Any Way the Wind Blows by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4/5 cats
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.
this is the FOURTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your 2019 reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards.
if you scroll to the end of the reviews linked here, you will find links to all the previous years’ stories, which means NINETY-THREE FREEBIES FOR YOU!
2016: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…
2018: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…
reviews of these will vary in length/quality depending on my available time/brain power.
so, let’s begin
DECEMBER 25
“Is there a reason you needed to talk to me?” I counter. “I don’t leave the ship very often.”
“That was me,” says Alcestis, a twinkle in her eye that I don’t care for. “See, these nice folks thought we were fans who’d broken into their offices looking for one of their authors.” My confusion must show in my expression, because she grins and explains, “They publish fiction. Science fiction. Stories about airships and parallel dimensions and people from radically divergent timelines.”
“Oh sweet Lightning, we fell into one of those,” I mutter.
oops, i got too lazy on christmas day to read and review a story, so i’m doubling up today. shhhhh…
this is a sweet little story written on the occasion of tor leaving the flatiron building to move to their new downtown home, the story (and possibly the actual move) involving inter-dimensional travelers who have seen it all, including this most terrifying of threats:
We once found a parallel where the pigeons had somehow turned carnivorous and bloodthirsty. A flock could pick the flesh off a human’s bones in under a minute, the piranhas of the sky.
i KNEW this was a thing. they’re coming, make no mistake.
like all of mcguire’s work, this one includes some wise observations:
If one world opens a window on another, they view themselves as peaceful explorers. If a world has a window opened on it, they view the people on the other side as hostile invaders.
Aren’t humans fun?
but for the most part, it’s a little flit of homage and inside jokes that is more of an occasional piece than something that’s going to bring new fans onboard.
still, it’s free and fun and a nice way to spend a couple of minutes.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2019/06/05/any-wa…
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