Two Timely Tales

I’ve gotten a pit behind in my short fiction magazine reading lately. This week I finished reading the September issues of Clarkesworld and Lightspeed. One story in each issue stood out to me as five star material. These were:

  • “When Humans Are No Longer Born Human” by Zhu Yixuan — A pure blood human performs a series of tests to determine if a pregnant woman is human. This is a timely allegory of xenophobia, racism, and attempts to restrict voting.
  • “Dreamweavers” by Alexander Weinstein — In a world where the billionaires are making everything digital and taking control of it, their engineers make a plan to steal seeds essential to survival and escape. Once again, timely given the control that so many tech companies seem to be seeking and gaining.

I have once again updated my Stories Read table. Head there to see four other stories from these issues that I gave four stars. Happy reading!

A Robot Story About Humanity and Compassion

I’ve once again updated my Short Story Read table, and the best story I read (and my only 5-star read in this batch) was “Ladd’s Robot Repair” by David Anaxagoras in the August issue of Lightspeed Magazine. It is a post-apocalyptic tale in which the protagonist goes looking for a part he needs in the most dangerous part of the city. In his travels he meets a robot that he is not interested in at all. However, the robot imprints on him and follows his around while he searches. They run into danger and that’s where the heart of the story is. This is a story with many layers. It is yet another fine example of what I look for in speculative fiction.

This issue of LIghtspeed was exceptional. There were three other stories in the issue that I rated as 4 stars. Check them out as well.

Stories Read Update

The best story I read in my latest update to my stories read table is “Better the Devil You Know…” by Allen M. Steele. It takes place on board the ship the SS Morro Castle just before tragedy struck on September 8, 1934. It is a tale of time travelers from the twenty-fourth century doing whatever they can to preserve the past. In this case it means ensuring that the disaster happens. This story is a true thriller with a bittersweet ending. Unfortunately, in order to read it you will need to purchase a copy of the July/August 2026 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. And they don’t publish online, only in print or ebook.

Best of June

It took me longer than expected, but here are my five-star rated stories published in June. Enjoy!

  • “Up the Line to Death Up the Line to Death” by Carrie Vaughn (5,120 words in Clarkesworld) — All the drones in the world stop working and odd words are found in their code. A profound statement on war in general that hearkens back to the movie War Games.
  • “A Life Measured in Seconds” by Anne Wilkins (4,160 words in Clarkesworld) — A normal person and one perceived as a god both wish they had the life of the other. Starts with a somewhat absurd premise but makes an amazing story of identity, control, and despotism.
  • “The Sharing of Some Familiar Song” by Adam-Troy Castro (1,155 word in Lightspeed) — This one is composed of correspondence from an alien civilization telling a myth about communication between very different species. It is an excellent use of story as an attempt to bridge a nearly impossible communications gap.

My Best of May

I didn’t quite catch up yet, so I am going to post brief reviews of my best reads with publication dates in May. Remember that an index of all the short fiction I read is available here on this website.

  • “Archaeological Evidence for the Time Traveler” by Tia Tashiro (7,090 words in Clarkesworld) – A mother and archaeologist starts to find messages meant for her on the walls of caves on her dig sites. A deeply felt story about a mother and wife dealing with difficult relationships and work.
  • “The Last Season of Your Life” by Christopher Barzak (1,505 words in Lightspeed) – A teenage boy who died in a car crash finds he can’t move on to what comes next. Filled with longing and compassion and patience.
  • “The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods” by Louis Inglis Hall (3,290 words in Clarkesworld) – A newly installed light switch is greeted by his household Buddy who teaches him how to be smart. A haunting tale of sentient AI but maybe not in the way you expect.
  • “The Scent of Memory” by Zhao Haihong translated from Chinese by S. Qiouyi Lu (4,350 words in Clarkesworld) – A young man attempts to win back his first love. The means are fascinating and more than a bit quesionable.
  • “The Glass City” by AnaMaria Curtis (3,122 words in Uncanny) – A stranger and his dog walk around a glass city where the residents live with their insides on the outside. A beautiful look at pain and vulnerability.
  • “The Two Thousand and Seventieth Time Sara Deletes Her Family” by J.R. Dewitt (3,940 words in Analog) A struggling mother uses a sim chip in her neck to avoid the hard parts of her life. A cautionary tale. (Unfortunately, not available to read for free online.)
  • “Half Inside the Spirit Box” by Stephanie Feldman (6,382 words in Asimov’s) An escape artist and a medium both haunted by their past each hold the key to the other’s future. (Unfortunately, not available to read for free online.)

Focus on Short Fiction

Wow! It has been almost two months since I posted here. I haven’t posted another review because I have shifted my reading focus to short fiction. I am still reading longer works which I will review here when I finish them. For all my short fiction reviews, click over to my short fiction page. I do my best to update that every Saturday morning. I also do my best to update my speculative fiction index every second Sunday of the month.

I am also contemplating doing some longer reviews of the best stories I read in a month, sort of like various reviewers do in Locus. But I have fallen behind and am just finishing up my reading for June. Perhaps next week I can post reviews for the best of June. Fingers crossed!🤞🏻

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

I’ve had this book on my TBR (to be read) list since it was originally published in 2021. My book club is reading short fiction this year, and we chose it as our May read in the genre of memoir.

This is a very quirky and unusual book. Each essay covers some idea or object of interest to the author and reviews it, ending with a star rating out of five. The essay subjects range from Hailey’s Comet to diet Dr Pepper and everything in between.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, lighthearted look at some very serious topics and some almost ridiculous ones. It made me laugh as well as tear up. It really touches on what it means to be human. I give The Anthropocene Reviewed four stars.

My rating: 4/5

Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helena Merriman

I learned about this book from many directions. And every time I did I heard the same thing: “This book is surprisingly enjoyable. I should have read it sooner.” Seemed a bit of a backhanded compliment. But when I’d finally heard it enough, I picked it up and listened to the audiobook on a recent soccer tournament weekend.

This is the story of the Berlin Wall. It starts with the end of World War II, the division of Germany and Berlin, and the building of the Berlin Wall. Then it shifts to telling the stories of many of those who attempted to escape beyond it into freedom. And in the heart of the book, it turns to the story of a particular tunnel that was built and successfully helped 29 East Germans to escape into a better life.

Despite being nonfiction, this book reads like a Ludlum thriller. The author evokes the feeling of oppression felt by those hoping to escape as well as the danger and consequences awaiting those who failed. The audiobook is read by the author herself, adding to to the reading the same thrilling edge of the prose alone. I definitely should have read it sooner. I was surprised by this book. But that is no backhanded compliment. This book is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. And if you lived through the Cold War and fall of the Berlin Wall, this book is an education you didn’t know you needed.

My rating: 5/5

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara

I heard about this book through Simon Sinek’s interview with Will Guidara on the podcast A Bit of Optimism. I was fascinated by Will’s take on AI and hospitality. I currently work in hospitality and was intrigued by what I might learn from reading it. I finished it last month.

The book is largely the story of how Guidara came into and rose high in the restaurant industry. He had a relentless focus on hospitality, on making the guest the center of the experience rather than the food. One example from the book: in passing a table of guests eating their last meal while visiting New York City, he overheard them lamenting that they never had the opportunity to eat a street vendor’s hot dog. Will immediately went out an bought one for the table. He then brought it to the chef to plate. Naturally, the chef of the fine dining restaurant was stunned and even a little offended. But he trusted will. The guest were over the moon about the gesture. This is unreasonable hospitality.

The book also chronicles the ups and downs in Guidara’s career. But all along the way, his goal is to empower the reader to use the ideas that guided his career to implement them in whatever industry they are in. As he points out in the podcast, this is the way to overcome the angst currently driven by AI. The writing is engaging and easy to read. It feels like a friend sharing his experience for your benefit. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone seeking guidance in their career, no matter the industry.

My rating: 5/5

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

While I don’t read a lot of romance, I enjoy Emily Henry. I find her romance tends to be less sappy and have less manufactured drama than is the norm in this genre. So when I saw she had written a new book, I put a hold on it at my library. And earlier this spring when the hold came in, I read it.

It is a woman telling her story of trying to get the job of writing the biography of a famous but reclusive woman. She spends months just trying to find her. When she does, she pitches her idea of writing her biography directly to this woman. The woman expresses interest but with a twist. There is another writer interested. They will both spend a month talking with her. At the end of that month they will both present their book proposal to her, and the woman will decide who gets to write the book. Her competitor turns out to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer of biography. Naturally, she starts to have feelings for this man. As their relationship deepens and they each start to learn more about their subject, they learn some things that the woman had hoped to keep hidden.

While this is not my favorite Emily Henry novel, it does show people struggling in ways I find to be approachable and not overly dramatic. I can see how people might realistically behave the way these characters do. There are many heartfelt twists in both the romantic relationship and that of the writers with the subject of the book they both hope to write. But something about this book just didn’t land with me the way her others have. And I just can’t seem to put my finger on why. Still, I enjoyed this book and look forward to her next novel.

My rating: 4/5