Once again, the short story recommendations are long over do. Yadda, yadda, life’s been busy. I won’t make excuses. Here’s today’s list which is, for once, not dominated by Daily Science Fiction.
Let’s Pretend by Mary Soon Lee (Daily Science Fiction): This proved to be a fairly original take on the alien invasion trope. The focus was very much on the characters and especially on the protagonist and her paranoia. At times, the story had a bit of a “telling” narrator, but if you can see through that, it’s definitely worth the read, and the emotional kicker at the end is its strongest asset.
Phoenix Fallen by Rebecca Birch (Flash Fiction Online/Factor Four Magazine): Another good story if you can overcome the one weak point. It does start with pure backstory and little conflict, but when the story does start in earnest, it has an interesting conflict tied to the original take on the rejuvination trope (people can be revived to complete health, but it’s expensive and can have mental repercussions). And with this one, too, it’s the ending that really takes it from an okay to an excellent story.
Sine, Cosine by Marie Clementel (FFO): Not the strongest story on the list, in my opinion, but an interesting and quick read. Again, there’s an interesting speculative element. In this one, it’s people being able to neurally connect to sick people and being able to help them recover, at the cost of taking on some of the pain. There’s the setup for a very interesting conflict between two lovers, and it raises the question, how much would you do to help a loved one? But the story does wallow a bit too much in its descriptions for my liking, instead of developing the conflict and theme fully.
My English Name by R.S. Benedict (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction): There’s mystery right from the start (both for the reader and the shape-shifting protagonist). There are apt and precise descriptions and generally solid prose that isn’t overdone. And you can tell that the author draws from his own experiences when he describes the setting and situations the protagonist finds itself in as a foreigner in China; he makes it feel as if you were there yoursel. Add that some solid characterization and an emotional ending, and you got yourself one of the best short stories I’ve read in a long while.
The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagate (Tor.com): The beautiful and well-crafted descriptions and the way the author managed to make the end of the world sound mundane was what hooked me on this one. The pacing was very slow at times with little to no conflict to carry some of the scenes, and if I’d had to read it on a screen, I’m not sure I would’ve gotten through it (luckily, it was picked up by Gardner Dozois in his 2018 Year’s Best anthology). But once it got started, it proved well worth the read.
Toby Backman 