This is a stronger collection than the 2011 edition, perhaps because it was less self-consciously global - the stories were better, but had a narrower reach. There were no weak stories here. Some were no more than adequate, but a number were quite strong. The anthology came closer than 2011's to fulfilling the goal of a simple collection of good stories. In particular, I enjoyed:"Portrait of Lisane de Patagna", by Rachel Swirsky, about a painter, her instructor, and magic. The ending could have

SOME OF THE BEST FROM TOR.COM: 2012 EDITION RATED 90% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.10 OUT OF 510 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 2 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF Doc Holliday leads a group of women into a spaceship that crashed in the desert. A young girl takes her imaginary friend to school. Werewolves hunt terrorists in a far away land. A pregnant scientist jump in and out of her past and future, but only on Christmas. One painter destroys what she paints. A doctor carves the memory of murder into the kille...

This is a free anthology of 10 stories from the tor.com website. (Somehow the abundance of free online content by famous genre authors makes me feel vaguely guilty for not reading more of it. Maybe people born into the internet world have a more healthy relationship with it than older folks like me. I tend to snap up free or cheap, even vaguely interesting ebooks left and right and then feel bad because I don't have the time to read them all. Or when faced with the viewing choices at Netflix I s...

A completely free collection of fiction from one the top markets of Science Fiction and Fantasy? Why are you still reading this review instead of the collection itself?With all collections, you like some stories, but hardly all. The same is true here. I always love a Gene Wolfe story, though this was not one of his best. I had heard of Michael Swanwick, but after reading his story here, I plan on picking up his novels if I can. That's the best thing about these collections; you try out authors y...

Like any collection, you like some stories more than others, I had one 1 star, one 5 star and several 3-4 star ratings here, but as the quality overall was high, and I've discovered 2 new authors I'm REALLY looking forward to reading more from, (Michael Swanwick and Pat Murphy) it's an overall 4 :-)

I like short stories. I also like to explore new sci-fi and fantasy authors. Reading anthologies is a win-win for me as I can do both at the same time. The fact that this particular anthology is also available for free on Kindle is an icing on the cake. I will update this review as I finish each of the short stories.Dormanna by Gene Wolfe: I’m not sure if what I took from the story is what the author wanted to convey, but it was a good story and written well. 3/5 stars.The Portrait of Lisane de

a decent collection. skimmed through a couple.

Li inteiro online."Dormanna", Gene Wolfe."Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia", Rachel Swirsky."The Mongolian Wizard", Michael Swanwick."A Tall Tail", Charles Stross."The Ghosts of Christmas", Paul Cornell."The Finite Canvas", Lee Mandelo."Am I Free To Go?", Kathryn Cramer."About Fairies", Pat Murphy."Our Human", Adam Troy Castro."Faster Gun", Elizabeth Bear.

I am completely hooked to the anthologies that Tor has been releasing - and for free, no less! This was a strong anthology that contained stories ranging across a variety of topics - everything from a young girl with an imaginary friend and a trip to the Wild West to war, magic, art, and time travel. A very enjoyable collection.

One cool story.

I am going to write a little of what I thought about each story. Oh and this is a free e-book, so go grab it!Dormanna: My note says "such a cute story", lets see if I can say bit more shall we ;) This is a adorable story about a girl befriending a little speck of something. The story is adorable, and by fare the lightest in the collection.Lortrait of Lisane de Patagnia: Really good gothic story. Full of melloncoly and wishing for a past that never were. Beautiful and dark!The Mongolian Wizard: A...

The inevitable problem with short story anthologies is that one likes some of the stories better than others. And although there were gems in this collection, how much I disliked the ones that didn't do it for me far far outweighed how much I liked the ones that did. Dormanna by Gene Wolfe: 2/5The Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia by Rachel Swirsky: 4/5The Mongolian Wizard by Michael Swanwick: 4/5A Tall Tail by Charles Stross: 2.5/5Ghosts of Christmas Past by Paul Cornell: 3/5Finite Canvas by Brit

Brainycat's 5 "B"s:blood: 3boobs: 2bombs: 1bondage: 3 blasphemy: 3Bechdel Test: PASSDeggan's Rule: PASSGay Bechdel Test: PASS Please note: I don't review to provide synopses, I review to share a purely visceral reaction to books and perhaps answer some of the questions I ask when I'm contemplating investing time and money into a book. A list of shorts with the likes of Swanwick, Stross, and Bear? Yes Please! This was one of those "you might also like..." suggestions from That Monolithic Online...

Dormanna by Gene WolfeBeautiful, quiet portrait of alien, or perhaps fairy visitation, and how even the smallest of things can have profound effects in our lives. 5/5Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia by Rachel SwirskyThe vividness with which this story was written stayed with me long after the actual story did; Rachel Swirsky wrote as if she were painting, and created a layered, delicate, intricate story of love and death. 5/5The Mongolian Wizard by Michael SwanwickWhere do I get more of this? This...

"Dormanna" by Gene Wolfe - I think this one was OK. "Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia" by Rachel Swirsky & "The Mongolian Wizard" by Michael Swanwick - fantasy seems just not to work as a short story for me.....A Tall Tail by Charles StrossThe Ghosts of Christmas by Paul CornellThe Finite Canvas by Brett MandeloAm I Free To Go? by Kathryn CramerAbout Fairies by Pat MurphyOur Human by Adam Troy CastroFaster Gun by Elizabeth Bear

“Some of the best from tor.com”, yep, they weren’t THE best, they were mostly ok, with some better. Doc Holliday finds a wrecked space ship in ‘Faster Gun’, an old human is held by an odd race ‘Our Human’ and ‘The Finite Canvas’ where a tale is told to a tattoo artist as she works are the highlights. Good stories 3/5

I enjoyed almost all of the short stories in this collection.Dormana - Gene Wolfe. 4 STARS. So simple, so sweet. (view spoiler)[A tiny little alien visits a little human girl for one day, on its journey of knowledge gathering. (hide spoiler)]Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia - Rachel Swirsky. 3.5 STARS. In an alternate Renaissance Italy, art is combination of paint and magic. To paint something with magic is to destroy it. Lisane was famous for her painting and bed-hopping, as she taught and slept

This totally free e-anthology of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novellas was from Tor.com, available through Amazon.com. I don't think a paper edition is available. The quality of the stories varies, but it does include some well-known writers, Nebula nominated works, and Locus Recommended Reading List works. I think it is very interesting that the economy of publishing science fiction has evolved to the point where quality work is distributed this way, not just fanfic. The table

A really, really good anthology. It was free, and worth every penny. Seriously though, I'd gladly pay for it.The standout piece, for me, was Pat Murphy's About Fairies (which you can read online on its own, http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/05/ab...). I don't know -- there's just something haunting about the narration. A sort of a quiet desperation combined with an undercurrent of compassion that really got to me. Sounds fuzzy, I know, but it's a worthy read, I promise.

The title gives a decent clue about what this is. Tor.com publishes a new short story every week. The editors collected the best stories from 2012 into this volume.All of these stories are worth reading. I had a few particular favorites.* "The Mongolian Wizard" by Michael Swanwick. A young soldier and his wolf stop a plot by a power hungry wizard. Or do they? And what are the consequences of succeeding?* "A Tall Tail" by Charlie Stross. As you read this story, it helps to have a basic familiarit...