To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ★★☆☆☆

“Let the dead bury the dead.  

Let the dead bury the dead.”

That was an exhausting journey through ugliness.  

Judge Dee and the Mystery of the Missing Manuscript ★★★★☆

The Vampire Library has few rules, but those they have they take deadly serious.  

Unfortunately, Judge Dee is late returning his book - seven hundred years late.

“Death!” the monks chanted. “Death to the unlawful borrower of books!  Death to the late returner!”

“That seems a bit excessive,” Drago of Carpathia said. “He did bring it back!”

The monks hissed at him…

“Seven hundred years of torture, then!”

It was funny to see Judge Dee in the hot seat, to see him penitent yet, as always, clever.  

And yes, there was also a murder mystery.  And again, the ending needed another sentence or two to grab another star.

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/09/judge-dee-and-the-mystery-of-the-missing-manuscript-lavie-tidhar/

Seven Vampires by Lavie Tidhar ★★★☆☆

That was three vampires too many I think.  There was something about the pace, and the ending, that made the story less satisfying than previous offerings.  

“He thought of their previous adventures - or nightmares, as Johnathan privately thought of them… He might have considered writing them down, but his handwriting was terrible and besides, no one wanted to read stories about vampires.” 

Moments of levity still made it worth the time.  Another two or three sentences at the end, or one sentence of foreshadow, could have added a star.

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2022/02/16/seven-vampires-a-judge-dee-mystery-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

On a busy frustrating day I snuck every chance I could to read a few pages - I smiled every time.   

”So long as not too many bloodless corpses were found in the morning and people took care to clean up after themselves, things were generally fine.” 

Vampires have few laws. 

But when a vampire is murdered it’s up to Judge Dee and Jonathan to solve the case!

Read it for yourself: https://www.tor.com/2021/09/15/judge-dee-and-the-poisoner-of-montmartre-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

 “The truth was that mysteries were bunk: murder was straightforward and everyone did it, from the emperor down.”  

The Count had disappeared and three of his enemies are claiming they killed him, claiming inheritance by vampire law.  

Another clever offering from the Judge Dee series!

Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2021/02/10/judge-dee-and-the-three-deaths-of-count-werdenfels-lavie-tidhar/

Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law by Lavie Tidhar ★★★★★

Karen has again mined Tor for the good stuff!  

Vampires have few laws, but those they take deadly serious.  Directed by the Council, Judge Dee travels the medieval world with his human companion and acts a judge, jury, and executioner for his kind.  He is old, powerful, and respected - but that doesn’t mean he cannot be fooled.  

This was clever, fun, and addictive!  I will continue the series.

Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-dee-and-the-limits-of-the-law-lavie-tidhar/

Twelve Tomorrows ★★★★★

Fields of Gold by Liu Cixin ★★★★★★

"Are the stars very far?"
"They’re getting closer." 
Six stars.  Jaw droppingly good.  I gasped!  

Elric of Melniboné: The Elric Saga Part 1 by Michael Moorcock ★★☆☆☆

Poor Cymoril.  A practical noblewoman with the misfortune to fall in love with Eric - a skinny, asthmatic philosophy major addicted to a paranormal blend of meth and dark magic.  An albino prince completely unwilling to listen to reason.  

The stories are Eric getting into trouble for not listening to Cymoril.  Eric running away and proclaiming he misses and loves Cymoril - while impregnating Oone the Dream Thief.  Eric accidentally killing Cymoril, like she told him he would.  Eric destroying everything in sadness and then sleeping around some more.   

Sometimes classics let you down :(

Fire: An Anthology

Letter of the Law by Pat Aitcheson ★★★★½ 
Whoops!  Hahaha 😈, best typo ever.

Imagine 2200

The Secrets of the Last Greenland Shark by Mike McClelland ★★★★★ 

“Survive. Survive. Survive.” 
And then I cried.  I cried and cried while walking my dog, unable to explain to passing strangers that I had just read something beautiful.
Read it Yourself: https://grist.org/fix/imagine-2200-climate-fiction-secrets-of-the-last-greenland-shark/

The Cloud Weaver’s Song by Saul Tanpepper ★★★★½ 

Oh that was excellent!  Future survivalist Native American’s get stuck in their new ways, but one woman dares to remember her roots - The Earth needs water too.
Read it Yourself: https://grist.org/fix/imagine-2200-climate-fiction-cloud-weavers-song/

Afterglow by Lindsey Brodeck ★★★★☆ 

This read like a prequel to Emergency Skin - enjoyable!
Read it Yourself: https://grist.org/fix/imagine-2200-climate-fiction-afterglow/

Those were best stories of this free Solarpunk Anthology.