Favorite Short Fiction, February 14-27

I was away at a soccer tournament last weekend so this review of my favorite short fiction includes two weeks of reading. And of the twenty-one stories that I read, six stood out to me as five-star reads.

From Asimov’s first issue of the year, “Stay” by William Preston is a bittersweet tale of a nerdy brother dying of cancer who decides to create an android replica of himself to keep his dog company after the cancer has killed him. He has a somewhat estranged sister who doesn’t like dogs and doesn’t quite get it. If you have a heart and/or love dogs, this one may make you cry. But don’t worry, the dog doesn’t die.

Also from Asimov’s first issue of the year is Will Ludwigsen’s brilliant “The Imaginative Youngster’s Handbook to UFOs”. It is written in the second person directly to the youngster who has pulled it off the shelf in the library. It has the feel of something written in the 1950s to help a misfit youth feel like they are part of something. It is both funny and endearing.

I listen to the podcast Writing Excuses. In the February 7 episode, they do a deep dive on the story “With Her Serpent Locks“ by Mary Robinette Kowal originally published in Uncanny magazine. Be sure to read it before you listen to the podcast episode as it has spoilers. It is the story of a woman whose troublesome cousin invites himself for a visit. The identity of the characters is slowly revealed as the story unfolds to a satisfying conclusion.

Octavia E. Butler explores self-control and responsibility her tale “The Evening and the Morning and the Night“ from the collection Bloodchild and Other Stories. The main character is a woman with a genetic disease that without treatment will eventually cause her to destroy herself physically. With her boyfriend, she visits a clinic with a unique approach to treatment. An astounding story of nature, nurture, and choice.

The final story in Butler’s Bloodchild and Other Stories is “The Book of Martha“. In it Martha is tasked by God to make humanity better. She is given all the powers of God, and she can ask him any question. She is deeply uncomfortable with this task, but what she decides to do is stunning.

I have finally gotten around to starting the January issue of Clarkesworld magazine, and it starts out with a banger. “Remember Me in the Meat“ by Sarah Pauling takes place in a world where memories have largely been offloaded to data banks in the cloud. When a climate activist group tasks an assassin to kill a dangerous billionaire, the leader of the cult unleashes a virus that makes everyone forget the assassin. But things don’t go as expected when she finally arrives to execute her target.

I hope you enjoy these stories. Remember, you can always keep up with what I am reading on my short fiction page.

Favorite Short Fiction of the Week

I was a bit busier this week than last and only managed to read five stories, all of them from the first of issue of the year of either Analog or Asimov’s.

My favorite story was a five-star read from Analog entitled “And She is Content” by Frank Ward. It tells of a sentient AI that manages a space ark delivering colonists to their new home on a new planet. Every one hundred years, she wakes up the crew in order to exercise them before putting them back into hibernation. But as she wakes them up this time, she notices something very different. This is a touching story of caretaking and relationships.

And for the first time this year, I didn’t finish a story I started. This one was also from Analog: “Iron Star Swing” by Kate Orman. It seemed to be trying to do something clever about what happens near the event horizon of a black hole. It definitely didn’t work for me. I never really could understand what was happening and tapped out just passed 12% in the story.

Favorite Short Fiction of the Week

I read a lot of good short fiction this week. Of the seventeen stories I read, almost half (eight) were four or five star reads for me. The two five star stories are the first two stories in the latest issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

“Sin Eater” by Mark W. Tiedemann takes place in a near future after first contact has taken place. While these aliens have adapted to our human ways, they still stand apart. The story follows a lone detective who is still grieving for his dead wife as he investigates the kidnapping of two alien children. After their recovery in the opening, the rest of the story explores the attempt to get the aliens to press charges against the kidnapper. It is fascinating exploration of punishment and forgiveness, especially in the context of grief.

“The Origami Man” by Doug Franklin opens with a fisherman off the coast of Alaska finding what appears to be a dead body in the water. But then it seems to come back to life. I don’t want to give away too much of this story but for me it has all that I look for in speculative short fiction—great writing and realistic characters exploring multiple aspects of what it means to be human.

An honorable mention must also go to Octavia E. Butler’s Hugo award winning “Bloodchild”, a disturbing tale of humans at the mercy of aliens in her tale exploring male pregnancy. While an excellent story, this was only a four out of five stars for me due to its disturbing nature.

Favorite Short Fiction of the Week

I read ten pieces of short fiction this week ranging from about 1,500 words to almost 25,000 words. To view the entire list of what I read, look at the top ten entries in the table at the bottom of my Short Fiction page.

Two of these stories were five stars for me. The first was Sarah Pinsker’s And Then There Were (N-One). I read it as part of her collection Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea which my book club is reading this month. It is a very strange story indeed. In it, Sarah Pinsker (but not the actual author) is the main character and storyteller. She is invited to a SarahCon where she meets other Sarah Pinskers from across the multiverse (presumably even our author). When one of these Sarahs dies, the insurance investigator narrator Sarah is called on to look into it. This is a fascinating look at both identity and what might have happened if we had only made different choices.

The other story I loved, from the January issue of Uncanny magazine, is A.T. Greenblatt’s The Doorkeepers. The titular doorkeepers are essentially chaperones to small rooms where paying customers can experience a brief glimpse of the near future. The only caveat? Anything you take from that experienced future does not survive leaving the room. So, no Grays Sports Book problems like in Back to the Future II. The story is a well-written exploration of how our choices and behavior can affect our futures. And how trying to manipulate the future doesn’t turn out like we expect.

And only now am I seeing how the theme of choices is integral to both of my favorites this week. Interesting. I wonder if there will be a connecting theme for my favorites next week.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

I am not sure how I first learned about this book, but I really liked the author’s Arc of a Scythe series. The premise of this one sounded intriguing when I was deciding what to read next, so I picked it out of my to read pile.

Published in 2025, it takes place after the COVIC-19 pandemic during a new and unusual worldwide virus scare. This new virus, called Crown Royale, is virulent and deadly. But those who survive find they have a very unusual side effect—preternatural kindness and happiness. In fact, many people who are not among the recovered feel that the recovered are no longer themselves. There arise two perspectives among individuals. One, avoid the virus at all costs as it will change you. Two, seek out the virus for the happiness that follows recovering. This is the crux of the novel as it follows those on both sides of the issue.

The writing is very engaging and easy to follow. The author delves into both perspectives in a way that makes both seem understandable even while some of the actions taken on both sides are exceptionally questionable. I very much enjoyed the book but found the end extremely unsatisfying. Without any spoilers, there is no real resolution. I am okay with ambiguous endings. In fact I often really like a story that doesn’t spoon feed me what I should think about it. Here, though, there is no resolution at all. I have no indication whatsoever of how things go. It feels like the story just ends. Some may appreciate that, but I found it extremely disappointing.

My rating: 3.5/5

It by Stephen King

Two weekends ago I was preparing to drive from my home in the mountains of western NC to a soccer tournament near Sarasota, FL, where I was refereeing. It is about a ten hour drive, so I was searching my library for an audiobook or two to listen to on the drive. I was struggling to find one that I wanted to listen to. I came across It by Stephen King. It’s on my reading list but it was almost forty-five hours long! I skipped past it and kept looking. Eventually I came back and borrowed it. By the time I got home I was only half done. I continued listening over the last week and only just finished it. What a ride!

It is the story of seven kids in Derry, Maine, who confront an unspeakable evil in 1958 only to return to the town to kill it once and for all twenty-seven years later. It is an incredibly emotional novel. Frightening and ghoulish, yes. But also poignant and touching. It is entirely too long yet kept me wanting to find out what happened to this band of childhood friends. The writing is deeply evocative, reaching into your soul and tugging on your very being, asking questions that don’t even have answers. And yet, it is also a good old-fashioned American horror story.

As I said, much too long. But I don’t know what I would take out. Perhaps it is best to think of it as a television series. Each part of the book is its own season. In some ways, this novel reminds me of the recently concluded Netflix series Stranger Things. I suspect It was a heavy inspiration for the Duffer brothers. But where the TV show was nostalgic, this novel was contemporary when it was published.

The performance of the text by Steven Weber was simply incredible. He is a one-man show that doesn’t let up for the entire book. He brings it all to life vividly. In the end, I can only say that if you have the inclination, this book is definitely worth your time. It was certainly worth mine.

My rating: 4/5

My 2026 Reading Goals

Traditionally, I set a goal each January for how many books I want to read in the year. About halfway through 2025, I rededicated myself to reading more short fiction. Taking that into account, I have not set a goal for how many books I want to read this year. My reading goals are a little more complicated.

This year I plan to have three reading tracks this year. One is to be reading a book, either a novel or nonfiction. At the same time I will be reading short fiction from one of the short fiction magazines I subscribe to and from a collection or anthology. And instead of a goal of books to read, I have set a goal of reading 400 short fiction stories this year. That is a little more than one a day.

So far this year, I am on track having read twenty-one stories so far. You can keep track of what I read on my Short Fiction page. I will continue to share reviews here of each book I read this year. I have also toying with the idea of at least occasional reviews of some of the short fiction I read. But that will depend on other things in my life.

Beginning Before and After the End by Jake Stein

Once again, here a piece that isn’t exactly a story but is very effective for that very reason. It is a story that is being told by a narrator directly to you, consciously so. And the narrator has a very specific goal they are trying to achieve, something they are trying to get you to do. I won’t spoil it for you. It is quite short so I encourage you to go read it.

The writing here is clever in an effective way that draws the reader in. I’d love to talk about what it is saying, but, once again, that would spoil your experience.

Length: 759 words (< 5 minutes)

My rating: 4/5

City of One by Stephen S. Power

The author has used a number of unique tools in this excellent story. First, the story is in the second person, so it is speaking directly to the reader. I often find this distracting, but here it is used to devastating effect in drawing the reader in and immersing them in the narrative. Second, this isn’t really a story. It is more of a description of a video game told using a narrative style. Again, seems like it wouldn’t work very well, but it does. Without giving away too much, it describes a kind of hind and seek game that seems impossible to win and has existential consequences. And the second half describes a sequel that flips the script.

This one is dark and hits close to home. It shows the extremes of our internet, mobile phone culture and how unavoidable and futile it can feel. Read it.

Length: 885 words (< 5 minutes)

My rating: 4/5

The Girlfriend Experience by C.Z. Tacks

In a bleak, near future dystopia devastated by climate change, a sex worker is forced by her economic circumstances to entertain a client whose proclivity involves choking her. It’s okay, though. She has a “closet” she can use. This is a technology that allows for a sort of full body mask that subsumes her consciousness during the experience. But the technology seems to be on the fritz and something unexpected happens.

The world building here is detailed and deeply immersive without being expository, flowing organically as part of the storytelling. The best part of the story is exploring the idea I cannot reveal without spoiling the story. This is another piece of short fiction exploring ideas through story. Well done!

Length: 5,017 words (about 20 minutes)

My rating: 5/5