3.7*

Some excellent stories, and some real duds. The concept allowed such a wide range of stories, that the collection lacked any sense of cohesion.

I especially enjoyed the stories by Elizabeth Bear (No Decent Patrimony), Jack Campbell (Highland Reel), and Mary Robinette Kowal (The Lady Astronaut of Mars).

The parody stories (The Evening Line and Every Fuzzy Beast) were particularly unsuccessful for me.