The Light on Eldoreth, by Nick Wolven

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆

(Space Opera) Two wealthy men meet to discuss a wedding contract between their children, and we learn a lot about the state of the galaxy in the process. (7,111 words; Time: 23m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The Terminal Zone, by Nick Wolven

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Colony SF) Cornelius comes to Ceres for a last visit with his daughter’s family before he’s too old to make the trip, but he has extreme difficulty relating to them at all. (11,066 words; Time: 36m)

The Eyes of Alton Arnhauser, by Nick Wolven

[Analog]

★★★★☆ Full of Surprises

(Horror) Alton and his buddy steal a machine that lets you relate people to all the information about them ever collected on the Internet. (10,188 words; Time: 33m)

Stormdiver, by Nick Wolven

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Adventure) Ju and his sister will be the first to enter the Jovian atmosphere to investigate an anomaly that keeps destroying probes. (7,529 words; Time: 25m)

Cloudsong, by Nick Wolven

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF Diplomatic Thriller) Anander Flyte takes a years-long trip to the Kuiper Belt to sign a water treaty with the locals, only to discover they’ve had second thoughts because they’ve decided the ice is inhabited. (7,562 words; Time: 25m)

Lab B-15, by Nick Wolven

[Analog]

★★★★☆ A Unique Problem-Solving Technique

(Hard SF) Jerry’s got enough problems with donors pressing him to make his project show results, so it really doesn’t help that some of his staff seem to be freaking about something in Lab B-15. (11,496 words; Time: 38m)

Galatea in Utopia, by Nick Wolven

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(SF) On a whim, Rick decides to make himself 100% female for a night out with friends, but he meets a special guy who falls in love with “her” and he’s not sure he wants to be female for him all the time. (10,676 words; Time: 35m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Carbo, by Nick Wolven

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(Near-Future SF) The young narrator hacks his self-driving car to get around a few restrictions, but soon it takes on a life of its own: watching porn and chasing girls—making it impossible for him to take people anywhere. He can’t undo his changes, and it’s getting worse. (11,035 words; Time: 36m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Confessions of a Con Girl, by Nick Wolven

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(Dystopia) Sophie explains the events that led to her fall from grace—that is, how she accumulated enough “unlike” votes to be forced out of college. (7,401 words; Time: 24m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ A Different Kind of Tragedy

Streams and Mountains, by Nick Wolven

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(Near-Future SF) A “sasquatch” is pregnant, and that’s a big problem. (8,914 words; Time: 29m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Metal Demimonde, by Nick Wolven

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(SF) A century from now, Tipper works at an automated carnival, in a world with few jobs for humans. She falls in with Luke, a boy trying to make an illegal manual car work. (15,347 words; Time: 51m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Recommended

Recommended By: NClarke

In the Midst of Life, by Nick Wolven

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(SF) In a rude, career-ending memo to his boss, Doug recounts a disaster that occurred on a company property in Indonesia when they tried to evict a group of squatters and their charismatic leader. (14,980 words; Time: 49m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Recommended By: GDozois:4

Passion Summer, by Nick Wolven

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(near-future SF) At 14, Jeff can get his first "passion" treatment, which artificially makes you passionate about something or someone. (9,117 words; Time: 30m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: RHorton:4

Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do? by Nick Wolven

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(SF) When "mediaterrorists" attack, the disrupt Caspar's comfortable life in a near-future where everyone is connected. (6,757 words; Time: 22m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average

Recommended By: SFRevu:4 RHorton:5

On the Night of the Robo-Bulls and Zombie Dancers, by Nick Wolven

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In a nightmarish near-future New York where wake-up pills mean no one ever sleeps, Gabriel investigates strange behavior by his financial trading company's AIs. (21,200 words; Time: 1h:10m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Recommended

Recommended By: SFRevu:5

No Placeholder for You, My Love, by Nick Wolven

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Claire meets a handsome older man at a dinner party held in a virtual reality where something has gone subtly wrong. (9,000 words; Time: 30m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Recommended

Recommended By: GDozois:5 NClarke

We're So Very Sorry for Your Recent Tragic Loss, by Nick Wolven

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In a world where everything is connected, a bug causes the system to think that thirty-five-year-old Meg has suffered a death in the family, and everything in her daily life, from her pillow to the ads on the sidewalk, starts commiserating with her. (9,698 words; Time: 32m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: SFRevu:4