A review by kamaria
Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2015 Edition by Ellen Datlow, Beth Meacham, David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Ann VanderMeer, Carl Engle-Laird, Marco Palmieri, Claire Eddy
4.0
Buddy read with Julie. First started on April, went on hiatus, then re-started on September.
Gut rating, i.e. the rating I feel it should get: 3.5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 4
Average rating for the stories: 3.4 stars
My second Tor.com anthology. This one felt more uneven than last year's, so I think 3.5 stars describes my experience very well. There were stories I loved and stories that didn't work for me, as with any other anthology. This year, however, my TBR didn't explode. Even with stories I liked, I didn't feel the need to read more by the same author except for a few exceptions. It could be that I'm reading differently, but I got the feeling that the stories were weaker overall. Still, the selection is high quality.
My top three:
- [b:Fabulous Beasts|25722444|Fabulous Beasts|Priya Sharma|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440106460s/25722444.jpg|45557745] (Priya Sharma): this one was my absolute favourite. I hope Priya Sharma plans on publishing a novel or a collection of her stories, because I fell head over heels with her style.
- [b:Oral Argument|28015076|Oral Argument|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449425893s/28015076.jpg|48025495] (Kim Stanley Robinson)
- [b:Schrödinger's Gun:|24467268|Schrödinger's Gun |Ray Wood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421087042s/24467268.jpg|44060145] (Ray Wood)
Stories that I enjoyed and packed a big emotional punch:
- [b:The Shape of My Name|23857998|The Shape of My Name|Nino Cipri|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418643338s/23857998.jpg|43467711] (Nino Cipri)
- [b:Damage|24609270|Damage|David D. Levine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421816511s/24609270.jpg|42865300] (David D. Levine)
- [b:The Language of Knives|24830438|The Language of Knives|Haralambi Markov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423061458s/24830438.jpg|44473266] (Haralambi Markov)
- [b:The Ways of Walls and Words|24804364|The Ways of Walls and Words|Sabrina Vourvoulias|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426127668s/24804364.jpg|44442565] (Sabrina Vourvoulias)
Other stories that were very good:
- [b:Elephants and Corpses|25348613|Elephants and Corpses|Kameron Hurley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431540323s/25348613.jpg|45088462] (Kameron Hurley)
- [b:The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn|25118473|The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn|Usman T. Malik|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432254708s/25118473.jpg|44814308] (Usman T. Malik)
- [b:Ballroom Blitz|24889080|Ballroom Blitz|Veronica Schanoes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423492049s/24889080.jpg|44537545] (Veronica Schanoes)
Gut rating, i.e. the rating I feel it should get: 3.5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 4
Average rating for the stories: 3.4 stars
My second Tor.com anthology. This one felt more uneven than last year's, so I think 3.5 stars describes my experience very well. There were stories I loved and stories that didn't work for me, as with any other anthology. This year, however, my TBR didn't explode. Even with stories I liked, I didn't feel the need to read more by the same author except for a few exceptions. It could be that I'm reading differently, but I got the feeling that the stories were weaker overall. Still, the selection is high quality.
My top three:
- [b:Fabulous Beasts|25722444|Fabulous Beasts|Priya Sharma|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440106460s/25722444.jpg|45557745] (Priya Sharma): this one was my absolute favourite. I hope Priya Sharma plans on publishing a novel or a collection of her stories, because I fell head over heels with her style.
- [b:Oral Argument|28015076|Oral Argument|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449425893s/28015076.jpg|48025495] (Kim Stanley Robinson)
- [b:Schrödinger's Gun:|24467268|Schrödinger's Gun |Ray Wood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421087042s/24467268.jpg|44060145] (Ray Wood)
Stories that I enjoyed and packed a big emotional punch:
- [b:The Shape of My Name|23857998|The Shape of My Name|Nino Cipri|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418643338s/23857998.jpg|43467711] (Nino Cipri)
- [b:Damage|24609270|Damage|David D. Levine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421816511s/24609270.jpg|42865300] (David D. Levine)
- [b:The Language of Knives|24830438|The Language of Knives|Haralambi Markov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423061458s/24830438.jpg|44473266] (Haralambi Markov)
- [b:The Ways of Walls and Words|24804364|The Ways of Walls and Words|Sabrina Vourvoulias|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426127668s/24804364.jpg|44442565] (Sabrina Vourvoulias)
Other stories that were very good:
- [b:Elephants and Corpses|25348613|Elephants and Corpses|Kameron Hurley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431540323s/25348613.jpg|45088462] (Kameron Hurley)
- [b:The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn|25118473|The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn|Usman T. Malik|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1432254708s/25118473.jpg|44814308] (Usman T. Malik)
- [b:Ballroom Blitz|24889080|Ballroom Blitz|Veronica Schanoes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423492049s/24889080.jpg|44537545] (Veronica Schanoes)