Friday, January 1, 2016

GDozois-RHorton-NClarke 2015 Ratings

These are stories included in the "year’s best SF" anthologies by Gardner Dozois, Rich Horton or Neil Clarke that we hadn’t reviewed earlier and aren’t part of the Operation Arcana or The End Has Come anthologies which we reviewed separately.

These stories will be the last update to the 2016 Hugo Awards page and the 2015 Year-To-Date pages until the Locus Recommended Reading List comes out on February 1, 2016.

5- & 4-Star Stories: 3;  Estimated Time: 1h:37m (29K words)
Recommended By Stories: 11;  Estimated Time: 5h:34m (100K words)
Total Stories: 14;  Estimated Time: 6h:33m (118K words)
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Rating: 5 -> Hugo-worthy

A Murmuration by Alaistair Reynolds  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(Hard SF) Scientist studying flock behavior of starlings gets astonishing results but struggles to get her paper accepted.

Rating: 4 -> Recommended

The Game of Smash and Recovery by Kelly Link  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueStrange Horizons 10/19/15
(SF) Anat doesn't remember her parents, but she loves her brother Oscar. They live in a wonderful world full of strange creatures and machines. The more she learns, the stranger things seem.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 GDozois RHorton
The Two Paupers by C.S.E. Cooney  Time: 1h:02m (19K words)  IssueThe Two Paupers 
(Fantasy)  Gideon always destroys the statures he carves. Analise (who both loves and hates him) decides to save one, not expecting it to come to life.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton

Rating: 3 -> Average

Blossoms Falling Down by Aliya Whiteley  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(SF) Katsumi's first night/she meets a navigator/in the haiku room. The endless journey/of the generation ship/for him, she brightens.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4
Brainwhales are Stoners Too by Rich Larson  Time: 18m (5K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(SF) Teenage Bea would do anything for Theo, including breaking into the lab where her mom works to get pictures of a real brainwhale. Fun read.
Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang  Time: 54m (16K words)  IssueUncanny 2
(Science Fantasy) Lao Dao processes trash in a fantastic future "third-space" Beijing. To get money for his daughter's education, he makes a dangerous trip to first-space--a city that unfolds when his own Beijing sleeps.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: LTilton RHorton NClarke
Little Sisters by Vonda N. McIntyre  Time: 21m (7K words)  IssueLittle Sisters 
(SF) Badly damaged in action, Qad's ship barely makes it to a shipyard. Qad expects a reward for his efforts, but things have changed since his last visit.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton
The King in the Cathedral by Rich Larson  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueBeneath Ceaseless Skies 166
(High Fantasy) The usurped king lives in exile, guarded (and tortured) by an automaton--so people say. The truth seems to be a bit more comfortable than that though.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton
The Worshipful Company of Milliners by Tendai Huchu  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(Urban fantasy) Kitsi is a feline spirit called into existence to create the invisible hats that give writers their inspirations.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: LTilton SFRevu:4

Rating: 2 -> Not Recommended

Songbird by Fadzlishah Johanabas  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(SF) In a near-future Malaysia, Arya finds herself held captive by men who seem to be using her to produce some sort of drug.
This Evening's Performance by Genevieve Valentine  Time: 55m (17K words)  IssueThe Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk 
(Steampunk) The last three human actors struggle to find roles in a post-WWI world where automata have replaced people on the stage.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton
Silence Like Diamonds by John Barnes  Time: 33m (10K words)  IssueLightreading.com 
(SF) Yip, a software security consultant, works for her sister, Yazzy. She expects cases to be challenging, but not life-threatening. Until now.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [1]  Recommended By: GDozois

Rating: 1 -> Needs Improvement

Tear Tracks by Malka Older  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 10/21/15
(SF) Flur leads humanity's first mission to an alien race, the Cyclopes, with both scientific and diplomatic objectives.

Rating: Not Rated

Unearthly Landscape by a Lady by Rebecca Campbell  Time: 11m (4K words)  IssueBeneath Ceaseless Skies 184
(Literary) From childhood, Flora, painted disturbing paintings, and her nurse fears the young lady carried this obsession into adulthood.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [0]  Recommended By: LTilton SFEP RHorton



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