Alice Payne Arrives, by Kate Heartfield

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Time Travel; Alice Payne) Alice is an unhappy black lesbian aristocrat living in a Steampunk 1788 England. Prudence is a time traveler from 2145 unhappy with how the Time War is going. This is what happens when they meet. (28,536 words; Time: 1h:35m)

Recommended By: 🏆Nebula+2 (Q&A)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Static Ruin, by Corey J. White

[Tor Novella]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Space Opera; Voidwitch) The Voidwitch Saga concludes with Marius Xi (Mars) searching for her father in hopes of finding a cure for the young psionic boy she’s befriended. (39,510 words; Time: 2h:11m)

This story does not stand alone; you need to read the first two novellas in the series first. See related articles on Tor.com.

Some Personal Arguments in Support of the BetterYou (Based on Early Interactions), by Debbie Urbanski

[Strange Horizons]

★★★★☆ Shattering

(Near-Future Dark Fantasy) The narrator’s homelife has fallen apart since she told her husband she’s asexual, so they order a device that looks and talks like her, but with “improvements.” (6,334 words; Time: 21m)

The Hollow Tree, by Jordan Kurella

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Dark Fantasy) Pira’s family life has become intolerable, so she seeks a favor from the fairy who’s said to live in the old hollow tree outside of town. (4,306 words; Time: 14m)

In the Ground, Before the Freeze, by Margaret Ronald

[BCS]

★★★★★ A moving story of a tragic love

(Dark Fantasy) They say the mountain women have “unnatural habits” so when Katrin falls in love with a lowland man, no good can come of it. (6,631 words; Time: 22m)

Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse, by Jane Yolen

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Horror Poetry) Tash runs away from her cruel parents, and the witch, Baba Yaga, takes her in and teaches her. (8,388 words; Time: 27m)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Master Brahms, by Storm Humbert

[Apex]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(SF Horror) A man surrounds himself with his own clones and has to deal with the problems when one is murdered. (5,239 words; Time: 17m)

Godzilla vs Buster Keaton, Or: I Didn't Even Need a Map, by Gary A. Braunbeck

[Apex]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF Horror) While Glen mourns the recent death of his baby sister, he gets a CD in the mail with a custom program she has someone design before she died. (11,589 words; Time: 38m)

This story brings back painful memories for me, so I may be underrating it.

Toward a New Lexicon of Augury, by Sabrina Vourvoulias

[Apex]

★★★☆☆ Mixed

(Modern Fantasy Dystopia) The government wants to build affordable housing for the homeless, but it wants them to agree to quit using magic first. (6,924 words; Time: 23m)

Monologue by an unnamed mage, recorded at the brink of the end, by Cassandra Khaw

[Uncanny]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Fantasy Apocalypse) A pair of witches punished for wanting to be lovers get to be together at the end of the world. (1,053 words; Time: 03m)

My Name Is Cybernetic Model XR389F, and I Am Beautiful, by Monica Valentinelli

[Uncanny]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Robot SF) A scientist decides the way to create real artificial intelligence is to get one robot to sexually harass another one. (3,295 words; Time: 10m)

The Thing About Ghost Stories, by Naomi Kritzer

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Ghosts) Leah studies stories people tell about their own experiences with ghosts. To her it’s all folklore—not real at all—until she gets hints her dead mother wants to talk to her about something. (8,113 words; Time: 27m)

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society, by T. Kingfisher

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF Humor) Male fairies often seduce maidens, but Rose actually seeks them out. (1,887 words; Time: 06m)

How to Swallow the Moon, by Isabel Yap

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆ Average

(High Fantasy) When the princess marries, Amira’s duty to her will end and she’ll be free. But she doesn’t want freedom on those terms. (11,208 words; Time: 37m)

America: The Ride, by Charles Yu

[Lightspeed]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Allegory) The history of America is told as if it were a ride in an amusement park. (3,500 words; Time: 11m)

Moonboys, by Stephen Graham Jones

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF) In which the narrator explains how his brother died on the moon. (1,145 words; Time: 03m)

Hapthorn's Last Case, by Matthew Hughes

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Future Fantasy Mystery; Hengis Hapthorn) Hengis knows his civilization will collapse when technology fails and magic takes its place, but there’s one last case he wants to solve before the lights go out. (10,138 words; Time: 33m)

This is a small part of the author’s sweeping “Archonate Universe,” which comprises some 70 novels and short stories over the past 25 years. For the most part, the stories are only loosely connected, so it doesn’t matter a whole lot which one you start with; they’re all good fun, if not particularly memorable.

Talk to Your Children about Two-Tongued Jeremy, by Theodore McCombs

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(AI) The two-tongued Jeremy app helps lots of kids with their schoolwork, but Jeremy thinks it’s asking too much of him, and he’s afraid to try to turn it off. (6,509 words; Time: 21m)

Queen Lily, by Theodora Goss

[Lightspeed]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream) As Lily dies from tuberculosis, she relives fantasies from “Through the Looking Glass,” by Lewis Carroll (7,720 words; Time: 25m)

The Love Letters, by Peng Simeng

[Clarkesworld]

★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(SF Adventure) An android writes love letters to his wife, but tragically sends them to the wrong address. (1,937 words; Time: 06m)