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Tor.com Collection: Season 1
The first season of the Tor.com Collection includes the following Tor.com audiobooks originally published separately in the Fall of 2015:
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Last Witness by K.J. Parker
Of Sorrow & Such by Angela Slatter
Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace
The Builders by Daniel Polansky
Domnall and the Borrowed Child by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
The Shootout Solution by Michael R. Underwood
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Last Witness by K.J. Parker
Of Sorrow & Such by Angela Slatter
Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace
The Builders by Daniel Polansky
Domnall and the Borrowed Child by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
The Shootout Solution by Michael R. Underwood
Audiobook
First published August 3, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 10, 2021
Awesome Novella collection! I wished there would be markers on the Audiobook for each of the novellas so I could find them faster.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps (The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps #1) by Kai Ashante Wilson- 4 stars
This was highly original and the language was so poetic, it read like a modern Epos. Not a book to read in a rush but rather to hear on warm afternoons when the prose will flow melodically. The Audiobook performance of Kevin R. Free was awesome.
The only reason I'm not rating it five stars is that imo there was too little sci-fi, I would have gladly heard more about the Gods.
Envy of Angels (Sin du Jour #1) by Matt Wallace - 3 stars- Which is quite original and has a couple of very weird scenes. This was very different and entertaining.
The reasons I'm not giving it more stars is that the plot didn't have much structure, being a constant run of crazy and bizarre events on top of each other.
It also had many characters, to a point where I wasn't following who was who and not caring much either. I hope though that the next books of the series may deepen their story arcs.
Witches of Lychford (Lychford #1) by Paul Cornell - 4 stars- This was a novella that could have been easily a novel, but perhaps the other books in the series will flesh out the very interesting characters a bit more. I heard this as part of the Tor.com collection Audiobook and the narrator was good too.
The Builders - 3 stars- This was very well written. With as much action and violence as a Quentin Tarantino movie and very interesting characters. Not exactly for me, but well written.
Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss - 5 stars! -
Beautifully written epic fantasy novella with themes such as love, honor, loyalty, heroism, that make it transcendent and relatable to human experience at the same time. One of my favorites in the Tor.com Collection: Season 1 so far.
The Audiobook narrator also fitted extremely well for this particular story.
Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor- 4 stars - This was a very original Novella, and I'll go on reading this series for sure. A good Audiobook narrator here too.
The Last Witness by K.J. Parker- 5 stars! - This was masterfully written! A perfect, self contained in its form Novella, that handled profound themes like social injustice, suffering and so many others, with an unlikable but extremely interesting and multi-layered main character.
Domnall and the Borrowed Child - 2 stars An interesting Novella with Fae, but the weakest in this collection so far. I wish there would be more chapters to this story with these characters and world, this felt like the beginning of a novel length story.
The Shootout Solution - 4 stars. This Novella was so much fun that I bought Genrenauts: The Complete Season One Collection to continue reading this series.
Of Sorrow and Such- 5 stars! - Awesome story, I wan to read more from this author for sure!
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps (The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps #1) by Kai Ashante Wilson- 4 stars
This was highly original and the language was so poetic, it read like a modern Epos. Not a book to read in a rush but rather to hear on warm afternoons when the prose will flow melodically. The Audiobook performance of Kevin R. Free was awesome.
The only reason I'm not rating it five stars is that imo there was too little sci-fi, I would have gladly heard more about the Gods.
Envy of Angels (Sin du Jour #1) by Matt Wallace - 3 stars- Which is quite original and has a couple of very weird scenes. This was very different and entertaining.
The reasons I'm not giving it more stars is that the plot didn't have much structure, being a constant run of crazy and bizarre events on top of each other.
It also had many characters, to a point where I wasn't following who was who and not caring much either. I hope though that the next books of the series may deepen their story arcs.
Witches of Lychford (Lychford #1) by Paul Cornell - 4 stars- This was a novella that could have been easily a novel, but perhaps the other books in the series will flesh out the very interesting characters a bit more. I heard this as part of the Tor.com collection Audiobook and the narrator was good too.
The Builders - 3 stars- This was very well written. With as much action and violence as a Quentin Tarantino movie and very interesting characters. Not exactly for me, but well written.
Sunset Mantle by Alter S. Reiss - 5 stars! -
Beautifully written epic fantasy novella with themes such as love, honor, loyalty, heroism, that make it transcendent and relatable to human experience at the same time. One of my favorites in the Tor.com Collection: Season 1 so far.
The Audiobook narrator also fitted extremely well for this particular story.
Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor- 4 stars - This was a very original Novella, and I'll go on reading this series for sure. A good Audiobook narrator here too.
The Last Witness by K.J. Parker- 5 stars! - This was masterfully written! A perfect, self contained in its form Novella, that handled profound themes like social injustice, suffering and so many others, with an unlikable but extremely interesting and multi-layered main character.
Domnall and the Borrowed Child - 2 stars An interesting Novella with Fae, but the weakest in this collection so far. I wish there would be more chapters to this story with these characters and world, this felt like the beginning of a novel length story.
The Shootout Solution - 4 stars. This Novella was so much fun that I bought Genrenauts: The Complete Season One Collection to continue reading this series.
Of Sorrow and Such- 5 stars! - Awesome story, I wan to read more from this author for sure!
Read
July 25, 2016As a collection, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The stories that spurred me to listen to the collection didn't quite live up to the hype with the exception of 'The Builders' which is excellent. The surprise generally came from authors I wasn't aware of before.
My favorites: The Builders, The Last Witness and The Shootout Solution. Runners-up: Envy of Angels, Sunset Mantle and Of Sorrow and Such.
I had previously previously listened to and rate ENVY OF ANGELS, an enjoyable story sort of like the tv cooking competition Chopped blended with Silence of the Lambs.
I had also previously read Daniel Polansky's THE BUILDERS and loved it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Out of curiosity, I listened to a bit of the narration which seemed adequate but didn't spur me to listen to the entire story. I daresay this is one better for reading than listening.
Sorcerer of the Wildeeps: Very stylistic, feels like it sometimes sacrificed story for style giving rise to--sorry--boring parts. It felt deliberately convoluted and unsure of what it was supposed to be--old world or modern. I had a difficult time getting through this.
Witches of Lychford: Enjoyably quirky. Alternates somewhat deftly between levity and seriousness. Character rather than plot driven though villain is a bit weak and amorphous.
Sunset Mantle: One of the surprises in the collection. Started out slow but got stronger and stronger. A main character you can definitely get behind, reminds me a bit of Monza from Joe Abercrombie's 'Best Served Cold', a conflicted and complex individual. A classic hero past his prime and beyond accolades dropped in the middle of an unconventional conflict.
Binti: Main character is a "gifted teen" but nonetheless fascinating. Started out strong, presenting why Binti's desire for higher education proves problematic for everyone, including her friends and family. However, the story sort of devolved in the second half, opting for a simplistic resolution of what was a complex interspecies conflict and rendering the conclusion a bit unsatisfying.
The Last Witness: What would it do to a man to have the ability to erase people's memories? To be able to pluck specific ones like plucking a lone feather from a peacock or to remove the totality of a person's memories leaving him a tabula rasa. But what is removed must be transferred somewhere. Whatever he takes, he takes into his own memories. Too many memories can get jumbled together, blurring the line between his own and those appropriated from others. I am fascinated by the concept of memory and this story posits the multitude of questions regarding its nature and scope--its reliability, the possibility of altering, obscuring or erasing it, the conflict between people's memories of the same event, what happens to an event when there is no one left to remember it.
Of Sorrow & Such: Another one of the surprising stories by an author I wasn't aware of before. A small town, witches, parochial fear and prejudice. The philosophical and societal themes explored are still applicable to today's society. The interpersonal relationships between the characters, especially the women, were complex, examining how friendships can conflict with self-interest and self-preservation, how familial ties are as much of choice as by birth, how the right choice can often be the most painful one.
Domnall and the Borrowed Child: This felt a lot like being dropped in the middle of a story. There is mention of a whole war that was the immediate cause of the state of things. It might not have been too problematic except for the fact that the description of those prior events sound more interesting than the current story being told. Finally, the story that was being related tended to be repetitive and, at the end of it, it offered little satisfaction beyond the obvious.
The Shootout Solution: This would be a series I can get behind. A tongue-in-cheek commentary on the current state of speculative fiction. A humorous analysis that occasionally got heavy-handed and sarcastically barbed, veering from the general jovial tone. A rather cool concept, one I'd call Urban Space Fantasy Western. It's innovative, contemporary and relatable. Genres actually exist on other planes of existence--where fantasy tales are more than just imaginary constructs. But when tales get off-kilter, they create a ripple effect that can affect human behavior. That's where the genrenauts from earth come in to save the narrative across all planes.
My favorites: The Builders, The Last Witness and The Shootout Solution. Runners-up: Envy of Angels, Sunset Mantle and Of Sorrow and Such.
I had previously previously listened to and rate ENVY OF ANGELS, an enjoyable story sort of like the tv cooking competition Chopped blended with Silence of the Lambs.
I had also previously read Daniel Polansky's THE BUILDERS and loved it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Out of curiosity, I listened to a bit of the narration which seemed adequate but didn't spur me to listen to the entire story. I daresay this is one better for reading than listening.
Sorcerer of the Wildeeps: Very stylistic, feels like it sometimes sacrificed story for style giving rise to--sorry--boring parts. It felt deliberately convoluted and unsure of what it was supposed to be--old world or modern. I had a difficult time getting through this.
Witches of Lychford: Enjoyably quirky. Alternates somewhat deftly between levity and seriousness. Character rather than plot driven though villain is a bit weak and amorphous.
Sunset Mantle: One of the surprises in the collection. Started out slow but got stronger and stronger. A main character you can definitely get behind, reminds me a bit of Monza from Joe Abercrombie's 'Best Served Cold', a conflicted and complex individual. A classic hero past his prime and beyond accolades dropped in the middle of an unconventional conflict.
Binti: Main character is a "gifted teen" but nonetheless fascinating. Started out strong, presenting why Binti's desire for higher education proves problematic for everyone, including her friends and family. However, the story sort of devolved in the second half, opting for a simplistic resolution of what was a complex interspecies conflict and rendering the conclusion a bit unsatisfying.
The Last Witness: What would it do to a man to have the ability to erase people's memories? To be able to pluck specific ones like plucking a lone feather from a peacock or to remove the totality of a person's memories leaving him a tabula rasa. But what is removed must be transferred somewhere. Whatever he takes, he takes into his own memories. Too many memories can get jumbled together, blurring the line between his own and those appropriated from others. I am fascinated by the concept of memory and this story posits the multitude of questions regarding its nature and scope--its reliability, the possibility of altering, obscuring or erasing it, the conflict between people's memories of the same event, what happens to an event when there is no one left to remember it.
Of Sorrow & Such: Another one of the surprising stories by an author I wasn't aware of before. A small town, witches, parochial fear and prejudice. The philosophical and societal themes explored are still applicable to today's society. The interpersonal relationships between the characters, especially the women, were complex, examining how friendships can conflict with self-interest and self-preservation, how familial ties are as much of choice as by birth, how the right choice can often be the most painful one.
Domnall and the Borrowed Child: This felt a lot like being dropped in the middle of a story. There is mention of a whole war that was the immediate cause of the state of things. It might not have been too problematic except for the fact that the description of those prior events sound more interesting than the current story being told. Finally, the story that was being related tended to be repetitive and, at the end of it, it offered little satisfaction beyond the obvious.
The Shootout Solution: This would be a series I can get behind. A tongue-in-cheek commentary on the current state of speculative fiction. A humorous analysis that occasionally got heavy-handed and sarcastically barbed, veering from the general jovial tone. A rather cool concept, one I'd call Urban Space Fantasy Western. It's innovative, contemporary and relatable. Genres actually exist on other planes of existence--where fantasy tales are more than just imaginary constructs. But when tales get off-kilter, they create a ripple effect that can affect human behavior. That's where the genrenauts from earth come in to save the narrative across all planes.
Read
March 9, 2018Episode 22:
1. I am loving the show so far! I really enjoyed the graphic novels/comics episode. I am hoping you can help me with some recommendations for something new I am getting into: Short Stories. I have a back and forth commute from work/school everyday totaling to about 1 hour. Perfect time for audiobooks! I am not at all familiar with many short stories or authors and would appreciate any help starting me out. I enjoy a wide variety of genres, but I do lean towards fantasy (and most recently creepy/horror). Keep up the awesome work and thanks in advance!
-Stacy
Recommended by: Jenn
1. I am loving the show so far! I really enjoyed the graphic novels/comics episode. I am hoping you can help me with some recommendations for something new I am getting into: Short Stories. I have a back and forth commute from work/school everyday totaling to about 1 hour. Perfect time for audiobooks! I am not at all familiar with many short stories or authors and would appreciate any help starting me out. I enjoy a wide variety of genres, but I do lean towards fantasy (and most recently creepy/horror). Keep up the awesome work and thanks in advance!
-Stacy
Recommended by: Jenn
June 12, 2024
A mixed bag as typical but there's almost a workweeks' amount of content!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews