Harare Review of Books

613 pages.

First published in 2016.

Finished reading on 12 Jan 2021.

Genre: SFF anthology

A collection of some of the best original short fiction published on Tor.com in 2015.

Contents:
The Shape of My Name by Nino Cipri
Please Undo This Hurt by Seth Dickinson
The Thyme Fiend by Jeffrey Ford
Variations on an Apple by Yoon Ha Lee
Some Gods of El Paso by Maria Dahvana Headley
Islands Off the Coast of Capitola, 1978 by David Herter
Elephants and Corpses by Kameron Hurley
The Museum and the Music Box by Noah Keller
Damage by David D. Levine
At the End of Babel by Michael Livingston
The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. Malik
The Language of Knives by Haralambi Markov
Ginga by Daniel José Older
Tear Tracks by Malka Ann Older
Oral Argument by Kim Stanley Robinson
Waters of Versailles by Kelly Robson
Ballroom Blitz by Veronica Schanoes
Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma
The Log Goblin by Brian Staveley
The Ways of Walls and Words by Sabrina Vourvoulias
Schrödinger’s Gun by Ray Wood

A very good mix of stories, and took ages to get through (there’s a lot going on!) so give yourself time.

• Damage, by David D. Levine was great (I love ship stories). (I love ship stories.) (Ships in space are awesome.) (Ships 😍)

• Waters of Versailles, by Kelly Robson was intriguing–and I still have no idea what was going on. (What’s a… nixie?? And why Versailles? What pipes?)

• The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. Malik was really very deep, and very evocative. I’m sure I only got about half of the references, but no matter.

• Ginga, by Daniel José Older didn’t impress me at first, but I found myself thinking about it later on. How fun to have “people of colour” (and a brown-grey person?? LOL) chasing ghosts. Not usually my vibe, but like I say, ended up thinking about the story.

• Tear Tracks, by Malka Ann Older was a thoughtful read about what cultures value. (I did keep expecting disaster, though, that never came.)

• Schrödinger’s Gun was very impressive, and a great way to end the anthology.

Rated: A solid 8/10. I skipped some pages, but a good anthology overall.