Though She Be But Little — C. S. E. COONEY
-The Long Run — NEIL GAIMAN (POEM)
-Rose Child — BY THEODORA GOSS (POEM)
-肉骨茶 (Meat Bone Tea) — S. QIOUYI LU (POEM)
Blessings — NAOMI NOVIK
Catcall — DELILAH S. DAWSON

Remaining:
Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History — SAM J. MILLER
Ghost Champagne — CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Translatio Corporis — KAT HOWARD
Monster Girls Don’t Cry — A. MERC RUSTAD
Midnight Hour — MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise — SARAH PINSKER
You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay — ALYSSA WONG
If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White — MARIA DAHVANA HEADLEY
archival testimony fragments / minersong — ROSE LEMBERG (POEM)
Sun, Moon, Dust — URSULA VERNON
The Hydraulic Emperor — ARKADY MARTINE
Starskin, Sealskin — SHVETA THAKRAR & SARA CLETO (POEM)
god-date — BRANDON O’BRIEN (POEM)
Dancing Princesses — ROSHANI CHOKSHI (POEM)
Those — SOFIA SAMATAR
Protestations Against the Idea of Anglicization — CASSANDRA KHAW (POEM)
My Body, Herself — CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands — SEANAN MCGUIRE
The Words on My Skin — CAROLINE M. YOACHIM
The Sea Never Says It Loves You — FRAN WILDE (POEM)

[Eli Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially picked this collection up because it was the only way I could read K.M. Szpara’s story (‘Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time’: a gay transman gets turned into a vampire, YES PLEASE) in print. Since the book is giant - almost 700 pages! - I figured I’d give some of the other stories a shot, too.

Full disclosure: I read about 75% of the stories/poems in this collection - I started all of them, but DNF if they didn’t interest me. There were a lot of really interesting, difficult, complex, funny stories in here - I looked up so many authors and my TBR has increased by a lot! So all in all, a good collection, and even though it took me a month to read, I’m glad I did.

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[E.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic! Complex, character- focused exploration of desire, collecting, obsession.

[Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 (average of all ratings)

Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander - 4.5 stars (4 pages)

Blessings by Naomi Novik - 4 stars (7 pages)

Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad - 3.75 stars (14 pages)
- an entertaining, meta short story that many of us SFF readers can relate to with a dash of murderbot sassiness that isn't fully explored.

The Heat of Us: Notes Toward An Oral History by Sam J. Miller - 4 stars (18 pages)
- a speculative bent on the Stonewall Riot that definitely touched me as a queer person.

Translatio Corporis by Kat Howard - 2.5 stars (12 pages)
- an interesting premise and first few pages but ended up being quite boring

The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight - 3 stars (18 pages)
- a fairy tale that fell short

Monster Girls Don't Cry by A. Merc Rustad - 4 stars (18 pages)

Midnight Hour by Mary Robinette Kowal - 3.75 stars (22 pages)

Henosis by N.K. Jemisin - 2.5 stars (8 pages)

You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong - 5 stars (32 pages)

If You Were A Tiger, I'd Have To Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley - 2.75 stars (16 pages)

The Hydraulic Emperor by Arkady Martine - 5 stars (22 pages)

Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara - 4 stars (32 pages)

And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker - 5 stars (56 pages)

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the past few years the online 'Uncanny' magazine has been publishing some of the more innovative science fiction and fantasy. Their mascot is a 'space unicorn' that embodies both SF and F, but I find their stories trend more toward the unicorn (fantasy), and less on space.

The fantasy elements, however, don't usually include the standard tropes of elves, fairies or even unicorns, but more about strange aberrations that affect humans. 'Uncanny' is a good term for it. Authors seem to respond, writing stories that might not fit in other magazines that are pure SF or F.

From the first fierce story by Brooke Bolander to the final clever teleporting-objects story by Amal El-Mohtar, these stories will tickle your imagination.

If the Thomases hadn't started their magazine in 2014, somebody else would have had to do it. These stories epitomize what science fiction and fantasy is today.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science fiction and fantasy aren’t my genres of choice, but my friend Ali Trotta has a poem in this collection, so I decided to give the whole thing a try, especially after going to a book signing for it. I enjoyed most of the pieces, and overall I’m glad I read it.

There are so many writers doing cool, inventive things in the SFF space that I never would have known about otherwise. Here were my favorite pieces:

Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
Catcall by Delilah S. Dawson
Wooden Feathers by Ursula Vernon
The Long Run by Neil Gaiman
The Heat of Us by Sam J. Miller
Rose Child by Theodora Goss
Monster Girls Don’t Cry by A. Merc Rustad
The Persecution of Witches by Ali Trotta
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands by Seanan McGuire
The Words on My Skin by Caroline M. Yoachim
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker
Pockets by Amal El-Mohtar

[IAX XAI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will edit this review as I go.

Ursula Vernon's Wooden Feathers is perfectly grim and magical all at the same time. 5/5
Sun, Moon, Dust is sorta funny sorta sweet also by Ursula but it suffers by being put in the same anthology as Wooden Feathers. 3/5

Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands I am only giving this a point deduction because I wish the ending had been happy instead of sad and that disaster would have been averted. Seanan McGuire knows how to play with her reader's feelings. 4/5

[Once-a-librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had a wonderful time reading all the fabulous stories in this anthology—familiar authors as well as some new to me. A nightcap to end the day. I’m looking forward and hope there will be another.

[Liora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a long time to get through this one, as almost every story, though diverse, left me wanting more. I had to search for them, let alone stare off into space and contemplate their stories. It was glorious.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always this anthology was a mix of things I loved, things I had already read once (or more than once!), and things I didn't connect with. But mostly the former. Lots of great stories here, some authors unfamiliar to me but more that I'd been meaning to read more of.

[Emmy Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not read a ton of anthologies, and this one was a brick, but holy shit when they say The Best they really mean THE BEST. As always, there are a couple stories that I didn't like, but damn, the talent in this book is exemplary

[Laurel]

I liked the short stories enough that I then hunted down the magazine and made sure I would get future issues. There are some phenomenal science fiction and fantasy stories in here, and I enjoyed the occasional poem as well.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent the past couple of days paging through this, since one author in it had references in another book which I had liked in the past. I always have enjoyed assortments of stories such as this one is in the past.

The pages have some sort of embellishment on them.

[Christopher Keiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most anthologies are very hit and miss. Luckily, this was mostly hits.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished this spotted purple chonker!

I particularly enjoyed "Fandom for Robots", "And Then There Were (N-one)", and "The Hydraulic Emperor".

Recommended!

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read over too long of a period to list favorite stories by title, but there were some major good ones here and I have more authors to check out moving forward.

[Norah Leighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 1/4 of this. Short stories and poems.

[Andrej · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, kudos for the diversity of voices and art forms. Unfortunately, the vast majority of pieces were thick on symbolism and thin on storytelling.

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rating only for

“Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017) reprinted here: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/artic...

[Sanoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of the anthology The Best of Uncanny.

4.1 stars. One thing I can definitely empathise with is that collector's urge: that desire for completeness, and for knowing, and having. I'm still uncertain about the motivations towards the end; there is a lot of back-story here that I feel might better help explain motivations. Still, this definitely was an enjoyable and emotional read, and this is a world I feel has a lot of potential. Maybe not in the same way as Teixcalaan, but I definitely see promise.

----------------------------------
Dec-2021:

Started reading all the short stories listed on Arkady Martine's bibliography, so I decided to put reviews for the ones that don't have a listing here:

Cloud Wall - not really an expert on poetry, but if there's one thing I can say, it's that the imagery is just really vivid; you see the city, you see the lights, and you can feel that breeze.

Nothing Must Be Wasted - 3.5 stars - Martine really does have a thing for exiles. Yagmur as a character felt as developed as she could have been given the constraints in the short story. There was also definitely an element of worldbuilding in this story, as with The Hydraulic Emperor and Lace Downstairs: it's not too extensive, but it's not lazy either. It's not a primary-world setting, but a secondary-world one that has its unique quirks, in this case the worldships, and things that come about as a result of that.

Merged review:

The Uncanny Valley—An Introduction — LYNNE M. THOMAS AND MICHAEL DAMIAN THOMAS
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies — BROOKE BOLANDER
Blessings — NAOMI NOVIK
Folding Beijing — HAO JINGFANG, TRANSLATED BY KEN LIU
The New Ways — AMAL EL-MOHTAR (POEM )
Fandom for Robots — VINA JIE-MIN PRASAD
Catcall — DELILAH S. DAWSON
Wooden Feathers — URSULA VERNON
The Long Run — NEIL GAIMAN (POEM )
Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History — SAM J. MILLER
Ghost Champagne — CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
Translatio Corporis — K AT HOWARD
Rose Child — BY THEODORA GOSS (POEM )
The Witch of the Orion Waste and the Boy Knight — E. LILY YU
Monster Girls Don’t Cry — A. MERC RUSTAD


Midnight Hour — MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL - read on 2021-10-20 - 3 stars - pretty much what I expected from an MRK short story. Definitely an intriguing concept, and all I can really say is that I hope the 7-year plan worked out.



Henosis — N.K . JEMISIN
The Persecution of Witches — ALI TROT TA (POEM )
Restore the Heart into Love — JOHN CHU
I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise — SARAH PINSKER
You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay — ALYSSA WONG
肉骨茶 (Meat Bone Tea) — S. QIOUYI LU (POEM )
She Still Loves the Dragon — ELIZABETH BEAR
If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White — MARIA DAHVANA HEADLE Y
archival testimony fragments / minersong — ROSE LEMBERG (POEM )
Sun, Moon, Dust — URSULA VERNON
Planet Lion — CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE


The Hydraulic Emperor — ARKADY MARTINE - read on 2021-10-19 - 4 stars. One thing I can definitely empathise with is that collector's urge: that desire for completeness, and for knowing, and having. I'm still uncertain about the motivations towards the end; there is a lot of back-story here that I feel might better help explain motivations. Still, this definitely was an enjoyable and emotional read, and this is a world I feel has a lot of potential. Maybe not in the same way as Teixcalaan, but I definitely see promise.


Starskin, Sealskin — SHVETA THAKRAR & SARA CLETO (POEM )
Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time — K .M. SZPARA
god-date — BRANDON O’BRIEN (POEM )
7 Auspicium Melioris Aevi — JY YANG
Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand — FRAN WILDE
An Ocean the Color of Bruises — ISABEL YAP
Dancing Princesses — ROSHANI CHOKSHI (POEM )
Those — SOFIA SAMATAR
Though She Be But Little — C. S. E. COONE Y
Children of Thorns, Children of Water — ALIET TE DE BODARD
Protestations Against the Idea of Anglicization — CASSANDRA KHAW (POEM )
My Body, Herself — CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands — SEANAN MCGUIRE
The Words on My Skin — CAROLINE M. YOACHIM
And Then There Were (N-One) — SARAH PINSKER
The Sea Never Says It Loves You — FRAN WILDE (POEM )
Pockets — AMAL EL-MOHTAR