Another month, another round of short story recommendations. First off, a story from one of my go-to magazines when I need something very short and very good, Flash Fiction Online.
The Oil King by Bree Wernicke (Flash Fiction Online)
This story takes place in a sleepy little mining town that has all but died out when the nearby opal mines dried up. The MC is waiting for her son to return with newfound wealth. In fact, she has been waiting for years when, suddenly, strange, shadowy creatures start to show up. The creatures changes the town, casting their shadows everywhere, putting an oily gleam on the buildings and people. But the shadows are only a sign of even worse things coming.
This story had some really interesting setting descriptions, and Wernicke seemed to play a lot with the prose. Also, the quite unique speculative element and the way it plays into the theme of oil being both a potential savior and ruin of communities was really well done.
I will say that the big reveal was ruined somewhat by the title and too much being given away in the opening paragraph. But if you can look beyond that and enjoy the prose and the interesting ideas presented, then this might be the story for you.
The Walls of Benin City by M.H. Ayinde (Omenana)
I found this little gem through The Best of World SF – Volumne 3 anthology, edited by Lavie Tidhar, but it was originally published in Omenana magazine.
The story follows a man who is the lone survivor from a group of people traveling through the desert to reach the fabled Benin City after an alien attack has left most of Earth barren. At the brink of death, he is saved by a ornately decorated bronze automation that claims to be guiding him towards the city.
The premise was interesting, the setting nicely depicted, but the plot was so-so. What really made the story worth reading was it’s treatment of the thematic questions. It is a sort of meta tale, where the importance of art and beauty and storytelling is contrasted with the (maybe) more basic needs of food and water, and, in the end, the need for community.
So, if you like stories that asks big questions and focus more on theme than plot, I recommend The Walls of Benin City.
For All The Girls Seduced by Anna Clark (BSFS’s Fission #5) (This story is only free to read if you are a member of BSFS, but you can buy a copy of Fission #5 here.
This is one of those rare stories I would recommend to almost everyone. It has a really cool and unique speculative element, well-drawn characters with deep emotional issues, an interesting plot, and some beautiful prose. Really, it has it all.
The world of For All The Girls Seduced is one of high-tech body mods, improving human physical abilities and prolonging their lifespans, but it is also one where vampires exists in secrecy. Now, though, a pharmaceutical company has realized that vampires exists. They even have one in their lab and mean to use them to obtain the secret behind immortality.
To Em, our protagonist, this sounds like a horrible idea. She is a vampire herself and is having a hard enough time coming to terms with her lack of immortality. She does not want the rest of the world to suffer like her.
That in itself forms the basis of an interesting heist plot. On top of that, though, the story breaks down a lot of vampire/teenage romance tropes and reshapes them into something that is both more realistic than how they are commonly depicted and at the same time immensely more interesting. Who really wants to be stuck as a teenager forever, for example? And how romantic or healthy are most teenage relationships when you look closely at them?
On top of all that, the story really manages to dig deep into Em’s suffering, and her inability to accept her immortality and her own part in how it came to be.
Yeah, this is definitely a story I will recommend to you, whoever you are and whatever your reading preferences are.
Toby Backman 