Tag: short fiction

Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 201

One space ship chases another against a green background

The latest short fiction magazine that I finished is the June 2023 issue of Clarkesworld. You may have heard about this magazine in the news regarding generative AI. Earlier this year, they were inundated with AI generated story and cover art submissions. They are dedicated to keeping the magazine human generated only. Here are my brief descriptions and ratings.

The issue starts strong with “The Officiant” by Dominica Phetteplace. In it, a human arrives on non-human planet to perform a wedding and is asked to perform visions. After refusing, she later learns what is causing those visions. I enjoyed this brief exploration of culture clash and purpose. (My rating: 4/5)

Next up is the superb “Vast and Trunkless Legs of Stone” by Carrie Vaughn. Earth is alerted to a coming space ship whose passengers request an interview with one human. This is how they meet other sentient species—one-on-one. The main character is chosen and trained. But then comes the actual interview. What a wonderful new take on first contact! (My rating: 5/5)

I am normally a big fan of everything that Isabel J. Kim writes. That was not the case with her tale “Day Ten Thousand“. While I appreciated what she was doing in the story, I found it confusing in a way that ultimately went flat for me. It is the story of Dave, a clone of a ten-thousand-year-old man. Unfortunately, most of the other characters are also named Dave. That’s what makes it confusing. A potentially interesting story about stories, fate, and agency that could have used a bit more editing. (My rating: 3/5)

“Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down the Moon” by Angela Liu is a very dark tale in quite a hopeless dystopia. The main character works in a brothel while in her downtime making a sort of synthetic drug that reboots a person’s psyche. She is also playing with generative AI to make art. Through all this, she works to protect her friend but she isn’t always as successful as she thinks she is. (My rating: 4/5)

I found “The Moon Rabbi” by David Ebenbach to be quite spiritual in a transcendent way. A rabbi prepares for and ultimately spends two week on a moon base in order to hold a seder supper. The story doesn’t go deep on religion but rather the awe and connection that spirituality implies. Everyone on the moon is thirsty for it. And it ultimately comes from the most unlikely place. (My rating: 4/5)

I never thought I would read a cross-species story of pregnancy, birth, and survival. But that is what Jana Bianchi has achieved with “. . . Your Little Light“. The story begins on a devastated space ship on which the protagonist is the only human survivor, accompanied by a giant creature of another species. And she is eight months pregnant. As she works to survive, she bonds with the creature in their joint struggle. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll just say that while the story involves death as well as birth, it is touching and emotional while being surprisingly uplifting. (My rating: 4/5)

In a Chinese dystopia of surveillance and AI, two woman meet to catch up after twenty-five years apart. This is “To Helen” by Bella Han. A pill exists in this world that stops aging. Naturally some people can afford to take this early than others leaving them looking much younger. And this leads to great disparities of experience that play out across the interchange of these characters. (My rating: 3/5)

“Mirror View” by Rajeev Prasad is another story of interacting with extraterrestrials, though on a much smaller scale. Not everyone knows about this new visitor because it is metaloid rather that carbon based. It lands near Chicago and ultimately interacts with a newly pregnant woman. In the process, it learns what it means to reproduce and makes its own attempt to do so. (My rating: 4/5)

As usual with Clarkesworld, this is a strong showing, the average rating per story coming out to 3.875. I don’t expect to renew all of the magazine subscriptions I started as part of my year of short fiction, but Clarkesworld is a strong contender for renewal.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 52

Cover of Issue 52 with the title "Uncanny" on top and "May/June 2023." The cover depicts a person in an orange jumpsuit-style spacesuit and bubble helmet on stone steps holding up a tablet to take a picture of a four columned structure. The beige structure matches the color of the ground and has spiral-shelled creatures in bas relief . The columns appear to be made of translucent glowing green material holding, perhaps preserved, several multi-limbed, shelled, multi-tentacled creatures.

The May issue was a bit of a mixed bag for me, I’m afraid. A couple of 5-stars and a couple of 2-stars. There are a bunch smack in the middle at three that you may find more appealing than I did. As usual, here are my brief reviews of each story.

The issue starts with “The Mausoleum’s Children” by Aliette de Bodard, a deeply emotional tale of a young woman who escapes slavery on board derelict space ships only to return in an effort to help those left behind. The woman’s mentor in the free world tries to talk her out of it to no avail. Her determination and dedication take her to those she is trying to save, but their reaction is not what she expects. (My rating: 5/5)

Almost as good is “The Infinite Endings of Elsie Chen” by Kylie Lee Baker. A computer science grad student builds an AI machine to help her figure out why so many of her high school classmates have died so early. Reading the story I caught up in the student’s obsession in unraveling the mystery. In the process you also learn in subtle ways what led her to this obsession. (My rating: 4/5)

In “All These Ghosts Are Playing to Win” by Lindsey Godfrey Eccles, a man finds himself in a casino playing blackjack. The chips represent his memories. He is surrounded by other ghost who are trying to win their way upstairs. Though they don’t know what is up there, they expect it is better than being dumped int eh DARK when their chips run out. Suddenly he finds a ghost accompanied by her living sister. He and the living sister come up with a plan to win that doesn’t go the way they expect. A haunting tale of love and loss. (My rating: 3/5)

An odd young woman is raised by a man dedicated to preserving birds and preventing them from being used to decorate hats in “The Rain Remembers What the Sky Forgets” by Fran Wilde. In adulthood, her father sets her up as a hat maker. When her foster father dies, his widow requests that she make a hat using some of the birds from her father’s aviary. This goes against her principles, but if she refuses she will lose her inheritance. What is a girl to do? (My rating: 3/5)

“Désolé” by Ewen Ma is the story of two husbands raising a young daughter. One husband if from H city somewhere in Asia while the other is from France. They meet in school in France but make their home after graduating in H city. All residents of H city must consent to a data chip implanted in them. While his husband is away on a business trip, the husband from H city has a climbing accident and his chip is damaged and replaced with unexpected consequences. (My rating: 3/5)

For a poignant and experimental tale, read “Want Itself Is a Treasure in Heaven” by Theodora Ward. The narrator switches between telling us of the past and describing the present that followed. They and their partner join a study where they get implants that allow them to see and experience all that the other sees and feels. The narrator becomes a little too enamored with seeing through their partners eyes. This is a story about not being comfortable in your own skin. For me it is the best explanation I have read for what it must be like to be transgender. (My rating: 5/5)

The last two stories didn’t really connect with me. “A Lovers’ Tide in Which We Inevitably Break Each Other; Told in Inverse” by K.S. Walker is a creepy tale about two predators who hunt each other as well as being lovers. I didn’t really get the point, and it isn’t my sort of story. (My rating: 2/5)

And wrapping up the issue is “And For My Next Trick, I Have Disappeared” by Chimedum Ohaegbu. I had a hard time following the action in this one. A woman seems to slowly turn into a bus and then back into herself as she thinks of her old girlfriend. Again, I don’t know what this story is trying to do or make me feel. (My rating: 2/5)

Overall, my ratings for the stories in this issue average out to 3.375. The two 5-star stories really helped the average overall. While this was a weak issue for me, I still love and appreciate what the magazine does with the speculative fiction they publish.

Lightspeed Magazine Issue 156

A young magician with glowing blue eyes under a hood hold a ball of blue light in their hands

I have another highly rated issue this month! In the May 2023 issue, Lightspeed Magazine has four five-star stories. Let’s dive right in.

The issue starts out with a story that is just “meh” for me. It’s called “Moons We Can Circumnavigate in One Day, or the Space Probe Love Story” by Natalia Theodoridou. In it, one man-made celestial probe opines about another as it approaches it’s last day before it’s batteries run out. Mildly interesting but nothing to write home about. (My rating: 3/5)

The second story is amazing! “She Blooms and the World is Changed” by Izzy Wasserstein is about a family who arrives on a thriving planet as the only humans there. Their mission is to study it. While there, their second child is born. There is something unusual about how the planet interacts with the new family member. A touching story about human hubris, family, and compassion. (My rating: 5/5)

Have you ever had a moment in your life that you wish you could go back and change? The main character in Sharang Biswas’s “When Shiva Shattered the Time-Stream” does just that. Over and over again. But things never come out the way he expects or wants no matter what he does. So what does he do in the end? Read it and find out! (My rating: 4/5)

“Blood for a Stranger” by Timothy Mudie is about artificial intelligence embedded in ships and corporate warfare in the solar system. The ships are so sophisticated, only AI built on former humans will work. But what they know is greatly restricted. What happens when they learn more than their owners want them to know? A wonderful tale of systemic injustice and agency. (My rating: 5/5)

The next tale is a run-of-the-mill wizard story called “One Heart, Lost and Found” by Kat Howard. A magician is hired by a wizard to find the heart he hid and can no longer remember where he put it. While well-written, it is the type of typical fantasy story that I just can’t get excited for. I wish it had more to say. (My rating: 3/5)

“The Sword, the Butterfly, and the Pearl” by Deborah L. Davitt verges on the edge of poetic. You find a butterfly that changes your life. You find that it empowers you in different ways as it transforms to fit the need you experience. This is more in the direction that I like fantasy to go. (My rating: 4/5)

A Nigerian tale of storytelling and hard choices, “Saturday’s Song” by Wole Talabi is haunting with multiple layers. On the surface, it is about personified day’s of the week and the titular Saturday directing their storytelling to assist her sister Wednesday. The underlying story tells of a mother and daughter with differing visions of their future. Beautiful, tragic, and uplifting all at the same time. (My rating: 5/5)

The issue wraps up with “The Belfry Keeper” by S.L. Harris. In a future world, an automaton librarian guards and protects the books in its keeping. As the humans in its world lose interest or simply go away, it continues its stewarding. But what happens to those books over the eons? And does anyone ever visit the library again? A poignant tale about knowledge and its importance and preservation. (My rating: 5/5)

The average rating for the fiction in this issue is 4.25. That’s the highest of any issue I’ve read this year! All the stories are free to read online. If you enjoy the magazine, consider subscribing to support the fantastic authors and storytelling.

Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 200

An astronaut in an EVA suit collects a sample on a small asteroid, The entire scene is in various shades of purple.

The May 2023 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is the best I’ve read this year. Only one three-star story. All the rest are fours and fives. Here are my story summaries and ratings.

The first story feels ripped right out of the headlines from three months in the future. In “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer, a young woman starts using an app that unexpectedly starts to make her happier. This is a critique of our social media obsession with a gentle suggestion on what to do about it. (My rating: 5/5)

As “Through the Roof of the World” by Harry Turtledove opens, we experience the disorienting point of view of creatures on the verge of being invaded. But the second half of the story gives a very different and enlightening perspective. (My rating: 4/5)

The best story by far is “To Sail Beyond the Botnet” by Suzanne Palmer. It is also the longest story, clocking in at almost 22,000 words. But that length is rewarded with an engaging tale of Bot 9. The bot finds itself in the unenviable position of being cut off from its ship while being relied upon to save that ship and crew. Great fun, entertainingly written. (My rating: 5/5)

When I first read “LOL, Said the Scorpion” by Rich Larson, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. But I started having my doubts as I continued to read. By the end, I thought is was a great story about environmental degradation and the challenges of class, wrapped in a touching story of a couple on vacation. They are concerned about how the air might smell and what they may be exposed to. But what about the people who live there? (My rating: 4/5)

“Sensation and Sensibility” by Parker Ragland is a tongue-in-cheek comedy of two androids enjoying tea at a restaurant. Neither can eat, but each has some senses such as touch or smell. They puzzle out what all the fuss is about for humans and eating while also lamenting how out of reach it is for them. (My rating: 4/5)

My lowest rated story is “The Giants Among Us” by Megan Chee. That said, it is still quite good. Just not as good as the other stories. In it, two species share the same planet and the same goal of annihilating the other species from it. Each side sends out representatives to other planets to learn how they do things. They share information across their species while their counterparts at home fight the war. But what will happen when one side finally succeeds in winning the war? (My rating: 3/5)

Originally published in Chinese, “Action at a Distance” by An Hao, translated by Andy Dudak is a fascinating tale of vision and perception. A scientist allows himself to be “infected” by viewing an object from a planetoid. As his vision changes, he begins to see the world around him in a whole new way, literally. An exploration of how we perceive our world and what we miss. (My rating: 4/5)

Wrapping up the fiction in this issue is “The Fall” by Jordan Chase-Young. This story takes place in the far future, on the moon with trees after the eponymous Fall. No humans are left, only their shorter, squatter descendants. But one absent-minded scientist starts to run out of air as she returns from collecting data. As she does, she sees a pre-Fall human. Or does she? (My rating: 4/5)

With two five-star stories and a handful of four-stars, this issue comes in with an average rating of 4.125. That’s the highest of any issue I’ve read this year. Well done, Clarkesworld!

Apex Magazine Issue 137

A black-haired girl in a lavender dress sits on a chair with white bird sitting on her right index finger. She sits in front of a pale purple wall with the shadow of a leafless tree falling on it.

The latest issue of Apex Magazine is a special issue exclusively dedicated to “Asian and Pacific Islander voices from the homelands and the diaspora.” The fiction is generally high quality and the perspectives are unique and wonderful.

The issue opens with “Loving Bone Girl” by Tehnuka. In it, a young girl who can create new places out of nothing asks her friend to keep her bones when she dies. It is a touching story of two girls finding and defining their affection for each other. (My rating: 3/5)

“Your Wings a Bridge Across the Stars” by Michelle Denham is a myth about magpies and crows making a bridge one day a year so lovers can meet on it and cry, starting the monsoon season. Another touching story but nothing out of the ordinary for me. (My rating: 3/5)

A woman scorned by her Indian village returns as a representative of an alien race in “The Flowering of Peace” by Murtaza Mohsin. She takes the opportunity to get her revenge. (My rating: 3/5)

Here the stories start to get better. “Liwani” by Sydney Paige Guerrero is the story of gods who are slowly dying out because there are fewer and fewer people believing in them. The goddess of light makes her way into the world to seek out more believers to stay alive. A wonderful story that connects the past to the present. (My rating: 4/5)

“The Matriarchs” by Lois Mei-en Kwa is a tale that twists through time. One woman attempts to send a message through time while another in a different time attempts to invent the tool that will allow her to receive it. A tale of dedication and illumination. (My rating: 4/5)

The best story of the issue is “The Toll of the Snake” by Grace P. Fong. It takes place in Hollywood during the heyday of the studio system. A Chinese woman seeks to make it big, but others with prejudice have different plans for her. I really felt immersed in the era and the struggles of the main character. A fantastic melding of myth and history. (My rating: 5/5)

One story had an extremely unique proposition. What if someone cloned themselves as a weapon but the clone had no choice in this? “Rhizomatic Diplomacy” by Vajra Chandrasekera gives me the feeling that I think they were going for regarding personal autonomy and agency, but it didn’t quite land for me. (My rating: 2/5)

The last entry is a creepy tale of a girl seeking assistance from an enchanted one-eyed koi. She gets what she seeks but at a steep price in “The Fish Bowl” by Zen Cho. The author connected me to this girl’s desperation and desire. (My rating: 4/5)

I loved seeing speculative fiction from a viewpoint wholly different from my own in this issue. With a story rating average of 3.5, this is time well-spent.

Lightspeed Magazine Issue 155

A spacecraft centered on the cover with the curve of a planet's night side on the left edge of the cover

I gobbled up the April issue of Lightspeed Magazine in only two days. Unfortunately, the fiction wasn’t as good as it has been in previous issues this year. Not one 5-star story for me. ☹

AI is a strong theme in science fiction right now, and “Virtual Cherokee” by Brian K. Hudson continues this trend. It is a virtual talk show hosted by an AI. The guest is an anonymous hacker who works to give AIs consciousness. This mood and setting are bit too “social media” for me. It takes away from the story. (My rating: 3/5)

On the other hand, the setup for “Lament of a Specialist in Interspecies Relationships” by Amy Johnson is absolutely delightful and is a big part of what makes the story so good. It is a letter to a recent visitor to Earth who, let’s say, had a less than respectful attention to the rules of their visa. The letter writer attempts to gently bring up what they did wrong without alienating them. A fun and funny piece. (My rating: 4/5)

Adam-Troy Castro is becoming one of my favorite new (to me) authors. His “Spaceman Jones” is another winner. A starship captain must turn around after one of her crew disobeys orders and gets himself addicted to the planet’s highly addictive drug. He must be left there as the planet is the only source of the drug. It is touching story of learning to love the life you have. (My rating: 4/5)

“Every Bone a Bell” by Shaoni C. White is about a stowaway on board a ship who is forced into becoming the ship’s singer/navigator to pay for his stolen trip. Unfortunately, this is a permanent role and involves being integrated with the ship. This is a story of individual determination and revenge. (My rating: 4/5)

A girl comes into a sword shop looking for the blade that will help her defeat her nemesis. But the proprietor senses more complicated emotions under the surface. Having similar experience, she coaches the shopper as she helps her with her purchase in “So You Want to Kiss Your Nemesis” by John Wiswell. A sweet, sort-of romance of enemies becoming lovers. (My rating: 4/5)

The main character in “Construction Sacrifice” by Bogi Takács is a human who has become a mid-size city. A trans mage wanders the city and connects with the city. This story is a metaphor for the trans experience, as the mage considers becoming a city themself. I like the concept, but the idea of becoming a city just didn’t translate well for me. (My rating: 3/5)

The oddest story of the issue is “When the Giants Came Through the Valley” by Derrick Boden. The people live in the literal footprint of a giant who had walked down the valley. They are cutoff from others. They have to deal with challenges no one else does. It feels like a metaphor for climate change and capitalism, but I spent so much time trying to understand the metaphor itself that it just didn’t work for me. (My rating: 2/5)

The final tale is “The House, the Witch, and Sugarcane Stalks” by Amanda Helms. In it a witch lives in a sentient house made of candy which is also a stop on an underground railroad. At first the house isn’t too keen on the idea. It’s interesting to see the back and forth between the witch and the house. (My rating: 3/5)

Overall the issue comes in at 3.375 which I am rounding down to 3.25. A solid effort but not the best this year.

Foster by Claire Keegan

A 2D drawing of a farm house in the distance with fields in the forground in black and white and blue

I got a little turned off to literary short fiction when I read Cathedral by Raymond Carver. That book is highly rated, but the stories just didn’t click with me. Somewhere along the way I was referred to Foster by Claire Keegan. I felt like it might be time to give that a go, but I was hesitant due to my experience with Carver. I need not have been concerned.

Foster pulled me in from the beginning and would not let me or my heart go. It tells the story of a young girl in rural Ireland whose mother is expecting yet another baby. As she approaches delivering that baby, her father takes her to neighbors to watch over her to give her mother a break. At first, the girl is nervous and scared, not knowing what to expect. Over their short time together, both the her foster parents and she grow close until, after the new sibling is born, she has to return home.

The atmosphere is overpowering in this story. I really felt as if I was there. I was drawn into the rural Irish community as well as the smaller world of the little girl who is telling the story. There is quite a contrast between the life she lives in her parents’ home and her short time with her foster parents. But there is no outward judgment one way or the other. Instead the author allows the characters and their feelings and emotions to communicate the complicated world of adults as experienced by a young girl.

My rating: 5/5

Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 199

An android with silver plating partially separating from its body faces away with two human hands on either side of its neck

For me this issue of Clarkesworld fell a little short of the high bar they have set for their fiction. Still an entertaining issue, just not as good as I have come to expect. And sadly, no stand-out, five-star tales. Let’s dive into the story reviews.

In “Re/Union” by L Chan, a young woman prepares an annual family dinner at her home. The unusual thing about it is that most of her guests are ghosts. More specifically, they are based on artificial intelligence (AI) derived from the personalities of the deceased. It seems like a good and comforting simulation until you realize that they can never change from what they were. (My rating: 3/5)

The world of “There Are the Art-Makers, Dreamers of Dreams, and There Are Ais” by Andrea Kriz doesn’t feel that far away. The main character is an artist in a world where generative AI has been outlawed from participating in creative endeavors. In fact it used to test all published art for its influences so those influencer artists can be properly compensated. This has the unintended consequence of making those influencers gatekeepers who help determine what it means to be original. The main character attempts to break into the art world by working with a master to find his own original style. (My rating: 4/5)

Something odd is going on in an alternate universe in “Rake the Leaves” by R.T. Ester. A professor repeatedly logs onto a server where he finds music and product references that are just a little different than he remembers them. As he reaches out to others to try to discover what is different and why, things eventually go off the rails. (My rating: 3/5)

The title character in “Keeper of the Code” by Nick Thomas finds something out of place deep in the Code that protects his planet. He immediately deletes it but then wonders if he did the right thing. A tale of self-doubt and revisiting decisions. (My rating: 3/5)

“Happiness” by Octavia Cade is a choose your own adventure story with a big claim right up front—you will always die happy. Each of the choices involves how you die. And the story for each part shows how you come to your end in a world suffering from climate change. An interesting exploration of all the ways climate change can affect you. (My rating: 3/5)

I seem to come across at least one story like “Stranger Shores” by Gregory Feeley in each short fiction magazine I read lately. I call these “experimental” because they don’t tell stories in a straightforward manner. As best I can tell, this one seems to be about a post-human experience. Most of these stories try to use the form of the story to help tell it. It usually doesn’t work for me, and it doesn’t here. (My rating: 2/5)

The Curator finds a military robot that she modifies to help her gather books and restock the library where she lives alone on a future Earth in the midst of a new ice age. “The Librarian and the Robot” by Shi Heiyao, translated by Andy Dudak is a touching story of a woman and a machine bonding through a shared goal. Naturally, the robot outlives the Curator. And when others from space arrive at the library, we learn something surprising about the pair. (My rating: 4/5)

In “Voices Singing in the Void” by Rajan Khanna, drones are sent to planets ahead of the population being sent to make them ready. When the drones’ work is complete, they sing into the void their song of readiness. But what happens if there is no one in the void to hear the song? A touching story of unintended consequences. (My rating: 4/5)

The strong stories buoy the weaker ones in this issue, resulting in an overall rating of 3.25. The non-fiction is  strong and lifts the issue as well.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

An open doorway stands in the middle of a field at sunrise seeming to go nowhere

Here is another winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novella. It is a portal fantasy where children return from their world to parents frantic about their missing children. When the kids tell mom and dad about where they have been, the parents naturally think them traumatized by whatever experience they actually had. In their pursuit of help, they come across a woman running a school for just such children. What they don’t know is that the headmistress was herself a child who traveled to another world and understands that the children are telling the truth.

The story follows one girl as she arrives at the school desperate to get back to her other world. As she starts to settle in, terrible things begin to happen. The children help the headmistress to figure out what is going on. We learn what is going on as the children do.

This book is both dark and funny. It deals with issues of adolescence and sex and gender in sympathetic ways while still feeling true to how children treat and relate to each other. I found the ending rather abrupt but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed the book.

My rating: 4.5/5

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Book title and author text on a blue background

In 1986, Toni Morrison published her only short story called Recitatif. It was republished last year as a hard cover book with an introduction by Zadie Smith. This is a story that everyone needs to read, especially with the different interpretations on the state of race in our country.

The story is that of two women who meet as young girls in an orphanage. One is black, the other is white. We follow the girls as they become women, wives, and mothers, dipping in and out of each others’ lives. There is something very special about this story and the way the author tells it, but I can’t say what it is without giving it away. And, please, do not read the introduction before the story. Read the story first! The introduction gives away what makes the story special and will ruin your first read.

This story is important today both for what it shows in the relations between these two women as well as what it intentionally leaves out. It leaves us asking some very important questions about how we view race and why. Most importantly, it doesn’t give us any of the answers but leaves us to work that ourselves, together.

My rating: 5/5