Monarch of the Feast, by Paul Di Filippo

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Time Travel) In 1857, a young Italian teacher goes to Pisa to meet a man determined to unify Italy and then all of Europe through amazing technology no one has seen before. (9,967 words; Time: 33m)

The Bartered Planet, by Paul Di Filippo

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Space Opera) When Janchek lost the war with Vaschli, the peace terms included giving up their moon, Malenka, as well. The inhabitants of Malenka aren’t enthusiastic about this. (5,800 words; Time: 19m)

Although this was originally published in the UK in 2017, the first US Publication was in March 2018, so it should be eligible for the 2019 Hugo Awards at the 2019 WorldCon, to be held in Dublin.

In the Lost City of Leng, by Rudy Rucker and Paul Di Filippo

Find this issue

(Lovecraft Pastiche) In 1933, Doug quits his job to go on an expedition to Antarctica to kill the Great Shoggoth and retrieve the priceless treasures of the lost city of Leng. (21,373 words; Time: 1h:11m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ A Very Different Twist on Lovecraft’s Story

Although this story revisits the site of Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness,” the tone is much closer to humor than to horror