The ideas behind the stories are great! And Karen writes beautifully, but it's like I'm watching the story from afar trough a telescope. It is amazingly detailed, but I lack the overall picture. The stories are just too distant to really move you. ( )

Cool premises for most stories. I liked some more than others - so it gets 4 stars because some stories were 3 star and some 5. ( )

~truly random thoughts about each short story~

Vampires in the Lemon Grove
A story about an adorable elderly vampire. I really liked the style of this one, a first person narration of an old vampire that bites lemons. Would have liked a clearer ending. 4/5

Reeling for the Empire
I loved this tale with whole my heart. It talks about patriarchy and capitalism, and how little women's lives mean. 5/5

The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979
Didn't really get that one. Or "got it" but didn't like the abrupt ending. 3/5

Proving Up
Two times I forgot this story after reading this. It's not that it wasn't good, but utterly forgettable. 2/5

The Barn at the End of Our Term
Ok this one was amazing. Past US presidents reincarnated as horses that all live in a barn. I might had enjoyed it more were I acquainted with these people but I'm not American so many things were lost on me. Still, it was so imaginative and well written, I had a great time reading this. 4/5

Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Antartic Tailgating
Okay, I guess? There's a dude that does a thing, and it's a metaphor about something. 2/5

The New Veterans
This one made me sad. Sad that war exists, sad with the emotional labor and need of women to "fix" others. 3/5

The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis
Loved it, but was hurt by it. I really needed to know what happened to the kid. 4/5 ( )

WOW! These stories were all so unique - some horrifying, others darkly comic, most with a tint of sadness, all well-written and profound. ( )

Enjoyed most of these stories very much, especially "Vampires in the Lemon Grove," "Reeling for the Empire," and "Proving Up." The stories are all very different. The only constant is a more or less supernatural element. ( )