thegooddoctor
2/28/2022
Starts off well, but thestory meanders and muddles aimlessly through the protagonist's life before finally sputtering to a halt. If I am going to put in the time for an entire novella, I am hoping for something better than this. (Shout out to slow readers everywhere!) There certainly are excellent stories in this collection (Best Science Fiction of the Year, vol. 4, ed. by Neil Clarke) - for example, "Mother Tongues" by S. Qiouyi Lu is outstanding.
My rating system: I begin with one star being equivalent to a rating of "C -". Progressing upwards, I add ½ star for each step, up to the maximum 5 stars, which is equivalent to a rating of "A"+. I reserve ½ star for BOMBS, there being no option of zero or negative stars. As a result, I set aside my rating space for good books, and don't squander half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.