katewutz's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad

4.5

Nothing like a sci-fi story collection to clear a bunch of cobwebs out of your head and then spin new ones!

djwang1994's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

kailey_alessi's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

veronicaleigh46's review

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4.0

As many reviews have stated not every story is a hit for everyone. However here were my favorites (in  order of when they appear in the book)

  • “Beginnings” by Kristina Ten. my poor queer heart broke during this. incredibly impressive how 1560 words could make me feel so much for June and Nat. 
  • “Sparrows” by Susan Palwick. I feel like the apocalyptic trope is used a lot. However, I really enjoyed this story. Choosing that one last goal, one last task in the face of death. 
  • “The Six Deaths of the Saint” by Alix E. Harrow. Amazing, pure talented writing. The POV shifts between second and first was incredible. I love this story
  • “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills. Holy shit this was a masterpiece. The importance of autonomy over ones body. the ending gave me chills. “it is 2022 and it isn’t over. It is 2022 and it is never over” The fucking fight for women to choose, to own their bodies, to make decisions for themselves. Rabbit Test is a masterpiece. 
  • “The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World” by MKRNYILGLD. As a molecular biologist, I really enjoyed this one. I loved how the author took genome editing and the implications of living in this post-roe world.
  • “Three Mothers Mountain” by Nathan Ballingrud. I love just a good, creepy horror. This storytelling was great coupled with the open-ending. The father was so creepy and I just really enjoyed this as a horror lover. 
  • “Pre- Simulation Consultation ZF007867” by Kim Fu and “In the Beginning of Me, I was a Bird” by Maria Dong Both of these lowkey made me sob. It made me feel all the love I have for those in my life and how much I want to keep them in my life. 

donleon's review against another edition

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3.0

I’m not sure if I’m an anthology reader. Some of these stories were either a bit boring for me or my attention span is too short for short stories. However, I really enjoyed some of the stories. There were 20 total and 3 or 4 were really great!

novelinsights's review

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4.5

Favorite story: "Rabbit Test" by Samantha Mills 

Readings in the Slantwise Sciences - 4
Air to Shape Lungs - 4
Beginnings - 5
Sparrows - 5
The Six Deaths of the Saint - 5
Termination Stories for the Cyberpunk Dystopia Protagonist - 5
Men, Women, and Chainsaws - 5
Rabbit Test - 5
There Are No Monsters on Rancho Buenavista - 4
Murder by Pixel - 5
White Water, Blue Ocean - 3
The CRISPR Cookbook - 4
Three Mothers Mountain - 4
The Odyssey Problem - 5
Pellargonia: A Letter to the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology - 5
Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867 - 5
In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird - 4
The Difference Between Love and Time - 5
Folk Hero Motifs in Tales Told by the Dead - 4
Cumulative Ethical Guidelines - 3

murderousscottishgremlin's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Review to come.

palaris's review

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challenging mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

hannahniah's review against another edition

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3.0

my question is why did they start the collection with the worst short story in the book

earlgreytea's review against another edition

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4.0

The six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow (5/5)

Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Stephen Graham Jones (DNF)