Short Fiction Roundup - For Now
I’m moving away from these because I don’t feel they serve a purpose other than bragging about how much I read, but this one was still in the queue so I might as well use it ;)
Going to focus on better reviews of longer work.
The Tree, and the Center of the World by Yukimi Ogawa (Like Smoke, Like Light)
A being is stuck tending to a great tree that appears to anchor the multiverse. It’s not very nice. She can’t leave…but there might be a solution to her problems and her sorrow. A beautiful story that’s ultimately about parenting and sacrifice.
The Christmas Quark by David Swanson (Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter)
A silly Christmas story that makes no sense…and then turns into…well…it’s funny until it isn’t.
Green on the Timeline by Ian Li (Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter)
Billionaires invent time travel. It uses so much energy that it restarts the climate crisis. A genius has a solution. It’s eat the rich, but it’s a reasonably compassionate eat the rich.
Svitla by A.D. Sui (Embroidered Worlds)
A woman’s daughter becomes some kind of radioactive earth spirit. Pretty, but I’m not sure I entirely got it. YMMV.
The Rainbow Bridge by Iryna Pasko (Embroidered Worlds)
What price would you pay for immortality and control over a bunch of serfs? This is basically a dark fairytale in the tradition of the Grimms, but Ukrainian flavored. I liked it much better than the first one.
Big Nose and the Faun by Mykhailo Nazarenko (Embroidered Worlds)
Ovid somehow destroys the world by working out some philosophy involving Pan. It’s weird. It’s really weird. I think it’s meant to be a critique of Greek philosophy. Or just weird. Either way.
Havrylovna by Oleksiy Zhupansky, trans. Kateryna Darchyk (Embroidered Worlds)
Yes, the cat lady is a witch. Reminds me a bit of Baba Yaga, although the Ukrainian author might be insulted by that. Also truly strange, but with a distinct fairytale feeling. CW for animal death…and second person.
Karantha Fish by Amal Singh (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
The only way to save his life is to feed him a fish that is taboo…and hideously expensive. It’s about religious taboos that linger long after the reason for them is gone. But also about people who will go to any lengths for family.
Longevity by Anya Ow (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
Who gets to live forever? Science fiction asks this question fairly regularly. Ow’s answer has nothing new on the face of it, but the characters make up for that. CW for animal death.
All That We Leave Behind by Charlie Hughes (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
The lucky one is the one who doesn’t read the mysterious book. Not sure I liked it, for obvious reasons.
Twelve Aspects of the Dragon by Rachael K. Jones (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
A listicle flash about dragons that starts off cute…but doesn’t stay there.
Meeting In Greenwood by R.K. Duncan (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
Imagine that the Civil War is still being fought…in the afterlife. This story has a secret agent who’s trained to cross the Styx (on a train from, of all places, Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, which I’m not a fan of for various reasons) to get intelligence from the dead about what the racists are up to. It’s an analogy for the ongoing fight for what America could be and I loved it.
The Pigeon Wife by Samantha H. Chung (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
This is equal parts animal bride story that ends as well as they often do, and scathing indictment of the way we bred pigeons to be domesticated then abandoned them. It made me think of the number of city pigeons with deformed feet. Don’t worry, the pigeons win.
Los Pajaritos by Sam W. Pisciotta (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
I can’t imagine a world without sparrows. I hope I never have to live in one. Sam ties this in with the loss of a partner in a beautiful, romantic little story.
Pluto and Tavis D Work the Door by Brooke Brannon (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
Love wins. It’s about how we should be raising our sons, about family and…well…it might just be a little bit gay. Maybe. Is it horror or dark fantasy? It falls right on the edge between the two, for me.
New Stars by Christopher Crews (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
It’s a spaceship race story, and also a story about machines replacing people and whether it’s good or bad. CW for parental death.
High Tide at the Olduvai Gorge by Kedrick Brown (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
Every 50,000 years a portal opens in the Olduvai Gorge to another planet. Last time, the more advanced humans from the other side came through and conquered. It’s also about racing. And I think a bit about racism in sport…
Prisoner 121 is Guilty by Renee Pillai (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
I still want to see a literal hierarchy story where the elite live deep underground. This isn’t that story, but it’s a story about caste systems, sexism, and how guilt can really mess you up. I liked it, by certain definitions of liked.
Learning to Fly by Raven Oak (Dragon Springs & Other Things: A Short Story Collection)
The real fantasy in this story is that her wedding dress had pockets. All women know that’s never going to happen. But it’s about self esteem, family, getting married…and dead fathers. Dang it! I KNOW this isn’t just that I’m seeing the dead dad stories more…
Sorry Raven Oak, I still quite enjoyed your story.
Dragon Springs & Other Things by Raven Oak (Dragon Springs & Other Things: A Short Story Collection)
A talented tinkerer dreams of riding a dragon. So, she builds one. It’s not really steampunk, but it’s cute…the dragon is adorable and so is Jonna. Quite enjoyable.
Level Up by Raven Oak (Space Ships & Other Trips: A Short Story Collection)
I said something about all dystopias being an exaggeration of trends. This one does transphobia and homelessness. It steps into horror.
D.E.A.T.H. by Raven Oak (Space Ships & Other Trips: A Short Story Collection)
What do you do when nobody dies anymore. The answer, apparently, is to program an algorithm to select people to die. Not in December, though.
This is a pretty decent murder mystery and also a worrying dystopia about AIs and death panels. (How much are AIs deciding who gets life-saving medical treatment?) Enjoyable.