Short fiction: March 13 2018

[bibliogramma]

Most of these stories are listed on the Locus recommended reading List or on other hugo recommendation lists.


“You Pretend Like You Never Met Me and I’ll Pretend Like I Never Met You,” Maria Dahvava Headley; Lightspeed Magazine, September 2018.
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/you-pretend-like-you-never-met-me-and-ill-pretend-like-i-never-met-you/
Very good. Sometimes there’s just enough magic to do one thing right. Short story.


“Red Rain,” Adam-Troy Castro; Nightmare Magazine, June, 2018.
http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/red-rain/
Good, perhaps very good, but extremely unsettling. A meditation on the lemming effect. CN: Explicit descriptions of violent death, suicidal ideation. Short story.


“What Gentle Women Dare,” Kelly Robson; Uncanny Magazine, May-June 2018.
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/what-gentle-women-dare/
Very good. Takes the old question ‘what do women want?’ Perfectly seriously. Short story.


“Harry and Marlowe and the Secret of Ahomania,” Carrie Vaughan; Lightspeed magazine, September 2018.
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/harry-and-marlowe-and-the-secret-of-ahomana/
Very good. A steampunk lost world adventure, with extra added imperialist critique. Novelette.


“The Date,” R. K. Kakaw; Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2018.
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-date/
Good. Too much of the sex=danger, love=death vibe for me. Short story.


“A Priest of Vast and Distant Spaces,” Cassandra Khaw; Apex Magazine, March 13 2018.
https://www.apex-magazine.com/a-priest-of-vast-and-distant-places/
Very good. Bittersweet story about a priest caught between duty and family. Short story.


“Wild Ones,” Vanessa Fogg; Bracken Magazine, January 2018.
https://www.brackenmagazine.com/issue-v/fogg-wild-ones/
Excellent. Could you give up everything to take that second chance at the dream that never quite vanished? Short story.


“The Good Mothers’ Home for Wayward Girls,’ Izzy Wasserstein; Pseudopod, March 30 2018.
http://pseudopod.org/2018/03/30/pseudopod-588-artemis-rising-4-the-good-mothers-home-for-wayward-girls/
Very good. Creepy as hell, and the mysteries are never explained. Short story.


“What to do When It’s Nothing but Static,” Cassandra Khaw; Apex Magazine, April 24 2018.
https://www.apex-magazine.com/what-to-do-when-it/
Very good. Coming back after grief and loss. Short story.


“The Pine Arch Collection,” Michael Wehunt; The Dark Magazine, May 2018
http://thedarkmagazine.com/pine-arch-collection/
Excellent. An epistolatory horror story. Short story.


“Cuisine des Mèmoires,” N. K. Jemisen; How Long Til Black Future Month?, 2018.
Excellent. Would you rather have the memory of an old love, or a chance to make a new one? Short story.


“The Storyteller’s Replacement”, N.K. Jemisin; How Long Til Black Future Month?, 2018.
Very good. A cautionary tale about power, greed and assumptions. Short story.