A Chinese woman arrives in Hollywood to make it big; she signs a contract but things don’t quite go to her liking, or her agent’s.
The Toll of the Snake by Grace P. Fong (2023) — 4,900 words (about 19 minutes for the average reader)
"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." – George R. R. Martin
A Chinese woman arrives in Hollywood to make it big; she signs a contract but things don’t quite go to her liking, or her agent’s.
The Toll of the Snake by Grace P. Fong (2023) — 4,900 words (about 19 minutes for the average reader)
Clarkesworld magazine always has amazing stories. This one might be a little weird for those that grew up during the Cold War as it takes place in an old ICBM silo.
Silo, Sweet Silo by James Castles (2023) — 4,397 words (about 17 minutes for the average reader)
I’m a big fan of this author. Both of her novels (A Song for a New Day and We Are Satellites) are fantastic. Highly recommended. This story was rated the fourth best story of 2024 by Uncanny magazine readers. For me, it was the best of the top five stories selected by readers.
Signs of Life by Sarah Pinsker (2024) — 11,996 words (about 48 minutes for the average reader)
I used to be an Uber driver. Many riders asked me if I was ever afraid of someone getting in my car. I never was, but this amazing story may have changed my answer.
Your Rover Is Here by LP Kindred (2023) – 3,500 words (about 14 minutes for the average reader)
For “Throwback Thursday” I have a less well known story by the short story master that they named the award after. This one is from his collection The Four Million, so called because it takes place in New York City, which had four million residents at that time. A young man is led by destiny to the door of a damsel in distress. It has his trademark twist at the end. Enjoy!
The Green Door by O. Henry (1906) – 2,679 words (about 11 minutes for the average reader)
Today’s story comes from the amazing Uncanny Magazine. In it a scientist who used his son to collect data for an AI prison, goes to that prison to make amends for how that data collection affected his son.
SuperMAX by Daniel H. Wilson (2023) – 7,914 words (about 32 minutes for the average reader)
I first read this classic story in high school. It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1956. It is the story of a Jesuit priest who accompanies a mission to a remote star that expired in a supernova thousands of years ago. They are visiting the star system because a civilization lived there that was destroyed by the star’s explosion. But as the priest tells the story, he raises a surprising and important question.
The Star by Arthur C. Clarke (1955) – 2,432 words (about a ten minute read for the average reader)
I read this as member of my book club at my local library. We each read a different book on a particular topic. For the most recent meeting we read historical fiction that takes place prior to the twentieth century. I kind of cheated with this one. It is short stories and only some of them go that far back in time. But it seemed to be a hit when I told them about it.
The editor was able to get stories from a lot of well know contemporary authors of science fiction. The theme of the anthology was time travel love stories. The book’s title as a call out to the 1980 move Somewhere in Time was totally on purpose. There were sixteen stories in the book. Here are my brief synopses and ratings.
The average of these ratings give the book as a whole a rating of 4/5.
As I continue to transition to reading more short fiction (short stories and novellas), in addition to reading Clarkesworld Magazine each month I am trying to read at least one short story a day. As I am very interested in encouraging others to get into reading fiction regularly, starting in March I am going to do my best to post a review every day of the highest rated stories I have read. Some will be old, some more recent. Most will be speculative fiction of some kind. In addition to posting them here, I will also be posting them on my Facebook group, Instagram, and BlueSky. Now, on to my reviews of the fiction in this month’s Clarkesworld.
“Bodyhoppers” by Rocío Vega, translated from Spanish by Sue Burke (5,280 words) — A person wakes up in a new body and races to find their lover before they are both caught for pirating a body. The story starts in 3rd person point of view then transitions to 1st person before ending in 2nd person. It is so smoothly done you almost can’t see it. And it works seamlessly. An excellent blend of starting in the middle of the action and revealing the world as the story unfolds without losing or confusing the reader. (My rating: 5/5)
“King of the Castle” by Fiona Moore (6,280 words) — An angry, violent young man threatens his community while they search for a way to bring him back into the fold. The story takes place in the same world and after the events “The Spoil Heap” by the same author. I thoroughly enjoyed that story and the world. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. (My rating: 3/5)
“We Begin Where Infinity Ends” by Somto Ihezue (9,270 words) — Kids work to save fireflies by toning down the brightness of streetlights and learn the power of love and working together. This one has the depth and feel of a novel. It also has the feel of ‘eighties childhood like in Stranger Things or E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial where kids have their own space to do things without adults constantly hovering around. (My rating: 5/5)
“A Planet Full of Sorrows” by M. L. Clark (13,110 words) — When evidence of a dead alien race on another planet starts a space race to get there, the discovering scientists try to figure out how to stop it. The race is between three proselytizing religions that all have tacit government backing. A look at how capitalism complicates scientific efforts. (My rating: 4/5)
“The Hanging Tower of Babel” by Wang Zhenzhen translated from Chinese by Carment Yiling Yan (6,380 words) — A son cares for his father with Alzheimer’s disease who was mostly absent from his life due to his work in deep space. Reminded me of Arthur C. Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise, which I read in high school. It too had an elevator to orbit like the Stairway to Heaven in this story. Poignant, heartbreaking, and bittersweet. (My rating: 5/5)
“Numismatic Archetypes in the Year of Five Regents” by Louis Inglis Hall (3,560 words) — The history of six regents told through the coins minted for each. It is descriptions of six coins interspersed with the “history” around them. It is a clever premise, but not much is done with it. For me, it is not quite a story. But it does have a clever twist. (My rating: 3/5)
“Celestial Migrations” by Claire Jia-Wen (3,090 words) — Miners who ride celestial rays home for the lunar new year to see their son learn how the space creatures reproduce. The writing is not very clear for me. It’s like jumping into the midst of the story without enough being explained within the text. Despite the defect in the storytelling, it is a poignant tale of parents sacrificing for their son. But that is a big defect for me. (My rating: 2/5)
Average Rating: 3.86/5
When I was teenager, I read a lot of short stories and even outlined an idea for a novel. I’ve published one short story here on my blog. And I’ve considered doing more. In fact, I have quite a long list of books about writing. I have found this one to be the most informative and useful so far.
The author takes the reader through the steps of writing a short story (or any story, really) from developing your talent and turning ideas into stories to beginning, controlling, and finishing a story. I took a lot of notes that I expect I will be referring to as I start to write more. The tone of the book is very conversational. It feels like the author is there at your shoulder, coaching you through the process. Many helpful exercises are included.
I read almost exclusively on my ereader. To read this one, I needed to borrow a physical copy from the library. Before I was even half way through it, I knew I would want a copy for myself to refer back to. So I bought the ebook and finished reading it there. If you have any interest in writing stories of any genre, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this classic.
My rating: 5/5