Story Recommendations May 2020

May marks another month where I’ve strayed away from my go-to sources for fiction. So there won’t be any Flash Fiction Online or Daily Science Fiction in the recommendations this month, though they’re always worth a read. In fact, there won’t be any flash fiction at all. Instead, we’re starting off far away from the regular science fiction and fantasy magazines in the world of mainstream publishing.

Fable by Charles Yu (The New Yorker/ J. Strahan’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year 11): At its core, this is a simple but heartfelt story about a man trying to play the cards life has dealt him, having to take care of a handicaped son and struggling with showing affection for his son and wife.

In itself it’s a good story, but the author tops it off by delivering it through an original framing device; the MC is at once both relating his story to his therapist and trying to work through his issues. On top of that the speculative element is a pretty original blend of fantasy tropes and a far more mundane world. And the author actually manages to pull of the overdone and usually annoying ending of “was it really fantasy after all?”

Das Steingeschöpf by G. V. Anderson (Strange Horizon): I first listened to the podcast version of this story a year or so ago and wasn’t a big fan. Now, it may be that my taste have changed, or it may be that this is just the kind of story that needs your constant attention (the audio quality was fine, so it wasn’t that). Either way, I read it again a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it.

The sentence level writing is stunning, and the author manages to convey so much of the story world and who the POV character is through a few well-chosen words. Whether it’s the description or the dialogue, the writing is simply beautifully well crafted. On top of that, the story is an original mix of a struggling artist story, persecution of jews during early third reich Germany, and golem-like magic.

The plot is so-so, but this is still an absolutely amazing story. The language and the original fantasy elements bordering magical realism were especially enjoyable.

Hunting Monsters by S.L. Huang (The Book Smugglers): This one is actually an excerpt from a novel by S.L. Huang, rewritten to be a self-contained story. Normally, I wouldn’t bother with such rewrites, but the author actually managed to turn it into something that did feel like a fully developed story and not just a hastely reworded chapter.

The premise is quite interesting and filled with innate conflict. It’s a story world where hunters have to be aware that they do not shoot humans trapped in animal form. The main character and her family are, of course, some of those hunters.

Later on, it turns out to be an original take on the Beauty and the Beast with intervowen themes of women’s rights and mental abuse. It’s not lighthearted reading, but it is very interesting.

And Now His Lordship Is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizon) (2020 Hugo Award nominee): It’s been a while since I read Strange Horizon regularly, which is kind of dumb. It used to be one of my absolute favorite magazines and, clearly, they’re still publishing stories of the highest quality. That’s two for two that ended up on my recommended list this month.

To be fair, this was probably my least favorite story of the four that got on the list. The dialouge is quite stilted and the plot far too linear and predictable, but those are not the elements which carry the story.

It’s the hyper realistic rural Indian setting and the way the story highlights the British’s mistreatment of the native Indians during World War II that makes this special. It shows how even the heroes of history are complex people, capable of during as much evil as they did good. It tells the story of the opressed people which rarely survives to be widely known. I won’t say I was entertained all the way through, but I did learn something, and the MC’s suffering was all too tangible.

That’s my short story recommendations for May. As always, let me know if you have recommendations of your own as to which stories or magazines I should read next.