An Explorer's Cartography of Already Settled Lands, by Fran Wilde

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Exploration) A generation ship arrives at its target planet only to discover a civilization has arisen in the centuries since it was launched. The captain sends the navigator out to explore the planet and see if there’s a place for them there. (3,611 words; Time: 12m)

Recommended By: 👍MHaskins+1 (Q&A)

Little Free Library, by Naomi Kritzer

[Single]

★★★★☆ A delightful adventure in books and revolution.

(Uncanny Horror) When Megian sets out her homemade book exchange, a mysterious neighbor starts trading objects and art for the books, but some of the items don’t seem to come from this world at all. (2,518 words; Time: 08m)

Recommended By: 👍MHaskins+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Manuscript Tradition, by Harry Turtledove

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(SF Exploration) A researcher studying plant life on planet TRAPPIST-1f finds that although they’re quite alien, there’s something weirdly familiar about them. (6,891 words; Time: 22m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Tie A Yellow Ribbon, by Harry Turtledove

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Slipstream; State of Jefferson Stories) In an alternate 1980 a sasquatch who’d been held hostage in Iran comes home to the state of Jefferson in the US Northwest. (10,902 words; Time: 36m)

Although this is just one of several stories about the sasquatch governor, there’s no reason to read any of the others first.

Always Something New, by Harry Turtledove

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Slipstream; State of Jefferson Stories) The governor has to investigate a report that a fish thought to be mythical has just been caught on a river in his state. (12,904 words; Time: 43m)

Although this is just one of several stories about the sasquatch governor, there’s no reason to read any of the others first.

Something Fishy, by Harry Turtledove

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Slipstream; State of Jefferson Stories) Merfolk are eating too many salmon at the mouth of the Klamath river, and the governor of Jefferson has to find a way to deal with the problem before the Federal Government gets involved. (6,033 words; Time: 20m)

Although this is just one of several stories about the sasquatch governor, there’s no reason to read any of the others first.

The Hundredth House Had No Walls, by Laurie Penny

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Slipstream) After 500 years, the King of Myth and Shadow is getting bored, so he decides to take a vacation in New York City. (4,393 words; Time: 14m)

The New Prometheus, by Michael Swanwick

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Alternate-History Horror; The Mongolian Wizard) Ritter crosses the arctic waste in search of a monster with a great powers but no hope. (6,332 words; Time: 21m)

Unlike the other stories in the series, this one stands alone. If you'd like to start at the beginning, Tor.com maintains a current list of all The Mongolian Wizard Stories

Murder in the Spook House, by Michael Swanwick

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Alternate-History Fantasy; The Mongolian Wizard) In this episode, Ritter investigates the murder of Sir Toby, but a newfangled lie-detector machine threatens to make him obsolete. (3,919 words; Time: 13m)

Like other stories in the series, this one is good fun, but they are best read starting at the beginning. Tor.com maintains a current list of all The Mongolian Wizard Stories

Party Discipline, by Cory Doctorow

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(Dystopia) Lenae and Shirelle are just high school girls with no futures, but they fantasize about fighting the corporations who keep people down, and they find a unique way to do it. (15,146 words; Time: 50m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

A Burden Shared, by Jo Walton

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(Near-Future SF) Penny uses a technology that lets her share some of her daughter’s pain from a congenital joint problem. (3,209 words; Time: 10m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Dune: Red Plague, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

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(Space Opera; Dune) People on Walgis are dying, but the Butlerian Jihad dictates that no advanced medicine may be used. (3,952 words; Time: 13m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

The story was written to accompany Navigators of Dune.

Clover, by Charlie Jane Anders

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(Modern Fantasy) Anwar and Joe get an unexpected cat and a promise of nine years of good luck. Things are great, until nine years later they get another cat. (6,143 words; Time: 20m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: RHorton:4

Add one star if you already read All the Birds in the Sky, although it does work even if you didn't.

Everything Belongs to the Future, by Laurie Penny

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(Near-Future SF) The Fix offers a couple of centuries of youth to anyone who can afford it. By 2098, it has changed the world. A group of people decide to fix it back. (22,060 words; Time: 1h:13m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

See related articles on Tor.com.

Totem Poles, by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling

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(SF Humor) Space aliens have invaded, but they're repairing the world--not destroying it--and not everyone is happy with that. (4,487 words)

Rating: 3, Funny but Strange

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The Jewel and Her Lapidary, by Fran Wilde

[Single]

★★★★☆ Recommended

(High Fantasy; The Jewel Series) Two teenage girls, Lin, the last Jewel, and Sima, the last Lapidary, struggle to fight the invaders who've taken the kingdom by treachery. (16,850 words; Time: 56m)

Recommended By: 🏆Hugo+2 🏆Locus+2 🏆Nebula+2 👍RHorton.r+2 👍RSR+1 (Q&A)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Typecasting, by Harry Turtledove

[Single]

★★☆☆☆

(Alternate History; State of Jefferson Stories) It's 1980, and a Sasquatch, Bill Williamson, is governor of "Jefferson," a state carved out of Oregon and California. (9,121 words; Time: 30m)

The Pigeon Summer, by Brit Mandelo

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(Ghost Story) A young person mourning the loss of their best friend/lover, going days doing nothing but watching a nest of pigeons and writing letters to a ghost. (4,980 words; Time: 16m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Discards, by David D. Levine

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(Fantasy SF; Wild Cards) Tiago, a fifteen-year-old orphan boy scraping by on his own in Rio de Janeiro, contracts the "Wild Card" virus and ends up horribly disfigured. But the virus has given him a gift too. (10,559 words; Time: 35m)

Rating: ★★★★★ Award-Worthy

See related articles on Tor.com.

The Phantom in the Maze, by Michael Swanwick

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Alternate-History Fantasy; The Mongolian Wizard) Murder mystery involving a team of precognitives critical to the war effort. (5,917 words; Time: 19m)

Recommended By: 📙BASFF+1 (Q&A)