2017 Hugo Awards

Update 4/4/17: Added Hugo recommendations, which are +2 to a story's score.
Update 3/11/17: Added story links for Analog's Readers' Awards Finalists (5 novellas, 5 novelettes, 6 short stories).
Update 3/6/17: Added Nebula & Readers (magazine polls) recommendations, which are +2 to a story's score.
Update 3/3/17: Added Saturn Award Nominees link to Dramatic Presentation categories.
Update 3/2/17: Added story links for Asimov's Readers' Awards Finalists (5 novellas, 5 novelettes, 5 short stories).
Update 2/20/17: Added Annotated 2016 Nebula Award Nominees link.
Update 2/5/17: Updated RHorton's Novella & Novelette recommendations which were too long to fit into his year's best SF/F anthology.
Update 2/1/17: Added Annotated 2016 Locus Reading List link.
Update 1/28/17: Added 2017 Editors (Short Form) link.
Update 1/16/17: Added 2017 Professional Artists link.

To make it easier to nominate in Hugo Award categories other than Best Novel, we have collected key information from all the stories in 11 magazines and 11 major anthologies published in 2016. Taken together, this makes it a lot easier to pick things to read and nominate in six categories. (Last year's Hugo Awards page has been archived here.)

Help Making Short-Fiction Nominations

If you're still looking for things to read

You can find information on this page for:
The stories in each of these lists are grouped by a "recommendation score" from six prolific short-fiction reviewers, and each entry includes links to reviews. We also provide extensive information on how to buy or borrow digital copies of back issues of the print magazines. If you just want to read without regard to story length, see the Year-To-Date by Rating, Score, and Magazine pages.

There are also the RSR-compilation of the "year's best" SF/F anthologies (96 stories), RSR-annotated versions of the 2016 Locus Recommended Reading List (12 novellas, 36 novelettes, 76 short stories) and 2016 Nebula Award Nominees (6 novellas, 6 novelettes, 7 short stories).

If you've already finished your reading

It's easy to remember which novels you read last year, but it's hard to remember all the short fiction. Even a list of titles and authors doesn't always help because that's often not enough to remind you what the story was about--much less whether it was a novella, novelette, or short story.

Here are links to lists of stories in every magazine and anthology reviewed by RSR in 2016. The stories are sorted by title and contain a brief description and category (novella, novelette, short story).

If you're trying to find new writers who're eligible for the Campbell Award

The Campbell Award goes to the best new writer based on the last two years of work. The challenge here is knowing who's eligible.  Our  Campbell Award-Eligible Writers page contains the same information per-story as the list above, but filters out all but the new writers.

Help Making Best-Artist Nominations

Best Professional Artist

To pick candidates for Best Professional Artist, you need to be able to look through a lot of full-sized images quickly, separating out the ones worth more study. Our 2017 Professional Artists post uses a "lightbox" display to let you scroll through the cover art from the major magazines and novels of 2016, and it includes links to the original publications and the artists' online galleries (where possible). With this system, you can riffle through about 200 pieces of cool art in just a few minutes.

Best Fan Artist

We are no longer doing a Fan Artists page due to the enormous size of the field. Fan art can be found by browsing eFanzines.com, looking at the art section of semi-prozines like Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Strange Horizons, and the sky's the limit at DeviantArt.com which gets over 140,000 submissions per day.

Help Making Best Editor (Short Form) Nominations

Finally, to help people make nominations for the Best Editor (Short Form) category, we collected together all the statistics we could think of on our 2017 Editors (Short Form) page and we offer some suggestions on how to combine them to pick candidates.

Everyone has a handle on Best Novel, but we think this makes nominating for the other categories a whole lot easier, and we hope you will too. (Rocket Stack Rank is a free service and is not monetized in any way, shape, or form.)

Help For Other Categories

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)

Best Graphic Story

Registration

2017 Hugo Awards nominations have begun and continue through March 31. To nominate, you must have either been registered for MidAmeriCon II in 2016 or been registered for Worldcon 75 (or Worldcon 76) before January 31, 2017.

Worldcon 75 will be held in Helsinki, Finland from August 9-13, 2017. Worldcon 76 will be in San Jose, California in 2018.


This is the same set of stories listed in the Year-To-Date by Rating page, grouped by score, filtered by score > 1, where a recommendation is worth 2 points (RSR:5, SFRevu:5, GDozois:5, RHorton:5, SFEP, NClarke, JStrahan, Nebula, Readers, LTilton) except RSR:4, SFRevu:4, GDozois:4, and Rhorton:4 which are worth 1 point.

Novellas

Score: 12 -> 6-7 Recommendations


Score: 11


Score: 10 -> 5 Recommendations


Score: 9

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle  Time: 1h:32m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 02/16/16
(Black Lovecraftian Horror) In 1924 Harlem, 20-year-old Tommy Tester plays bad jazz and runs minor scams. When an old man offers him $500 to play at his house, he knows there's a catch. It's just not what he expects.

Score: 8 -> 4-5 Recommendations

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire  Time: 2h:09m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 04/05/16
(Portal Fiction; Wayward Children) Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children helps kids who passed through a portal to another world and returned unable to cope with this one.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 JStrahan Nebula Hugo
The Dream-Quest Of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson  Time: 1h:59m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 08/16/16
(Fantasy) Vellitt Boe teaches math at a university in the dreamworld. When her star student elopes with a dreamer from the real world, she goes after them.
The Iron Tactician by Alastair Reynolds  Time: 1h:36m (Novella)  IssueThe Iron Tactician 2016
(Military SF) Merlin's starship is one of the best, but it needs repairs, and a derelict starship may have what he needs. Or he can try a binary system where an interplanetary war has raged for centuries.

Score: 7

Wyatt Earp 2.0 by Wil McCarthy  Time: 1h:17m (Novella)  IssueAnalog 01.02|16
(SF) A violent Martian mining town reconstructs Wyatt Earp to try to restore order.

Score: 6 -> 3-4 Recommendations

A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson  Time: 1h:54m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 10/25/16
(Fantasy/SF) Young Aqib has a bright future as a noble, but he meets an enchanting foreigner who makes him consider risking everything.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: JStrahan Nebula Hugo
Lazy Dog Out by Suzanne Palmer  Time: 1h:11m (Novella)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|16
(SF) Khifi makes a good living as a pilot, but she used to be a homeless kid on the Tanduou docks. So she cares when she gets hints that something bad is happening--something involving kids, aliens, and more.
The Vanishing Kind by Lavie Tidhar  Time: 1h:00m (Novella)  IssueF&SF 07.08|16
(Alternate History) In 1950s London after the Nazi's won WWII, a German man tries to find a girl he used to love in response to her call for help.
What We Hold Onto by Jay O'Connell  Time: 1h:14m (Novella)  IssueAsimov's 06|16
(SF) In 2066 a woman struggles over continuing life-support for her comatose mother and over what to do with the things she's leaving behind.
(Time Travel) Paul finds a job selling drugs for the mafia in 1770s America.

Score: 5

Penric And The Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold  Time: 2h:05m (Novella)  IssuePenric And The Shaman 06/24/16
(High Fantasy; Five Gods) Young Penric, a powerful but fledgling sorcerer, joins the hunt for a fugitive sorcerer, suspected of killing his own best friend.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 RHorton:4 Hugo
The Coward's Option by Adam-Troy Castro  Time: 1h:09m (Novella)  IssueAnalog 03|16
(SF) On Caithiriin, murderers get a choice between execution or anti-violence treatment. No human has had to make that choice before, but it's suspicious that the natives almost always prefer death.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:5 Readers
(SF) Teodorq and his friend Sammi agree to organize security for a nobleman's archaeological expedition. They expect danger from the local tribes, but not from the artifacts themselves.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4 Readers

Score: 4 -> 2-3 Recommendations

Einstein's Shadow by Allen M. Steele  Time: 1h:04m (Novella)  IssueAsimov's 01|16
(Alternate History) A private detective takes a job guarding Albert Einstein as he flees the Nazis on an ocean-liner-sized airplane.
The Liar by John P. Murphy  Time: 1h:19m (Novella)  IssueF&SF 03.04|16
(Horror) Middle-aged bachelor, Greg Kellog, has a secret knack for making small changes to reality by "lying." To stop a series of deaths, "small changes" may not be enough.
The Soul Behind The Face by Adam-Troy Castro  Time: 59m (Novella)  IssueAnalog 10|16
(SF) Draiken used to be a spy, but now he wants revenge on his former masters, and he has a complicated plan to enlist a former associate.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4 Readers

Score: 3

Everybody Loves Charles by Bao Shu  Time: 1h:09m (Novella)  IssueClarkesworld 112
(SF) Charles Mann leads a wild, exciting life, which he shares with millions who join his "live-link."
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [1]  Recommended By: SFRevu:5 RHorton:4
Penric's Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold  Time: 2h:30m (Novella)  IssuePenric's Mission 11/02/16
(High Fantasy; Five Gods) Penric's secret mission to Cedonia gets off to a bad start when he's arrested and thrown into a pit to die.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5
Progress Report by Rajnar Vajra  Time: 1h:03m (Novella)  IssueAnalog 09|16
(SF) On Skipbrudden, each child must pass four tests to earn the right to become an adult. Arvie is a precocious kitten, which means he'll face the tests sooner than most.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 Readers
Runtime by S.B. Divya  Time: 1h:16m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 05/17/16
(Transhuman SF) Marmeg's augments are illegal and hand-tweaked, but if she can win a race for augmented humans, she can earn enough money to become licensed and have a real future.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 Nebula
The Further Adventures of Mr. Costello by David Gerrold  Time: 1h:05m (Novella)  IssueF&SF 09.10|16
(Planetary SF) Mr. Costello's crackpot moneymaking scheme promises entertainment to the rural community he sets down in, but the narrator senses a threat.
The Snow Of Jinyang by Zhang Ran  Time: 1h:11m (Novella)  IssueClarkesworld 117
(Time Travel) In 979 AD, the city of Jinyang stands on the brink of destruction, but someone seems to be trying to help it with technologies from the future.

Score: 2 -> 1-2 Recommendations

Choose Poison, Choose Life by Michael Blumlein  Time: 59m (Novella)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|16
(Mainstream) Violet comes to a resort town to kill herself. Daisy is shipwrecked with a man she loves. Rose is shipwrecked with a monster.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [0]  Recommended By: Readers
Fall by Arlan Andrews, Sr.  Time: 59m (Novella)  IssueAnalog 07.08|16
(SF) Rist descends from the highlands and is captured by the lowlanders, who've never seen a human being as small as him. He struggles to learn their language and adapt to their ways
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:4
The Devil You Know by K.J. Parker  Time: 1h:19m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 03/01/16
(Fantasy) The philosopher Saloninus makes a deal with the Devil. Except he approaches the Devil, not the other way around, and the Devil is worried it's a trick.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: JStrahan
The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell  Time: 1h:32m (Novella)  IssueTor Novella 11/22/16
(Horror; Lychford) Just before Christmas, the ghost of a little boy appears in the vicarage and disturbs the vicar and her two friends.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5
This Census-Taker by China MiΓ©ville  Time: 1h:58m (Novella)  IssueThis Census-Taker 2016
(Post-Apocalypse) At age seven, the narrator thought he saw his father murder his mother. But did he?
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: Hugo


Novelettes

Score: 12 -> 6-7 Recommendations


Score: 11

The Visitor From Taured by Ian R. Macleod  Time: 29m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(Near-Future Hard SF) Lita learned Rob's obsession with alternate universes in college, but waning interest in science made it hard for him to explore it.

Score: 10 -> 5 Recommendations

Prodigal by Gord Sellar  Time: 32m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 12|16
(Near-Future SF) Benji was an ordinary terrier until his master decided to have him sentientized.
They Have All One Breath by Karl Bunker  Time: 40m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 12|16
(Post Singularity) James seeks fulfillment through his sculpture, even though it all seems pointless in a perfect world run by Ais.
Touring with the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman  Time: 39m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 115
(SF) Months after mysterious aliens scattered their spacecraft across North America, no one has a clue what they want. Avery knows what one of them wants, though: it wants a tour.

Score: 9

You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong  Time: 33m (Novelette)  IssueUncanny 10
(Historical Fantasy) In a magical Old West, young Ellis has a love for the desert and an affinity for dead things. Both of these attract unwelcome attention from strangers visiting from back East.

Score: 8 -> 4-5 Recommendations

Number Nine Moon by Alex Irvine  Time: 26m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 01.02|16
(Competence SF) In the 2080s, Humanity is abandoning Mars, and Steuby and his companions think they can make money by looting the abandoned settlements at the last minute.
(Hard SF) Davin is spending a year alone on Ekye to observe the local wildlife and, he hopes, to recover his lost creativity.

Score: 7

The Art Of Space Travel by Nina Allan  Time: 42m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 07/27/16
(SF/Mainstream) The crew of the new Mars mission are coming to the hotel where Emily works, and her mom is starting to say strange things about her involvement with the last Mars mission.
The Jewel And Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde  Time: 56m (Novelette)  IssueTor Novella 05/03/16
(High Fantasy) Two teenage girls, Lin, the last Jewel, and Sima, the last Lapidary, struggle to fight the invaders who've taken the kingdom by treachery.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5 Nebula Hugo

Score: 6 -> 3-4 Recommendations

Blood Grains Speak Through Memories by Jason Sanford  Time: 40m (Novelette)  IssueBCS 195
(SF) Frere-Jones controls the nanobot "grains" that help protect the ecology in the bit of land she "anchors." She's come to view the grains as a tyranny, but there doesn't seem to be much she can do about it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 RHorton:5 Nebula
I Married a Monster from Outer Space by Dale Bailey  Time: 42m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 03|16
(SF) Ruth, a 22-year-old Walmart cashier, meets a very weird-and-scary-looking alien, who seems down on his luck, and brings him home with her.
The Charge and the Storm by An Owomoyela  Time: 54m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 02|16
(SF) In a colony on an almost uninhabitable planet, the technologically-superior Su share power with the humans, but some humans want independence.

Score: 5

(SF) The crew of the Themis colony write home about their struggles with a mission and a world that seems to be more than a little off.
Fifty Shades Of Grays by Steven Barnes  Time: 37m (Novelette)  IssueLightspeed 73
(SF) The end of the world starts when an ambitious marketing guy gets a cryptic assignment to create an ad campaign to "make ugly sexy."
(Near-future SF) Bay lives alone and subsists off things that wash ashore from cruise ships and such. Then Gabby washes up, alive, and complicates her life.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 NClarke Nebula
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik  Time: 39m (Novelette)  IssueStarlit Wood 2016
(Fairy Tale) Young Miryem supports her family lending money at interest, but things get difficult when someone from Faerie makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
Those Shadows Laugh by Geoff Ryman  Time: 32m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 09.10|16
(Near-Future SF) The secretive parthenogenetic women of Colinas Bravas usually don't allow outsiders into their country, but they invite Ms. Vargas to fix a genetic problem with their children.

Score: 4 -> 2-3 Recommendations

A Strange Loop by T.R. Napper  Time: 32m (Novelette)  IssueInterzone 262
(SF) In a future Australia, Irving sells his memories for ready cash, hoping to put his life back together. To the extent he still remembers it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4 NClarke
(SF) At the height of diplomatic meetings, the toilets in the Station start to malfunction, even though diagnostics say nothing is wrong. So they call for an expert.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4 Readers
Dreams Of The Rocket Men by C. Stuart Hardwick  Time: 24m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 09|16
(SF) Old Mr. Coanda fans Jimmy's love for outer space by showing him how to build and launch real rockets.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: SFRevu:5 Readers
Foxfire, Foxfire by Yoon Ha Lee  Time: 28m (Novelette)  IssueBCS 194
(Military Fantasy) Baekdo, a fox who wants to become human, needs one more kill to achieve his goal. A collapsing city in the middle of a civil war seems like a good place to do it but there are complications.
(Mind Uploading) Jix tells how her twin sister left their planet and their god, starting with how they met a handsome offworlder.
(Alternate Reality) Old man Rendezvous tells outrageous stories about Jack Kennedy, and he's hunting an artifact in the drowned ruins of Cape Canaveral.
The Future Is Blue by Catherynne M. Valente  Time: 29m (Novelette)  IssueDrowned Worlds 2016
(Post Apocalypse) Teenage Tetley lives in a human settlement (one of the last) built on a miles-wide floating garbage dump. She explains why everyone hates her now.
The Mind Is Its Own Place by Carrie Vaughn  Time: 39m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(SF) Mitchell was a navigator on the Francis Drake, but something terrible happened. The doctors tell him he's losing his mind, but he doesn't believe them. If only he could remember what happened.
The Orangery by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam  Time: 28m (Novelette)  IssueBCS 214
(Greek Mythos) The trees in the grove used to be women, and the Guardian protects them zealously from the men who still pursue them.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4 Nebula
The Three Lives of Sonata James by Lettie Prell  Time: 26m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 10/05/16
(Mind Uploading) The prospect of living forever through "iterations" is still new, and not everyone likes it. Sonata wants to make a statement by declaring she will only upload twice.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4 NClarke
The Tomato Thief by Ursula Vernon  Time: 46m (Novelette)  IssueApex 80
(Fantasy) Someone (or something) is taking Grandma Harken's tomatoes, but finding the thief leads to a real mystery--and danger.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4 Hugo

Score: 3

Checkerboard Planet by Eleanor Arnason  Time: 39m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 123
(SF; Lydia Duluth) The AIs contract Lydia to check out an unusual planet and the secretive corporation that's supposed to be developing it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [1]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 GDozois:5
Extraction Request by Rich Larson  Time: 29m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 112
(Military SF Horror) Elliot's squad of convict-soldiers crash-lands in the middle of a swamp far away from help. Extracting them doesn't seem to be a priority, but something seems to be wrong with the swamp.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:4 NClarke
Flight from the Ages by Derek KΓΌnsken  Time: 36m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|16
(Fantasy Science) About a thousand years from now, two powerful AIs struggle to prevent the destruction of the multiverse.
(Fairy Tale) Jocelyn is a princess a lot like Sleeping Beauty, but with a much better relationship with the fairies. Not that that helps her.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5
Jonas And The Fox by Rich Larson  Time: 28m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 116
(SF) Disguised in the body of a dead little boy, Fox needs to escape from the colony before the revolutionary leaders find him. But the boy's brother may be a problem.
Lazarus And The Amazing Kid Phoenix by Jennifer Giesbrecht  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueApex 86
(Superheroes) A kid who was burned to death returns to life as a human torch, eager for revenge. Old Man Gasper has a similar story, a different power, and advises caution.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Lost: Mind by Will McIntosh  Time: 31m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 07|16
(SF) Before Mimi dies from Alzheimer's, Walter gets her an illegal consciousness transfer done in India. Then all he has to do is sneak the copy back into the US.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Matilda by Kristine Kathryn Rusch  Time: 30m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|16
(Military SF) The enemy are up to something in "blank" areas of space that sensors can't penetrate. Devi takes a "single ship" into one to find out what's there, but her ship has a mind of its own, and it's terrified.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:4 Readers
Of the Beast in the Belly by C.W. Johnson  Time: 41m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|16
(SF) Nawiz has pursued the boy who ruined her life across the galaxy. Before she can get her vengeance, they're both swallowed by a gigantic sea creature, and it will be a struggle merely to survive.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Passelande by Robert Reed  Time: 37m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 11.12|16
(Near-Future SF) Lucas does jobs for backups that their human originals won't agree to. But some backups are more trouble than others.
Patience Lake by Matthew Claxton  Time: 27m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 08|16
(Dystopia) Casey, a disabled vet in a cheap, rebuilt body, tries walking to another city to find work, but trouble is waiting out in the country.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 GDozois:5
Teenagers From Outer Space by Dale Bailey  Time: 38m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 119
(Historical SF) In 1955, Nancy's best friend Ellen dates a bad boy who introduces her to Bug Town, where aliens live. Nothing is the same after that.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Ten Days by Nina Allan  Time: 48m (Novelette)  IssueNow We Are Ten 2016
(Time Travel) Dora will do anything to prove that a woman's 1928 execution for murder was a mistake.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:4 NClarke
The Bridge of Dreams by Gregory Feeley  Time: 35m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 115
(Hard SF) After centuries of solitude at his post on Pluto, Heimdallr has come to fear that humanity is extinct. Then he receives a summons from the inner solar system.
The Great Detective by Delia Sherman  Time: 42m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 02/17/16
(Steampunk) In 1880s London, Sir Arthur's "Illogic Engine" has gone missing, so he seeks help from Mycroft Holmes.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:4 JStrahan
The Metal Demimonde by Nick Wolven  Time: 51m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 07.08|16
(SF) A century from now, Tipper works at an automated carnival, in a world with few jobs for humans. She falls in with Luke, a boy trying to make an illegal manual car work.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 NClarke
The Mighty Slinger by Karen Lord and Tobias S. Buckell  Time: 32m (Novelette)  IssueBridging Infinity 2016
(Far-Future SF) Developers are planning to resurface the entire Earth to create properties for people from Mars and Venus. But can an old singer and his band rally the solar system against it?
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 NClarke
The Stone War by Ted Kosmatka  Time: 28m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 05.06|16
(Fantasy) From prehistoric times, the stone man crouched on a hill. Every now and then a person would find it and try to get it to do something. But to succeed was to die.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:5
The Universal Museum Of Sagacity by Robert Reed  Time: 29m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 116
(SF) In 2040, Colin gets more than he bargained for when he asks the AIs at tech giant PinPoint to track down information about a mysterious great aunt who vanished in 1965.
The Whole Mess by Jack Skillingstead  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(Fantasy Math) A strange student give Professor Dunn a math problem whose solution will change the world. Literally.

Score: 2 -> 1-2 Recommendations

Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex by Stix Hiscock  Time: 00m (Novelette)  IssueAlien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex 2016
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review []  Recommended By: Hugo
All Your Cities I Will Burn by John Schoffstall  Time: 32m (Novelette)  IssueInterzone 265
(SF Apocalypse) The kilometer-wide asteroid didn't quite destroy civilization, but the things it brought with it just might finish it off.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4
Alone, On The Wind by Karla Schmidt1  Time: 44m (Novelette)  IssueClarkesworld 119
(Fantasy Science) Tuela's people fly among the remains of their shattered world, stealing water from a neighbor planet. Tuela presents an argument that things should change.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
Breadcrumbs by Malcolm Devlin  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueInterzone 264
(Slipstream) While fourteen-year-old Ellie's parents are away, her world starts to change into something very strange.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFEP
Breaking Water by Indrapramit Das  Time: 28m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 02/10/16
(Zombie) In modern India, Krishna encounters (and ignores) a dead woman's body by the river just before the dead start to walk. He feels guilty and determines to do something about it.
Cold Comfort by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty  Time: 26m (Novelette)  IssueBridging Infinity 2016
(Climate Change) Maggie has a plan to reverse climate change by capturing methane up in the arctic and selling the carbon.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:5
Diamond Jim and the Dinosaurs by Rosemary Claire Smith  Time: 31m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 04|16
(Time Travel) Light story about a time-travelling biologist who runs into some problems in Cretaceous Antarctica.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: Readers
Discards by David D. Levine  Time: 35m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 03/30/16
(Superhero SF; Wild Cards) Tiago, a fifteen-year-old orphan boy scraping by on his own in Rio de Janeiro, contracts the "Wild Card" virus and ends up horribly disfigured. But the virus has given him a gift too.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5
Empty Planets by Rahul Kanakia  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueInterzone 262
(SF) In a future where most of the galaxy is run by "the Machine" for the benefit of those lucky enough to own shares, a young shareholder goes to school to learn how he can make a difference.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
Epitome by Tegan Moore1  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(SF AI) Shelby's friend Vivian faces a long recovery from a head injury, and she can't bear the loss of her company, so she starts using an AI surrogate.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4
Fieldwork by Shariann Lewitt  Time: 33m (Novelette)  IssueTo Shape the Dark 2016
(Hard SF) Anna’s grandmother died on Europa, and her mother was traumatized for life, but she’s determined to go there and finish the work they started.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:5
Higherworks by Gregory Norman Bossert  Time: 37m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 12|16
(SF Thriller) Every since she leaked the secret of mind-expanding nanotech, Dyer has been on the run. And they're getting close.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: NClarke
Motherboard by Jeffrey Thomas  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueInterzone 263
(Magical Realism) Teenage Leep works making circuit boards somewhere in the third world. He's so awkward and quiet that people think he's crazy, but he sees a very different world.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4
Not Quite Taterona Kempi by Ryan W. Norris2  Time: 54m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 05|16
(Hard SF) Fifty million years after the extinction of humanity, a new intelligent race tries to understand records left on the moon.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5
Pearl by Aliette de Bodard  Time: 27m (Novelette)  IssueStarlit Wood 2016
(Space Opera; Xuya) Da Trang earned favor with the Empress because his remora, Pearl, feed him information. He has lost Pearl, but cannot stop searching for it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: NClarke
Playthings by Stephen L. Burns  Time: 33m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 04|16
(SF) In a caste-based future officer John Blank investigates a serial killer whose victims seem to have mysterious connection to upper-caste people.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: Readers
Project Empathy by Dominica Phetteplace  Time: 27m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 03|16
(Near-future SF; Project Empathy) Teenage Bel worked as a host at a Blue Cup restaurant in Concord, CA before Blue Cup moved her to San Francisco for special training. Very special.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
Project Entropy by Dominica Phetteplace  Time: 35m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 07|16
(Near-Future SF; Project Empathy) Angelina struggles with life now that she's lost her chip, and she's not sure how to get back on track
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:4
Red As Blood And White As Bone by Theodora Goss  Time: 31m (Novelette)  IssueTor.com 05/04/16
(Historical Fantasy) In Eastern Europe between the wars, Klara works as a kitchen maid. One night she admits a woman she thinks is a lost fairy-tale princesses into the castle.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: JStrahan
(SF) The narrator fled her world's brutal religion for a role with an interstellar science team. But a distress call puts her back on a collision course with it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
(Near-Future SF) Nico's boring life as an accountant changes when he meets an old friend who's involved with the illegal food scene in Kansas City.
The Bewilderness of Lions by Ted Kosmatka  Time: 27m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 03|16
(SF) Caitlin does data mining for a presidential campaign, but her analysis is resulting in unusually precise and downright strange predictions.
The Cavern of the Screaming Eyes by Jeremiah Tolbert  Time: 30m (Novelette)  IssueLightspeed 77
(Portal Fantasy) Teenage Ivan lost his brother in d-Space, but his new friend Domino is eager to explore a dungeon that's supposed to be safe.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4
The Long Fall Up by William Ledbetter  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 05.06|16
(Hard SF) A woman in a space ship illegally tries to bring a baby to term in zero-g to prove it can be done, and the space station management sends an enforcer to stop her.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: Nebula
The Plague Givers by Kameron Hurley  Time: 36m (Novelette)  IssueUncanny 10
(Fantasy) Thirty years ago, Bet beat the best sorcerer in the world, but at such cost she's been in hiding ever since. Now the plague hunters need her help again, but something seems very wrong.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
The Vindicator by Matthew Hughes  Time: 45m (Novelette)  IssueF&SF 11.12|16
(High Fantasy) As a thief, Raffalon has made a few enemies, but he didn't think anyone was mad enough to hire an assassin.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: SFRevu:5
Theories of Mind by Conor Powers-Smith  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 01.02|16
(Hard SF) Fresh from Earth, Peter finds himself assigned to an unpromising part of the colony planet, and he finds the natives even harder to talk with than he'd expected.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4
Told By An Idiot by K.J. Parker  Time: 36m (Novelette)  IssueBCS 192
(Historical Fantasy) In Elizabethan London, an entrepreneur skilled in identifying legitimate antiquities ends up with a bottle that happens to have a demon in it.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
Toppers by Jason Sanford  Time: 25m (Novelette)  IssueAsimov's 08|16
(Post Apocalypse) Hanger lives in a canvas bag on the outside of the Empire State Building, but the secrets to survival are hidden in the deadly mist far below.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4
Unauthorized Access by An Owomoyela  Time: 34m (Novelette)  IssueLightspeed 76
(Hacker SF) Fresh out of prison for hacking, Aedo gets a request to do an even bigger hack. But why does Energy Davison want to hack its own systems?
We Will Wake Among the Gods, Among the Stars by Caroline M. Yoachim and Tina Connolly  Time: 43m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 01.02|16
(SF) Nanne accompanies a jungle expedition that seeks gold, but she secretly looks for a lost city with high technology.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:4
When The Stone Eagle Flies by Bill Johnson  Time: 26m (Novelette)  IssueAnalog 06|16
(Time Travel) A group of lost time travelers tries to make the fall of Nineveh happen in a way consistent with the future they're trying to get back to.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:5


Short Stories

Score: 12 -> 6-7 Recommendations


Score: 11

Things With Beards by Sam J. Miller  Time: 15m (ShortStory)  IssueClarkesworld 117
(Horror) Following a disaster in Antarctica, MacReady spends summer 1983 in New York and starts to wonder what he might have brought back with him.

Score: 10 -> 5 Recommendations


Score: 9


Score: 8 -> 4-5 Recommendations


Score: 7

Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueStarlit Wood 2016
(Fairy Tale) Tabitha has been walking a long time, trying to wear out seven pairs of iron shoes; Amira has been sitting alone on a glass hill that suitors try to climb.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 JStrahan Nebula Hugo
Terminal by Lavie Tidhar  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 04/13/16
(Planetary SF) A vast fleet of "jalopies" carry individuals on a one-way trip from Earth to Mars. People do it for different reasons, some of which we learn about in this story.
That Game We Played During the War by Carrie Vaughn  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 03/16/16
(SF) Despite not being a telepath, Calla worked out a way to play chess with her captor, Major Larn, during the recent war. Now they're going to finish their game.
You Make Pattaya by Rich Larson  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueInterzone 267
(SF Thriller) The narrator is a con man in near-future Thailand, and he has a scheme that might net him enough to retire.

Score: 6 -> 3-4 Recommendations

(Magical Realism) Hannah watched her sister Melanie die, incinerated with her own magic. Hannah can't accept that and sets out to use her own magic to put things right.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFEP Nebula Hugo
(SF) Dr. Kostia spent thirty years interpreting broadcasts from the Coronals for other people on Earth. The last broadcasts have caused a lot of disruption, even in her own family.
Innumerable Glimmering Lights by Rich Larson  Time: 21m (ShortStory)  IssueClockwork Phoenix 5
(SF) Four Warm Currents leads a project to drill through the ice at the Roof of the World to finally discover what’s on the other side, but the closer he gets, the more opposition there is.
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies by Brooke Bolander  Time: 03m (ShortStory)  IssueUncanny 13
(Horror) The girl he killed was much more than merely human, and there will be consequences.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [1]  Recommended By: Nebula Readers Hugo

Score: 5

All That Robot... by Rich Larson  Time: 15m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(Post Apocalypse AI) Carver Seven spends a lot of time talking to the Human Being and helps him make spears and things. They each want something from the other, if they can manage to express it.
(SF Adventure) Everyone calls Tomika "Space Cadet," but she really feels she doesn't belong in this world.

Score: 4 -> 2-3 Recommendations

A Salvaging of Ghosts by Aliette de Bodard  Time: 14m (ShortStory)  IssueBCS 195
(Space Opera; Xuya) Thuy seeks her daughter's remains in the twisted parts of unreal space where salvagers pick over the remains of wrecked starships.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:5 JStrahan
Das SteingeschΓΆpf by G.V. Anderson1  Time: 21m (ShortStory)  IssueStrange Horizons 12/12/16
(Historical Fantasy) On the even of the Nazi takeover, a young German man's first assignment fixing a living statue becomes more complicated than he expected.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 Readers
Dispatches From The Cradle: The Hermit -- Forty-Eight Hours In The Sea Of Massachusetts by Ken Liu  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueDrowned Worlds 2016
(Post Apocalypse) Around 2650 AD, the narrator interviews a wealthy recluse who lives above the sunken ruins of Boston.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:5 NClarke
Dome On The Prairie by Robert Reed  Time: 21m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 09|16
(Alien Invasion) You are building a home on an alien world, despite the objections of the natives and the complaints of your wife and children.
Elves Of Antarctica by Paul McAuley  Time: 23m (ShortStory)  IssueDrowned Worlds 2016
(Near-Future SF) A refugee from a drowned island nation works on the Antarctic peninsula, where he studies mysterious stones with elven runes in his spare time.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:5 JStrahan
Laws Of Night And Silk by Seth Dickinson  Time: 24m (ShortStory)  IssueBCS 200
(High Fantasy) To defeat the armies of the Efficate, the Cteri train some of their children to be weapons of mass destruction.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5 JStrahan
Mika Model by Paolo Bacigalupi  Time: 14m (ShortStory)  IssueSlate.com 04/26/16
(SF) A police detective tries to cope with an attractive female robot who confesses to murder.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:5 JStrahan
My Generations Shall Praise by Samantha Henderson  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueInterzone 267
(SF) A woman on death row is offered a fortune for her children if she'll let another woman take over her body.
(Urban Fantasy) Rabbit holes open at random, summoning people to fairy-tale universes where they are the heroes. Louisa keeps waiting for one to open for her.
Red in Tooth and Cog by Cat Rambo  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 03.04|16
(SF) When a feral robot steals her phone, Renee acquires a keen interest in the little robotic ecosystem that flourishes in the park.
RedKing by Craig Delancey  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueLightspeed 70
(Hard SF) In an near future when everyone has brain implants, a computer virus can be a health issue. Especially when it turns users into killers.
Seven Birthdays by Ken Liu  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueBridging Infinity 2016
(Far Future SF) Mia marks her birthdays as powers of 7, which gives her lots of time to work out her issues with her mother.
The Green-Eyed Boy by Peter S. Beagle  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 09.10|16
(High Fantasy) The old magician rarely takes students, but young Schmendrick has so much potential--if he could just make his spells come out right.
The One Who Isn't by Ted Kosmatka  Time: 14m (ShortStory)  IssueLightspeed 74
(SF) A woman appears to be helping a child recover from some form of brain damage. His perceptions and memory are off, but something is off about her too.
The Savannah Liars Tour by Will McIntosh  Time: 13m (ShortStory)  IssueLightspeed 68
(Urban Fantasy) In the near future, Ben uses cryosleep for a side-effect: while he's under, he can meet his dead wife. Trouble is, he has a new wife.
The Witch of Orion Waste and the Boy Knight by E. Lily Yu  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueUncanny 12
(Fairy Tale) A young, newly minted witch meets an equally green knight, and they go off together in search of dragons.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: JStrahan Readers
Two's Company by Joe Abercrombie  Time: 23m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 01/12/16
(High Fantasy Humor) A warrior woman and a thief fleeing from the south meet a male warrior fleeing from the north in the middle of a bridge. Then it gets complicated.
Unreeled by Mercurio D. Rivera  Time: 17m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 06|16
(SF Horror) EncelaCorp "streams" the consciousness of explorers to distant parts of the galaxy. Jonathan worries that the experience may have changed his wife somehow.
Vortex by Gregory Benford  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 01.02|16
(Hard SF) The Chinese Mars base asks old First-Expedition crew members Julia and Viktor for help with a problem involving Mars's only large native life form.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: LTilton GDozois:5
(SF Humor) A choose-your-own-adventure story in which you navigate the clinic on a space station full of aliens.
White Dust by Nathan Hillstrom1  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 01|16
(SF) The transmitter sends copies of people to remote locations, but the copies don't want to do their jobs, and Margery is in trouble if she can't figure out why.

Score: 3

Ash by Susan Palwick  Time: 12m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 05.06|16
(Modern Fantasy) When Penny's house burns, she rebuilds a smaller place on the ashes. She only misses a few of the contents, and really wishes for a way to get them back.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 SFEP
Conscience by Robert R. Chase  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 01|16
(Military SF) Constanza flies a stealthed warplane for the US in a near-future war, and she's picked for a series of special missions carrying a single, silent, soldier up to the front and back.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Dress Rehearsal by Adrian Tchaikovsky  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueNow We Are Ten 2016
(Fantasy) Dr. Kampfe's group of travelling players visits Sevengraves, a place so poor that every performance feels like charity.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5
Exceptional Forces by Sean McMullen  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 02|16
(Hard SF) A radio astronomer comes to a conference prepared to deliver a shattering paper, but fully expecting to die before he gets the chance.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:4 Readers
Last Gods by Sam J. Miller  Time: 20m (ShortStory)  IssueDrowned Worlds 2016
(Climate Change) On the edge of the ruined land, village people worship Orcas as gods. Unbeliever Kelb is up to something, and Adze tries to help him because she loves him.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 NClarke
(Modern Fantasy) Sergio is called to remove an offensive mural, but when he touches it, it makes him "remember" things from other people's lives.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 Readers
Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart by Samantha Murray  Time: 08m (ShortStory)  IssueClarkesworld 122
(SF Android) You adopt an android baby. You name him Ben. He grows amazingly fast.
Parables of Infinity by Robert Reed  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueBridging Infinity 2016
(Far-Future SF; Great Ship) An ancient robot tells a human how it helped build a planet-sized ship and what the consequences were.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: GDozois:4 NClarke
Red Dirt Witch by N.K. Jemisin  Time: 24m (ShortStory)  IssueFantasy 60
(Black Historical Fantasy) In the closing years of segregation, Emmaline uses her magic to help neighbors and protect her children, for trouble is coming.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 JStrahan
Rock, Paper, Incisors by David Cleden  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueInterzone 267
(Fantasy Horror) The narrator resents being transformed into a monster to fight for her tribe, not least because she thinks they're screwing it up.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 SFRevu:4
Sabbath Wine by Barbara Krasnoff  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueClockwork Phoenix 5
(Modern Fantasy) Malka is a little Jewish girl living in Brooklyn in 1920. She likes her new friend, David, even though he’s older than her, black, Christian, and claims to be dead.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 Nebula
(SF; Jackaroo) On the planet First Foot, the small town of Joe's Corner faces conflict over building a radio telescope close to local alien artifacts.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 RHorton:5
Sparks Fly by Rich Larson  Time: 11m (ShortStory)  IssueLightspeed 70
(Slipstream) Electricity does strange things around Arthur, especially when he gets excited. He's excited about Christina, so their first date is going to be a real adventure.
The Baby Eaters by Ian McHugh  Time: 14m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 01|16
(SF) The narrator visits an alien world to negotiate a trade deal with a race of alien predators who have a bad reputation.
The Battle Of Ceres by Karl Bunker  Time: 19m (ShortStory)  IssueAnalog 07.08|16
(SF) Katrina and Jeff operate an asteroid mining station for the S.P.C. It's not bad work except that the mining companies are at war, using gravel as missiles.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:4 Readers
The Fixer by Paul McAuley  Time: 12m (ShortStory)  IssueClarkesworld 113
(SF) An AI trying to establish a human colony discovers there's an individual it cannot account for.
The Grocer's Wife: Enhanced Transcription by Michael Libling  Time: 18m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 02|16
(SF) Thomas is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, and his wife, Lynn, is trying to support him. Andy is spying on him, and wondering why the government is interested in a retired grocer.
The Mutants Men Don't See by James Alan Gardner  Time: 11m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 08|16
(Superhero) A combination of teenage hormones, a rare gene, and the right stressful event turns a few kids into superheroes. Liam wants to be one too.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:4 Readers
The Old Man and the Phoenix by Alexandria Baisden1  Time: 04m (ShortStory)  IssueApex 88
(Slipstream) An old man lies dying, his faithful companion at his side.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 Readers
The Sound Of Salt And Sea by Kat Howard  Time: 13m (ShortStory)  IssueUncanny 10
(Fantasy) Every year, Far Island rises from the sea, and the spirits of the dead return to Near Island, until the bone horses usher them back on the third day. The horses need a living rider, and Rowan is sure she can do it and survive.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 Readers
The Story of Kao Yu by Peter S. Beagle  Time: 24m (ShortStory)  IssueTor.com 12/07/16
(Chinese Fantasy) Sometimes a  unicorn assisted Judge Kao Yu, and because he was so just and honest, he never feared its judgment. Until now.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [5]  Recommended By: RSR:5 RHorton:4
Water Scorpions by Rich Larson  Time: 11m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|16
(SF) Noel's mom is trying to raise an alien child. Noel, age 10, hates this alien "brother" but can't seem to get that across to him.

Score: 2 -> 1-2 Recommendations

A Fine Balance by Charlotte Ashley2  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 11.12|16
(High Fantasy) The stakes on Yildirim and Ramadami's duels have risen to where they threaten the economies of Onsen and Dushiq.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
A Future Far Too Bright by Yosef Lindell  Time: 17m (ShortStory)  IssueClarkesworld 123
(Near-Future SF) Jesse Is just in the third grade, but his dad sends him letters telling him about the time-machine experiment he's working on.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4
A Good Home by Karin Lowachee  Time: 22m (ShortStory)  IssueLightspeed 73
(SF) A disabled human veteran takes in a disabled AI veteran. The AI doesn't talk anymore due to trauma, but Tawn tries to get through to it, even though his mother thinks it's dangerous.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: NClarke
(Slipstream) Rather than killing the monster, Devon would rather negotiate with them and blog about it later.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [3]  Recommended By: RHorton:5
A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time by Sunil Patel2  Time: 02m (ShortStory)  IssueAsimov's 03|16
(SF Short-Short) Entirely via lists, the narrator tells a story about fighting his duplicate from another dimension.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:4
(Magical Allegory) Your lover has sunk to the bottom of the sea. You're a witch with tremendous powers, but can you really save him?
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: Readers
A Tower for the Coming World by Maggie Clark  Time: 17m (ShortStory)  IssueClarkesworld 123
(SF) The destruction of the new Space Elevator puts human expansion into space at risk.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: GDozois:5
An Open Letter To The Person Who Took My Smoothie From The Break Room Fridge by Oliver Buckram  Time: 02m (ShortStory)  IssueF&SF 07.08|16
(Cartoon Humor) Someone in the Alliance of Doom has stolen Dr. Nemesis's smoothie, and he e-mails his fellow super-villains to complain.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [4]  Recommended By: RSR:4 SFRevu:4
An Unimaginable Light by John C. Wright  Time: 00m (ShortStory)  IssueGod, Robot 2016
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review []  Recommended By: Hugo
(Near-Future SF) An interview with a simulation of the dead artist, Satka, who still has a big online following years after her death.
Other Reviews  RSR Mini-Review [2]  Recommended By: Readers
Because Change Was The Ocean And We Lived By Her Mercy by Charlie Jane Anders  Time: 21m (ShortStory)  IssueDrowned Worlds 2016
(Post-Apocalypse) Pris abandons 22nd-Century Fairbanks and moves to a commune that floats above the ruins of San Francisco.
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Between Nine and Eleven by Adam Roberts  Time: 09m (ShortStory)  IssueCrises and Conflicts 2016
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Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
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April 4, 2017

7 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. Replies
    1. Also, there are 29 stories from A.C. Wise's Favorite Short Fiction of 2016 that are in RSR's 2017 Hugo Awards page. A.C. Wise wrote the Women to Read column that highlights stories by women.

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    2. Oops, make that 12 stories. I mistakenly did a join with all 2016 stories, not the most recommended ones on this page. :-)
      A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong, A Good Home by Karin Lowachee, A Salvaging of Ghosts by Aliette de Bodard, Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine, Foxfire, Foxfire by Yoon Ha Lee, Rooms Formed of Neurons and Sex by Ferrett Steinmetz, Secondhand Bodies by JY Yang, A Non-Hero's Guide to the Road of Monsters by A.T. Greenblatt, The Tomato Thief by Ursula Vernon, Things With Beards by Sam J. Miller, Those Brighter Stars by Mercurio D. Rivera, Touring with the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman

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    3. That's a truly bizarre accusation. Esp. because, although I try to read without gender bias, my nominations list is extremely female-author-heavy this year. There were so many good stories by women in 2016!

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    4. I think that's the key thing, Althea. There were a lot of excellent stories by/about women this year.

      Delete
  2. I think Wendy may just be looking at the subgenre field. We don't identify feminist SF as a subgenre, so it's not obvious that there are actually 21 feminist stories in the lists above (depending on your definition, of course).

    ReplyDelete