As with most anthologies a mixed bag.
1. A Lay of Light and Anger by Stewart C Baker – extremely dull and clichéd fantasy. DNF 0/5
2. The Night Bazaar for Women Becoming Reptiles by Rachel K Jones. Women eat reptile eggs to transform and escape. Delightfully sinuous, more weird-fiction than anything else. 5/5
3. The Wake by James Mapes. The death of gods and the stoicism of humans. 4/5
4. Black as Thread by Jessie Kwak. Interesting take on the seductions of power, even in small things. 3/5
5. A Woven Womb by C A McDonald. Rather dull story of creating a magic child. 2/5
6. Prothalamion by Tracy Mannaster. Very short but entrancing tale of strange disruptions to the life of a village. 4/5
7. The Kingdom of the Belly by Michelle Ruiz Keil. Short mythological story. OK. 3/5
8. Ib and Nib: the Ice Berries by Stevan Allred. Folk-tale in the style of Le Guin’s Karhide stories. 2/5
9. Old Souls by Fonda Lee. The acts of remembered past lives catch up with people. 3.5/5
10. The Ones Who Don’t Walk Away by Rene Denfeld. Depressing tale of imprisoned refugees. 3/5. I much prefer N K Jemisin’s “The Ones Who Stay and Fight”.
11. The Polar Explorer by Leni Zumas. A woman’s scientific work on Polar ice is ignored in the 19th century. Doesn’t really go anywhere. 2/5
12. Birds by Benjamin Parzybok. A crazy homeless man is taken up by a well-meaning but damaged woman. 2.5/5
13. Homeless Gary Busey by Timothy O’Leary. Homeless man harasses a citizen, who takes revenge and is persecuted for it. 2/5
14. Finding Joan by David D Levine. A middle-aged woman survives in post-apocalyptic Portland. 3/5
15. Becoming Human by Gigi Little. Ants survive the apocalypse and take up baking. 4/5
16. Bee, Keeper by Jason LaPier. Clunky environmental message. 1/5
17. KwaZulu-Natal by Juhea Kim. Depressing story of a boy and a hand-reared elephant. 2/5
18. Mr Uncle’s Favor by Kesha Ajose-Fisher. Really nice story of a young girl coming from America to Nigeria and making friends with the old man next door. 4/5
19. Ib and Nib and the Golden Ring by Stevan Allred. A pointless folk-tale. 1/5
20. Neuron by Lydia Yuknavitch. An electric shock transforms a girl, giving her the power to reach the girl she loves. 3/5
21. Laddie Come Home by Curtis C Chen. Quite interesting about sentient wearable tech, but the ending gives off an unappealing “western saviour” vibe. 3/5
22. The Way Things were by Jonah Barrett. Aliens offer escape to people who want to leave America, which unsurprisingly causes other people to try and stop them. 2/5
23. Valuable by Mo Daviau. Messy time travel. 2/5
24. Hard Choices by Tina Connolly. Excellent and quite humorous story of inter-species lust written in the form of a “choose your own adventure”. 4/5
25. When Strangers Meet by Sonia Orin Lyris. A strange ritual in an alien hive. 3/5
26. JoyBe’s Last Dance by Jason Arias. A self-aware marionette goes wrong. 2/5
27. The Taster by TJ Acena. A man tastes food for the millions of “digital citizens”. 3/5
28. Let It Die by Arwen Spicer. Excellent story about a girl who breaks society’s strong taboos against using ancient tech. 4/5
29. Each Cool Silver Orb a Gift by Nicole Rosevear. Rather shambolic story of building a better world after a war. 2/5
30. Wenonah’s Gift by Molly Gloss. Quiet story of post-apocalyptic village life, with a harsh twist. 4/5
31. Ib and Nib and the Hemmens Tree by Stevan Allred. Irritating and pointless folk-tale. 1/5 ( )