skygiants

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.