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I made the rookie mistake of returning N.K. Jemisin's How Long Til Black Future Month to the library before up a post about it, and now I'm trying to match up the plots of all the stories I liked best to the titles on a list ...
Anyway, some favorites!
Red Dirt Witch: a story about outwitting the fae in rural Appalachia; the voice in this one really worked for me
L'Alchimista: this may have been my favorite in the book? It's not the deepest or most impactful but it's so much fun, about a chef who's asked to use her gastronomical talents to craft a magical potion. I made a post a little while ago about fantasy of craft, and this story is such a perfect little example of the stuff I love about that sub-genre when it's done well - professional pride and mundane arts
The Storyteller's Replacement: a very folktale-shaped story about smug dragon princesses. I support them.
The Narcomancer: 'man of faith wrestles with vow of chastity, questions of conscience' is certainly not a new storyline but this variant is well-done; I really enjoy stories about people figuring out how to walk the line between rules and ethics while staying true to their beliefs
The You Train: this story about decommissioned train lines in New York City doesn't have a ton of heft to it but I'm still too much of a New Yorker not to love it anyway
Sinners, Saints, Dragons and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters: my other favorite, about a man who connects with a lizard while riding out Hurricane Katrina; good behavior of a good human in a crisis
I did not love "The City Born Great," which is apparently forming the basis of Jemisin's next novel, but I'll probably like it better when it's novel length.
Anyway, some favorites!
Red Dirt Witch: a story about outwitting the fae in rural Appalachia; the voice in this one really worked for me
L'Alchimista: this may have been my favorite in the book? It's not the deepest or most impactful but it's so much fun, about a chef who's asked to use her gastronomical talents to craft a magical potion. I made a post a little while ago about fantasy of craft, and this story is such a perfect little example of the stuff I love about that sub-genre when it's done well - professional pride and mundane arts
The Storyteller's Replacement: a very folktale-shaped story about smug dragon princesses. I support them.
The Narcomancer: 'man of faith wrestles with vow of chastity, questions of conscience' is certainly not a new storyline but this variant is well-done; I really enjoy stories about people figuring out how to walk the line between rules and ethics while staying true to their beliefs
The You Train: this story about decommissioned train lines in New York City doesn't have a ton of heft to it but I'm still too much of a New Yorker not to love it anyway
Sinners, Saints, Dragons and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters: my other favorite, about a man who connects with a lizard while riding out Hurricane Katrina; good behavior of a good human in a crisis
I did not love "The City Born Great," which is apparently forming the basis of Jemisin's next novel, but I'll probably like it better when it's novel length.
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I feel like the style of "City Born Great" probably can't be extended over a whole novel - it depended too much on (effectively) creating that sensation of rush and press, which even thrillers don't sustain! I'm interested to see where she goes with it.
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Yeah, I'm very curious how that will translate to a long-form book -- it felt like one of the more conceptual and least character-based of the stories, to me, which certainly seems like a thing that will probably not be true in a full novel.