The Transubstantiation, by Evan Dicken

[BCS]

★★★★★ When Heroes fall, there are still heroes.

(Fantasy Adventure) Deff and his team hunt the countryside for illegal Heroes, whom they kill and then sell the body parts. Something truly terrible happened with these “Heroes” in the recent past, and it’s not entirely done. (11,386 words; Time: 37m)

Fire and Falling, by Andrew Dykstal

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Plenty of Excitement in an Interesting Setting

(Steampunk Thriller) Mir’s mission to deliver codebooks gets complicated when she realizes she’s being followed—and followed by more than one person at that. (15,229 words; Time: 50m)

All These Guardians of Order and Clarity, None of Them Can Abide a Free Witch, by Benjamin Rosenbaum

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆

(Fantasy Adventure) Maghd of Ilmak Dale, the “White Witch,” feels that Marish’s account of their encounter and the destruction of Ilmak Dale is very slanted, so she tells her side of the story. (7,796 words; Time: 25m)

It’s possible this is a better story if you have already read "A Siege of Cranes.” (2006), which was reprinted in Lightspeed last month.

Nameless He, by Robert Reed

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Space Opera; Great Ship) A captain on the Great Ship gives a nameless robot the task of studying the enigmatic wreck of an ancient starship. (8,983 words; Time: 29m)

The Immolation of Kev Magee, by L.X. Beckett

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(SF Thriller) A young refugee on a floating arctic city struggles to find a role making videos and meets an unexpected mentor. (11,116 words; Time: 37m)

Note: Although the title relates to the short poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” by Robert Service, there’s no serious connection between the story and the poem. But by all means read the poem anyway; it’s short and it’s fun.

An Important Failure, by Rebecca Campbell

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★★ A story of an obsession to make something beautiful in a world that’s falling apart.

(Climate SF) In a world desperate for wood for fires and paper, a man and his brother look for a tree good enough to make a world-class violin. (9,702 words; Time: 32m)

The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex, by Tamsyn Muir

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Future Fantasy Mystery) Two young students are attached to a team reopening Dr. Sex’s study after 400 years. But someone seems to have got in 200 years ago and left his or her skeleton there. (8,632 words; Time: 28m)

Yellow and the Perception of Reality, by Maureen F. McHugh

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(SF) June’s sister Wanda suffered some kind of brain damage in an experiment aimed at learning the nature of reality. Two other people died in that experiment, and June would like some answers. (8,800 words; Time: 29m)

The Inaccessibility of Heaven, by Aliette de Bodard

[Uncanny]

★★★★☆ Recommended

(Fantasy Horror) Samantha searches Paris to try to find what’s killing fallen angels. (16,638 words; Time: 55m)

This is set in an alternate version of the world in her Dominion of the Fallen series. Those stories are also set in an alternate Paris with fallen angels, but in this world, there has been no destructive war; this city functions normally, with things like working taxis and cell phones. There’s no need to read those stories to read this one, and this one won’t spoil the series either.

The Monsters of Olympus Mons, by Brian Trent

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Plenty of Twists and Excitement

(SF Thriller) In the midst of a Martian Civil war, a wounded old man finds three monsters playing cards outside the abandoned Museum of Colonization, and he asks for their help. (8,370 words; Time: 27m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)

'Omunculus, by Madeleine Robins

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆

(Steampunk Pastiche) A professor Henry Higgins attempts to train an automaton named Eliza to speak proper English and behave like a proper lady. (8,155 words; Time: 27m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

You don’t really have to be familiar with “My Fair Lady” to enjoy this story, but it definitely adds to it.

All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal, by David Erik Nelson

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Some Laughs and Excitement, Topped with a Little Horror

(Horror) Melissa isn’t happy about her daft sister-in-law buying a derelict restaurant where the last owner killed and cooked his wife 20 years ago, but it’s worse than she thinks. (12,264 words; Time: 40m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Spirit Level, by John Kessel

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) In the middle of the night, the ghost of Michael’s ex-wife confronts him in his parents’ old house—which is weird because she isn’t even dead yet. (9,747 words; Time: 32m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 (Q&A)

The Ones Who Look, by Katharine Duckett

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(SF Thriller) Zoe works for a company that uploads people’s minds to “Heaven,” and she dates a coworker from Engineering. She’s very loyal and very work-focused, but even see can see something’s not quite right. (10,827 words; Time: 36m)

Strange Comfort, by Tegan Moore

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) All alone, ten kilometers below the surface of Europa, Jens copes with the loss of his partner and the lack of support from his company, and wonders how he’ll get out. (8,203 words; Time: 27m)

Marbles, by Sean Monaghan

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama; Shilinka Switalla) Gabrielle has fallen behind on her task of finding a location for Shilinka Switalla’s next big art installation, so when the famous artist turns up, she’s sure she’s going to be fired. But Shilinka has something else in mind. (10,147 words; Time: 33m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The Beast Adjoins, by Ted Kosmatka

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(AI Apocalypse) A Beast comes to the comet where one of the last humans hides with her son. But she’s prepared a surprise for it—if it works. (8,985 words; Time: 29m)

The Offending Eye, by Robert R. Chase

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Nice Setup

(Space Opera) Dr. Chaz is assigned to investigate an AI unit that’s suspected of having become intelligent—even though that’s supposed to be impossible. (11,796 words; Time: 39m)

Sticks and Stones, by Tom Jolly

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(Exploration SF) A relativistic starship takes a detour to visit an anomaly the size of a planet with a fraction the density—a possible alien starship. (13,848 words; Time: 46m)

Two Truths and a Lie, by Sarah Pinsker

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) Stella’s helping an old high-school friend clean out his dead brother’s house, but the brother was a hoarder, and the task is horrible in several ways. (11,890 words; Time: 39m)