All right, so I want to run down some of my favorite short SFF stories of the year, as prelude to my recommended reading list, which I'm busily working on. I'm capping myself at 10 today (the final list will have 75)
“The Emotionless, In Love” by @jasonsanford (pub @BCSmagazine) (28000 word novella). Beautifully haunting, exploring damage and healing, and omglob the action sequences are intense! beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-em…
“Dead Air” by @ninocipri (pub @NightmareMag) (10284 word novelette). Terrifying and formally daring, with a dread as patient and careful as a lover's caress. Relentless, shattering horror. nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/dead-a…
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing the Stumps Down Good” @TboneJenkins (pub @fiyahlitmag) (14843 word novelette). Strange but moving twist on a history full of suppressed memories, featuring song and silence and an amazing cast. fiyahlitmag.com/issues/issue-7…
“Momento Mori” by @ms_tiahmarie (pub @OmenanaMag) (3133 word short story). Completely unexpected, tender, and breathtaking story about death, ability, consent, and love. Sexy Death is strange, but definitely not unwelcome. omenana.com/2018/08/30/mem…
“You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can’t Help Me” @KMSzpara (pub @UncannyMagazine) (7087 word short story). A wrenching look at bodies, intimacy, families, and trust. Plus there's dinosaurs! And something like magic! It's just perfect! uncannymagazine.com/article/you-ca…
“Salt Lines” by @ianmuneshwar (pub @strangehorizons) (2211 word short story). A delicate mix of fantasy and horror looking at the fragile balance between desire, monstrosity, and acceptance and revealing the weight of narrative. strangehorizons.com/fiction/salt-l…
“The Foodie Federation’s Dinosaur Farm” by Luo Longxiang, translated by @Andy_Dudak (pub @clarkesworld)( 8273 word novelette). A weird but surprisingly deep satire of colonial narratives, complete with noble dinosaurs and a galaxy bent on consumption. clarkesworldmagazine.com/luo_09_18/
“I Sing Against the Silent Sun” by @Merc_Rustad & @xasymptote (pub @LightspeedMag) (8890 word novelette). A look at the power of art and resistance in the face of totalitarian violence and erasure. A poet and a found family against the wrath of suns. lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/i-sing…
“Coyote Now Wears a Suit" by @an1fox (pub @apexmag) (5400 word short story). Raucous, fun, and incredibly complicated, this one looks at the borders of identity, and the margins where some can become lost, only to find themselves in all their glory. apex-magazine.com/coyote-now-wea…
“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington” by @pdjeliclark (pub @FiresideFiction) (3648 word short story). A reimagining & retaking of a history that has often been ignored & suppressed, through a look at an iconic national artifact. firesidefiction.com/the-secret-liv…
& there you go! The full list will be up after I complete my reading for the year, so probably early January? I might release an early list sooner and then add to it, but we'll see?
I know it's tacky but a little bonus I also had a story out this year that you might like. "Humans Die, Stars Fade" by me (pub @escapepodcast) (3700 word short story). A look at humans, hope, and healing through the gaze of stars and the inky dark. escapepod.org/2018/05/10/esc…
