It’s February, the shortest month of year, and what better way to celebrate than with a bunch of short stories.
Right. My lame attempt at a cool intro aside, it is time for another short story recommendation post. This time, I got started on my Daily Science Fiction backlog and have some goodies from David Steffen’s The Longlist Anthology Volume 6, for you as well.
I can definitely recommend The Longlist Anthology series, by the way, if you’re into SF/F short stories. It contains a wide variety of stories, and volume 6 was easily one of the best anthologies/collections I’ve read in years. The fundraiser for Volume 7 is still running.
And here are this month’s recommendations:
On the Other Foot by Jeff Gard (DSF):
An interesting, original take on the Cinderella fairy tale. This version is set in the real world were Cinderella is a down on her luck shoes salesperson and the prince is a rich jock. They meet years after their “magical” prom night together. The story manages to stray far from the original fairy tale while still keeping enough elements to make the connection clear.
I especially liked how this story questioned the fairy tale’s presumption of a happy ever after and the prince’s noble character and used its premise to give both Cinderella and the prince more depth.
The Frog Prince’s Reluctant Bride by Alison Louise Colwell (DSF):
Another fairy tale retelling that caught my attention this month. This is a very different take on “The Frog Prince”. It tells the story of a girl who gets stuck with a prince she never asked for and whom she is forced to marry. Her life pretty much unravels from there.
Fisher-Bird by T. Kingfisher (The Mythic Dream from Saga Press/The Longlist Anthology 6):
Hmm… there seems to be forming a trend this month. This one is a myth rather than fairy tale retelling, but that’s not much of a line.
The premise: One of Hercules’ twelve labors set in a modern day setting and seen through the eyes of a fisher-bird.
Honestly, I am not a fan of using the fisher-bird as a POV for the story. Partly, it adds an unnecessary framing device, and partly it makes the main character a passive bystander for the most part. Really, despite the changes to the original mtyh, this is Hercules’ story.
That said, I did really enjoy the story. The prose is more than solid, especially the dialogue. Also, the author changed just enough to make the story a fresh take on the twelve labors while also making the original story recognizable in the bones of “Fisher-Bird”.
Circus Girl, the Hunter, and Mirror Boy by JY Neon Yang (Tor.com/Longlist Anthology 6):
This story hooked me right away with it’s speculative idea, and it just got even better when the main plot started a few pages later.
After a near-death experience, a teenage girl working in a circus starts seeing a boy in mirrors instead of her own reflection. The two form a connection but as the girl starts growing into adulthood and puts her troubled teenage years behind her, the boy disappears. One day, the boy returns and warns the Circus Girl that because of him, someone is out to kill her.
If that’s not a cool premise, I don’t know what is. Add to that some cool, semi-dystopian setting elements, and you have the foundation for a great story.
The story does grow a little weird further along, and the ending specifically is somewhat disappointing. Still, this is one of the best stories I’ve read in 2022 so far.
That’s it from me. I hope to see you around in March.
Toby Backman 