The Iridescent Lake, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(SF Thriller) Yunhe works at an ice rink on a planet where the ice has unexplained, miraculous properties and people are constantly trying to steal it. (7,858 words; Time: 26m)

Coffee Boom: Decoctions, Micronized, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Caper) Ava can make it big if she can just win the prize for best coffee in an upcoming reality show. And she knows just the equipment she needs, even if she has to steal it. (7,233 words; Time: 24m)

Nutrition Facts, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆

(SF Horror) Someone in a future China becomes obsessed with a humanoid machine that makes congee porridge and is sure it’s sending messages from their dead mother. (2,837 words; Time: 09m)

Antarctica, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Hard SF) Mysterious microbes accelerate Antarctic melting while a team of scientists (plus one artist) try to find a way to save the penguins. (5,693 words; Time: 18m)

Onyx Woods and the Grains of Deception, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(High Fantasy) As Staira helps chop down the ancient onyx trees to make room for fields of grain, she wonders whether this change is really for the better. (5,448 words; Time: 18m)

But, Still, I Smile, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(SF Adventure) After she detects a signal from Proxima Centauri Dengwen and her crew fly there in hopes of learning how to cope with Earth’s climate problems. (8,332 words; Time: 27m)

Marshmallows, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Augmented Reality Dystopia) When Chunfei’s little sister uses up her credits, she’s forced to face the real world outside, with rats, cockroaches, and boarded up buildings, not the elves, snow, and gingerbread houses she’s used to. (3,394 words; Time: 11m)

Waves of Influence, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ Good Protagonist, Strong Plot

(Near-Future SF) The narrator wins an apprenticeship with a top social-media figure, who doesn’t realize she cheated and has plans to impersonate her. (5,730 words; Time: 19m)

Vault, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Adventure) Chenguang and her new partner find something unexpected during a survey of an abandoned world lost to pollution a long time ago. (9,784 words; Time: 32m)

Prasetyo Plastics, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

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(Hard SF) In which the end of the world is brought to you by plastics. (5,204 words; Time: 17m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

Twisted Knots, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

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(SF) With her knowledge of topology, Lilian uses lasers to make vat-grown meat look real. Then one day her design is so intricate that it causes the meat to become sentient. (5,675 words; Time: 18m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement