The Shape of Gifts, by Natalia Theodoridou

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆

(Modern Fantasy) An ancient oracle living in our world struggles with the compulsion to deliver prophecies that no one will listen to—especially prophecies of the end of the world. (6,938 words; Time: 23m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Georgie in the Sun, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆

(Space Vampire Epic) Vlad’s an immortal vampire and his girlfriend Eliza stays in suspended animation most of the time while they travel the stars looking for a planet where they can be happy together. (2,592 words; Time: 08m)

Dent-de-lion, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Interzone]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Adventure) An astronaut goes to an alien planet to find a plant that holds the cure for a deadly disease that’s ravaging the Earth. (5,301 words; Time: 17m)

Notes on a Resurrection, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Strange Horizons]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) At a mass funeral for a group of young men killed in an industrial accident, one of them rises from the dead, leading to chaos, confusion, and pain. (4,569 words; Time: 15m)

What the River Brings, and What It Takes Away, by Natalia Theodoridou

[BCS]

★★☆☆☆

(Fantasy) Sapo sits by the river eating stones so she won’t get pregnant. This has its drawbacks. (2,307 words; Time: 07m)

The Last Eagle, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Post-Apocalypse Clockwork Fantasy) Fabiano hires a guide to find his friend Beatrice, last seen heading into the mountains in search of the last eagle. (6,220 words; Time: 20m)

To Stab with a Rose, by Natalia Theodoridou

[BCS]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Fantasy Horror) A war refugee from a country where you express love with a knife has difficulty fitting into her new country. (2,116 words; Time: 07m)

Poems Written While, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Post Apocalypse) Decades after the collapse, a man called “Daddy” leads a small group of refugees and recites poetry to them in exchange to bits of technology they find for him. (3,564 words; Time: 11m)

One's Burden, Again, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Action/Adventure) Two asteroid miners crash on a promising planetoid—one that shouldn’t exist. It has surface gravity, an atmosphere, and inhabitants (5,177 words; Time: 17m)

Birnam Platoon, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Interzone]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Military SF) A solider on trial for war crimes explains how the idea of breeding plant soldiers seemed like a great idea to start with and how it all went wrong. (3,323 words; Time: 11m)

The Birding: A Fairy Tale, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(Apocalypse) A plague has turned almost everyone in the world into birds, but Maria is determined to make her way home and find her husband. (8,640 words; Time: 28m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Rains on Mars, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(SF Adventure) Mac’s team drills tunnels that will connect the big Martian bases together. He came to Mars to run away from his problems on Earth, but some problems come with you. (4,814 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Every Black Tree, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(Fantasy Adventure) Tired of immortality, Pentheas seeks the one tree that can hang him. Eternally pregnant, Serah seeks an end to it one way or another. So they’re going to work together. Somehow. (4,486 words; Time: 14m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Nightingales in Plátres, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(Generation Ship) Captain Yánnis needs to get the ship moving again, and then God gives him a message. (5,194 words; Time: 17m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

Recommended By: SFRevu+1

The Island in the Attic, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(Surreal) The woman hears the attic breathing, the birds and her womb talking to her, and she might have left her child on the beach. (1,700 words; Time: 05m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

Android Whores Can't Cry, by Natalia Theodoridou

Clarkesworld Magazine, July 2015; 5,516 words
Rating: 2, Not recommended

A woman reporter in a dictatorship investigates an old third-world massacre with help from a female android designed for other purposes.

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

It contains a number of interesting ideas, such as the part-human androids. The foreign city is well-described.

There's just no story here. Nothing brings the fragments together, and the ending resolves nothing.