Precious Little Things, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Single]

★★★★☆ Charming

(High Fantasy; Made Things) Tiny homunculi of wood, glass, paper, etc. dwell in Arcantel’s tower, protected for centuries by powerful wards the arch mage created. But for the first time, they’re threatened by visitors. (6,921 words; Time: 23m)

This is set in the world of Made Things perhaps a century before that story, but there’s no overlap of plot or characters, so there’s no need to read that one before this one or vice versa.

Made Things, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Single]

★★★★☆ Good things come in small packages.

(High Fantasy; Made Things) Young Coppelia quietly helps a colony of tiny people made from wood and metal, but her regular job as a thief brings her into contact with a much larger problem that puts her and her friends at risk. (38,544 words; Time: 2h:08m)

The Expert System's Brother, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Tor Novella]

★★★★☆ A fascinating world and a plot with lots of twists and turns

(Lost Colony SF Western) Young Handry’s life changes forever when he’s accidentally soaked in a “severing” mixture, which alienates him from the people in his village. (37,449 words; Time: 2h:04m)

Dress Rehearsal, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Find this book

(Fantasy) Dr. Kampfe's group of travelling players visits Sevengraves, a place so poor that every performance feels like charity. (6,171 words; Time: 20m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Recommended

Recommended By: RHorton:5

Children of Dagon, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Lightspeed Magazine, October 2015; 2,747 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended

As London falls to the waves, a tribe of modified human beings takes over the waterlogged areas, fighting with the human refugees.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: The conflict with the baseline human beings where the narrator is moved by their children hammers home the fact that the modified humans are still human.

Con: No actual storyline. Way too much preaching. Not really feasible that anyone could produce such a race of GM humans in any reasonable length of time. Even with plants it takes several generations.