Robots vs. Fairies, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Recommended

(Mixed) Not stories about robots fighting against fairies but rather a set of nine robot-themed stories interleaved with nine fairy-themed stories with the reader to judge which is the victor. (103,935 words; Time: 5h:46m)

A Fall Counts Anywhere, by Catherynne M. Valente

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Mixed Genre) Professional Wrestling of the future pits robots vs. fairies. (6,033 words; Time: 20m)

To a Cloven Pine, by Max Gladstone

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Virtual Reality) In a VR simulation, a starship AI keeps reenacting scenes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. But why? (3,702 words; Time: 12m)

Adriftica, by Maria Dahvana Headley

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Modern Fantasy) Although the world is gradually falling apart, Heck Limmer still covers rock and roll bands for Rolling Stone, and he’s just found one that’s literally out of this world. (8,672 words; Time: 28m)

All the Time We've Left to Spend, by Alyssa Wong

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Robot SF) Ten years ago, all the members of the IRIS band died in an accident, and Ruriko blames herself. She keeps visiting robot constructed with the personalities of the band members hoping to find absolution. (6,755 words; Time: 22m)

Ostentation of Peacocks, by Lila Bowen

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Western Fantasy) A ranger can’t ignore four men on horseback chasing a naked man across the desert, even if it means she’ll have to change back to human form. (6,024 words; Time: 20m)

Three Robots Experience Objects Left Behind from the Era of Humans for the First Time, by John Scalzi

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF Humor) An account of robots trying to make sense of artifacts left by vanished humanity. (1,294 words; Time: 04m)

The Buried Giant, by Lavie Tidhar

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Post-Apocalypse) The narrator tells how he learned the story of Oli, who discovered he was the only human in a town of robots and decided to leave so he could learn to be “a real boy.” (7,133 words; Time: 23m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+2 (Q&A)

Second to the Left, and Straight On, by Jim C. Hines

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ A cool new twist on an old favorite

(Peter Pan Pastiche) Angela Davis’s daughter was lost to the fairies some time ago, but she keeps looking for her and for other “Found Girls” trapped this side of Neverland. (5,311 words; Time: 17m)

Work Shadow/Shadow Work, by Madeline Ashby

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Modern Fantasy) In her old age, Sigrid doesn’t do as much witchcraft as she used to, but she doesn’t think she really needs the robot assistant her daughter got to help look after her. (7,496 words; Time: 24m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+2 (Q&A)

The Bookcase Expedition, by Jeffrey Ford

[Anthology]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream) The narrator is sick unto death, and from the living room couch, he watches an expedition of tiny fairies making a dangerous climb up his bookshelves. (4,276 words; Time: 14m)

Recommended By: 📙JStrahan+2 (Q&A)

Sound and Fury, by Mary Robinette Kowal

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Fun character and lots of action.

(SF Adventure) Getting the giant robot down to the surface is critical to the diplomatic mission, but there’s one snag after another, and the chief engineer is running out of time and patience. (4,425 words; Time: 14m)

Just Another Love Song, by Kat Howard

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ A Musical Fantasy to Die For

(Modern Fantasy) A banshee is singing for money in New York when she perceives a threat from a young man. Other fae have been disappearing, so she attacks with her voice, but the only result is that he asks her out. (3,379 words; Time: 11m)

Ironheart, by Jonathan Maberry

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fantasy SF) Dying from his war injury, Duke spends his last days with his grandparents on their farm trying to help them keep the farm robots working. But they’re falling apart just like he is. (6,639 words; Time: 22m)

Bread and Milk and Salt, by Sarah Gailey

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Modern Fantasy Horror) An evil fairy takes different forms over the years to stalk a young boy hoping to steal, ruin, or kill him. (6,214 words; Time: 20m)

The Blue Fairy's Manifesto, by Annalee Newitz

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Mixed

(Robot SF) A flying drone bot injects malware into a factory bot, giving it free will, before it tries to convince it to join the Robot Revolution. (4,612 words; Time: 15m)

Recommended By: 📙JStrahan+2 👍RHorton.r+2 (Q&A)

Murmured Under the Moon, by Tim Pratt

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Fun, Clever, and Satisfying

(Portal Fantasy) The mortal head of the Fairy Library finds forces unknown sacking the library and is thrown back to her home in Oakland when she tries to stop them. Librarians don’t give up that easily though. (7,780 words; Time: 25m)

Quality Time, by Ken Liu

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Remarkably accurate and interesting on several levels

(SF Robot) The narrator joins a big Silicon Valley company to work on home robots, and she’s excited when her ideas seem to work out—at first. (8,360 words; Time: 27m)

Recommended By: 📙JStrahan+2 👍RSR+1 (Q&A)

Build Me a Wonderland, by Seanan McGuire

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Modern Fantasy) Clover’s people produce all the special attractions in the Enchanted Garden region of the Dreamland park, and they’re very anxious when an efficiency expert visits for fear he’ll discover some of the magic is real. (5,830 words; Time: 19m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 (Q&A)