As always, just before the deadline, here are the monthly story recommendations.
I’ll be honest, this wasn’t exactly the best month I’ve ever had when it comes to finding short stories. As has been the case the last couple of months, I’ve haven’t had the time to read as much as I wanted. That aside, though, the stories I did read were, while usually not bad, pretty “meh”.
I went through some Uncanny stories without being blown away the way I did when I first returned to reading the magazine in the spring. I’m still planning on reading through a good chunk of their archive during the some, though, hoping I just hit a bad streak with stories which didn’t match my preferences.
Instead, I fell back to my old favorite Daily Science Fiction. Even here, I was a bit disappointed by the overall quality this time around. However in the end, I did manage to dig out three interesting stories.
The Vanity of Zombie Publishing by Filip Wiltgren (DSF):
When it comes to plot and character, this wasn’t exactly the best of stories out there. However, it had a really interesting blend of zombies, AI, and famous SF&F authors returning from the grave. On top of that, Wiltgren managed to blend in a couple funny line, some meta golden age SF&F elements, and a clear message without ever getting preachy.
In the story, it turns out that literary fame leads to immortality, literally. Famous SF&F authors come back from the grave and soon everyone wants a part of that literary fame and, more importantly, the immortality that follows. This leads companies exploiting the market, dubious scientific breakthroughs, and a clear view of what happens when publishers (or any distributor of entertainment) focus on quantity rather than quality.
Four Score and Seven Years of the End of America: A Bibliography by Larry Hodges (DSF):
Granted, this might not have made the list in a month with a stronger field of contenders, but I didn’t get around to reading nearly as much as I used to this month, and the story does have its strengths.
It’s a very short piece, telling the story of America and its downfall through a bibliography of presidential biographies. The list format isn’t new, but I can’t recall having read a story told as a bibliography before. The story couldn’t have been before the format would’ve become a weak point, a point of annoyance, but the author wisely kept the word count down. As is, it works.
Four Pieces of Advice on the Selection of a Familiar by Kelly M Sandoval (DSF):
I really liked the premise of this one, the world where everyone gets to chose their own familiar and how that choice will affects all of one’s future. It’s all the dread of picking a college major only much, much worse.
The plot could’ve been a bit stronger. It consists mostly of the MC musing over the possibilities and ramifications of her choice so that when she does chose in the end, it doesn’t feel as satisfying as it could’ve been. Still, it was a very interesting take on the wizard’s familiar.
How the Girls Came Home by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny):
Luckily, I did find one Uncanny story this month which hit the mark (a semi-newish one from 2021).
It’s a very strange and original take on the Cinderalla story (so much so that I didn’t realize it had anything to do with Cinderella before listening to the author interview in the Uncanny podcast). The MC is blessed/cursed with magical feet which constantly change from one type of animal feet to another.
Her father, in an attempt to make the MC appear normal, commissions an artisan cobbler to create magical shoes which will make her feet normal. The story then puts the MC, who is quite happy with her magical feet and with not being normal, up against her father and the artisan who is not all that he seems.
The story did have pacing issues, IMO, with the real plot not really starting until halfway through, which also meant the ending felt a bit rushed. That said, it was a very, very cool premise, and when the plot did kick off, the story as a whole was interesting too. Also, I really liked that it wasn’t just yet another story about the MC trying to fit and realizing they were okay as they were all along.
That’s it from me this month. July means summer vacation and, thus, probably no short story recommendations.
Toby Backman 