wanderlustlover's review
5.0
2021 Winter (February);
I blitzed in a read of this recent 2020 award-winning short story by Martha Wells before interviewing her this past weekend. I fell in love with story so very quickly (with all the times blurring and fading in and out of each other), and as it simultaneously unspooled the past of the main character and brought into focus the message of the story itself, I was riveted.
Say no, my dears, and give no man your crowns.
She took a deep breath and said, “What about no.”
It said, “What do you mean, no? No to what?” The voice was sneering and deep, just like she had expected, but also just a little whiny.
“Monsters like you, you got to start with ‘no’,” Juana said. “Then just keep working your way further toward ‘hell no’.”
I blitzed in a read of this recent 2020 award-winning short story by Martha Wells before interviewing her this past weekend. I fell in love with story so very quickly (with all the times blurring and fading in and out of each other), and as it simultaneously unspooled the past of the main character and brought into focus the message of the story itself, I was riveted.
Say no, my dears, and give no man your crowns.
mermahoney's review against another edition
4.0
Overall enjoyable collection of stories. Tops for me were Martha Wells' "Salt Witch" and Hvide's "Words we say instead," but really all the stories were worth reading.
kristamccracken's review against another edition
5.0
Favorites included:
- The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo (fiction)
-The Salt Witch by Martha Wells (fiction)
-Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball (essay)
-The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow (poetry)
- The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo (fiction)
-The Salt Witch by Martha Wells (fiction)
-Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball (essay)
-The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow (poetry)
bailym's review against another edition
Placeholder for "50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know," by Ken Liu. 3 stars.
8bitlapras's review against another edition
3.0
Fiction
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu: 3/5
Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang: 3.25/5
Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide: 5/5
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells: 3/5
The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo: 4.5/5
The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell: 4/5
Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus: 2/5
Non-fiction
Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball: 2.5/5
Black and White and Red All Over: On the Semiotic Effect of Color Printing in Genre Fiction by Meg Elison: 2.5/5
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota: 3.5/5
This Isn't the End: On Becoming a Writing Parent by K.A. Doore: 2.5/5
Average rating: 3.25/5
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu: 3/5
Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang: 3.25/5
Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide: 5/5
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells: 3/5
The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo: 4.5/5
The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell: 4/5
Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus: 2/5
Non-fiction
Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball: 2.5/5
Black and White and Red All Over: On the Semiotic Effect of Color Printing in Genre Fiction by Meg Elison: 2.5/5
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota: 3.5/5
This Isn't the End: On Becoming a Writing Parent by K.A. Doore: 2.5/5
Average rating: 3.25/5
crunden's review
4.0
⚜ poetry review ⚜
I leave
your number; not to grieve,
nor as one surviving;
But just to leave
As ever, my poetry stanning cannot be sated. I read Making Accommodations by Valerie Valdes, An Elder Resigns from the Chorus of Oedipus at Colonnus by Peter Tancy, Cento for Lagahoos by Brandon O’Brien and The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow.
I mean, how lovely is Making Accommodations:
I’ve tried to thin
my bones and sinews, ink myself in lines
so small, so shrinking, safe to overlook—
passed between palms, a secret note in school,
crumpled and cast into a fire as fuel,
or pressed between the pages of a book
I leave
your number; not to grieve,
nor as one surviving;
But just to leave
As ever, my poetry stanning cannot be sated. I read Making Accommodations by Valerie Valdes, An Elder Resigns from the Chorus of Oedipus at Colonnus by Peter Tancy, Cento for Lagahoos by Brandon O’Brien and The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow.
I mean, how lovely is Making Accommodations:
I’ve tried to thin
my bones and sinews, ink myself in lines
so small, so shrinking, safe to overlook—
passed between palms, a secret note in school,
crumpled and cast into a fire as fuel,
or pressed between the pages of a book
mayakittenreads's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
bookwyrmknits's review
3.5
Some of the stories (like "The Salt Witch" by Martha Wells and "The Span of His Wrist" by Lee Mandelo) I liked a lot. Others (notably "50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know" by Ken Liu) were okay but not quite my cup of tea. There were one or two I didn't like, and at least one (though I forget which) that I disliked enough to DNF the short story and move on to the next piece. I really only skimmed the essays and interviews, but the poetry was neat. I had forgotten poetry was in these magazines too.
Note: my content warnings are for individual stories only. The magazine did a good job of including warnings before the stories which needed them.
Note: my content warnings are for individual stories only. The magazine did a good job of including warnings before the stories which needed them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Homophobia
mirandagrace's review
4.0
A nice variety. Fewer of the stories than usual worked for me but the two that did were so fantastic I have to go for four stars. 50 things every AI working with humans should know is moving and interesting and made me feel a very unusual emotion and Word We Say Instead is one of the most heartbreaking short stories I have read this year. The essays were good and interesting. I don’t get the poetry but that’s a me problem not an it problem.
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