2015 YTD Not Recommended

Total Stories: 306;  Estimated Time: 99h:40m (1794K words)
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Rating: 5 -> Hugo-worthy


Rating: 4 -> Recommended


Rating: 3 -> Average

A Case Of Identity by Edward M. Lerner  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueAnalog 12|15
A quantum AI playing at detective is recruited by a young woman to investigate the disappearance of her fiance.
A Hot Day's Night by Paolo Bacigalupi  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueF&SF 09.10|15
Journalist covering the slow death from lack of water of a near-future Phoenix joins a scavenger for a night to get a story with a new angle.
A Planet Called Desire by Gwyneth Jones  Time: 40m (12K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Wealthy John Forrest has himself transported across space and time to primordial Venus, before it lost its oceans and life.
A Residence for Friendless Ladies by Alice Sola Kim  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
A physically female high-schooler wants to transition to a man, but her grandmother sends her to a place that tries to make women into ladies.
After by Ron Collins  Time: 01m (500 words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Short-short, in which a mechanical problem traps a crew member outside the spaceship and the rest of the crew try desperately to save him/her.
Agent Neutralized by David Wellington  Time: 27m (8K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF Zombies) In a US trying to recover from a zombie epidemic, Whitman ferries two passengers through lawless territory from Atlanta to a camp in Florida.
Airtight by Michael Capobianco  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) When Lon lands on the comet Ondine, he'll stake a claim and make a fortune. He's almost there, but lots of things can still go wrong.
All The Childhood You Can Afford by Daniel Suarez  Time: 30m (9K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
In Gavin's world, children have to pay for everything, and often can't even afford to be born until long after their parents are dead. He's 16 today, in a dead-end school that doesn't teach him what he really wants to know.
All The Wrong Places by Sean Williams  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueMeeting Infinity 
(SF) A young Australian man regrets breaking up with a girl and chases her across time and space, trying to catch up with her and apologize. Delightful.
Ambiguity Machines: An Examination by Vandana Singh  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueTor.com 04/29/15
Three different accounts of (modern day) human encounters with "ambiguity machines" are presented, each one a story in itself.
American Golem by Weston Ochse  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) When a young soldier dies in Afghanistan, his grieving grandfather creates an unliving assassin and sends it after the man responsible.
An Immense Darkness by Eric James Stone  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Antonio's project has developed a way to make virtual copies of living human brains, and now that's all he has left of his fiancee.
And If the Body Were Not the Soul by A. C. Wise  Time: 29m (9K words)  IssueClarkesworld 109
Ro can't tolerate touching other human beings, but an accidental contact with an alien changes Ro's world.
Arnheim's World by Therese Arkenberg  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
In the far future, a rich recluse terraforms an entire world just for himself and his few remaining friends.
Around The NEO in 80 Days by Jay Werkheiser  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF) Ultra-rich Phil Foggerty bet that he could fly around a Near-Earth Asteroid and return to Earth in just 80 days. He has a clever plan, but his enemies don't want him to get off the ground.
Ashfall by Edd Vick And Manny Frishberg  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
Beekeepers threatened by volcanic ash discover new things about their robotic bees.
Baby Steps by Lettie Prell  Time: 08m (2K words)  IssueAnalog 11|15
Something goes wrong when a dying woman is uploaded into virtual reality, and Jayden has to figure it out and fix it.
Ballroom Blitz by Veronica Schanoes  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueTor.com 04/01/15
Jake and his brothers are doomed to dance forever unless he can find women willing to help break the curse.
Begone by Daryl Gregory  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|15
A man has mysteriously been replaced by a near-duplicate, and he plots how to get his job, home, and family back.
Bidding War by Rich Larson  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAsimov's 12|15
In a fairly near future Canada, Wyatt bids online for a mezo-American flute he thinks would be just the gift to patch things up with his girlfriend. Mildly amusing.
Bilingual by Henry Lien  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
Akari Yamaguchi is a 16-year-old girl in present-day California whose very creative plan to save the dolphins causes some chaos.
Boxes by Nick Harkaway  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
Tanya Sobel has lost her husband, but she wants to hold onto the medical devices that had supported his life.
Brainwhales are Stoners Too by Rich Larson  Time: 18m (5K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(SF) Teenage Bea would do anything for Theo, including breaking into the lab where her mom works to get pictures of a real brainwhale. Fun read.
Brigas Nunca Mais by Martin L. Shoemaker  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
The surprising tale of how Nick Ames, the famous, no-nonsense captain on the Earth-Mars run, had such a disastrous first wedding that there was no marriage.
Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth by Ken Brady  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueAnalog 11|15
A former rock climber makes one last jump, from the top of a kilometer-high tower on a high-gravity world.
Butterflies on Barbed Wire by Marie Vibbert  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueAnalog 10|15
A young man whose family is in the tattoo business has problems convincing his elders that they should try new things.
Candy From Strangers by Jay O'Connell  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueAsimov's 01|15
In a near-future Boston, Morgan looks for people about to commit suicide and makes them his "clients." His help is free, but is it worth what it costs?
Carriers by Tananarive Due  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Decades ago, when plague ravaged the US, carriers like Nayima were exiled. Things are changing now, but at her age changes are hard to accept.
Cease and Desist by Jay Werkheiser  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
Lazy, fat guy is sued by his future self for causing his health problems.
Cetacean Dreams by Robert R. Chase  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
Europa station uses trained dolphins to help explore a mystery in that moon's vast world ocean.
Child, Funeral, Thief, Death by Tade Thompson  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueApex 76
A young Nigerian man learns that he is clairvoyant--which opens up lots of temptation.
Codename: Delphi by Linda Nagata  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) Sitting in front of an array of monitors, Karin supports combat teams with intel from drones and AIs. In two years, she's never lost a soldier, but tonight is going to be busy.
Come-From-Aways by Julian Mortimer Smith  Time: 08m (2K words)  IssueAsimov's 12|15
One night in present-day Maine, a teenager with a pregnant girlfriend rows into the fog to think things over. But strange alien equipment often washes up on Bartlett's Beach on foggy nights.
Coming Undone by Alexis A. Hunter  Time: 02m (800 words)  IssueApex 75
A young girl with birth defects longs to be a cyborg.
Cremulator by Robert Reed  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueClarkesworld 108
Mysterious blue flashes followed by falling grit signal that something very strange is happening.
Daily Teds by Ron Collins  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
Fun story about Ted, a slacker grad student in physics who discovers that his professor's "gamma gun" has unexpected properties.
Dancing With A Stranger In The Land Of Nod by Will Mcintosh  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Following a plague that paralyzed most of the population, Teale takes her family out of what's left of Denver to find a better place to care for them.
Day Job by Tom Purdom  Time: 29m (9K words)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|15
Len has empathy problems, so after losing yet another job, his girlfriend gets him to go to a clinic where they can fix things like that--most of the time.
Defender of Worms by Richard A. Lovett  Time: 1h:25m (26K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Brittany, an AI, and her human host, Memphis, flee across the desert from rogue AIs who want to destroy Brittany if she won't join them.
Die, Sophie, Die by Susan Jane Bigelow  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
People keep harassing Sophie online over an article she wrote, but one of the harassers is very different from the others.
Emergency Repair by Kate M. Galey  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Narrator desperately takes one of her androids apart in a race with time to save her lover's life.
English Wildlife by Alan Smale  Time: 51m (15K words)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|15
A man and his girlfriend visit England, and he worries about her intense interest in old stone carvings of snarling heads called "green men," because of the leaves carved around them.
Exile From Extinction by Ramez Naam  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueMeeting Infinity 
(SF) As the war between humans and AIs comes to a violent close, you and your children flee for the stars, if you can escape pursuit. A fun read.
Exit Interview by Timons Esaias  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueAnalog 11|15
A prisoner, confined for life on an inhospitable alien world, gets a sign that something is finally going to change.
Fool's Errand by Judith Tarr  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Marina is an underemployed scientist managing cargo on a starship when a stasis capsule fails and she finds herself trying to deal with a horse. Heartwarming.
Four Seasons in the Forest of Your Mind by Caroline M. Yoachim  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueF&SF 05.06|15
A very alien sort of aliens have a very different sort of first contact with humanity.
Frogheads by Allen M. Steele  Time: 41m (12K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Ronson is a PI from Earth hired to track down a tycoon's son, who has gone missing on Venus.
From a Remove by Alec Meden  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) Thrilling story set ~100 years from now where a young woman flies orbital combat missions for a "nation" that only exists on the Internet.
Ghost Colors by Derek KΓΌnsken  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueAsimov's 02|15
Brian is haunted by a second-hand ghost who, in life, had been a paleontologist loved Brian's aunt. Brian doesn't mind him, much, but his new girlfriend says the ghost has to go.
God Mode by Daniel H. Wilson  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 64
A young man studying to be a video-game designer falls in love with a classmate after she falls and hits her head--the same day all the stars went out.
He Came From a Place of Openness and Truth by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueLightspeed 56
Teenage Ben doesn't understand why he's attracted to Mikey. He never like guys before, and there's something really odd about Mikey.
Heart Of Brass by Alex Jennings  Time: 32m (10K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
At need, Thea becomes the Brass Monkey, who roams the streets of Seattle fighting crime and super villains. But Thea is dissatisfied and wants to spend more time with her boyfriend.
Heaven Come Down by Ben H. Winters  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Teenage Pea has survived the deaths of everyone else on her colony, and now she's starting to hear the voice of God.
Heavy Sulfur by Ari Marmell  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) Peyton's magic helps the British fight the Germans in World War I, and he's very good at it, but now they need him for a dangerous "Heavy Sulfur" mission. Whatever that means.
History's Best Places to Kiss by Nik Houser  Time: 21m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
Amusing time-travel story in which a couple decide that disrupting their own wedding would be cheaper than getting a divorce.
Holding Hands With Monsters by Haralambi Markov  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
A horror story, in which the narrator meets the monster under the bed, and things go from bad to worse.
Holding the Ghosts by Gwendolyn Clare  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAsimov's 03|15
A body used commercially to host the personalities of dead people starts to get a mind of its own. Satisfying.
How to Remember to Forget to Remember the Old War by Rose Lemberg  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Veteran living in a future San Francisco suffers from PTSD despite the memory-wipe treatment given by the military.
In Skeleton Leaves by Seanan Mcguire  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) Neverland's eternal war between the Pan and the pirates has grown unusually nasty of late, and the Wendys are concerned about it.
In the Cave of the Delicate Singers by Lucy Taylor  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueTor.com 07/15/15
Stories say that deep in the the Brotterling caves something sings a song that drives people insane, but four cavers are trapped in there, and Karyn intends to find th
In the Dawns Between Hours by Sarah Pinsker  Time: 03m (980 words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Tess decides 1943 is no place for a gay woman, so she builds a time machine. Now she just has to decide when to use it.
In The Valley Of The Shadow Of The Promised Land by Robin Wasserman  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) After the skyfall, Isaac lead "The Children" to a place of safety, and later created a theocracy. But now he's dying, and he struggles to preserve his legacy.
Indelible by Gwendolyn Clare  Time: 08m (2K words)  IssueClarkesworld 101
A man searches an alien concentration camp for relatives of his step-sister, who was an alien too.
Into the Fiery Planet by Gregor Hartmann  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 07.08|15
Young man helping terraform a volcanic planet gets a chance to show he can do more than grunt work.
It Was Educational by J. B. Park  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueClarkesworld 107
A game tester in a future China evaulates an extremely realistic, totally immersive video game. Bloody as it is, the fact that it's based on historical events means it's marketed as "educational.
Jubilee: A Seastead Story by Naomi Kritzer  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
Beck is a teen-age girl who lives on Seastead, a collection of offshore platforms claiming independence from the US. Their organization has collapsed, and do-gooders from the mainland are trying to help deal with a couple of epidemics.
Karma Among the Cloud Kings by Brian Trent  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Preema is a Jain, sworn to kill no life, working on a gas giant planet extracting hydrogen for starships. The Jains have a menial job, collecting debris, but something about the debris bothers Preema.
Kia and Gio by Daniel JosΓ© Older  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueTor.com 01/06/15
In present-day New York, Kia is a 17-year-old black girl still haunted by the disappearance of her cousin Giovanni seven years ago.
La HΓ©ron by Charlotte Ashley  Time: 21m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
In France in 1699, a magical fighter comes to Caen to duel with creatures from faery.
Last Transaction by Nik Constantine  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
On colony 13, citizen 79867 is about to have a very bad day, owning to an unauthorized transaction.
Life's A Game by Charles Stross  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
Arrested in a foreign country, a UK game developer tries to explain to his lawyer why he shouldn't be charged with war crimes despite certain problems with his latest product.
Like All Beautiful Places by Megan Arkenberg  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(Hard SF) Grecia survived the destruction of San Francisco, and she works with Lena to make a simulation of the city for posterity.
Live From the Air Chair by Maggie Clark  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 09|15
A post-apocalypse DJ in Earth orbit has to help his ex-girlfriend find an important bit of space junk.
Looking for Gordo by Robert J. Sawyer  Time: 27m (8K words)  IssueFuture Visions 
After mankind receives the first message from another civilization, there is a huge debate about whether to send our own messages. A mock trial is held to hear both sides. Entertaining exploration of alien languages, machine learning, and dialogue systems
Loving Grace by Erica L. Satifka  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueClarkesworld 108
In a near future where all work is automated, a man's wife is drafted to be "employed" by the system, and he struggles to find meaning in life without her.
Margin Of Survival by Elizabeth Bear  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) After the collapse of civilization, Yana sneaks into a military base to hunt for food. Not that the folks in the base will be willing to share.
Mercenary'S Honor by Elizabeth Moon  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) A fun tale wherein an old mercenary captain's retirement plans are interrupted by a young mercenary sent to fight him.
Milagroso by Isabel Yap  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueTor.com 08/12/15
In a near-future Philippines, Marty takes his family to his hometown to see a miracle that transforms artificial food into real food.
Monsieur by David Gerrold  Time: 46m (14K words)  IssueF&SF 09.10|15
The narrator wants to write vampire stories. He meets someone who can tell him all about them, and he writes down his story, starting in 1870s Seattle.
No Decent Patrimony by Elizabeth Bear  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueAsimov's 02|15
About 150 years from now, a man who made his fortune providing immortality to the wealthy dies in a car explosion, and his son reckons with his legacy.
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys: The Elephant's Tale by Damien Angelica Walters  Time: 11m (4K words)  IssueApex 75
The elephant laments the sad state of the circus, remembers how much better it once was, and watches those who try to escape.
Nothing is Pixels Here by K. M. Szpara  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Ash enjoys his life in virtual reality, but lately he's got a strong desire to return to the real world--even though he barely remembers it.
On Edge by Sarah A. Hoyt  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF) As related by their admin, Cass, two "geniuses" trying to invent teleportation for Amazon.com bite off more than they can chew.
On the Dying Winds of the Old Year and the Birthing Winds of the New by Kate Elliott  Time: 50m (15K words)  IssueLightspeed 59
In this fantasy, Mai lives in exile in the independent town of Salya, but the theft of a courier bag means that King Anjihosh doesn't intend to leave her or the town in peace.
Oneness: A Triptych by James Patrick Kelly  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueF&SF 07.08|15
Three tales of seduction: one SF, one horror, one both.
Orion, Rising by Arlan Andrews, Sr.  Time: 03m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Short-short. In 2024, a bunch of guys in a bar watch the first moon landing in decades, complaining that it's not different enough from the first landings.
Out of the Jar by Eric Schwitzgebel  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
Amusing story about a philosophy teacher who gets in touch with God and discovers he's a teenager running an illegal simulation program.
Pareidolia by Kathleen Bartholomew And Kage Baker  Time: 36m (11K words)  IssueAsimov's 03|15
Josephus fixes problems for a 23rd-century company that uses time-travel to extract valuable artifacts from ancient times. Mostly light-hearted and fun.
Partible by K. J. Zimring  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
Heartwarming story of a man in near-future Seattle who learns he had a son with a woman he knew nine years ago--except that he never had sex with her.
Pathfinder by T. C. Mccarthy  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) In a Korean War fought with spells as well as bombs, Hae Jung works in a hospital camp where she uses her secret ability to guide the dying to Heaven.
Points of Origin by Marissa Lingen  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueTor.com 11/04/15
Heartwarming story of how Torulf and Judith, an elderly couple on Mars, unexpectedly find themselves given custody of three preteen grandchildren they didn't know they had.
Portrait of a Witch by Albert E. Cowdrey  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
The FBI forces crooked accountant Alfred to take a job with Lord Pye on a Caribbean tax haven to try to prove Lady Pye is a serial killer.
Proximity by Alex Livingston  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueApex 73
Tispy and her crew make a living illegally collecting "metadata" from important people they randomly walk by. Then they get a tip about a big party to target.
Quiet Town by Jason Gurley  Time: 08m (2K words)  IssueLightspeed 59
Bev and her son Benj are among the last people left in town when bad news arrives.
Rascal Saturday by Richard Bowes  Time: 32m (10K words)  IssueF&SF 09.10|15
A late-21st-Century young woman lives in a New York that's dying from climate change, and she wants to escape to a lightly-populated alternate reality that her family can access--but she's not on good terms with her family.
Resistance by Seanan Mcguire  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Megan has survived the grey mold created in her lab which has destroyed most of the world. She's ready to die, but other survivors are looking for her.
Riding the Waves of Leviathan by Garrett Ashley  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueAsimov's 12|15
In the near future, a teen-age boy's world is turned upside down when a giant monster starts hauntings the beaches in his town.
Riding With the Duke by Jack McDevitt  Time: 28m (8K words)  IssueFuture Visions 
After giving up on a physics Ph.D., Walter tries teaching  high-school physics. He knows his subject cold, but struggles to relate to the kids.
River, Clap Your Hands by Sheree R. Thomas  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
The narrator, a survivor of a hurricane-induced flood, mourns her lost baby and feels that the water is calling to her somehow.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death by Caroline M. Yoachim  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueLightspeed 66
SF story in present-day Seattle. Nicole and Andrew are star-crossed lovers, who meet in a bus accident. They marry, they divorce, and then things start to get strange.
Rubbing is Racing by Charles Payseur  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
An illegal, near-planetary drag race for rather unexpected stakes.
Rules Of Enchantment by David Klecha And Tobias S. Buckell  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) A squad of US Marines escorts an Elven princess through enemy territory controlled by goblins and trolls.
Rush Down, Roar Gently by Sara Saab  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueInterzone 259
An old woman hazards crossing a drowning future Beirut to make an apology to an old friend she had wronged thirty years before.
SchrΓΆdinger's Gun by Ray Wood  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 02/18/15
A "heisen implant" allows Detective O'Harren to explore alternate universes to help solve crimes in 1930s Chicago.
Sealskin by Carrie Vaughn  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Urban Fantasy) After a mission gone wrong, Richard, a young Navy SEAL with really great ability in the water, thinks about quitting the Navy. So he takes vacation in Ireland to look for the father he never knew.
Ships in the Night by Jay Werkheiser  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
A starship crewman chats in a bar and tells about a curious incident that happened during a near-light-speed cruise.
Slider by Bud Sparhawk  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
Around 2050, a failed minor-league baseball star has high hopes for his son, but when the boy gets an unexpected offer from the Orioles, there are strings attached.
Somewhere I Have Never Traveled (Third Sound Remix) by E. Catherine Tobler  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueClarkesworld 105
Technician at a Jovian helium-mining station has recurring dreams that something on the planet is calling to her.
Song For The Asking by Carmelo Rafala  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
The narrator, a priest in a fantasy world, crosses the ocean to bring his church a boy he has trained and a woman he has captured. But something is strange about both of them, and the convoy has lots of problems.
Stonebrood by Alec Nevala-Lee  Time: 38m (11K words)  IssueAnalog 10|15
A near-future story about a team in Pennsylvania trying to put out a fifty-year-old underground coal fire using swarms of mosquito-sized drones to try to map the extent of it. But there are worse things down there than toxic gasses, and the most dangerous
Surfacing by Marissa Lingen  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueLightspeed 58
Mishy returns from an underwater city where she hid from the war for 20 years--but the war isn't over.
Tea Time by Rachel Swirsky  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueLightspeed 67
(Fantasy) The Mad Hatter and the March Hare continue their tea party where time has stopped. But does even timelessness have an end?
Ten Days Up by Curtis C. Chen  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) Kenna works ten-day shifts on the space elevator. When she ends up trapped outside, she has to find a way back in before a solar flare hits.
Camellia is a non-magical teenager stuck looking after primary-school-aged witch kids.
The Chart of the Vagrant Mariner by Alan Baxter  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
Daniel is a cabin boy on a pirate ship whose captain obsesses over a madman's map that supposedly leads to untold treasure.
The Crashing of the Cloud by Norman Spinrad  Time: 21m (7K words)  IssueAnalog 09|15
A master hacker on the lam from the US government signs up to help Islamic terrorists.
The Deepest Rift by Ruthanna Emrys  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueTor.com 06/24/15
On planet Duranga, a novice research team struggles to prove that the communication system of the "mantas" they study amounts to an actual language.
The Empathy Vaccine by C. C. Finlay  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
A man believes he'd be a better executive if he could turn off his empathy for other people.
The Extraordinary Extraterrestrial Togo Mouse from Ghana by Ryan W. Norris  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Brett, a reporter, investigates Dr. Alex Jordan's claim to have discovered extraterrestrial life in Africa. Creatures so similar to mice that no one noticed how strange they were before.
The First Step by Kristine Kathryn Rusch  Time: 11m (4K words)  IssueAsimov's 08|15
An aging scientist wants to be the first to use the time machine he's invented.
The Gazelle Who Begged for Her Life by Francis Marion Soty  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
Sobering tale of Kafar Al-Din, who meets a Jinni in the woods outside Aleppo and tells the tale of how he comes to be leading a gazelle that seems to be begging for its life.
The God Year by Jim Grimsley  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueAsimov's 09|15
The people of an ugly fantasy world where the narrator's drunken husband beats and humiliates her and his handicapped child await the coming of a god.
The Godstone Of Venus by Mike Resnick  Time: 50m (15K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Scorpio and Merlin accept a contract as bodyguards for a man and woman seeking the fabulous, priceless Godstone. Except no one else on Venus seems to have ever heard of it. A fun read.
The Great Leap of Shin by Henry Lien  Time: 27m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
In this Chinese fantasy, in the style of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the eunuch Mu Hai-Chen tries to engineer an earthquake, and the boy Ten Li tries to stop him.
The Guns Of The Wastes by Django Wexler  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) Young recruit Pahlu sails into the Waste on a land ship to join the fight against the robotic sraa.
The Hell of It by Peter Orullian  Time: 50m (15K words)  IssueTor.com 02/25/15
In a fantasy port town, Malen loses his job and struggles to find a way to earn some money to support himself and his child.
The Laminated Man by Albert E. Cowdrey  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 05.06|15
Cairns retired from the FBI at 60 to pursue one, last, mysterious case--off the books.
The Last Dying Man by Geetanjali Dighe  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Nisha and Chayaa bear witness to the end of the world, watching Mumbai collapse, and "indexing" everyone who falls. Without knowing why.
The Last Movie Ever Made by Charlie Jane Anders  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) A weapon malfunction has left the whole world deaf, but teens Rock and Sally are still determined to make another independent movie to post online.
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueLightspeed 66
The narrator is a soldier in a far-future army that transports soldiers by turning them into beams of light. But he has funny visions when he's a light beam, and he's starting to question the whole war.
The Log Goblin by Brian Staveley  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueTor.com 12/09/15
(Urban Fantasy) A moving story about a man who lives alone in the woods discovers a goblin has been stealing his firewood. But why?
The Marriage of the Sea by Liz Williams  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|15
A fantasy story in which the narrator is scheduled to become the "Bride of the Sea."
The New Us by Pepe Rojo  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
In a chaotic near-future Mexico, a young woman has problems with experimental implants she was paid to try out. But finding the company responsible proves challenging.
The Occidental Bride by Benjanun Sriduangkaew  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueClarkesworld 108
A women in a future Hong Kong that has survived some sort of global disaster is forced to take one of the architects of the catastrophe as her bride--for the purpose of catching others who were involved.
The Phantom in the Maze by Michael Swanwick  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueTor.com 12/02/15
(Fantasy) Murder mystery involving a team of precognitives critical to the war effort. Entertaining.
The Pyramid of Krakow by Michael Swanwick  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueTor.com 09/30/15
Part six of the Mongolian Wizard, in which Ritter goes to Krakow in disguise to find evidence of atrocities so grave that London cannot believe them.
The Race For Arcadia by Alex Shvartsman  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF) At the end of the 21st Century, Nikolai flies Russia's first interstellar spaceship alone, hoping to beat the Americans and the Indians to the new planet, Arcadia.
The Smell of Blood and Thunder by Liz J. Andersen  Time: 35m (11K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
A world where people coexist with intelligent dogs and cats sends for a vet to cope with a problem with intelligent fleas.
The Sunset Of Time by Michael Cassutt  Time: 46m (14K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Jor, a an exile from Earth, manages the Lens project on Venus. Meanwhile the natives are dismantling their cities and heading out to sea in anticipation of a global disaster they insist is coming.
The Thirteen Mercies by Maria Dahvana Headley  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 11.12|15
In a modern-day world that uses magic, a group of soldiers sentenced for war crimes struggle to make sense of their punishment.
The Tip of the Tongue by Felicia Davin  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
The government has taken away everyone's ability to read, but Alice misses her books and wants to do something about it.
The Two Weddings of Bronwyn Hyatt by Alex Bledsoe  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 05/06/15
Bronwyn is a Tufa, the Appalachian equivalent of the "fair folk" She's marrying a country preacher, and for some reason the local equivalent of the "little folk" are interested in it.
The Ultimate Space Race by Jaleta Clegg  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF Humor) In a future where space missions are funded by reality TV, Ethel and Henry watch the exciting conclusion of a four-month race to Mars and back.
The Uncertainty Machine by Jamie Ford  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(Steampunk) Phineas used a mysterious machine to predict that Halley's Comet would wreck the Earth in 1910. Now he's trapped in his underground bunker. Can the machine help him get out?
The Wizard Of The Trees by Joe R. Lansdale  Time: 46m (14K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Unexpectedly transported from Earth to Venus, Jack helps a prince and princess fight to prevent a race of birdmen from enslaving the world by getting both halves of a magic talisman.
The Wormhole War by Richard A. Lovett  Time: 41m (13K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
Earth's attempts to use wormholes to travel to other stars keep getting blocked by something.
Things Worth Knowing by Jay O'Connell  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
In the near future, Stanley supervises school kids grades 1-12 while they use an automated system to learn, but one boy seems to be learning abnormally quickly.
This Quintessence of Dust by Oliver Buckram  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueF&SF 07.08|15
Having lost her human partner, a robot investigates some deaths.
Today's Smarthouse in Love by Sarah Pinsker  Time: 06m (2K words)  IssueF&SF 05.06|15
A house AI falls in love with the house next door.
Tomorrow is a Lovely Day by Lisa Mason  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 11.12|15
Tomorrow, Benjamin graduates school and can start a new life as a teacher, but he has to finish one last day at a job he really hates.
Transfer Point by Barry N. Malzberg And Bill Pronzini  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
Amusing tale of an immigration officer on the moon in 2289 faced with the news that the immigration office will be moving to Mars.
Trickier With Each Translation by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
A woman is trapped in a time loop by a jealous super hero, and her own super power doesn't help her.
Tuesdays by Suzanne Palmer  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueAsimov's 03|15
Customers at a remote, west-Texas, late-night diner report a UFO sighting, and the police come out to investigate. Played for laughs, it's a fun read.
Tumbling Dice by Ron Collins  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
A space gambler meets a girl he's got to have--even though he knows she's on the make.
Union by Tamsyn Muir  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueClarkesworld 111
(Horror) Frankton, NZ gets a shipment of twenty "lichen splice" wives--free, courtesy of the government. But these aren't like the last batch of wives.
Voice Prints by devorah major  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Held captive by aliens, a woman tries to reason with her new guard.
We Jump Down into the Dark by M. Bennardo  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueAsimov's 12|15
Anders joins a mission to try to save two people from a colossal space station before it twists itself apart.
Wearing the Hat by Mike Reeves-McMillan  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueThe Sockdolager Spring 2015
Fun fantasy tale in which Rose, a middle-aged general store owner, agrees to be "warden and postmaster" for the new government--even though other locals aren't reconciled to having lost the war.
Willing Flesh by Jay O'Connell  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|15
In the near future, a morbidly obese young man is attracted by an ad that offers to help you lose weight by taking control of your body during those boring exercises.
Windshear by Angus Mcintyre  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) Bruno has finished his work on a merleta, an airship in the Venusian stratosphere, and today he's going home to Brazil. Except there seems to be a problem with his transportation.
Your Right Arm by Nin Harris  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueClarkesworld 110
On a spaceship in the far future, Rasakhi tells the story of how the last human died.
Zen Angel by Rajnar Vajra  Time: 1h:09m (21K words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
In 2065, the government gives the apparently-immortal Lenny Silver a dangerous mission of great importance to the human race.

Rating: 2 -> Not Recommended

A Beautiful Accident by Peter Orullian  Time: 36m (11K words)  IssueTor.com 01/07/15
In this gruesome fantasy, Vendanj submits to months of cruel torture in order to gain entry to the Mal society to try to avoid a war with his own.
A House of Her Own by Bo Balder  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 09.10|15
Young girls on a lost planet where people have developed a symbiotic relationship with the planet's native life forms see their world disrupted when it is rediscovered by human beings.
A Thousand Nights Till Morning by Will Mcintosh  Time: 1h:36m (29K words)  IssueAsimov's 08|15
Aliens conquer the Earth, but a psychiatrist from our Mars colony manages to make things worse.
A Universal Elegy by Tang Fei  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueClarkesworld 100
Irina leaves the solar system to be with Hull, a "man" he's known just two weeks, who won't treat him like a mentally-ill person.
A Visit to Weizenbaum by Jamie Metzl  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) A soldier on an isolated drone base chats with a psychologist about his online love affair.
A Walkabout Amongst The Stars by Lezli Robyn  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF) Earth sends Tyrille to investigate why the Voyager 1 spacecraft abruptly began broadcasting again--as if someone had refurbished it.
Acts Of Creation by Chris Avellone  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Agnes interviews Reeves,  one of the "sensitives," whose uncontrollable psionic abilities have nearly destroyed civilization.
All Original Brightness by Mike Buckley  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueClarkesworld 102
Two disabled veterans of a near-future war meet in a virtual-reality world.
All-Natural Organic Microbes by Annalee Newitz  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
In the near future, Sandy Green works for a fading news site but dreams of getting a fellowship so she can write an expose of a health-care scam.
An Idyll In Erewhyna by Hal Duncan  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Two couples on Mars have challenges with their new furniture and accommodations.
And We Were Left Darkling by Sarah Pinsker  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 63
A childless woman is consumed by dreams that she has a baby.
Android Whores Can't Cry by Natalia Theodoridou  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueClarkesworld 106
A woman reporter in a dictatorship investigates an old third-world massacre with help from a female android designed for other purposes.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 by Ken Liu  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) In the near future, a US Senator finds a unique, nonviolent way to respond to apply pressure to trouble-making countries.
Aspects: A Galactic Centre Story by Gregory Benford  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueMeeting Infinity 
(SF) A group of human beings fleeing "mechs" that are trying to exterminate them, come across a building their ancestors constructed before their civilization was destroyed.
Be Three by Jewelle Gomez  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Tryna is being held captive, immobilized, but she doesn't remember why. Perhaps she's being tortured, but she's not sure about that either. It might be something she agreed to. But she needs to figure it out.
Biology at the End of the World by Brenda Cooper  Time: 38m (11K words)  IssueAsimov's 09|15
In a future where genetic engineering is strictly forbidden, a young woman new to enforcement helps search space habitats for forbidden biology experiments.
Body Politic by Kameron Hurley  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueMeeting Infinity 
(SF) Narsis interrogates opposition saboteurs, sent by a man named "Keli." Narsis has to catch Keli soon, and his best lead is an incoherent prisoner.
Breakfast in Bed by Ian Watson  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
Max and Sandra explore the nature of the multiverse in bed together.
Butterflies by Peter Wood  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueAsimov's 01|15
Ruth studies insects in an alternate reality where the giant insects from 50's horror movies are real. But the giant butterfly blocking the driveway is just an annoyance. So far.
Children of Dagon by Adrian Tchaikovsky  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 65
As London falls to the waves, a tribe of modified human beings takes over the waterlogged areas, fighting with the human refugees.
Clarity by Anil Menon  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
In a future Mumbai, India, a man mourns the loss of his brother, who left him only his 11-year-old child and a useless glass desk.
Clones by Alex Smith  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
While Zyrn looks for habitable worlds in a distant future, Martin looks for love in the gay bars of 1980s Philadelphia. But what's the connection between them?
Double Exposure by Don Sakers  Time: 03m (900 words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
A government agent asks an intoxicated SF writer for help on a time-travel project. (short-short)
Each Star A Sun To Invisible Planets by Tenea D. Johnson  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
William is a giant who has forgotten everything, but he's got a data recorder to remind him--assuming he really wants to know.
Eleven Stations by FΓ‘bio Fernandes  Time: 06m (2K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
The narrator wants to commit suicide, but then he finds his body is levitating. That's worth exploring before the end, for sure.
Excalibur by Jack Mcdevitt  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) Gordon Kerr, writing a history of NASA, uncovers documentation about a mysterious unmanned mission that no one talks about.
Festival by Christopher Brown  Time: 35m (11K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Eden is a 20-something news reporter in a US dystopia. She and some college friends plan a long weekend at a festival in Austin, TX, but Eden has bigger ideas.
Foreclosure by DJ Cockburn  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueApex 73
Collection agent in a flooded London performs a particularly nasty kind of foreclosure.
Ginga by Daniel JosΓ© Older  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueTor.com 05/20/15
In modern New York City, Carlos hunts the evil undead--even though he's half-dead himself.
Guns Don't Kill People by Jacob A. Boyd  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
On a remote planet, an AI rifle aims to help her owner deal with real threats to his well-being.
Hob's Choice by Tim Sullivan  Time: 30m (9K words)  IssueF&SF 11.12|15
Hob Dancer has come from Earth to Cet Four because his great-great-grandmother wants him to learn about the natives, who are struggling to survive human colonization.
Hollywood After 10 by Timons Esaias  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|15
Time travelers visit a dinner party in McCarthy-era Hollywood where something important almost happened.
How to Masquerade as a Human Before the Invasion by Jenn Reese  Time: 02m (685 words)  IssueF&SF 03.04|15
Instructions to sleeper agents from other planets on how to blend in while waiting for the invasion.
In the Mix by Arlan Andrews, Sr.  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
A young woman in the late 21st Century makes a living creating a very strange sort of online art.
In the Time of Love by Amy Sterling Casil  Time: 16m (5K words)  IssueF&SF 05.06|15
A man wants to build a device to stop time--in a sense.
In The Woods by Hugh Howey  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) April and Remy wake up long after the apocalypse should be over, and they find they have a mission to complete.
Increasing Police Visibility by Bogi TakΓ‘cs  Time: 03m (960 words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Extraterrestrials are illegal in Hungary, but the ET detectors have some problems.
Inhabiting Your Skin by Mari Ness  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueApex 73
A couch potato finds his intelligent house is helpful, annoying, and demanding.
Jingo And The Hammerman by Jonathan Maberry  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(Zombie) Zombies pile up at the fence that protects the survivors' colony, and Jingo and Moose work together dismembering them assembly-line-style. They philosophize while they work.
Just Browsing by Stephen Lombard  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
A small-town librarian has to host aliens from Epsilon Cygni who for unknown reasons have asked permission to visit his library.
Kingmaker by Lindsay Smith  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 09/23/15
In a fantasy empire, Vera tries to bring down the criminal underworld in the capital.
Letter From an Artist to a Thousand Future Versions of Her Wife by J. Y. Yang  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
A woman's message to her wife chases her spaceship at the speed of light.
Lightning Jack's Last Ride by Dale Bailey  Time: 31m (10K words)  IssueF&SF 01.02|15
In the near future, during the second US Civil War, the narrator and his friends drive armored race cars to steal gasoline from the Federal government.
Living Hell by Joe Haldeman  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueOld Venus 
The narrator attempts a rescue mission for a group of women trapped at a station on the Venusian equator. A recent solar flare ruined a lot of electronics, so he has to fly the old-fashioned way.
Malnutrition by J.T. Sharrah  Time: 50m (15K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Kadija is the first Umabari diplomat to meet with human beings. Umabari have a taboo against eating in public, and there are unexpected translation difficulties.
Marduk's Folly by Sean Vivier  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Marduk's Accord finds a star whose planetary system doesn't match what they expected, but disagreeing with the Accord isn't easy.
Melioration by E. Saxey  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Narrator has a wicked friend with a device that makes people forget how to say specific words.
Men of Unborrowed Vision by Jeremiah Tolbert  Time: 24m (7K words)  IssueLightspeed 56
Mara is a college student who flies drones to monitor police brutality at protests, but she knows something is wrong when no one at all shows up for a protest.
Mouth by Helena Bell  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueLightspeed 60
Ann discovers she can remove parts of people's bodies without hurting them--much.
My Time on Earth by Ian Creasey  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueAsimov's 10.11|15
Amy just got back from a trip to Earth with her parents, and she excitedly tells her friends all about the ghost she met in England.
Orpheus’ Engines by Christopher Mckitterick  Time: 28m (9K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) JoveCo hired Nina to figure out mysterious transmissions from the natives on Jupiter, who appear to be trying to sabotage their operation there.
Ossuary by Ian Muneshwar  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueClarkesworld 104
An AI in charge of an interstellar junk yard dreams of better things.
Pale Blue Memories by Tobias S. Buckell  Time: 38m (12K words)  IssueOld Venus 
Astronauts from an alternate Earth where WWII was a stalemate crash on Venus and are enslaved.
Phenol-faerie by Jay Werkheiser  Time: 03m (900 words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Short-short about a grad student trying to study faery dust.
Plant Children by Jessica Yang  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Qiyan harmonizes her botany thesis with her desire for children--sort of.
Postcards From Monster Island by Emily Devenport  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueClarkesworld 103
Giant monsters invade a US city, but a group of eccentric neighbors stick around anyway.
Racing to Mars by Martin L. Shoemaker  Time: 1h:10m (21K words)  IssueAnalog 09|15
A violent lady doctor, an abusive captain, and the ship's owner's spoiled 20-year-old son on a trip to Mars--what could go wrong?
Rattlesnakes and Men by Michael Bishop  Time: 40m (12K words)  IssueAsimov's 02|15
Wylene Godfrey, her husband Reed, and daughter Celeste move to Wriggly, Georgia, where everyone owns at least one rattlesnake.
Robot Boss by Erick Melton  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Don's supervisor is an AI, but what makes it worse is that, much like a human boss, it seems determined to blame him for its own mistakes.
Second Birthday by Elisabeth R. Adams  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Lisa gets invited by her friend Erika to visit her lab for the second birthday of two of her creations.
Silencer - Head Like A Hole Remix by E. Catherine Tobler  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueInterzone 259
The narrator and his friend are transported against their will to different places and times where they shoot children in schools.
Snakes by Yoon Ha Lee  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueClarkesworld 106
A soldier-made-warship carries her sister-soldier's corpse seeking a way to revive her.
Solder and Seam by Maria Dahvana Headley  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueLightspeed 65
On a future Earth, after most people have left, a failed revolutionary decides to build a life-size wooden whale.
Songbird by Fadzlishah Johanabas  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueInterzone 257
(SF) In a near-future Malaysia, Arya finds herself held captive by men who seem to be using her to produce some sort of drug.
Space Bugs by Marianne Dyson  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Short-short. When Congress shuts down NASA, a couple of former astronauts think of a way to get it back.
Strategies for Optimizing Your Mobile Advertising by Brenta Blevins  Time: 03m (1K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
Someone who makes a living wearing shirts that display advertising messages (updated in real time) is in trouble when the shirt goes blank.
Tartaros by Mike Resnick  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(SF) Hiding from the police out in the Kuiper Belt, Tarter runs across a planet that shouldn't be there.
Tasha's Fail-Safe by Adam-Troy Castro  Time: 37m (11K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Tasha is an interstellar secret agent for the Hom. Sap. Confederacy. Her efforts to identify a mole put her life in danger, and she has to rely on help from a person who hates her.
Teardrop by Lisa Mason  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 05.06|15
On a very alien world, the human executive director of the "Cultivation" project has gone native, and he resists the people sent to arrest him .
The Algebra of Events by Elizabeth Bourne  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueClarkesworld 108
A ship of very alien aliens crash lands on Earth and has difficulty with the natives.
The Dogs of Athens by Kendare Blake  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueTor.com 09/09/15
The goddess Artemis and her hounds make trouble in modern Athens.
The Eighth Iteration by Bond Elam  Time: 48m (15K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
Lucas has taken over the small human colony on a jungle planet, and Jake and Margret try to resist.
The Father by Kola Heyward-Rotimi  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueClarkesworld 109
The church of the Goddess plans to sacrifice the engineers who recreated the "seeds of the goddess" for them, but Madhav plans to escape.
The Garden Beyond Her Infinite Skies by Matthew Kressel  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueClarkesworld 104
Aya is a farmer who grows realms of galaxies, skilled in finding and pruning the sick and malignant.
The Great Pan American Airship Mystery, or, Why I Murdered Robert Benchley by David Gerrold  Time: 30m (9K words)  IssueAsimov's 07|15
In an alternate 1937, Pan Am debuts a fleet of helium-filled luxury airships, and a steward on the maiden flight eavesdrops on the famous passengers.
The Gun Between the Veryush and the Cloud Mothers by Anna Tambour  Time: 54m (16K words)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|15
Those Above fire the gun that seeds the clouds which drop produce onto those Below, who gather and bring the harvest up--but the gun may be failing.
The Happiest Place by Seanan Mcguire  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) After a plague kills 80% of the population, employees at Disneyland struggle to keep the dream alive.
The Hexagonal Bolero of Honeybees by Krista Hoeppner Leahy  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueClarkesworld 110
In a post-apocalypse Earth, Gabhan and his little boy Ciro compete with Mishka for a contract to pollinate trees.
The Internet Of Things Your Mother Never Told You by Jo L. Walton  Time: 30m (9K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
Eledy is 12, lives in London, suffers from ennui, and likes to hack things with her friend Farah.
The Kroc War by Ted Reynolds And William F. Wu  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
Various people involved with the Kroc war voice their opinions about it.
The Ladies' Aquatic Gardening Society by Henry Lien  Time: 36m (11K words)  IssueAsimov's 06|15
Two ladies in late Nineteenth-Century New England fight over their places in society via their gardens.
The Lamb Chops by Stephen Cox  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Harry and Aiden have more problems than most couples, and it has nothing to do with them being gay.
The Long Wait by Allen M. Steele  Time: 1h:06m (20K words)  IssueAsimov's 01|15
Dhanista's family has dedicated itself to supporting Earth's first starship, Galactique, from their base on Earth. As she grows up, her life is intertwined with events that happen to the starship.
The Museum and the Music Box by Noah Keller  Time: 14m (4K words)  IssueTor.com 03/18/15
The last curator of a decrepit museum mourns his lost love and obsesses over the music box that might bring them back together.
The Night of the Salamander by Michael Swanwick  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueTor.com 08/05/15
In an alternate, 19th-century Europe, aide de camp Ritter investigates a magical murder. This is #5 in the Mongolian Wizard Stories.
The Philistine by Ted White  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 10|15
A failed, middle-aged artist works for the government digitizing paintings and destroying them in the process.
The Sentry by Frank Smith  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueAsimov's 04.05|15
Rick has returned to the Titan colony from the Tethys war, but he and his family are having trouble adjusting.
The Seventh Day Of Deer Camp by Scott Sigler  Time: 18m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) In the aftermath of an unsuccessful alien invasion, George fights to keep a small group of surviving alien children alive.
The Silicon Curtain: A Seastead Story by Naomi Kritzer  Time: 21m (7K words)  IssueF&SF 07.08|15
Teen-age girl on libertarian-inspired floating city tries to help a boy before her mother takes her to California.
In retirement, a super hero reflects on the events immediately after the "hero bomb" gave him super powers.
The Yoni Sutra by Priya Chand  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
In a future India, Shalini juggles the responsibilities of being a new bride and dealing with a new woman at work, one who doesn't have the chip that protects her from men who make advances.
Tomorrow When We See the Sun by A. Merc Rustad  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueLightspeed 67
(Space opera) Mere, an executioner android of the Principality, becomes curious about its barely-remembered past, putting itself in danger.
Tragic Business by Emil Ostrovski  Time: 08m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 65
An often-reincarnated soul wants a fair chance at love, but something keeps going wrong.
Very Long Conversations by Gwendolyn Clare  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 06|15
Becca is part of a team evaluating a new colony planet when she finds evidence there may already be intelligent life there.
Wandering Star by Leife Shallcross  Time: 11m (3K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) Patches on a quilt commemorate the final events before the destruction of Australia by an asteroid.
When We Die on Mars by Cassandra Khaw  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueClarkesworld 111
(Hard SF) A team of astronauts trains for a one-way mission to set up a Mars colony.
When We Were Giants by Helena Bell  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueLightspeed 66
The narrator attends a Catholic girl's school. During recess, the girls play in an enchanted forest that transforms them into something else.
Whey Station by Guy Stewart  Time: 01m (500 words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
A short-short, in which a couple renovating an old barn discover mysterious appliances.
Why the Titanic Hit the Iceberg by Jerry Oltion  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Some decades from now, Tony leaves a dying, overheated Earth to take a job on an enormous rotating space habitat, but he's unhappy that it mainly caters to the wealthy.

Rating: 1 -> Needs Improvement

A Brief History of Whaling with Remarks Upon Ancient Practices by Gabby Reed  Time: 04m (1K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Learn all about whales in space.
An Exile of the Heart by Jay Lake  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueClarkesworld 100
Teenage Trieste is the heir-apparent to the Earth-Luna station at the L1 point, but she falls afoul of her step-father and get exiled.
And the Burned Moths Remain by Benjanun Sriduangkaew  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueTor.com 01/14/15
Jingfei fights copies of herself for eternity--while other copies watch--but she does get the occasionally interruption.
Another Day of Infamy by Ashley Henley  Time: 01m (400 words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) In 2041, the U.S. President issues a declaration of war.
ANTFARM by August Cole  Time: 11m (4K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) In the mid-21st Century, Captain Aaron Fung flies sorties in support of ground troops in a war in Yemen. His own AI and crowd-sourced support is more problematic.
Beneath the Silent Stars by Aidan Doyle  Time: 13m (4K words)  IssueLightspeed 67
(Soft SF) Jean-Paul has to find out why the Mariposa X destroyed the hyperspace gate that linked humanity with galactic civilization.
Bomber's Moon by Simon R. Green  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueOperation Arcana 
(Military Fantasy) In 1944, Hitler has sold his soul to the devil for demonic assistance to win the war. The allies are receiving help from angels, although they're not quite what everyone expected.
(Military SF) Newspaper article describes the events that led to a cyberwar between the US and Russia.
Dancing in the Dark by Ramona Louise Wheeler  Time: 26m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
A captain of an "ice ship" finds a really big comet to help with terraforming planet Tarse.
Deep/Dark Space by Gabrielle Friesen  Time: 00m (260 words)  IssueLightspeed 61
In space, no one should hear a dog barking--especially not outside your spaceship.
Frozen Planet by Marian Womack  Time: 09m (3K words)  IssueApex 76
Expedition to another planet is trapped in a snow storm and a crewman starts seeing hallucinations.
Here is My Thinking on a Situation That Affects Us All by Rahul Kanakia  Time: 08m (2K words)  IssueLightspeed 66
An intelligent spaceship from the center of the Earth reflects on the meaning of life.
Long Way Gone by David L. Clements  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
A man sends a copy of himself to start civilization on a distant planet, but the copy has trouble adjusting.
Mama by Eliza Gauger  Time: 01m (330 words)  IssueLightspeed 61
Mama is vast, belt-born, seven feet long, and she's a legend from Luna Park to Styx Landing.
Morrigan in Shadow by Seth Dickinson  Time: 48m (14K words)  IssueClarkesworld 111
(Military SF) This tells of how Noemi Laporte got involved with NAGARI, her relationship with Lorna Simms, and the black hole that ate 100,000,000 people.
Oral Argument by Kim Stanley Robinson  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueTor.com 12/07/15
(SF) A transcript of testimony before the U.S. Supreme Court gradually reveals what really happened with a human photosynthesis technology.
Preserve Her Memory by Bao Shu  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueClarkesworld 108
A famous actress in a future megalopolis appears to commit suicide, and the police investigate, looking for clues in the memories of her last few dozen seconds.
Red Planet by Caroline M. Yoachim  Time: 06m (2K words)  IssueLightspeed 57
Tara's lover is leaving for Mars. Tara cannot follow because of her blindness, but then she gets an option to try a new treatment.
Season of the Ants in a Timeless Land by Frank Wu  Time: 44m (13K words)  IssueAnalog 11|15
Scientists in Australia investigate a plague of very peculiar ants.
Sentience Signified by J. L. Forrest  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueAnalog 05|15
Bilit is exploring Joon, an earthlike planet 24 light-years from Earth.
Tear Tracks by Malka Older  Time: 23m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 10/21/15
(SF) Flur leads humanity's first mission to an alien race, the Cyclopes, with both scientific and diplomatic objectives.
The Badges of Her Grief by Andrew Barton  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueAnalog 03|15
Eun-jin Park is a reporter on planet Esperanza. She investigates a woman up north who seems to be doing something unusual with the native inhabitants.
The Design Doyenne Defeats The Dullness by Paola Antonelli  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
Laetitia is a designer in a 2060s world that found science and technology to be dull. She urges people to take more risks.
The Exception That Proves the Rule by Mathew Burrows  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueWar Stories from the Future 
(Military SF) Fresh from school, Alastair joins a near-future British intelligence unit that's trying to identify people before they become terrorists.
The Gray Sunrise by Jake Kerr  Time: 21m (6K words)  IssueThe End Has Come 
(SF) When news arrives of an imminent asteroid strike on North America, 45-year-old Don Willis and his apathetic teenage-son set off together on his yacht.
The Human Engineer by Jessica Brody  Time: 22m (7K words)  IssueTor.com 02/03/15
Dr. Hallix has been in a funk ever since the commercial success of his artificial womb. He needs something new to distract him from mourning his dead wife.
The Last Days of Dogger City by Mjke Wood  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueAnalog 04|15
Adventure story about a catastrophe on a near-future floating city off the coast of Europe.
The Lexicography Of An Abusive But Divine Relationship With The World by Ilona Gaynor  Time: 18m (5K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
From the story itself: "This text relays the thoughts of an unremarkable woman, whose un-profound influence has ceased to effect the slighted of causes."
The Ministry of the Eye by Dale Bailey  Time: 42m (13K words)  IssueLightspeed 59
Bureaucrat in an ugly dystopia starts seeing signs of forbidden beauty in the debris on the filthy streets.
The Petals Abide by Benjanun Sriduangkaew  Time: 20m (6K words)  IssueClarkesworld 103
In a strange, distant future, someone resurrects an assassin and they have a relationship.
The Sound of Useless Wings by Cecil Castellucci  Time: 10m (3K words)  IssueTor.com 01/28/15
Heckleck is a Hort on planet Patra. Due to overpopulation, a lot of Hort will have to leave for another planet. Heckleck is eager to go.
Tombaugh Station by Robin Wayne Bailey  Time: 19m (6K words)  IssueMission: Tomorrow 
(Hard SF) James Dayton commands a Pluto base where the crew all came on one-way trips. After 18 years, there are starting to be some problems--and casualties.
Trigger by Courtney Alameda  Time: 29m (9K words)  IssueTor.com 06/03/15
Micheline, a 15-year-old monster-fighter, wants to prove herself by taking down a scissorclaw that has already killed more senior fighters.
Ulenge Prime by Chuck Rothman  Time: 12m (4K words)  IssueAnalog 01.02|15
Fifty years from now, an African dictator faces revolution owing to the cost of his space program.

Rating: Not Rated

Adult Children of Alien Beings by Dennis Danvers  Time: 30m (9K words)  IssueTor.com 08/19/15
An old man suspects his parents were space aliens, and he embarks on a quest to learn the truth.
BrisΓ© by Mehitobel Wilson  Time: 17m (5K words)  IssueApex 75
A former ballerina tries to dance in a home studio her husband built for her.
Characters in the Margins of a Lost Notebook by Kathryn Cramer  Time: 11m (4K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
The narrator describes her adventures with "Jack," a man who seems a whole lot like Samuel Delany.
Dreams of Spanish Gold by Bond Elam  Time: 07m (2K words)  IssueAnalog 07.08|15
A godlike AI becomes human to learn the meaning of being human.
Find Me by Isabel Yap  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueApex 76
A Philippine-American girl in California is unsettled by the reappearance of a long-lost "friend."
Ghosts of the Savannah by M. Bennardo  Time: 34m (10K words)  IssueAsimov's 06|15
In prehistoric Africa, two women defy custom and run with the hunters.
Hamlet's Ghost Sighted In Frontenac, KS by Vincent Czyz  Time: 15m (5K words)  IssueStories for Chip 
Logan is 18, part Hopi, missing his father, hating his uncle, and stuck in a small Kansas town.
Never Chose This Way by Shira Lipkin  Time: 05m (2K words)  IssueApex 74
An institutionalized teen-age girl thinks she and her friends are monsters and aliens.
Nothing Goes to Waste by Shannon Peavey  Time: 03m (1K words)  IssueLightspeed 61
A woman thinks she's being abducted by aliens--one piece at a time.
The Ancient Engineer by Bruce Sterling  Time: 48m (15K words)  IssueTwelve Tomorrows 2016
In this fine historical fiction, about 145 AD, Julius Verus, a Roman engineer, heads back to his home village, guided by the marvelous celestial computer of Archimedes.
The Freedom of Navid Leahy by Jenna Helland  Time: 25m (8K words)  IssueTor.com 11/11/15
Eleven-year-old David's family are cottagers resisting oppression by the Zunft, but today he has to fight with a former friend.


Eric Wong
January 13, 2015

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