Abandonware, by Genevieve Valentine

[Lightspeed]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream) Christine is obsessed with a deer in a video game about a noir detective. (5,063 words; Time: 16m)

Intro to Prom, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Post Apocalypse) The four teens are the last people left in their town, and they hold a prom night every few days—while trying to ignore that crack in the sky. (10,861 words; Time: 36m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

Recommended By: RHorton+2

Overburden, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Military SF) After seven years of non-stop war on a colony planet, Colonel Davis thinks he finally sees a way to get promoted to general and, as a side-effect, end the war. (6,770 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Familiaris, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Meta Fiction) A man wants a child, but his wife does not. A princess had seven sons in seven days, sent them away, and was swallowed by them eighteen years later. And there are wolves. (4,847 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home, by Genevieve Valentine

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(SF) The crew of the Themis colony write home about their struggles with a mission and a world that seems to be more than a little off. (9,267 words; Time: 30m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:5 JStrahan

La beauté sans vertu, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Fashion SF) Maria is a super model in a future that doesn't hesitate to modify the bodies of the models for maximum impact. (4,339 words; Time: 14m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Recommended By: RHorton:4

Blood, Ash, Braids, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Alternate History) The Russians in WWII recruit women to fly crop dusters against the Germans, who call them "witches." (4,800 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average

This Evening's Performance, by Genevieve Valentine

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(Steampunk) The last three human actors struggle to find roles in a post-WWI world where automata have replaced people on the stage. (16,700 words; Time: 55m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆, Not Recommended

Recommended By: RHorton:5

Given the Advantage of the Blade, by Genevieve Valentine

Lightspeed Magazine, August 2015;  2,549 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended  Recommended By:   SFRevu:4

Repeated runs of a simulation in which women from fairy tales fight to the death with knives.

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

It was amusing to see what resources different fairy-tale heroines and villains had. Scheherazade's ability to hypnotize with her voice, for example.

Unfortunately, there appears to be no point to the story. We have no idea who is running these simulations or why.