Search - The Chains That You Refuse

This is a really extraordinary collection of short stories. Funny, profound, violent, and very human. Contains the creation story of some characters that appear in other works, and the stories are GOOD. A lot of the stories are about people who have to make hard choices, who are caught in situations where there is no high road to take, and who must choose who they will betray.

I've read "Blood and Iron", one of Bear's fantasy stories, a couple of years ago, and I was immpressed by the imagery in her writing, but not so much with her ideas. This story collection is different - it's great!