New Adventures in Space Opera

This had me from the description: “Are you tired of reading science fiction novels that feel like they’re taking literal eons to finish?” Dear reader, the answer to this question is YES.

To be honest, I think sci-fi in the short story format is harder to pull off than as novels. It's a genre accustomed to four 400-page books in a series, where the world building can be detailed down to the socioeconomic consequences of how the protagonists utilize currency. Short story is HARD. The writer has to simultaneously establish the world AND hook the reader, create a cohesive narrative that stands on its own, and land the ship (pun gloriously intended) — in fewer pages than some books dedicate to single chapters.

Truthfully, it's what I prefer in sci-fi. I care about character more than climate, and when you have so little to work with it's typically character that gets the most attention. So in a lot of ways, this collection was custom made for my tastes, which probably explains the 5 star review. Though to be fair, once I looked back on the entire collection, I noted that more of the stories tended towards the upper 4 stars, so averaging out at a 5 felt justified. Plus: this is fun. We should sign more things like this.

(Mostly) short spoiler free reviews of each story:

Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance: A top tier title and a strong start! It's hard to pick an opener and this was a good one. I’m a huge fan of "what exactly does it mean to be human?" wearing a trench coat made of narrative plot. I got lost a little bit on the world building, but the formist/robot subplot was phenom and the ending packed such a punch I didn't care. 4.5 stars

Extracurricular Activities: I really enjoyed the characters, thought them well established for how many there are and how little time they have on the page. But I felt like this was a slice of a larger story, and not necessarily something that could exist on its own. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was legitimately lifted from a full length novel. There's still too much to unpack with Meng. 4 stars.

All the Colors You Thought Were Kings: Whew, second person AND present tense? I was predisposed against it, but this story was right hook after right hook. I couldn't breathe reading this one. 5 stars.

Belladonna Nights: way way way waaaaaaaay too much superfluous lore, but when it finally got down to it, it was a good story. Something to chew on, at least. If pared down, the concept could really shine. 3.7 stars

Metal like Blood in the Dark: Tense, but not as much as All The Colors. A good premise, well executed. Kept the world building tight, which I deeply appreciated. We often talk about "learning humanity" solely in terms of empathy, compassion, etc. Not treachery. Good stuff. 4.5 stars

A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime: the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. So ridiculous and fun that I looked up the author halfway through and tbr'd her work. This felt like Catherynne Valente wrote a Dr. Who episode, circa 10 or 11. Sometimes space is just for fun!! 4.20 stars

Immersion: If I had a nickel for every time I begrudgingly started a second person present tense story that ended up knocking me sideways, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Right?
This is what Black Mirror should feel like, when the writers’ sole goal isn’t legitimately ruining your life. 4.7 stars

Morrigan in the Sunglare: “You have to go to sleep you have to go to sleep you HAVE TO GO TO SLEEP" I told myself over and over again. Still read this in one breathless sitting. It takes SOOO much talent to tell a story in such a nonlinear fashion, and the author smashed it. No notes. Discovered he writes the Destiny lore and this is the first thing that's ever tempted me into playing that series. 5 stars.

The Old Dispensation. This one threw me for a loop because I am such the right audience for this - above average understanding of the Torah and ancient Hebrew traditions, a person who likes stories about religion - but this was such a miss for me. I knew all the words and didn't get the picture. Maybe that was the problem? There was so much compounded lore. I liked the shape of it, but I just didn't love it. 3.7 stars.

The Good Heretic: So. I picked up this entire anthology for Becky Chambers, and had a rollercoaster of emotions when I saw the title.
Upside: Good Heretic is in her Wayfarers series, about a species I LOVE, but can be read as a standalone or introduction to the series.
Downside: this exists in other anthologies. Maybe that's the case with other stories in here! That's probably how anthologies work! But my heart's desire was to have more Becky Chambers content in the world, and I was a little sad to discover that isn’t the case.
Now, the story itself: flawless. Becky is a character writer like no other, and her world building is my favorite. Ten stories in, she is the first to center a narrative on a non-humanoid, non robot character. Full blown alien. Not even bipedal.
Chambers is one of the few authors I've ever encountered who actually gets creative with her aliens, and this is no exception. Sianats are fascinating. This whole story is fascinating. I wanted 30000 more pages. I wept for the hope of it all. It's the only tears I shed the whole anthology. I love her with all my heart. 500 stars.

A Voyage to Queensthroat: for a story that references so many events outside the narrative, this works so well as a short story. There's so many layers to unravel here, I'll think about this one for days. The perfect amount of lore to leave you hungry for more. A gut punch of an ending. 4.4 stars

The Justified: the lore almost lost me, but I’ll excuse a multitude of sins if you just give me a woman murdering the sh*t out of some privileged a-holes. Was Het a human? Who cares! We support women’s rights and women’s wrongs. 4.5 stars.

Planetstuck: This was some of the best character writing in the collection, with a story that got under my skin. Perfect amount of world building. Phenomenal combo of humor and humanity. Great ending. 4.8 stars

The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir: a sweet note to end on. The opener and closer of an anthology are tough picks, and this has just the right about of optimism, and melancholy, and adventure. It leaves a good taste in your mouth, which is how you want to finish this. 4.4 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!

Fantastic collection of short stories! I scooped this up for Ann Leckie, T. Kingfisher, and Becky Chambers, some personal favorites. Chambers' "A Good Heretic" is functional as a stand alone story but is written about a character from her Wayfarers series, which I absolutely adore. and also highly recommend. In her short though, she's honestly written a powerful punch in such a few pages.

Now for the rest: these stories are everything I love about sci-fi! Snapshots of character profiles, rich new worlds, massive creativity... all super concentrated into a few pages. Right when you're settling in, the next story starts you over with something completely brand new and fresh. Space opera is so often hundreds of pages, and definitely several book series. I think compiling these short stories into one hefty tome, is exactly what the genre is missing!! 5 stars across the board for this stunning anthology.

NEW adventures? These are all reprints, so I skipped two stories I'd already read. (The T. Kingfisher, which was in a Hugo packet, and the Charlie Jane Anders, which is in her short story collection.) They're all varying degrees of good, starting from pretty good to excellent, and one made me straight up cry. (Curse you, Becky Chambers!)