The Selves We Leave Behind, by Gwendolyn Clare

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Colony SF) When humans arrive at an alien planet, the local hive minds struggle to decide how to respond to the invasion. (2,569 words; Time: 08m)

Tasting Notes on the Varietals of the Southern Coast, by Gwendolyn Clare

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(Horror) In which a military conquest is described in terms of the wines produced near each of the conquered cities. (1,598 words; Time: 05m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Crisp with a surprising aftertaste

Unbearable Burden, by Gwendolyn Clare

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(AI) Alexis is one of a set of AIs in a research project, and she’s worried that her best friend wants to commit suicide. (1,747 words; Time: 05m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Nothing But the Sky, by Gwendolyn Clare

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(Steampunk) Ensign Dorial hoped for a chance to prove himself, but an assignment to track down the Emperor's wayward niece wasn't what he had in mind. (8,396 words)

Rating: 3, Unremarkable

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Indelible, by Gwendolyn Clare

Clarkesworld Magazine, February 2015; 2,475 words
Rating: 3, Good, ordinary story

A man searches an alien concentration camp for relatives of his step-sister, who was an alien too.

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

Pro: The story makes the narrator's affection for the Shukar real; he loved his sister and his only friend today is a Shukar. He hates being told he isn't one, so it's logical he ends up trying to become  one.

Con: It's hard to believe that in all that time no one ever figured out that the Shukar shape-shifting ability could be transferred. Another hole is that we're never sure how the narrator's family ended up adopting a Shukar child in the first place--we were told they had very strong family bonds, so we wouldn't think they'd surrender a child.

Holding the Ghosts, by Gwendolyn Clare

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A body used commercially to host the personalities of dead people starts to get a mind of its own. Satisfying. (3,400 words; Time: 11m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Very Long Conversations, by Gwendolyn Clare

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2015; 5,300 words
Rating: Rating 2, Not recommended

Becca is part of a team evaluating a new colony planet when she finds evidence there may already be intelligent life there.

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

Pro: Kudos for two very non-human alien species. The concept of a very slow language is also interesting. And the baby alien manages to be adorable, even though the appear to look like giant scorpions.

Con: What sinks this story is too many infodumps. It's also hard to buy the idea that a communication system that's so slow would actually be a language.