Father, by Ray Nayler

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Punch-Card Punk) In an alternate 1950s with robots, spaceships, and flying cars, the US Army sends a robot father to the son of a dead soldier. (7,134 words; Time: 23m)

Generations, by Megan Lindholm

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF) A young woman helps her famous, accomplished, wheelchair-bound aunt. (956 words; Time: 03m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Why I'll Never Get Tenure, by Peter Wood

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Humor) When Kate’s physics experiment goes haywire, her ex-girlfriend and the pompous professor she dumped Kate for turn up to make things even worse. (4,167 words; Time: 13m)

Bereft, I Come to a Nameless World, by Benjamin Rosenbaum

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(Far-Future SF) An ancient transhuman fleeing a disaster of its own making comes to a distant world looking for an old friend. (5,693 words; Time: 18m)

Imaginary Children, by Janet Stilson

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Drama) Peta’s rich and powerful, but her biological clock runs out in two months, and she really wants to have a child before it’s too late. (7,059 words; Time: 23m)

We All Lose if they Take Mizuba, by Tom Purdom

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Military SF) Elio controls a group of combat machines in a battle to defend his asteroid city from attack by humans who’ve modified themselves to be extra aggressive. (5,980 words; Time: 19m)

The Last Water Baron, by Hollis Joel Henry

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Thriller) In a world where water is very precious, “Tommy” hides in the Caribbean from people who want to punish him for his role in the catastrophe. (6,420 words; Time: 21m)

Marbles, by Sean Monaghan

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama; Shilinka Switalla) Gabrielle has fallen behind on her task of finding a location for Shilinka Switalla’s next big art installation, so when the famous artist turns up, she’s sure she’s going to be fired. But Shilinka has something else in mind. (10,147 words; Time: 33m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The Beast Adjoins, by Ted Kosmatka

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(AI Apocalypse) A Beast comes to the comet where one of the last humans hides with her son. But she’s prepared a surprise for it—if it works. (8,985 words; Time: 29m)

Tool Use by the Humans of Danzhai County, by Derek Künsken

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Epic) Over 100 years in China, we track Qiao Fue and his illegitimate daughter Lian Mee as they separately try to revolutionize AI and bioengineering. (24,931 words; Time: 1h:23m)

Nic and Viv's Compulsory Courtship, by Will McIntosh

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Drama) When the city AI sets Viv up with her “ideal partner,” Viv points out she’s already engaged. But the AI won’t take “no” for an answer. (17,535 words; Time: 58m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The Voice, by Bruce McAllister

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ A nice guy with a hard choice in a difficult position.

(SF Thriller; DreamPet) Jude knows his company is secretly selling engineered animals that were meant to be disposed of. He needs more proof to go public, but meanwhile one of the creations is invading his mind. (4,988 words; Time: 16m)

Pax Mongolica, by Evan Marcroft

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Alternate History Fantasy) In a world where the Mongol Empire never fell, and Egyptian college boy meets a Polish girl at a zoo where all the old gods are held captive. (4,527 words; Time: 15m)

Brave New World by Oscar Wilde, by Ian Watson

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Time Travel) A pair of researchers goes to 1897 to rescue Oscar Wilde before he dies and bring him back to 2050. (3,726 words; Time: 12m)

Digital Witness, by Dominica Phetteplace

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Digital Dystopia) Alma makes a good living from data mining, but she’s not content with her much-younger girlfriend, and besides that, someone is sending her death threats. (4,739 words; Time: 15m)

Ithaca, by Brad Aiken and Rick Wilber

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Medical SF) When Wayne inherits the family fortune, he learns millions have been spent to provide dreams to his sister who’s been in a coma 20 years. Before he pulls the plug, he goes to check it out. (6,084 words; Time: 20m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)

The River, by Alice Towey

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Drama) Imani got the implant so she could do her job better, but now the job is taking over her whole life. (6,184 words; Time: 20m)

Perfect Blue, by Tegan Moore

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) Exiled to Hawaii due to “problems at school,” Gretchen struggles to hide the secret of the things growing in her flesh. (7,779 words; Time: 25m)

Against the Stars, by James Gunn

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(Fantasy Science; In Our Stars) A group of scientists and spiritual leaders gathers to discuss what to do about a hostile alien AI that might threaten the Earth or might not exist at all. (14,030 words; Time: 46m)

This story is a direct sequel to In Our Stars and will be hard to make sense of if you haven’t read that one first.

Ronni and Rod, by David Gerrold and Ctein

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Good, old-fashioned thrills, chills, and excitement

(Hard SF Disaster; Ripple Effect) A young San Diego couple face a megatsunami. (10,660 words; Time: 35m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Although this is a part of a novel-length work, it stands alone very well.