Merc Fenn WolfmoorReseñas

I picked up this collection because I enjoyed the author's contribution to A PEOPLE'S FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES so much. (It was one of the highlights of an otherwise mostly bleak anthology.) I'm really glad I did! This collection is full of hopeful, positive, and very queer stories. There's so much good SFF queer rep here: just about everything is shown, from lesbian and gay couples, to bisexual and (many) transgender characters, and ace/aro characters. In addition, there are autistic characters, and a little bit of disability rep. (I don't think the autism is called out, but it's pretty obviously there in a few places.)

This is one of the rare short story collections where I didn't dislike a single piece. Sure, I liked some of the stories more than others, and there were a few that I don't think I fully understand, but I enjoyed reading each piece.

"This Is Not a Wardrobe Door"
I hadn't expected the collection to start with a fantasy piece, but I'm a huge fan of portal fantasy so I loved this story. I really liked getting to see both sides of the portal, and appreciated the ending a lot.

"Tomorrow When We See the Sun"
This story unfolds as it goes, with a lot of the world building spaced out through the piece. I liked where it went, bittersweet ending and all, and am very curious to read the other stories published in this world.

"The Sorcerer's Unattainable Gardens"
I really like this one, and the storytelling style. I think it's best to read it without spoilers, so I won't explain why I liked the style. Just read it for yourself. It's not too long, and it's both sweet and imaginative.

"The Android's Prehistoric Menagerie"
Super sweet story! I thought in the first chapter or two that this was going to be a dystopian, but it's filled with too much hope and life to be called that (even though it's set after the world as we know it ends). I really liked this one. While I would like to see the characters more, I think this is the perfect length story.

"For Want of a Heart"
I'm not sure what exactly to think of this story. I really like the concept and the worldbuilding, but the resolution was not exactly what I would have liked. Honestly, while I can see the main character behaving the way she did it was also a very selfish act and that makes it hard for me to properly say I "liked" it since I didn't like the MC.

"Once I, Rose"
The way this story unfolded was really neat. I'm not going into details because it's best to discover it for yourself, but there are two main ways to see the ending playing out (after the story ends) and I choose to believe the happy version.

"Where Monsters Dance"
This sweet "not a fairy tale" actually is a fairy tale, kinda. One where the monsters are the good guys, and some "good guys" are monsters. I really liked this story. (Nice LGBTQ+ rep too, with a lesbian MC and trans love interest.) CW: misgendering of secondary character

"A Survival Guide For When You're Trapped In A Black Hole"
God, how to describe this one? Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Worth a read, but be sure you're in a mentally good place first—especially pet owners. CW: pet illness and death

"Thread"
Neat concept and set-up, though I only partially understand the actual setting. I liked it even though I can’t really describe what happened or why.

"Under Wine-Bright Seas"
Very cool almost-mermaid story! I loved the mix of gender fluidity and disability rep in this even though it’s short.

"Of Blessed Servitude"
This one is weird, kind of a Western/Spec Fic combo. It also throws in some anti-LGBTQ+ dytopia-ish laws (used against the good guys) and it gets a bit gory in places. Neat to read but weird and hard to describe.

"To the Knife-Cold Stars"
This story follows on after the previous story in the collection, but focuses on the other character in that story. This one is less gory, but has more depressing thoghts as a result of an offscreen death of a loved one. The MC is not quite suicidal, but is close at points.

"Finding Home"
Sweet short about finding home and family, and what that means. This one proves that I can enjoy portal SF as much as portal fantasy.

"Winter Bride"
This is a fairly classic faerie story using the Wild Hunt as a backdrop, though it doesn’t always go in the direction I expect. I enjoyed it a lot.

"To the Monsters, With Love"
A fun short that flips the good guys and bad guys around. I wasn’t surprised by the direction this one went, but it was still entertaining to read.

"Batteries For Your Doombot5000 Are Not Included"
Very sweet short about retired superheroes and supervillains trying to save a friend. I liked this one a lot, and would happily read more stories about these characters. Possibly my favorite story in the collection... it was fun and happy and sentimental and just very good.

"…Or Be Forever Fallen"
Weird and a little creepy. Minor body horror. And I am a bit confused about what happened, but it was neat to read.

"Iron Aria"
I've read stories before that anthropomorphize natural objects, but this story is one of the better ones. I love the way the ocean and the mountain had personalities and how their thoughts were there but not human. I also liked Kyru as a character, and his journey toward being who he truly is.

"What Becomes of the Third-Hearted"
This is an interesting take on the end of the world, but it felt more fantasy than science fiction. (Not a problem, I just always got surprised when this collection took a fantasy turn given the title and cover.) I appreciated the weirdness and the hopeful tone. CW: brief mentions of cancer and death of a parent

"The Gentleman of Chaos"
I really enjoyed this one! It's a great story of growth and self discovery and how being who you truly are can be freeing. Highly recommended (though it gets a bit bloody at times).

"How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps"
I really enjoyed this story a lot; it was easy to connect with the MC's difficulty fitting into a society that expects one thing when you feel another. Even though the MC is depressed for most of the story, this was still a hopeful note to end the collection on, since they're surrounded by a large support group of side characters. CW: depression, suicidal thoughts, homophobia

So many good stories – fantasy, urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction. All the warm fuzzies.

This should be good. *starts reading*
It IS!!! I'd about given up on finding a short story collection I liked most of. I am SO glad I tried this one! Very highly recommended for inclusive nonbigoted minds!

This Cold Red Dust: oh. Oh oh oh. it me, ur smol: cute; I want it to come true.
Behold the Deep Never Seen: I enjoyed it. Some may find it a bit ecologically preachy, but they're wrong, so.
Housebot After the Uprising: Very short and cute in a robot uprising kind of way.
Bring the Bones That Sing: Very nice reaper fantasy. POV is an autistic girl.
Lonely Robot On a Rocket Ship In Space: legit made me cry at the end Yet So Vain is Man: Very short first contact story, yikes.
The Machine is Experiencing Uncertainty: I would read more of this in a heartbeat.
The Loincloth and the Broadsword: Oh my gosh this is delightful. More fantasies like this!
HEXPOCALYPSE: A funny disaster!
Steadyboi After the Apocalypse: Oh my gosh, this one is fantastic worldbuilding and MC. Wow.
The Frequency of Compassion: What a delightful first contact story.

*runs off to comb through author's backlist.

This is CREEPY.

If I could add a half star, this would be 3.5 for me. It's a good story, the author did indeed understand the assignment (entertain the reader). It needs a loving edit for some blocky prose and plot and even dialogue, but the acknowledgements indicates it was originally serialized. It's free, and nine years old. But, evil plus accepting is unusual enough to make this a fun read.

I got this free via the author's newsletter, thank you! Alas, though I got to 49%, I am now slinking away, defeated by the language, but mostly by the trips back in memory plus the somewhat convoluted language. I don't have a very good feeling for the MC or for anyone he interacts with, except the knight, who is the best character.

I need main characters I can feel for. That's hard when I can't quite grasp the essence of one, any direction or desire beyond vague service. Ah well. I tried.

This collection has more hits than misses for me, which is great, actually. Above average.

I’ve not previously read anything by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in.

The prose was tidy and easy to read - just a couple of typos caught my eye. There was a variety of story formats including letters and logs, and one of my favourites was written in second person (“Steadyboi after the Apocalypse”). There was just one piece I skimmed (“HEXPOCOLYPSE”) which to my tastes dragged a bit.

This short story collection isn’t just about robots (and “The Loincloth and the Broadsword” was a hoot), but I guess a common theme is how one can be “other”, no matter where one is. (I’m no philosopher or sociologist, so I’m using the term loosely). I enjoyed exploring the different environments along with the characters, and an overall sense of optimism.

Overall, I’m glad to have read this collection, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of the author’s work.

I read this for the second time and it's absolutely wonderful. It has a nonbinary sapphic main character, and it's pretty short, but I just love stories that play with portal fiction and doorways and what happens /after/.