I will admit that I did not read every story in its entirety. When it comes to anthologies, I view them like a buffet. At this buffet, I'm looking to sample a bunch of different things before deciding what I want more of. I certainly discovered some great new authors from this collection, but if I felt like a story's plot or writing style weren't working for me, I would move on.That being said, these were some of the highlights from the collection:The Storyteller's Replacement by N.K. Jemisin -

It was a great experience to read such diverse and thought-provoking modern sci-fi stories, from a range of authors both familiar and not. However, this collection took quite a bit of energy to get through. Almost all the stories involved heavy social and/or political themes, which of course is a great element to have, but they began to weigh on me as I went from story to story. I think it's a case where the whole is *lesser* than the sum of its parts.Anyway, here's a rating and impressions for

I don’t get the 5 star reviews. The stories in this collection are universally terrible. Not uplifting or positive, generally depressing. The only “thought provoking moment” that I had while reading this book was “why am I reading this book?” The stories are dull and a labor to get through. If this represents the future of these genres, then the future is not very bright. There are plenty of imaginative stories here but not fun, entertaining ones.

Maybe 2.5 stars. This anthology is so weighted with unsuccessful, awkward, sometimes seemingly unfinished work that I have to go beyond calling it uneven to labeling it poor overall. Only two stories here strike me as outstanding: P. Djèlí Clark's brief, beautifully restrained yet fully imagined "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" and Sofia Samatar's "Hard Mary", which is probably the best thing I've ever read by her (haven't really been a fan up to now, finding most

I really enjoyed this anthology. All kinds of inventive and brave authors taking risks in their worldbuilding, and a lot of stories by or about folks of color and other frequently marginalized identities. Many of the stories are pretty dark - I would not describe this as an uplifting book - but I would describe it as a fascinating one.

It’s hard to give a rating for this entire anthology, since - as usual for an assortment of stories by different authors - I loved some of the stories, liked most of them, and could not get into a few. To keep things positive, I’ll mention only the three stories I loved the most: - “When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis” by Annalee Newitz- “What Gentle Women Dare” by Kelly Robson- “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth” by Daryl GregoryAs far as I’m concerned, it would be worthwhile to buy the book

excellent excellent collection. loved nearly all of the stories. def checking some of these authors out again.

Overall, I'm disappointed with this collection. However, it remains a good cross-section of some of the themes concurrent to contemporary science-fiction and fantasy short fiction. There are two stories in here that deserve a bigger audience: my absolute favorite "Nine Last Days On Planet Earth" by Daryl Gregory and "Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing The Stumps Down Good" by Lashawn M Wanak. I just expect to find more "above average" and "beyond expectations" stories than I did here...

This year's collection is a terrific plethora of short stories, the best one in years. Carmen Maria Machado has put together stories that color outside the lines, and stories that color excellently inside the lines. Choosing a favorite is tough, but luckily, you don't have to. My personal one is Adam-Troy Castro's "Pitcher Plant," an enthralling, lingering horror story. Wait. On second thought, my favorite is Annalee Newitz's "When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis." I'm not just saying that b...

A fucking STRONG antho for what SFF looks like and reads like in 2019. Radical, violent feminism, Eldritch forces mixed into everyday lives, and the slow misreadings of beautiful things by the modern world emerged as themes. Carman Maria Machado emerged as a great guest editor and selector of fairy tales, which is unsurprising. Some of the fantasy stories selected had paces I wasn't vibing with: "Dead Air', "Pitcher Plant", "Hard Mary", for example. But having stories like that is expected. What...

Probably closer to 2.5. The quality of story was pretty varied and I just couldn’t get into most of them. Made finishing the book feel like a chore.

I liked the 2018 edition better, but the stories in this volume are excellent as well. While nothing in here was bad, there were a few that stood out more than others. Below are my mini reviews of the ones that make the book worth reading: -What Everyone Knows by Seanan McGuireI have it from reliable sources that Seanan McGuire is amazing, but despite my faith in my friend'srecommendations, this is my first encounter with their work. That is going to have to change. This story is a clever divers...

Didn't read them all, but favorites were:Pitcher Plant - Adam Troy-CastroGodmeat - Martin CahillDead Lovers On Each Blade, Hung - Usman MalikHard Mary - Sofia SamatarThe Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington - P Djeli ClarkSister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing the Stumps Down Good - LaShawn Wanak

This book had some great stories in it. There were a few duds, but overall an excellent collection.

First time I've ever read an anthology like this and overall I really enjoyed it. Pretty wide variety of stuff, a lot of it really good. And I really enjoyed the author's notes at the end.

Really hit or miss for me. But I suppose it always is. Here are the stories that I loved. I am teaching these in my Advanced Creative Writing Workshops this year. Through the Flash by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahWhen Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis by Annalee NewitzHard Mary by Sofia Samatar What Gentle Women Dare by Kelly Robson Godmeat by Martin CahillDead Lovers on Each Blade, Hung by Usman Malik On the Day You Spend Forever with Your Dog by Adam R. ShannonSix Hangings in the Land of Unkillab...

As with any collection of essays or short stories, there will be some that you really enjoy and some that you don't like as much.My favorites, in no particular order:-Godmeat by Martin Cahill-What Gentle Women Dare by Kelly Robson-When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis by Annalee Newitz-On the Day you Spend Forever with your Dog by Adam Shannon-Variations on a Theme from Turandot by Ada HoffmanThis review is more for my own recollection than an attempt to provide insight to other potential rea...

I didn't like all of them, and it occurs to me that this indicates a good selection process in the two tiers of editing. I'm sure a lot of people liked different stories than I did. Samatar's "Hard Mary" and Clark's "Nine Negro Teeth" stood out. I think I'll go and look for the 2009 or 1999 versions and compare ...

This book gets all the stars. I've been reading this anthology since its start. I like how there is a different guest editor every year because the collection definitely reflects the editor's tastes. This one was my favorite (my second favorite was the first installment, when Joe Hill was guest editor). This collection had such incredible diversity. Stories from a variety of racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds as well as queer and genderfluid folks, and each story was saturated with talent.

All of these stories won't be for everyone. But they will definitely make you think ... what it means to be human or maybe just humane.