Lots of Pretty Short Fiction
Short fiction roundup
This one is all short fiction. I’m posting my thoughts/notes/comments in the order I read stuff over the winter holidays.
The Ones Who Come Back To Heal by Cynthia Gómez
Stories in conversation with The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas show up every now and then. This one is a sequel…the child has been freed, but… It’s about trauma, and not just the child’s.
Silent Interviews by John Wiswell
This is one of the better John Wiswell telepath stories and is also set at a science fiction convention. So I recommend this one to, well. Con people.
The Leaves Echo What The Body Forgets by Marisca Pichette
A very short story about…well, it reads like fantasy but is really cli-fi. Recommended.
Have You Decided On Your Question? by Lyndsey Croal
A cautionary tale about VR. I can see where the author is going, but found it a little depressing, especially the ending.
Also set in Edinburgh, which you don’t see so often.
Instructions for the Broken Hearted by Jordan Kurella
Queer, gory, meaningful. Kurella packs a lot into a bit over 1,000 words. It’s about dealing with life and love and moving on. Recommended to everyone who has at least one awful ex.
Lady Koi-Koi: A Book Report by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Nigeria is producing some very interesting science fiction right now. This short is an experimental, taking the form of a book report with foot notes, but it’s all about colonialism. I’m not a big fan of experimental formats in general, but Okungbowa pulls this one off quite nicely.
Pluralities by Avi Silver
Yet another wow…in a pretty short period of time. Is it actually science fiction? Yes, even if the space opera elements may only take place in the narrator’s mind, because it also postulates a world where women are forced/obliged to wear a SHE stamp on their faces. No explanation and its otherwise our world. Likely, this story would hit its target audience of trans and NB people even harder, but it’s one cis people should read. We ALL need to explore gender and what it really means to us. Recommended.
Wingless, Weeping / Featherless, Floating by Marisca Pichette
Would you give up who you are for who you love? The narrator answers this…not in a way I much liked. Well written, but not my thing.
Sort Code by Chris Barnham
Something is plucking human consciousnesses from the moment of death…or…something. Beautiful language, but I would have preferred a more defined plot.
What We Found In The Forest by Phoebe Wood
Two girls from a culture where young women are sent out to find womanhood in the forest when they hit menarche…it goes exactly where I thought and hoped.
Mixtapes From Neptune by Karter Mycroft
A story interspersed with fake song titles, but it’s really the SF classic of the lovers who can’t live in each other’s worlds…
To Pluck A Twisted String by Anne Leonard
Don’t accuse the talented young artist of cheating. That’s really all I have to say. Very pretty story.
My Embroidery Stitches Are Me by Humphrey A. Lanham
The theme of memory being physically attached to a person is common. Lanham takes a fairly straightforward approach, but questions the necessity of it all.
Teatro Anatomico by Getty Hesse
CW: Gore
This is a horror story that slowly builds through matter-of-fact language to an ending which is inevitable only in hindsight. Recommended, if you can handle it…
Night Haul by Andrew Crowley
CW: Rotting dead things
The author has taken one of those road trips. A truck driver takes on a cargo that he really shouldn’t look at… I’ve been on those roads, ya know. Haven’t we all?
On the Matter of Homo Sapiens by Kel Coleman
Sentient robots do a scavenger hunt while discussing whether or not humanity deserves de-extinction. Scavenger hunt? I’m amused.
Sugar Steak by Jenny Kiefer
CW: Dental horror.
I don’t do dental horror, with apologies to the author here.
Growths by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
A half-alien girl meets her father…and her parents argue about her care. Feels a bit like a trans allegory, but is left beautifully ambiguous.
If I Should Fall Behind by Douglas Smith
Boy meets girl. Boy destroys universe to save girl. Of course, he doesn’t know that.
But what will he do? (This story uses the concept that some quantum branches re-merge, which has always been part of my conception of multiverse theory).
Shining Shores by Max Firehammer
Classic Lovecraftian ocean horror. With a side of body horror. And the typical cosmic horror ending…you have been warned.
Bayanihan by Maricar Macario
Girl goes to Mars. Mars is the future. Earth is dying (or is it). She has to leave her old house behind…her intelligent house.
It’s about home, and how we take it with us, also about migration and climate change. I liked this one a lot.
Three Sisters Syzygy by Christopher Mark Rose
Aliens bring moons and sisters from different universes to build an instrument to survey the Earth. Or…something. If you want a straightforward story, skip this one. If you enjoy quantum level confusion, seek it out.
Upstairs by Tessa Yang
I honestly want to write a story in which the rich people live underground and the poor are stuck on the surface, because the “canopy city” thing has become such a trope. Upstairs handles it well…with a side of enforced veganism and meat smuggling (where are the cows being raised if meat is illegal?) And exploration of privilege.
All of these pieces were either available for free online or sent to me for review/award consideration purposes.