Juice Like Wounds, by Seanan McGuire

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Portal Fantasy; Wayward Children) In the Market, every exchange has to give fair value to both sides. Lundy and her friends want to do a quest that’ll generate so much fair value that they never have to work again. But they’re just kids. (5,894 words; Time: 19m)

Hearts of Oak, by Eddie Robson

[Single]

Not Rated Too Long to Qualify as Short Fiction

(SFF) A building has collapsed, and the King and his closest advisor (a talking cat), investigate. The chief architect realizes something is profoundly wrong, and not just with the building. (50,491 words; Time: 2h:48m)

At 50,491 words, this book is a novel, not a novella, even under the new rules for the Hugo Awards.

Precious Little Things, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Single]

★★★★☆ Charming

(High Fantasy; Made Things) Tiny homunculi of wood, glass, paper, etc. dwell in Arcantel’s tower, protected for centuries by powerful wards the arch mage created. But for the first time, they’re threatened by visitors. (6,921 words; Time: 23m)

This is set in the world of Made Things perhaps a century before that story, but there’s no overlap of plot or characters, so there’s no need to read that one before this one or vice versa.

The Lights Go Out in Lychford, by Paul Cornell

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Modern Fantasy; Lychford) Autumn desperately tries to repair the barriers she accidentally dropped, but with Judith in the throes of dementia, she’s got no one to help her. And as Liz has discovered, something has already come through. (33,219 words; Time: 1h:50m)

This is the fourth novella in the Lychford Series, and you must read the earlier ones to make much sense out of this one. See related articles on Tor.com.

Made Things, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

[Single]

★★★★☆ Good things come in small packages.

(High Fantasy; Made Things) Young Coppelia quietly helps a colony of tiny people made from wood and metal, but her regular job as a thief brings her into contact with a much larger problem that puts her and her friends at risk. (38,544 words; Time: 2h:08m)

Any Way the Wind Blows, by Seanan McGuire

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Multiverse Fantasy) The Cartography Corps charts alternate Earths in different realities, but today they’ve come to our version of Manhattan, where, for some reason, they’re drawn to the Flatiron building. (3,665 words; Time: 12m)

The Fire Opal Mechanism, by Fran Wilde

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Dark Fantasy Time Travel; The Jewel Series) When the Pressmen come to shut down the last university, Ania escapes with a magic jewel, long thought lost, that may hold the key to freeing the people from the Pressmen. (35,560 words; Time: 1h:58m)

Although this is set in the Jewel Universe, the connection between stories is so loose that it doesn't matter what order you read them in. See related articles on Tor.com.

Ragged Alice, by Gareth L. Powell

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Paranormal Detective Procedural) DCI Holly Craig struggles to find a serial killer, and her paranormal gift for seeing the darkness in people’s souls is as much a hindrance as a help. (34,213 words; Time: 1h:54m)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Alice Payne Rides, by Kate Heartfield

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Time Travel; Alice Payne) Alice goes back to 1780 to figure out what the big mistake her father obsessed over was, while Prudence copes with a threat to her sister in 2070. (31,788 words; Time: 1h:45m)

You must read the previous story in the series in order to get much out of this one.

The Test, by Sylvain Neuvel

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Mixed

(SF Thriller) As Idir takes the British citizenship test, terrorists break into the examination room, and they take an unhealthy interest in him. (20,421 words; Time: 1h:08m)

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You, by Scotto Moore

[Single]

★★★★☆ Hard to Put Down.

(Musical Horror) It all starts when the narrator hears a piece of music he can’t stop listening to. For hours. He shares it and learns it’s the first track of ten. He knows it’s dangerous, but he can’t help himself. (23,732 words; Time: 1h:19m)

In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire

[Single]

★★★★☆ A great exploration of obligation and duty

(Portal Fantasy; Wayward Children) Bookish Katherine enters a world ruled by the requirement to “give fair value,” ruthlessly enforced by magic. As she learns how to live there, she likes it. But does she like it enough to leave home forever? (41,427 words; Time: 2h:18m)

Although this is fourth in the “Wayward Children” series, it stands alone just fine and it does not spoil any of the earlier books to read this one first

Alice Payne Arrives, by Kate Heartfield

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Time Travel; Alice Payne) Alice is an unhappy black lesbian aristocrat living in a Steampunk 1788 England. Prudence is a time traveler from 2145 unhappy with how the Time War is going. This is what happens when they meet. (28,536 words; Time: 1h:35m)

Recommended By: 🏆Nebula+2 (Q&A)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells

[Tor Novella]

★★★★☆ Great characters, Good Conclusion to a Great Series

(SF Thriller; Murderbot Diaries) Muderbot’s recent exploits targeting GrayCris have hurt the company enough that it has kidnapped Murderbot’s friend, Mensah, thinking she was behind it all. It has to rescue her, even though this may be a trap. (35,829 words; Time: 1h:59m)

Although some effort has been made to make this story stand alone, it is fourth in a series, and readers are strongly advised to start with “Condition Red.” See related articles on Tor.com.

Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Great Protagonist, Thrilling and Moving Plot.

(SF Thriller; Murderbot Diaries) Murderbot’s hunt for evidence against the GrayCris corporation leads it to a supposedly abandoned terraforming facility it thinks was a cover for illegally extracting alien remnants. (35,206 words; Time: 1h:57m)

You need to start from the beginning of the series; this story would be hard to understand on its own. See related articles on Tor.com.

Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Great characters, great action, interesting setting

(SF Adventure; Murderbot Diaries) Murderbot heads to the RaviHyral Mining Facility to learn the truth about why it went rogue and killed its own clients many years ago. (32,446 words; Time: 1h:48m)

You should read “All Systems Red” before reading this novella. See related articles on Tor.com.

Taste of Wrath, by Matt Wallace

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Saved the Best for Last—Deeply Satisfying

(Modern Fantasy; Sin du Jour) In which The Forces of Evil try to destroy our favorite caterers-to-the-supernatural and find they have their plates full (45,820 words; Time: 2h:32m)

You cannot start with this story; this series must be read in order See related articles on Tor.com.

Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor

[Tor Novella]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Space Opera; Binti) With a war brewing and her own family under attack, Binti takes the initiative in trying to make peace. (47,885 words; Time: 2h:39m)

If "Make Room Make Room" is ratified at WorldCon 76, this story will qualify in the Best Novella Category for the 2019 Hugos. However, This series needs to be read starting with the original Binti novella. There is no way to make sense of this one if you read it stand-alone; there isn’t even a synopsis. See related articles on Tor.com.

Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Sweet, Exciting, Funny, and Moving

(Portal Fantasy; Wayward Children) Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children caters to children who went to a portal world, came back, and can’t cope. No one planned on the arrival of a child born in a portal world, much less one asking for help—from a dead person. (39,193 words; Time: 2h:10m)

It’s not strictly necessary to read “Every Heart a Doorway” before this story, but it will help. See related articles on Tor.com.

Gluttony Bay, by Matt Wallace

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Modern Fantasy Horror; Sin du Jour) Now that Sin du Jour is in open conflict with Allenby, something terrible is bound to happen. Allenby has something suitably sadistic in mind, tailored to the unique nature of Sin du Jour. (30,936 words; Time: 1h:43m)

This story is so tightly tied to the previous ones that it would be hopeless to start reading the series here. Readers should start with "Envy of Angels." See related articles on Tor.com.