User:	lastshortstory (posted by callistra)
	Date:	2009-12-21 19:55
	Subject:	Shimmer Dec 2009
	Security:	Public

Shimmer Dec 2009 just had so many good stories! This is my first steampunk anthology, and I found it whimsical, beautifully written and presented, and with thoughtful stories. Re-reading the table of contents and trying to pick which stories to talk about is much harder than I thought it would be!

I love the language of Peter M Ball's The Clockwork Goat and the Smokestack Magi, and it's also a very clever tale. Equal favourite with this is The Emperor's Gift, by Rajan Khanna, where a man is caught between his duty and his loves. I enjoyed The Monkey and the Butterfly by Susannah Mandel, and Message in A Bottle by James Maxey was a fantastic tale of an adventure on the Moon.

This entire anthology is full of beautiful, fascinating stories. I was so impressed with Ball's opening paragraphs that I read them to my husband! The whole anthology worked for me, the tone was consistent and the stories engaging and well written. Definitely grab a copy! 

	User:	lastshortstory (posted by benpayne)
	Date:	2009-12-20 19:33
	Subject:	LSS Recommended Reading List 2009
	Security:	Public

It's that time of year again!

Here, to add to the lists already out there, is our compiled Best-Of at LSS, for 2009:


On the Destruction of Copenhagen by the War Machines of the Merfolk... Peter M Ball (Strange Horizons)
Horn... Peter M Ball (Twelfth Planet Press)
The Rabbi's Holiday... Peter S Beagle (Eclipse 2)
Vanishing... Peter S Beagle (Intergalactic Medicine Show)
Sleight of Hand... Peter S Beagle (Eclipse 3)
Cuckoo... Elizabeth Bear (Shadow Unit)
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown... Holly Black (The Eternal Kiss)
Sugar... Leah Bobet (Shadow Unit)
Undead is Very Hot Right Now... Sarah Rees Brennan (The Eternal Kiss)
River of Heaven... Rachel Manija Brown (Strange Horizons)
Getaway... Emma Bull (Shadow Unit)
Wind-Up Bogeyman... Emma Bull (Shadow Unit)
Truth and Bone... Pat Cadigan (Poe)
Wet Teeth... Cecil Castellucci (The Eternal Kiss)
Baby in the Basket... Cecil Castellucci (Strange Horizons)
Exhalation... Ted Chiang (Eclipse 2)
The Night Cache... Andy Duncan (PS Publishing)
The Widow's Seven Candles... Thoraiya Dyer (New Ceres Nights)
Hot Rock... Greg Egan (Oceanic)
Debutante... Dirk Flinthart (New Ceres Nights)
The Pelican Bar... Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse 3)
Shoes-to-Run... Sara Genge (Asimovs)
As Women Fight... Sara Genge (Asimovs)
The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm... Daryl Gregory (Eclipse 2)
It Takes Two... Nicola Griffith (Eclipse 3)
Wives... Paul Haines (x6)
Iron Temple... Trent Jamieson (x6)
Spar... Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld #37)
The Sharp Shooter... Sylvia Kelso (New Ceres Nights)
Act One... Nancy Kress (Asimovs)
Elevator... Nancy Kress (Eclipse 2)
Dulce Domum... Ellen Kushner (Eclipse 3)
Ferryman... Margo Lanagan (Firebirds Soaring)
Superhero Girl... Jessica Lee (Fantasy)
The Cinderella Game... Kelly Link (Troll's Eye View)
Bridesicle... Will McIntosh (Asimovs)
Skin Deep... Richard Parks (Eclipse 2)
The Long, Cold Goodbye... Holly Phillips (Asimovs)
Not Like Us... Tansy Rayner Roberts... Shiny #5
Prosperine When It Sizzles... Tansy Rayner Roberts (New Ceres Nights)
Siren Beat... Tansy Rayner Roberts (Twelfth Planet Press)
The Japanese Sword... Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Swordplay)
Eros, Philia, Agape... Rachel Swirsky (tor.com)
We Haven't Got There Yet... Harry Turtledove (tor.com)
Delicate Architecture... Catherynne M Valente (Troll's Eye View)
Advection... Genevieve Valentine (Clarkesworld #35)
The Island... Peter Watts (New Space Opera II)
Something Worth Doing... Elizabeth E Wein (Firebirds Soaring)
The Far End of History... John C Wright (New Space Opera II)
Power and Magic... Marly Youmans (Firebirds Soaring)

Disclosure: Several of the works on this list were written or edited by members of LSS. However, those members did not vote on or contribute to any debate on the inclusion of those works.