Corey, James S.A. (Novellas To Date)

This was fun. I borrowed all the novellas (to date) of The Misters Corey and sucked them down in one slurp.

Since this is an aggregated review, here are some various thoughts about them all or specifically:

• Having read everything through Book 6 in The Expanse series, it was especially fun to pop back and forth across time in the storyline. For instance, reading about Timmy in Baltimore was a little surreal, knowing how Amos turns out and knowing that Amos revisits Baltimore in Book 5. Or hearing the story of the scientists-turned-evil, post-protomolecule-discovery, was quite the reveal.
• On the other hand, I didn't enjoy certain stories. That scientists-turned-evil novella ("The Vital Abyss") left a bad taste in my mouth. Too evil? Too lacking in a resolution that made me feel warm and fuzzy? (As if that were possible.) I also wasn't super keen on "Gods of Risk". Just... meh. I loved seeing Bobbie Draper in action but didn't care about what was happening to her brother.
• I adored "Strange Dogs" specifically because it made me gasp when I finished. What an ending! What a way to think about all those new worlds (and the intelligences behind them) shaping the future of humanity! Of all the novellas, this one was the best.
• Right behind that one are "The Butcher of Andersen Station" (this is probably the most crafty of the novellas, meaning that it's deliberately crafted beginning to end) and "The Churn" (which made me laugh out loud at its ending).