Summary
A collection of science fiction and fantasy stories from Tor.
Review
This is a stronger collection than the 2011 edition, perhaps because it was less self-consciously global – the stories were better, but had a narrower reach. There were no weak stories here. Some were no more than adequate, but a number were quite strong. The anthology came closer than 2011’s to fulfilling the goal of a simple collection of good stories.
In particular, I enjoyed:
- Portrait of Lisane de Patagna by Rachel Swirsky, about a painter, her instructor, and magic. The ending could have been stronger, but the body of the story was well done.
- The Mongolian Wizard by Michael Swanwick, about a steampunkish alternate Earth of wizards and espionage. I’ve not been taken with Mr. Swanwick’s other work, but I found this very enjoyable. It suffers from giving a strong feeling of excerpt or prologue, but it does stand alone reasonably well.
All in all, a good collection, and worth picking up (it’s free).
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