Tunnels, by Eleanor Arnason

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ A great adventure in the dark.

(Space Opera Thriller; Lydia Duluth) Lydia’s visit to Innovation City on planet Grit is interrupted by an engineered virus that compels her to hide in the tunnels under the city. (17,343 words; Time: 57m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

This story is part of her Lydia Duluth series, but I had no trouble enjoying it without having read any of the other stories.

Loft the Sorcerer, by Eleanor Arnason

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Icelandic Folktale Horror) A poor young student at the bishop’s school decides to learn black magic to improve his fortunes. (10,487 words; Time: 34m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 (Q&A)

Mines, by Eleanor Arnason

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(Military SF) An ex-soldier on a colony planet who hunts for mines with a modified giant rat finds companionship in an injured soldier. (6,675 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Daisy, by Eleanor Arnason

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(Detective SF) Emily agrees to help a gangster find his missing octopus. (5,628 words; Time: 18m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Checkerboard Planet, by Eleanor Arnason

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(SF; Lydia Duluth) The AIs contract Lydia to check out an unusual planet and the secretive corporation that's supposed to be developing it. (11,916 words; Time: 39m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

Recommended By: SFRevu:4 GDozois:5

This is one of a series of stories about Lydia Duluth, and it suffers from lack of context.

Ruins, by Eleanor Arnason

Old Venus, 2015; ~14,600 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story

Ash leads a team from National Geographic to see unusual megafauna in the Russian part of Old Venus.

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

Pro: We start with Ash trying to find a good story for National Geographic, and we conclude with her having found a better one than anyone expected, although she suspects some of it may be faked. The subplot of the Russians wanting to replace their council is also well done.

Arkady's character is particularly amusing; he's a communist revolutionary when it suits him, but he's a hard-nosed businessman when it matters. "Capitalists have so much money."

Con: It's a little dissatisfying that we aren't sure whether the CIA was really there or if it was just a hoax. The repeated bits about Earth dying get tiresome when nothing is done with them; they seem to be a purely political statement by the author.

Telling Stories to the Sky, by Eleanor Arnason

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2015; 4,837 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary, story  Recommended By:  Locus

Heartwarming tale of a beggar girl in a long-forgotten city who tells stories to the wind.

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

Pro: Done in the style of a fairy tale, the story proceeds through a sequence of challenges and successes for Swallow. The ending is more-or-less as expected, but there's still a bit of a surprise.

Con: Too often, the solution to Sparrow's problems is that the North Wind terrifies people into leaving her alone.