daynpitseleh's review
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A good collection of science fiction/fantasy stories that are are related to love. As is usual with anthologies, you will like some stories better than others - the ones I enjoyed the most were 'Back to Where I Know You' by Victoria Zelvin, 'By Bargain and By Blood' by Aliette de Bodard, and of course, 'Sing' by Karin Tidbeck, who I absolutely adore (although I had already this story on Tor.com).
Honorable mentions to ''Traveler' by Michael Milne, 'Virgin of the Sands' by Holly Phillips, 'Alice' by Morgen Knight..
Overall, this was a good collection of stories that exposed me to some new authors as well as provide good stories by some I already knew.
A good collection of science fiction/fantasy stories that are are related to love. As is usual with anthologies, you will like some stories better than others - the ones I enjoyed the most were 'Back to Where I Know You' by Victoria Zelvin, 'By Bargain and By Blood' by Aliette de Bodard, and of course, 'Sing' by Karin Tidbeck, who I absolutely adore (although I had already this story on Tor.com).
Honorable mentions to ''Traveler' by Michael Milne, 'Virgin of the Sands' by Holly Phillips, 'Alice' by Morgen Knight..
Overall, this was a good collection of stories that exposed me to some new authors as well as provide good stories by some I already knew.
intorilex's review
4.0
Find this and other Reviews at InToriLex
This was a great collection. I really enjoyed the many ways that the authors talked about love gone wrong or right. I did think the theme of the stories tied them together well. Some were in different time periods, future and past. Some were wonderfully strange, but intriguing enough for me to look up the author's other work. There are some dark stories described that definitely creeped me out too. The love in the stories reached beyond, life, death. humans, morality and sometimes light years. The weirdness was definitely a treat that I enjoyed.
Some of my favorites of the collection are quoted and described below.
The Woman who Sang by Terry Durbin
"It doesn't matter. Love and understanding are two dishes seldom served of the same plate." In a cold ordered world, man is shown love but doesn't know what to do with it.
Iron Roses by Michal Wojcik
"Put enough love into anything and it comes alive." A boy tries his hardest to get the girl, but it doesn't end well.
Back to Where I know You by Victoria Zelvin
"What is important is not always happy. Ariadne preferred to preserve only happy memories, to help her remember that life has not always been so gray." Chemicals are used to alter memories, but Ariadne's trying to hold on to her favorite ones.
By Bargain and By Blood by Aliette de Bodard
"To leave something behind me. Something I shaped and not taken apart." A mother not quite a mother, makes a decision because she can't let go.
Catching On by Kyle Richardson
"You know what time really is, Oss? Its an endless stream of death. An infinite line of heartache and suffering." Two superheroes try to protect the world, at all costs.
While (u>i) i--; by Hugh Howey
"While you are greater than myself, reduce myself. " A strange but memorable couple, finds a way to relate in old age, despite strange differences.
Sing by Karen Tidbeck
"Someone wanted me It was a very strange sensation, like a little hook tugging at the hollow under my ribs." A woman struggling to belong on a future world where the locations of moons can control sound.
I would recommend this to sci-fi and speculative fiction lovers. There were some stories that were not as good and didn't connect with me, but they were few and far between. If you have a short story collection you love, post it in a comment below, I'm looking to read more short stories.
I received a copy of this e-book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This was a great collection. I really enjoyed the many ways that the authors talked about love gone wrong or right. I did think the theme of the stories tied them together well. Some were in different time periods, future and past. Some were wonderfully strange, but intriguing enough for me to look up the author's other work. There are some dark stories described that definitely creeped me out too. The love in the stories reached beyond, life, death. humans, morality and sometimes light years. The weirdness was definitely a treat that I enjoyed.
Some of my favorites of the collection are quoted and described below.
The Woman who Sang by Terry Durbin
"It doesn't matter. Love and understanding are two dishes seldom served of the same plate." In a cold ordered world, man is shown love but doesn't know what to do with it.
Iron Roses by Michal Wojcik
"Put enough love into anything and it comes alive." A boy tries his hardest to get the girl, but it doesn't end well.
Back to Where I know You by Victoria Zelvin
"What is important is not always happy. Ariadne preferred to preserve only happy memories, to help her remember that life has not always been so gray." Chemicals are used to alter memories, but Ariadne's trying to hold on to her favorite ones.
By Bargain and By Blood by Aliette de Bodard
"To leave something behind me. Something I shaped and not taken apart." A mother not quite a mother, makes a decision because she can't let go.
Catching On by Kyle Richardson
"You know what time really is, Oss? Its an endless stream of death. An infinite line of heartache and suffering." Two superheroes try to protect the world, at all costs.
While (u>i) i--; by Hugh Howey
"While you are greater than myself, reduce myself. " A strange but memorable couple, finds a way to relate in old age, despite strange differences.
Sing by Karen Tidbeck
"Someone wanted me It was a very strange sensation, like a little hook tugging at the hollow under my ribs." A woman struggling to belong on a future world where the locations of moons can control sound.
I would recommend this to sci-fi and speculative fiction lovers. There were some stories that were not as good and didn't connect with me, but they were few and far between. If you have a short story collection you love, post it in a comment below, I'm looking to read more short stories.
I received a copy of this e-book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
caterina_1212's review
4.0
I really enjoyed all of the stories. I was reading Summer Days and Summer Nights at the same time, another collection of short stories about love, and I found this one vastly better. For one thing, these stories average just under 10 pages, while the other collection was closer to 30. I don't read much steampunk or horror books, but it was easy to give these writers the benefit of the doubt for another 10 minutes and finish the stories I didn't like at first. Some stories are very dark and it felt cathartic to delve into these, all the while knowing a full length novel would be unbearable. The other collection I was more inclined to discard one story for another if I couldn't tell where it was going, or didn't where the character was headed. This is probably the best book I've read all summer.
la_cori's review against another edition
4.0
ARC / review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review;
thanks again to the publisher, Meerkat Press.
I really like the idea of a collection of short stories about love with this interesting twist: the elements of different genres like sci-fi, fantasy, dystopia and post-apocalictic.
Like the title says, these stories don't always have an happy ending, and I appreciate this choice because I think it's a more "realistic" vision.
-The Sorcerer's Unattainable Gardens: it's a great way to start this anthology; good story and I really appreciated the double point of view.
-A Puzzle by the Name of L: it's a well written story, but it wasn't among my favourites.
-Jacinta's Lovers: a very surreal and bizarre story, but I like it a lot.
-A concise Protocol for Efficient Deicide: very short (and unsettling), i would have liked reading a little bit more about it.
-Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie: one of my favourite, a really funny story!! I would love to hang out in Rachel's Bar..
-The Woman who sang: it reminded me of "1984", it's a good dystopian story with a really bitter end.
-Iron Roses: good story, i liked the premises, but i didn't grabe me.
-Traveler: another one of my favourites; a good and well written story, i would have read a lot more about those characters.
-Virgin of the sands: I was really hoping for a happy ending, because i thought the characters deserved it.
-Catching On: one of my favourite, I like short stories with superheroes. It was one of the saddest story, but the idea of him at the restaurant, trying to change the past/her mind is very sweet.
-Metempsychotic: it's a good story with the less original idea (in my opinion), but is well written and I really liked Dave.
-Possibly Nefarious Porpuses: I love alien-themed stories, and I thought this one was really unique and enjoyble.
-A Heart for Lucretia: I've read just "Annihilation" by VanderMeer, but I like his style.. The evil giant meerkats were a very interesting choice!
-Your Moment of Zen: a very good story, with an original idea of time-travel.
-Back to Where I Know You: another sad story, where i was rooting for the two women and their happy ending..
-Green-Eyed Monster: this was a very short story, with a great premise.. I really liked it and I would have read some more.
-By Bargain and by Blood: it was well written but the story and the characters didn't grab me.
-The Ghul (A Nasty Story): this was a creepy story, but i liked it!
-Past Perfect: TIME LOOPS!!! One of my favourite stories..
-Favor: I like the premises, very disturbing, but the story isn't among my favourite.
-While (u>I) I--: the title is very clever, but the story didn't grab me.
-The Boulevardier: this one goes along with the disturbing stories that I liked a lot!
-Stargazer: maybe I think this is the less-weird story of all, but still interesting. It's a nice description of a relationship.
-So Fast We're Slow: good premises and well written.
-Alice: it's a perfect love/ghost/post apocalictic story!
thanks again to the publisher, Meerkat Press.
I really like the idea of a collection of short stories about love with this interesting twist: the elements of different genres like sci-fi, fantasy, dystopia and post-apocalictic.
Like the title says, these stories don't always have an happy ending, and I appreciate this choice because I think it's a more "realistic" vision.
-The Sorcerer's Unattainable Gardens: it's a great way to start this anthology; good story and I really appreciated the double point of view.
-A Puzzle by the Name of L: it's a well written story, but it wasn't among my favourites.
-Jacinta's Lovers: a very surreal and bizarre story, but I like it a lot.
-A concise Protocol for Efficient Deicide: very short (and unsettling), i would have liked reading a little bit more about it.
-Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie: one of my favourite, a really funny story!! I would love to hang out in Rachel's Bar..
-The Woman who sang: it reminded me of "1984", it's a good dystopian story with a really bitter end.
-Iron Roses: good story, i liked the premises, but i didn't grabe me.
-Traveler: another one of my favourites; a good and well written story, i would have read a lot more about those characters.
-Virgin of the sands: I was really hoping for a happy ending, because i thought the characters deserved it.
-Catching On: one of my favourite, I like short stories with superheroes. It was one of the saddest story, but the idea of him at the restaurant, trying to change the past/her mind is very sweet.
-Metempsychotic: it's a good story with the less original idea (in my opinion), but is well written and I really liked Dave.
-Possibly Nefarious Porpuses: I love alien-themed stories, and I thought this one was really unique and enjoyble.
-A Heart for Lucretia: I've read just "Annihilation" by VanderMeer, but I like his style.. The evil giant meerkats were a very interesting choice!
-Your Moment of Zen: a very good story, with an original idea of time-travel.
-Back to Where I Know You: another sad story, where i was rooting for the two women and their happy ending..
-Green-Eyed Monster: this was a very short story, with a great premise.. I really liked it and I would have read some more.
-By Bargain and by Blood: it was well written but the story and the characters didn't grab me.
-The Ghul (A Nasty Story): this was a creepy story, but i liked it!
-Past Perfect: TIME LOOPS!!! One of my favourite stories..
-Favor: I like the premises, very disturbing, but the story isn't among my favourite.
-While (u>I) I--: the title is very clever, but the story didn't grab me.
-The Boulevardier: this one goes along with the disturbing stories that I liked a lot!
-Stargazer: maybe I think this is the less-weird story of all, but still interesting. It's a nice description of a relationship.
-So Fast We're Slow: good premises and well written.
-Alice: it's a perfect love/ghost/post apocalictic story!
si0bhan's review
2.0
Time for a little bit of truth. The kind of truth that most people do not want to hear. I requested this anthology on NetGalley for one reason, and one reason only – because I saw Hugh Howey’s name. I love what that guy writes. I was happy to grab something that contained his work, even if was a mere handful of pages. Therefore, I jumped at it.
Of course, I was happy to read the entire thing. I am not the kind of person to pass up an entire book. I wanted to see what the other authors in the anthology had to offer. I wanted to see what people had to say on the painful topic of love in the speculative fiction genre.
It turns out there was a lot to be said. Each of the twenty-six short stories is a wonderfully imaginative tale – to a point. By that, I mean they all have very different notions. The stories go off at different angles. Each story is unique. Each story offers something different.
However, I failed to really enjoy them.
Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t all bad. There were a handful I enjoyed. Yet nothing really stood out to me. Hence the two star rating. There were some books that could have pulled it up to a higher rating, but the large majority of the reads earned a mere two stars from me. Needless to say I was disappointed. I wanted to be wowed by all the stories, instead of only enjoying a couple. I wanted to be able to remember them all, instead I can only point out one or two.
Even though they were all well written, they failed to do anything for me. I forgot most of them as soon as I moved on to the next story. They were imaginative yet they were not memorable. They simply were. I just wanted something more.
Overall, I was let down.
As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this. I just wish I had more to say other than this anthology left me with a drastic feeling of ‘meh’.
Of course, I was happy to read the entire thing. I am not the kind of person to pass up an entire book. I wanted to see what the other authors in the anthology had to offer. I wanted to see what people had to say on the painful topic of love in the speculative fiction genre.
It turns out there was a lot to be said. Each of the twenty-six short stories is a wonderfully imaginative tale – to a point. By that, I mean they all have very different notions. The stories go off at different angles. Each story is unique. Each story offers something different.
However, I failed to really enjoy them.
Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t all bad. There were a handful I enjoyed. Yet nothing really stood out to me. Hence the two star rating. There were some books that could have pulled it up to a higher rating, but the large majority of the reads earned a mere two stars from me. Needless to say I was disappointed. I wanted to be wowed by all the stories, instead of only enjoying a couple. I wanted to be able to remember them all, instead I can only point out one or two.
Even though they were all well written, they failed to do anything for me. I forgot most of them as soon as I moved on to the next story. They were imaginative yet they were not memorable. They simply were. I just wanted something more.
Overall, I was let down.
As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this. I just wish I had more to say other than this anthology left me with a drastic feeling of ‘meh’.
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