- “The Boy Who Cast No Shadow”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Postscripts: Unfit For Eden, PS Publications)
An interesting story that glosses over the magic/science behind it to deal with people who are made of different stuff -- literally, in the case of the boy made of glass. I liked the melancholy tone the end set, and indeed the whole endpiece once the two decided to run away, but overall this one left me feeling so-so. I wonder how much was potentially lost in translation for this one, since it was originally published in Dutch.
- “Fade To White”, Catherynne M. Valente ( Clarkesworld, August 2012)
The advertisement interludes sold it for me, and a good thing too, because otherwise the full-immersion effect may have been too much for me to keep reading (other than the Hugo nom, of course). I liked how it worked the post-apocolypse angle, and all the changes to society seemed very believable, along with the daily concerns of the POV characters presented. A bit of credulity-stretching with the teenage interest in older movies, but that added an important element of translation from my world to that of the character's, so it's hard to complain too much. The two POV characters don't end up together, and I'm not sure if I applaud this as not being cliched, or am sad because they were nice characters and could have made each other happy.
- “The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi”, Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)
Space exploration and body modification, with a hint of lawyer struggle and oppression from the home world? Sounds like a lot, and for all the world-building that seems to have gone into this, I hope there are other stories or novels set in the same world. Still, the density of world-building made this one of the easiest for me to get into, and I liked it all-around.
- “In Sea-Salt Tears”, Seanan McGuire (Self-published)
Each of Seanan McGuire's stories were apparently set in a larger world of her own, and deal with at least some of the same characters as appear in her novels. I haven't read those novels, and yet for neither of the stories did I feel like I was missing anything vital to my understanding. This story seemed early-on like it was going to be a twist on The Little Mermaid, and I was happy it didn't end up that way. I was also invested enough in the relationship that I was hoping the MC wouldn't accept the transition after all, though I knew it was probably a forgone hope. I liked how the choices seemed to come from the characters and incidentally create conflict, rather than appear to be done by authorial dictate.
- “Rat-Catcher”, Seanan McGuire ( A Fantasy Medley 2, Subterranean)
As above, the story was well-contained enough that I didn't feel lost without having read any of the novels that these characters appear in. I've always liked stories about intelligent, prankster, or fae cats, and this one delivers. I also like the idea of cats sitting and watching the Shakespeare plays, way-back-when. This one does hit the somewhat-cliche result of the self-fulfilling prophecy -- or at least, it strongly hints at it -- but really the prophecy and its fulfillment are almost just background texture around which the story takes place; that of the new king of the Cat Sidhe taking the position from his elder.
My Opinion
These are a hard lot to choose between. None seem unworthy, but none jump out and force me to move them to the top of the list either. I think for sheer fun and world-building, Fade to White and The Girl Thing... move to the top of the list, with The Girl Thing Who Went Out for Sushi first, Fade to White second, followed by In Sea-Salt Tears, The Boy Who Cast No Shadow, and finally Rat-Catcher... unless I change my mind between now and when I lock in my vote.
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