I recently completed reading this lovely collection of science-fiction and fantasy short stories from 2015, edited by Rich Horton. Based on the title, it had been kicking around in my digital library for several years. I believe that I bought it in a Humble Book Bundle in 2015. After talking to my girlfriend about her favourite short story and favourite short story collection, it struck me that I don't have favourites in these categories. I couldn't remember the last time I read a short story, let alone loved one enough to reread and bestow upon it the moniker "favourite." So I decided to change that. I also received a Kobo e-reader as a gift from her, so finding this short story collection in my digital library, which I hadn't read before, was a perfect match.
I wasn't familiar with the vast majority of the authors in the collection, save Cory Doctorow, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed the book. The anthology sourced its short stories from some of SciFi and Fantasy's famous literary magazines, such as Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Lightspeed, McSweeney's, and Subterranean. I had yet to hear of most of these, so I'm thankful this anthology will broaden my horizons. The stories are so good that I want to read more of what these magazines are printing. As I've grown older, I've found myself appreciating magazines much more than I used to. From Wired to the Walrus to the Paris Review, adding a few more sci-fi ones will be great. I frequently find that after reading a book from my reading list, I end up with a longer list due to wanting to read books mentioned by name in the text or to read more from the author or source. There is also an extensive Recommended Reading section at the back of this book that could keep me busy for the next year of reading.
Of the 34 short stories in the collection, I enjoyed the following and wanted to give them some appreciation.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i | Alaya Dawn Johnson |
| Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology | Theodora Goss |
| Collateral | Peter Watts |
| Grand Jeté (The Great Leap) | Rachel Swirsky |
| Heaven Thunders the Truth | K.J. Parker |
| I Can See Right Through You | Kelly Link |
| Petard: A Tale of Just Deserts | Cory Doctorow |
| The Endless Sink | Damien Ober |
| The Magician and Laplace's Demon | Tom Crosshill |
| Trademark Bugs: A Legal History | Adam Roberts |
A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Originally published in Fantasy Science Fiction - July/August 2014.
It is a pretty exciting story wherein vampires have taken over Earth and bred humans for feeding. The writing was excellent, and a play on words in the title always scores some points with me as well. The feeling of horror persists throughout the 22 pages and keeps the reader on edge until the bitter end, where there is a satisfying dénouement. The story doesn't end on a cliffhanger or stay unresolved. I like that in a short story. Please don't leave me hanging in a beautiful setting for a sequel that won't come.
Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology
Theodora Goss
Originally published in Lightspeed - Issue 50.
This story was a treat for anyone who has spent time worldbuilding. That is, thinking of a setting and designing a fantasy world's countries, cultures, customs, languages, places, and people. One can worldbuild just for fun; a story doesn't have to be set in this setting for the process of worldbuilding to be fulfilling, but it is commonly done for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. In this story, a team of students created Cimmeria as a research project under a professor at Southern Arizona State University. They birth a new country, people, customs, and culture into the real world just by writing about it, and they can visit. Cultures clash, and political intrigue arises in this 16-page short story that is a banger.
Collateral
Peter Watts
Originally published in the anthology Upgraded by Neil Clarke.
Collateral was honestly ahead of its time. It's a short story wrestling with questions about AI and human choice that are only fully coming into the forefront now with the development of large language model AIs. In Collateral, a futuristic Canadian government and the public have to wrestle with the choices that an AI enhancement suite has made in the killing of some innocent civilians in an active military zone. How far will someone need to go to get the people and the governments to wake up?
Grand Jeté (The Great Leap)
Rachel Swirsky
Originally published in the now defunct Subterranean Magazine - Summer 2014.
Read it with the Wayback Machine.
This novelette was published in the last edition of Subterranean magazine, and honestly, it is a shame that I waited so long to read this story. William Schafer, the editor of the magazine, pulled the back-issues from the web sometime between 2014 and when I read this story and wanted to explore further in 2023. I guess I am nearly a decade late. Regardless, the story is fantastic. The 44-page novelette, in three parts, explores a theme that was present in many of the stories in Horton's 2015 anthology:
- replacing the real with the unreal
- replacing the human with the machine
- replacing the original with the copy
In a futuristic family home setting steeped in Jewish tradition, we start with Mara. She's a young girl with cancer, and treatments aren't working; she is slowly dying. She is learning to face mortality at such a young age and wrestles with how to tell her friends and classmates. Her father, on the other hand, has already lost his wife, Mara's mother, and his daughter is sick as well. He struggles with what he can give his daughter to help, and he decides to build a "doll." A robot, inherently. Realistic looking, with synthetic skin and facial features, and matching the dimensions of Mara, but not. With scans of Mara's brain, this "doll" will extend Mara's life after she dies. The third perspective is from Ruth. I don't want to spoil too much, but it is a poetic and striking story.
Heaven Thunders the Truth
K.J. Parker
Originally published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Issue 157.
Read it at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Now, Heaven Thunders the Truth might be my favourite story in Rich Horton's collection. It comes at you sideways. The fantasy setting is gripping, with Kings and medieval life alongside "wizards" or "doctors." We never learn the protagonist's name, though his name is essential to the story. Our protagonist was a half-wit until he was just a boy when he met a talking snake, which entered his body through his ear. Now, he and the snake are one being, like a witch and a familiar. He can send the snake out to do things, discover truths, listen to conversations and use the snake's sense as his own. The magic system described here is unique; I have not read anything similar. We follow our protagonist as he tries to discover the missing heir to the throne.
I Can See Right Through You
Kelly Link
Originally published in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern - Issue 48 [*].
This tale is interpersonal, one about relationships and the complications of fame. The demon lover and his monster girl just starred in a hit film; over 22 years later, the demon lover still gets stopped on the street and is asked about Meggie (the monster girl) and how she's doing. Or they ask him to bite them. But he's old now, and his relationship with Meggie, whom he fell in love with, is complicated. The demon lover keeps dating and marrying women who look like Meggie, and Meggie keeps demon lover-esque boys around. Throw in some nudists, a haunting, and a disappearance, and you get this whirlwind of a story.
Petard: A Tale of Just Deserts
Cory Doctorow
Originally published in Twelve Tomorrows - 2014.
Cory Doctorow's writing has always hooked me completely. Even in his more esoteric short stories, such as the one written from the perspectives of AIs fighting each other, there is always something about his writing that keeps me interested. Petard: A Tale of Just Deserts is no exception. In a slightly futuristic United States, a first-year student at MIT attempts to Fight the Power of the faceless mega-corporation that runs The Termite Mound, his residence at MIT. Lucasz is fighting to remove internet censorship from the dorm's wifi at the bare minimum. As Lucasz's movement builds steam, he finally reaches someone at the head office and gets a meeting. He doesn't find soulless ghouls trying to optimize every penny from inconveniencing people until they break. Instead, Lucasz finds a fascinating dance of AI, modelling, and engineering that puts things into a new light. This story is a slow burner but a banger. It features elves, cardboard laptops, and End User License Agreements for dorm rooms.
The Endless Sink
Damien Ober
Originally published in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet - Issue 30.
I was unable to find a copy of this story available online.
This story is an intriguing one, describing a completely alien world and society that can only be described as The Endless Sink. Each year, when the boys come of age on this rock, they head to the edge and decide to rise or sink. Upwards or downwards to the next rock. Society expects the men to rise, marry a woman in the new world they find, raise some children, and watch their sons rise higher. But sometimes, tradition is bucked. When a female sinker arrives at the rock. Lives are changed, people are enlightened, and this sinker takes our protagonist under her wing. Perhaps a new tradition will form. It is a delightful story with a poetic ending and is bite-sized at only 12 pages long.
The Magician and Laplace's Demon
Tom Crosshill
Originally published in Clarkesworld - Issue 99.
The Magician and Laplace's Demon is a gripping story about the fight between AI and the unsung heroes of human society in this setting, magicians. This story also deals with an exciting form of magic, almost of the D&D kind. Magicians are just lucky. And the fewer of them in the world, the luckier they get, but they can't perform magic on camera or with someone watching. No witnesses. The AI possesses human "Sleeves" and chases magicians worldwide and eventually across other worlds in space until the showdown between the last Magician and Laplace's Demon, the AI. It is a compelling technological story in only 19 pages.
Trademark Bugs: A Legal History
Adam Roberts
Originally published in the anthology Reach for Infinity by Jonathan Strahan.
I was unable to find a copy of this story available online.
This story, written dryly as a legal review document, cites various lawsuits, decisions, and historical events that paint a picture of a chillingly dystopian world. A world in which pharmaceutical companies run everything, even taking on some of the responsibilities that were classically in the realm of governments only. And it all started with a typical con. Create and spread the disease, but also sell the cure. It's an excellent work with a great perspective; you don't have to worry about protagonists or unreliable narrators; you just read paragraph after paragraph in mounting horror at the description of this future.
| [*] | Unfortunately, Issue 48 is not on sale in the McSweeney's Store, but one can find copies on eBay and other sources. |