January F&SF: the Short Stories

The Comfort of Strangers by Alexander Jablokov

The tale of a sex-worker on a space station, used to accomodating the most peculiar of species. While having interesting aspects to it, this story is not the sort of thing I enjoy.

Maxwell's Demon by Ken Liu

The story of a Japanese-American in the Second World War who has to try and prove her loyalty to both sides of her background. I thought this was a thought-provoking look at what loyalty and patriotism means, if anything at all.

Scrap Dragon by Naomi Kritzer

A humorous take on dealing with the dragon. This is the story that was in the Free Digest that convinced me to subscribe to the Extended Version.

In the Trenches by Michael Alexander

A german soldier is stuck in the trenches and meets a kobold. While eminently readable, I thought many of the ideas in this story (soldiers from opposite sides meeting; how immortality would reduce our enjoyment of life) are pretty tired.

Canto MCML by Lewis Shiner

Short piece set in a historical, futuristic world. Again, I didn't think any of the ideas here particularly interesting or new.

Overall, I definitely preferred the Novelets to the Short Stories, though I did like the Ken Liu and Naomi Kritzner stories.