lastshortstory) folk finished reading the year's short fiction, and compiled a recommended list. 'John Wayne' is on it, which is nice.It's an interesting list in that it represents a few people I actively dislike, and some who I have a neither positive nor negative opinion of, but only a couple of people I'd seek out. For example, I've never understood the appeal of Ted Chiang, and I find the few pieces I've read of his badly written and old tricks. Likewise, I find Grace Dugan to be bland and unoffensive to the point of offense, Holly Black an annoyance with words, and Greg Egan just dry. I don't mind when the latter is occasionally political, mind. This is not a slag on the list, by the way, it's just me talking about it, in that way that you talk about these things. I like the way Hal Duncan uses words and Rjurik Davidson's use of the high concept, for an example on the other side of things.
Anyhow, if I had read the thousands upon thousands of stories that the LSS crew did, I would be able to offer you some alternatives, but honestly, I didn't (and I won't). Taste is taste and all: so if you read a few stories that you liked more than what's listed there, note them down.
