Short fiction - science fiction or fantasy

I love Murderbot. I am not looking for the same as our favorite Sanctuary Moon-watching, angst-ridden, sentient android; but I am hoping for recommendations for novella length science fiction or fantasy.

I don't want short story anthologies (multiple authors); but I'm fine with short story collections (single author).

I do like Martha Wells' style.

I like dragons (His Majesty's Dragon not Dragonflight) and sentient ships (Embers of War)

I lean more toward space opera than hard science fiction

I'd prefer to not have titles that fit into a series unless the short fiction can stand on its own or is a prequel.

I've already read Binti and everything from Wayfarers; I tried Ancillary justice but it was the wrong time for me to attempt it; and I have The Black God's Drums on hold.

Love Murderbot!

I really enjoyed Sarah Pinsker's short story collection Sooner or later everything falls into the sea

Nghi Vo's Singing Hills novellas are excellent and more linked stories than a series.

If you've read much portal fiction (kids go through a doorway to somewhere magical) you should enjoy Seanen McGuire's Wayward Children series, linked novellas that start out being about what happens to children after they come back, Every heart A Doorway, An Absent Dream and Across the green Grass Fields are particularly stand alone.

I'll look through my library and rec you some more later.

Sweet Harmony by Claire North

Aliette de Bodard has a number of novellas in her Xuya Universe. It is a series - but it isn't sequential fiction, the stories stand on their own.

The Undefeated by Una McCormack

the collected short fiction of cj cherryh One of my absolute favourites, many stories at various lengths from flash to novella. Some set in her more famous universes but nearly all stand on their own.

Cynthia Zhang's After the dragons is a short novel/novella with dragons.

I enjoy Charlie Jane Anders's novels, and she has a collection of stories out. Haven't read them, though.

>3 andyl: oh I love claire north, didn't know about sweet harmony. Right on it!

read two outstanding short story collections this year that I highly recommend

By N.K. Jemisin how long 'til black future month
and Dreadful Young Ladies by kelly barnhill.

>2 Aquila: I read the first Wayward Children and now have the rest in my hold queue. Thanks for that suggestion!

>3 andyl: I gave up on Sweet Harmony -- there was way too much self-hate porn to be likable let alone enjoyable.

>5 karenb: I just finished After the Dragons. It's far more character driven that I normally enjoy; but I loved it. :)

Although not everyone agrees with every choice, the Hugo Award winners for best novella are probably a good thing for you to peruse. There are some stellar classics as well as the latest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novella

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang includes the story Hollywood made the movie "Arrival" from.

I liked a recent collection of two stories by Stephen R. Donaldson, The King's Justice: Two Novellas.

>3 andyl: I meant to add that I did read On a Red Station, Drifting and found it interesting and worth trying something else from the author. :)

I enjoyed The Seven Brides to Be of Generalissimo Vlad by Victoria Goddard.

>7 lesmel: Yay!

You could also check out the list of Favorite Short Fiction that LT is inviting members to contribute to this month: https://www.librarything.com/list/43460/all/Favorite-Short-Fiction

It doesn't specifically identify which are science fiction/fantasy, but obvious in several instances.

>1 lesmel: The Cosmic Turkey is about 160 pages, very funny sci-fi not involving hard science, but featuring a wacky misfit crew, chocolate and coffee being banned, and a technology jinx!

There's an alternate hist USA in the novella River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. It's wild west, the cast of characters is huge to begin with but the violent deaths whittles that down, and the gunslingers are mounted on hippos. Not high tech but late 19th century ish.

Constituent Service by John Scalzi is a fun, and short, standalone.

I think you might like Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire. It is part of a series but the books stand on their own and the books are short.

Maybe a little older than what you're looking for, but I can't let a science fiction short story thread go by without mentioning Ray Bradbury! I would recommend The Illustrated Man, but honestly I've enjoyed each collection of his I've read.

>17 Aceinthehole: Already enjoyed most of them. Started reading them in >7 lesmel:.

>18 GraceCollection: I've never been a fan of Bradbury. I've tried reading his stuff before; but it never hits right and I abandon whatever it is I'm reading.

I'll check back in when I read some more suggestions. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations! I'm always happy to keep trying new titles/authors.

>19 lesmel: I just read Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite which gave me definite Murderbot vibes. It's a novella about a detective on a spaceship solving a murder. The spaceship is snarky and many of the characters are queer.

>20 norabelle414: Finished Murder by Memory. I approve even though cozy mysteries are not my thing. I would read something else by the author or within the stories universe.

>21 lesmel: There's a sequel coming, but not until next March--Nobody's Baby.

Science fiction short story collections by a single author that I've enjoyed would include:

The Worlds of Clifford Simak
Somewhere a Voice
The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde
Notions: Unlimited
Away and Beyond
Bolo
Hammer's Slammers
and
All the Myriad Ways

>9 Cecrow: I second the Ted Chiang recommendation!