Two short stories a day…
Since November, I’ve been reading an average of 2 short stories every day, mostly science fiction and fantasy.
As Junot Diaz once told me, “Read a thousand short stories and you’ll know how to write one.” It’s been good to immerse myself in story every day and get a idea of the variety of things out there. I’m cataloguing all the short stories I read in a table (using airtable), where I jot down basic information about the story, quotes I like, and rate it so I can easily find it later. As of today, it has 367 entries (of which 58 have 5-star ratings).
Every few months, I plan to go back through my list and post the stories I liked the most. They may or may not actually have been published recently.
I welcome recommendations for stories! Just leave a comment.
Top picks
Here are the short stories I enjoyed the most the past few months.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Literary adventure fantasy
- When Your Being Here is Gentler Than Your Absence Hard, Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #322, 2021/1/28 #323, 2021/2/11) Fantasy, time travel, romance, excellent characterization, leading a nation in war, second person.
- Her Black Coal Heart a Diamond in My Hand, R.K. Duncan (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #322, 2021/1/28) An artist gathers ghosts to create haunted houses to elicit donations for poverty.
- A Feast from Tile and Stone, Ryan Eric Dull (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, #317) A team of chefs making an extravagant feast and dealing with a murder. (Think Scott Lynch, Sinspire-type extravagance.)
Fantasy & Science Fiction
(Subscription required)
- The Dark Ride, John Kessel. Two realities/political assassinations intertwined, one on Earth and one on the moon. Political commentary, capitalism vs. socialism/anarchy. A tribute to old-time SF (e.g. Princess of Mars).
- Interludes with the Gunwright, Jonathan L. Howard (Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2021/1.) A gunwright and a soldier, over the years. Two strong female characters. I’m usually not a fan of guns, but the delightful writing won me over.
- The Fairy Egg, R.S. Benedict (Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2020/9.) A woman trying to escape the lower-class by selling “fairy eggs” and dealing with her husband’s toxic masculinity. Great characterization/commentary of the modern upper class.
- Of Them All, Leah Cypress. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2020/9) A fairy’s gift/curse: to be seen as beautiful only by those who hate you.
- A Civilized and Orderly Zombie Apocalypse Per School Regulations, Sarina Dorie. The best pandemic-inspired story I have seen. Great teacher perspective.
- On Vapor, Which the Night Condenses, Gregor Hartmann. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2020/11.) A murder mystery at a edgy smell-based art exhibition.
- How to Burn Down the Hinterlands, Lyndsie Manusos. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, November 2020) An orphan blacksmith struggling against the empire that killed her mother and tries to enslave her. Swords forged from anger.
- The Bahrain Underground Bazaar, Nadia Afifi. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, November 2020) A grandpa with a lot of agency. Neural recordings. Turning back from suicide.
- Eyes of the Forest, Ray Nayler (Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2020.) Learning to survive on an alien planet.
Clarkesworld
- All Living Creation, Xiu Xinyu (Clarkesworld #169, 2020/10. Science Fiction World, 2017/6). Corporations enslaving clones of your sister.
- No Way Back, Chi Hui (Clarkesworld, 2020/12. Science Fiction World, 2006/5.) Escaping into cyberspace and losing your body.
- To Sail the Black, A.C. Wise (Clarkesworld, 2020/11.) A space pirate captain trying to save her ship, grappling with her decisions. A dying star.
Dreamforge
Optimistic, uplifting stories. I read a bunch of back issues because that’s what I’m in the mood for these days. (Subscription required)
- The Winds and Waters of Mars, C.H. Hung (Dreamforge #7.) An American-born Chinese dealing with prejudice against immigrants, on Earth and on Mars.
- Myself, Rebecca Enzor (Dreamforge #7.) A short and inspiring story about a wish-granter learning to wish for freedom.
- Broke Down & Starside, Jennifer Shelby (Dreamforge #7.) A “missed connection” with a rogue insurance agent helping a customer and the resulting social media storm.
- Beyond Our Hidden Stars, Sally Wiener Grotta (Dreamforge 4) Finding hope in art when enslaved by a space corporation.
- The Dryad’s Smile, H. Orion Kim (Dreamforge 5) The strength of relationships against otherworldy allures.
- Answered Prayers, Scott Edelman (Dreamforge 5) A magical bookstore of books never rewritten. A story about letting go.
- Climbing the Motherman, Henry Szabranski (Dreamforge 5) Living on a stone giant (cool world!), tribal power struggles, escaping disaster, protecting the weak.
Fireside
Ha a focus on beautiful/lyrical writing.
- Object Permanence, James Yu (Fireside 2020/12.) Landmarks get social media accounts. Good, bad, and ugly at a conference. Romance.
- The Intergalactic Shoemaker’s Revenge, Jordan Rivet A nice tale of just deserts for a space pirate.
- The Roman Road, Vajra Chandrasekera (Fireside, September 2020) Uploading, homunculi, capitalism.
- Redemption, Mary Soon Lee (Fireside, September 2020.) A beautiful story about the rhythm of imprisonment.
- Narrative Control, Kyle Kirrin (Fireside, October 2020.) Anxiety bot narrates your every fear. Hyper-reality.
Daily Science Fiction
Short, <1000 words, good for a quick dose.
- Meet Cute, Templeton Moss Alien romance. Delightful dialogue.
- Naughty List 4 Lyfe, Thomas J. Griffin (Daily Science Fiction, 2020/12/23.) Catch Santa and he’ll grant you a wish. But be careful what you wish for.
- Generation Xmas, Tony Dunnell (Daily Science Fiction, 2020/12/25.) When the adults try to bring Santa on board the space station, the kids have other ideas.
- You Will Find Yourself Buried Beneath Rubble, Matthew Sanborn Smith (Daily Science Fiction, 2020/11/20) Second-person, rapid-fire.
- Teenage Neurogenesis, Elizabeth A Terhune (Daily Science Fiction, Wednesday, October 14th, 2020.) “How would the workforce change if technology moved so quickly that teenagers–with their plastic minds–were the only ones who could fully understand the latest inventions?”