Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Penric’s Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold
Penric’s Mission (2016) is the fourth novella in Lois McMaster Bujold’s PENRIC AND DESDEMONA series which is part of her multiple-award-winning FIVE GODS series (The Curse of Chalion, The Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt). It follows the novellas Penric’s Demon (2015), Penric and the Shaman (2016) and Penric’s Fox (2017) which you should read first to get caught up.
April 4th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Our weekly sampling of free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about.
The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys (2014, free on Tor.com, 99c Kindle version)
Aphra Marsh lives in San Francisco, listening to the sounds of the sea and relishing freedom after spending years in an American internment camp. Her crime: belonging to a peculiar heritage, a dark legacy, and a little New England town called Innsmouth.
April 3rd, 2017. Jana Nyman, Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones, Marion Deeds and Kat Hooper | JY Yang, Marion Deeds, Ruthanna Emrys, Theodora Goss | Audio, Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 12 comments |
Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold’s FIVE GODS novels — The Curse of Chalion (2001), The Paladin of Souls (2003), and The Hallowed Hunt (2005) — are some of the most beloved in fantasy literature. They won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. That’s why her fans (of which I am definitely one) where so pleased when she began writing novellas set in the same world.
April 3rd, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Editor’s note: Carmilla is free in Kindle format because it’s in the public domain.
Giving Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872) a 4-star rating feels a bit like critiquing my cat’s life choices. Sure, she could act more like a cat, and she could definitely make more sense from time to time — but ultimately, I love her and that ought to be enough.
Carmilla truly begins when Carmilla (surprise) arrives somewhat suddenly at the summer home of Laura and her father.
March 28th, 2017. Skye Walker´s rating: 4 | Joseph Sheridan Le_Fanu | Free!, Horror, Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
“Report” by Donald Barthelme (1967, originally published in the New Yorker, free at Jessamyn.com (reprinted by permission), also collected in Sixty Stories)
“Our group is against the war. But the war goes on. I was sent to Cleveland to talk to the engineers. The engineers were meeting in Cleveland. I was supposed to persuade them not to do what they were going to do.”
“Report,” by Donald Barthelme,
March 27th, 2017. Marion Deeds, Skye Walker and Tadiana Jones | Amal El-Mohtar, Carrie Vaughn, Catherynne M. Valente, Charlie Jane Anders, Jo Walton, Kameron Hurley, Maria Dahvana Headley, Nisi Shawl, Philip K. Dick, Seanan McGuire | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal
A story set in the future about an ‘authenticities’ dealer, Forest of Memory is set in a culture where everyone is connected by an omnipresent internet. The main character has a personal AI who is always listening and also recording and broadcasting the life of the protagonist. Mary Robinette Kowal then thrusts the main character into a situation where none of her technology works.
The premise of the tale interested me. In few words, Kowal has built a culture that is both rooted in today and wholly futuristic.
March 23rd, 2017. Skye Walker´s rating: 3 | Mary Robinette Kowal | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Our weekly exploration of free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. We’ve found some excellent stories this week!
“Probably Still the Chosen One” by Kelly Barnhill (Feb. 2017, free at Lightspeed, $3.99 Kindle magazine issue)
Eleven year old Corinna discovered a strange metal door in the cupboard under the sink of her home, which is a portal to the magical land of Nibiru, where she is hailed as their Princess, their Chosen One. After spending a year and a day in war-torn Nibiru,
March 20th, 2017. Tadiana Jones, Skye Walker and Jana Nyman | Caighlan Smith, Theodora Goss | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Eye is a short story collection by Frank Herbert and is one of his last works. Published in 1985, the same year his sixth Dune novel Chapterhouse: Dune was published, Eye covers most of his career. I guess you could consider this a “best of” volume. Herbert was not a prolific short fiction writer, especially in his later years, but quite a few stories are still missing from this collection. Like many SF authors he began his career publishing in the genre’s big magazines,
March 18th, 2017. Rob Weber´s rating: 3.5 | Frank Herbert | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dark Integers and Other Stories by Greg Egan
Though the count may not be high (five stories all told), Greg Egan’s Dark Integers and Other Stories packs a theoretical punch, quite literally. Novellas and novelettes only, the 2008 collection is filled with the author’s trademark hard science speculation. The selections were published between 1995 and 2007; one pair of stories is set within the same universe as his 2008 novel Incandescence, another pair within a near-future Earth setting,
March 16th, 2017. Jesse Hudson | Greg Egan | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds
Having read all the full-length novels in Alastair Reynolds’ REVELATION SPACE series, I knew I’d eventually get to his shorter works set in the same dark and complex universe. The main novels are Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Chasm City, Absolution Gap, and The Prefect. Reynolds has produced a detailed future history,
March 15th, 2017. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4 | Alastair Reynolds | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.