Karou is an art student in Prague who keeps sketches of her everyday life. To her family at home, she shows sketches of students and street performers and other mundane things they find fascinating. To her friends at school, she shows pictures of the monsters at home (which they find fascinating, and although she tells everyone it's real, they understand, incorrectly, that her accompanying grin means she's just kidding). Karou was raised by Brimstone, a chimaera who collects teeth and dispenses wishes. Occasionally she goes on errands to retrieve teeth of various types, sometimes she helps sort the teeth, and she has no idea what the teeth are for because nobody tells her anything. And then one day the angels attack.
Writers of the Future Volume 38 : Collection
Almost every year I read this collection, and there are always a few stories I really like, a few more I enjoy, and the rest I can appreciate what about that story got it placed in the contest. This year, I've enjoyed almost every single story. Here's a list of my favorites and a tinsy bit about them.
Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond
As a short story collection, this was great. We have a mixture of totally weird stuff and some that is easier to digest, with some stories I really enjoyed and some I actually hated. I can't say I ENJOYED reading most of this book, but I appreciated the diversity of story types and writing styles.
The Forgetting Moon : Brian Lee Durfee
The ruthless army of the Angel Prince is conquering the Five Isles, one by one. Next is Gul Khana's turn, but where the previous king battled and died, his incompetent bully of a son trusts in his nefarious religious advisors that everything will go their way, so no point in doing anything about it.
Writers of the Future Volume 36 : Collection
If you haven't read Writers of the Future before, you are in for a treat. What I love about these collections, in addition to the idea of promoting new authors and illustrators, is the variety.
New Worlds, Year Two : Marie Brennan
The essays in this book are based on blog posts the author has made concerning worldbuilding.