Meanwhile in Ukraine... "The Ghost Tenders of Chornobyl" by Nika Murphy
BogiReads brings you the daily speculative reading recommendation of editor Bogi Takács.
Today's recommendation -
A quick note that there has been a major issue with paid subscription renewals, i.e., they just stopped working. The past few days have been very hectic for me, but I’ll try to talk to support about it today and hopefully get it fixed. If your subscription didn’t renew in February, you’re not alone. I’m sorry and will attempt to get this resolved! Thank you to those who let me know, it was really helpful – I wasn’t sure what was going on on your end.
Author: Nika Murphy
Title: “The Ghost Tenders of Chornobyl”
Venue: Apex, March 2024 (ed. Lesley Conner)
Type: Short story – 3902 words
Themes: Horror / dark fantasy, contemporary, war, ghosts, nature, mushrooms
Where to read: Text free online / Buy the issue
I actually had a different story from Nika Murphy in my queue already, some writers are just that good :) but I’m going to prioritize this one, because it just came out. It’s about a young, transmasculine Ukrainian American who goes back to Ukraine, dies and becomes a ghost in the forests around Chornobyl – tending to the mushrooms and whatever grows from the land. It’s a reflection on the Russian invasion, but also on much more, and a meditation on caretaking for a changing nature. There’s both the grisly business of warfare, but also life goes on, in all its forms, including some new ones.
I think Apex is going to run an author interview later today (according to their release schedule on the website), but this email will probably go out sooner. I’m looking forward to reading that too!
A small note that the content notice accidentally misgenders the protagonist – I think the magazine just has a blanket “Transphobia and trans misogyny” [sic] category, but I read it as the story would include a trans woman character, and was surprised that wasn’t the case. It should probably have been an “and/or” and not an “and”?
Until next time,
Bogi.