If you like crazy

Despite the title, I'd This call this collection Speculative Fiction instead, and not my kind of reading
Found a couple reasonably good stories in this collection, but most of it i skipped through after trying each one.
If you like crazy speculative fiction, like Alice in Wonderland type tales, you might get more from it. ( )

Excellent collection with some interesting stories. My favorites: "Not by Wardrobe, Tornado, or Looking Glass," by Jeremiah Tolbert, and "Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology," by Theodora Goss. YMMV. ( )

Found for free while looking at Sarah Grey's amazon author page. So I am here for her story but will be checking out others also. I imagine all of these have been previously published in Lightspeed Magazine.

Read:

-- How to Get Back to the Forest by Sofia Samatar, narrated by Emily Rankin - DNF, got to about 50% - Teens are the main characters. The story opens with lots of puking. They are trying to puke out a computer bug that is in them. By the halfway point, the method of the story telling was leaving me disinterested. One of the characters is writing "the story" to another character. I don't think we know what happened to her yet or why they don't have parents and what is up with the camp they are at.

-- The Venus Effect by Violet Allen (AKA Joseph Allen Hill), narrated by Stefan Rudnicki - DNF - got to about 25%. I learned what metafiction or 4th wall breaking (I knew that one from TV) is after looking at some reviews. There are some great reviews out there about it and I can see why it is well liked. It wasn't a good match for my reading preferences, so I quit. Look for the reviews on this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33413949-the-best-american-science-fiction-a....

-- Deep Blood Kettle by Hugh Howey, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki - 1* - I felt it was absolutely pointless and I can't imagine why someone would write it. I picked it based on name recognition. // The MC is a young boy drawing a parallel between him plowing the fields and fertilizing it with the animals he runs over (worms, rabbits) and the aliens that just got to earth. The aliens want half of the human's land and for us to relinquish our weapons or they'll take all our land. *shrugs* what is the metaphor???

-- Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World by Caroline M. Yoachim, narrated by Karyn O'Bryant - 1*
I hated it. I was confused for most of it. I can't even summarize it except maybe I can say there a was a being that is capable of taking different forms, it learns to fold time and has some encounters including having a baby outside time. *way over my head and completely not what I look for in a story*

-- A Bond as Deep as Starlit Seas by Sarah Grey, narrated by Janina Edwards - DNF
What an interesting tile.
A woman, regretfully, has to sell her spaceship that she has "bonded" to.
It's outside my interest at this time so I decided to let it go after only reading a bit.

-- Invisible Planets by Hao Jingfang, narrated by Stephan Rudnicki - DNF
Description: The tale by Hao Jingfang is a sprightly tour of a series of imaginary planets; on each one, the culture of the inhabitants is shaped by the peculiarities of their environment.
For me it was TMI and I couldn't stay engaged. DNF
See this review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1936240662

Other stories in this edition:
-- The Thing About Shapes to Come by Adam-Troy Castro
-- Not by Wardrobe, Tornado, or Looking Glass by Jeremiah Tolbert
-- And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead by Brooke Bolander
-- The Master Conjurer by Charle Jane Anders
-- The Jaws That Bite, the Claws That Catch by Seanan McGuire
-- Unauthorized Access by An Owomoyela
-- A Love Story Written on Water by Ashok K. Banker
-- The Last Cheng Beng Gift by Jaymee Goh
-- The Old Equations by Jake Kerr
-- Observations About Eggs From the Man Sitting Next to Me on a Flight From Chicago, Illinois to Cedar Rapids, Iowa by Carmen Maria Machado
-- Jump by Cadwell Turnbull
-- The Litigation Master and the Monkey King by Ken Liu
-- The King of Chains, the Deuce of Stars by Yoon Ha Lee
-- Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology by Theodora Goss ( )