I've written down my thoughts as I was reading this short story collection. Now that I'm finished I'm looking back at a great collection of short stories. There wasn't really a story I hated, most were good to very good and some really stood out. I don't usually read collections of short stories, but this has been a very nice surprise. I was already planning on reading more books by Mary Robinette Kowal, but now I will definitely do so!

~The Bound Man~ 3.5 stars

Very interesting story to start with. It gives a glimpse at a very interesting universe I would like to read more from.

~Chrysalis~ 4.5 stars

I thought I liked The Bound Man, but I liked this one so much more! I liked the letters, the story and was surprised at how the short story captivated me! I've heard the stories are only getting better to the end...

~Rampion~ 3 stars

Well, too short to really have an opinion about, but I didn't see that coming (might be I just don't know enough about fairy tales though).

~At the Edge of Dying~ 3 stars

Interesting story, some very special concept are mentioned but at times it felt like a part was missing and that it should have been a longer story to really get it.

~Clockwork Chickadee~ 3.5 stars

Presented in the form of a fable with clockwork animals, it was an interesting read and completely different from the other stories I've read so far.

~Body Language~ 3.5 stars

It's almost a shame we don't get to see more of this sci fi world, with the AI and the puppets. I quite liked the story.

~Waiting for Rain~ 3.5 stars

I'd never thought to say it but a very interesting story about wine, and love.

~First Flight~ 4 stars

First reaction: Time Travel! I'm always in for a little bit of time travel. The restriction on it seems logical and it makes for a very unusual heroine. I want more of this!

~Evil Robot Monkey~ 4 stars

I'd heard a lot of good things about this story, and it certainly was a good story, but it also was very, very short. Perhaps a bit too short for my taste.

~The Conciousness Problem~ 3 stars

A short tale about a clone, and how are you even able to recognize the real person if they share all their experiences. Not the best story of the set, but still enjoyable and posing an interesting question.

~For Solo Cello, op. 12~ 3.5 stars

Even though it was very short, just like the others, it managed to present a very sinister choice for a couple where the man, a cellist, just lost his arm and the woman finally is pregnant.

~For Want of A Nail~ 4.5 stars

I really liked this short story. It poses an interesting question and fits in with all the books with sentient AIs that I've read lately. Also, it shows how some very stupid small things can get enormous consequences.

~The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland~ 4 stars

Sherlock Holmes! Watson! A short murder mystery with a young heroine who has a terrible choice to make.

~The Salt of the Earth~ 4 stars

Although most of the stories in this collection are quite sad, this one certainly was really sad. It is also strange to imagine a world where salt is so scarce that they need to retrieve it from bodies.

~American Changeling~ 3 stars

Mwah, I wasn't that impressed with this story about a young fairy who must save the Fairy Queen. It was a nice story, but compared to the others in this collection I felt it was less special.

~The White Phoenix Feather~ 3.5 stars

This story is subtitled A Story of Cuisine and Ninjas. And yes, it is exactly as weird as one would expect. It is a farce on gastronomy, with a twist. The weirdest story in the collection so far.

~We Interrupt This Broadcast~ 3.5 stars

Interesting story about the massive powers that lay with people we don't expect.

~Red Rockets~ 4 stars

Very short story about fire works on Mars. Oh, and punch cards.

~The Lady Astronaut of Mars~ 4 stars

Also a very sad story, like many in this collection. But a beautiful one.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I received this short story collection through NetGalley

I love this author’s novels and I couldn’t pass up her short story collection when I saw it on NetGalley. The intro says that the stories are arranged in chronological order, and it’s fascinating to read them in that order, to witness the author’s writing maturing from story to story. There are 19 stories in the collection, and not all of them were to my taste, but overall it was an impressive read. All the stories have at least one speculative fiction element. Most are somber or even downright sorrowful tales. Not a happy collection, but it will stay in my memory.

The Bound Man – a fantasy story with trolls and elves and destiny scrolls, but I didn’t like that one. I think it is an earlier story. It’s derivative and underdeveloped.  

Chrysalis – a lovely sci-fi story. A documentary filmmaker on another planet plays a benevolent god with the alien lives. She plays Cupid. Nice.

Rampion – fantasy, but not really a story, just the beginning of one.

At the Edge of Dying – another fantasy, a bloody, brutal story of war, politics, and love. Powerful.

Clockwork Chickadee – an evil, ruthless toy protagonist. It’s almost horror, something in the veins of E. T. A. Hoffmann.

Body Language – a marvelous story about a puppeteer and an AI, somewhat between fantasy, sci-fi, and reality. Of course, a puppeteer herself, Kowal made this puppeteer one of her best characters.

Waiting for Rain – a love story with wine. Poignant and sweet.

First Flight – an original concept of time travel plus a hundred-year-old heroine. Delicious.

Evil Robot Monkey – very short and very painful. Who has the right to decide if a creature is sentient or an animal? What are the criteria?

The Consciousness Problem – a love story about clones and brain damage. Very sad. Actually, most stories in the collection have at least a tinge of sadness. There is not much optimism there.

For Solo Cello, op. 12 – this was a horrible story. Not horribly written, no, but horribly powerful. It describes such a painful, impossible situation, I wanted to scream. There was no good way for the story to end, and it didn’t end well. The fantasy element was tiny but it enclosed the story, made it into what it is – a display of humans’ bottomless ability to hurt each other.

For Want of a Nail – another sad story, a sci-fi about choices. Does dementia makes its sufferers subhuman?

The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland – a Sherlock Holmes story, also sad. Both choices the young heroine faces are extremely painful. There is no good choice available.

Salt of the Earth – I was sorry I read this story. It is too tragic, too hopeless. Is murder ever justified? What about revenge?

American Changeling – a charming tale of a teenage fairy in the modern world.

The White Phoenix Feather: A Tale of Cuisine and Ninjas – this is a farce for gourmets, a burlesque with food.

The last three stories are all sci-fi, all set in the same world of space travel, even though computer programmers still use punchcards – something no computer needed since the 1980s.

We Interrupt This Broadcast – a dystopia. Programmers make terrific terrorists. Screen them, people! Make sure no programmer wants to take over the world, because they can.

Rockets Red – an amusing anecdote about fireworks on Mars.

The Lady Astronaut of Mars – a heartbreakingly sad story about aging.

A note of complaint: My e-reader is a Kindle. This book was only available on NetGalley in one digital format, incompatible with Kindle. It took me several hours and a few downloads to finally create a file I could read, and the formatting didn’t survive the conversion process. It would’ve been nicer if the book was available on NetGalley in several digital formats, including the one for Kindle. The fact didn’t impact my opinion of the stories in any way but it created a vague feeling of dissatisfaction with the author. Why didn’t she offer a Kindle format? I’m not the only reviewer who reads with Kindle.