A collection of short stories, some far too long, and far too many dependent on the reader already knowing and caring about an existing series.



"The Heart Box"--Callie Bates. After his family dies in a car accident, a man removes his heart and becomes an emotionless immortal. Eventually a single mother and her child move in next door and he decides to reclaim his heart and live again. Fine but did nothing for me.



"Everybody Said It Would Hurt"--Lev Grossman. A section cut out from the 3rd book in

A collection of short stories, some far too long, and far too many dependent on the reader already knowing and caring about an existing series."The Heart Box"--Callie Bates. After his family dies in a car accident, a man removes his heart and becomes an emotionless immortal. Eventually a single mother and her child move in next door and he decides to reclaim his heart and live again. Fine but did nothing for me."Everybody Said It Would Hurt"--Lev Grossman. A section cut out from the 3rd book in the Magicians trilogy. I don't know these characters or what various clues mean (Quentin's watch?) so a good amount of this passed me by. Still, I liked Plum and her magical experiments, and I bet fans of the Magicians will be thrilled to read this."A Thousand Years"--Mark Lawrence. Vikings (view spoiler) go on a troll hunt. Along the way, clever but weak Olaf proves his worth, while Snorri realizes he has to be a father to his son. Well enough written that I intend to seek out the larger series this relates to."Among a Throng of Bilious Octogenarians"--Delilah S. Dawson. Thirteen pages of "Barthur" (a cutesey version of Arthur) trying to get the Elders' blessing for his quest and them mishearing him. Thirteen pages of this."Blood of the Sardaukar"--Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson. A clunkily written short story about a Sardaukar colonel who has I think one line in Dune."Allanon's Quest"--Terry Brooks. A prequel short story to The Sword of Shannara . As boring and by-the-numbers generic fantasy as the rest of the series it comes from."Kneeling Before Jupiter"--David Anthony Durham. Roman nobles get turned into vampires when they reach adulthood. Tedious because the main character doesn't understand what's going on but the reader immediately does, but still has to come along for the multitude of pages it takes him to figure it out."Stripes in the Sunset"--Seanan McGuire. Extinct species start being born to existing animal species. Meanwhile, human children stop being born. McGuire is always good for a cool concept, and this story is just long enough to deliver on it without overstaying its welcome."All That Glitters"--Marc Turner. Two thieves try to get off an island with a flask of dragon's blood. A fun slice of adventure."The Heir Apparent"--John Gwynne. Prequel short story about a character from The Faithful and the Fallen, a series I have not read. Rhin is competent and merciless, which I appreciate."Dancing on the Edge"--Deborah A Wolf. Prequel short story about a character from The Dragon's Legacy, another series I have not read. Yaela and her sister are slaves in a pitiless desert. They do whatever they need to do to survive, but at last only one of them can escape. I liked the writing and really liked that the only ways to survive daylight in their location are to live underground or to dance a cloak of shadows upon oneself. I'm intrigued!"Prologue: Second Book of the Evertide"--Todd Lockwood. Short story from another fantasy series I have not read. Two guys and their dragons fight to the death. I don't know why and I didn't know the characters, so I had no feelings whatsoever about the fight or who won. Adding a bit of personality to the characters, or explanation for why it mattered whether Qorru or Magha won, could've made this story interesting to people who haven't already read The Summer Dragon "Thasha's Cure for Cabin Fever"--Robert V.S. Redick. A short story set in yet another fantasy series I have not read. Written in a convoluted way such that it's hard to tell which dialog or actions belong to which characters."How Not to Invade a Country"--Anna Stephens. A short story set in yet another fantasy series I have not read, but this one actually provides characterization and context, plus a nice amount of wry humor in the narrative voice. Crys has been demoted and given a crappy posting in a boring area--luckily or unluckily enough, his commander makes enough foolish choices that he's forced into some heroics. This story made me want to read more by Stephens."The Paper Man"--Peter Orullian. A would-be writer is visited by a tiny man made out of paper, and slowly realizes the price he must pay for good writing. I dunno, the idea is fine but this just felt like it took a while to get anywhere. I think I'm just too disinterested in ~being a writer~ to care about this story."Merchants Have Maxims"--Cat Rambo. Short story set in a fantasy series I have not read. I got bored and didn't finish this."Of Anchor Chains and Slow Refrains and Light Long Lost in Darkness"--Ken Scholes. Prequel set in a fantasy series I have not read. Childhood friends King Rudolfo and Gregoric have a pirate adventure and prove their loyalty to each other yet again."Second Chances"--Megan Lindholm. A crew member on a reality show is sensitive to ghosts, which helps when the latest house the cast is going to rehab turns out to be haunted. I liked this (not least because it wasn't yet another short story set in a medieval pseudo-European fantasy series)."The Hidden"--Tad Williams. Excerpt from a fantasy series I haven't read. Some creepy imagery!"Throwdown"--Scott Sigler. Set in a sort of Western post-apocalyptic setting. Didn't care for it."Sidekick"--Carrie Vaughn. A secretary wakes up in a hospital after an accident she doesn't remember. The hospital staff seem weirdly focused on asking her questions about her boss. Great fun!"Hawkeye"--Patrick Swenson. An investigator who can talk to hawks is tasked with finding out what happened to a priceless gem. Contains way too many infodumps and the last 6 pages are just the main character tediously explaining the mystery (which is both very simple and overly complicated--the twist that the queen is an Exchanger instead of a Changer is a good one, but the endless Exchanges that are recounted are completely unnecessary to both plot and reader)."The Spectral Sword"--Ramon Terrell. A short story set in another fantasy series I haven't read. A man gets a magic sword. Didn't hold my interest."Gold Light"--Anna Smith Spark. Short story in another fantasy series I haven't read. Creepy but beautiful, a bit like Tanith Lee. A princess watches her brother the king talk to a dragon, and realizes what she must do."The Stone Golem of Qual'Jom"--Jason Denzel. A stone golem lives for eons. I liked its point of view, particularly in the first half when it's figuring out its earthly form."A Fire Within the Ways"--Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. A cut novella (it's 70 pages) from the final book in the Wheel of Time series. I stopped caring about this series years ago and skipped this entirely."Seven"--Naomi Novik. GodDAMN this was a good story. A potter's wife takes up pottery to make ends meet, and is so good she's given the honor of working with bone clay--clay so pure and white that all yearn to work with it, but that inevitably kills those who do so. Reminded me of LeGuin, a bit, in the pairing of imagination and grounded characters who have to worry about feeding their children."The Fire-Risen Ash"--Shawn Speakman. Overcomplicated fantasy.