A Love Story Written on Water, by Ashok K. Banker

[Lightspeed]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Indian High Fantasy; Sha’ant) When king Bhi’ash is reincarnated on Earth for having shamelessly ogled the river goddess, Jeel, she follows him down and brings a special curse with her. (12,450 words; Time: 41m)

Master Zhao: The Tale of an Ordinary Time Traveler, by Zhang Ran

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ Well-written and a fun read.

(Time Travel) Master Zhao shares his tale of how he discovered his time-travel ability and what he’s done with it. But why hasn’t he used it to become more successful? (12,833 words; Time: 42m)

The Names and Motions, by Sheldon J. Pacotti

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Average

(SF Horror) Cassie’s brain implants fixed the things she lost before birth due to her mom’s drug abuse, but she needs something more to cope with the abuse she gets from her classmates. (7,317 words; Time: 24m)

When We Find Our Voices, by Eleanna Castroianni

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Colony SF) Centuries ago, a human colony lost all of its women. They survived by having sex with local trisexual birds, whose voices they steal for power. But the birds want their freedom and they want their voices back. (10,382 words; Time: 34m)

Bringing Down the Sky, by Alan Bao

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Climate Dystopia) Two American men come to a town on the Tibetan plateau to see how they extract clean air from the high slopes that they can sell to the public. (11,692 words; Time: 38m)

Marshmallows, by D.A. Xiaolin Spires

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Augmented Reality Dystopia) When Chunfei’s little sister uses up her credits, she’s forced to face the real world outside, with rats, cockroaches, and boarded up buildings, not the elves, snow, and gingerbread houses she’s used to. (3,394 words; Time: 11m)

Toothsome Things, by Chimedum Ohaegbu

[Strange Horizons]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fairy Tale Pastiche) The Big Bad Wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” tells us how lots of fairy tales happened a little differently from the way we might have learned them as kids. (2,408 words; Time: 08m)

Frozen Meadow, Shining Sun, by Emily McCosh

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fantasy Adventure) Opere’s sister disappeared into the snow, and no one could find her. Opere thinks a fox spirit might lead her there—assuming such a thing can be trusted. (5,496 words; Time: 18m)

Forest Spirits, by Michael J. DeLuca

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fantasy Adventure) Cole and Tethas flee from the law through a dying forest. The magic that supports their civilization is destroying their environment, but the government doesn’t want people to hear it. (5,671 words; Time: 18m)

How the Mighty, by Dan Micklethwaite

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fantasy Sports) In a world with a bloody equivalent of live wrestling, a divorced father takes his little son to watch his hero fight. (4,287 words; Time: 14m)

Feral Attachments at Kulle Bland Bergen, by T.S. Mcadams

[BCS]

★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(Modern Fantasy) Harald and Solveig have been studying trolls for years, even though lost their son to them a few years back. When they find a feral child living with trolls, they can’t help but wonder if it’s their son. (4,354 words; Time: 14m)

Birnam Platoon, by Natalia Theodoridou

[Interzone]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Military SF) A solider on trial for war crimes explains how the idea of breeding plant soldiers seemed like a great idea to start with and how it all went wrong. (3,323 words; Time: 11m)

Zero Day, by Sheldon J. Pacotti

[Interzone]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Near-Future SF) An airforce cyber hacker on leave from fighting the war with China chases after a young woman he met on a bus. He just picks the wrong night to do it. (6,004 words; Time: 20m)

Heart of an Awl, by Eliza Ruslander

[Interzone]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Near-Future SF) A dying man had the mind of his self-driving car implanted in his body, but the former car has trouble adjusting to life as a man. (3,776 words; Time: 12m)

This is not played for laughs.

The Path to War, by Louise Hughes

[Interzone]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Colony SF) The narrator went to a country on the verge of war with its neighbor hoping he might find good stories to tell, but now that the war has started, leaving seems like the best choice. If it’s still possible. (3,371 words; Time: 11m)

Doomed Youth, by Fiona Moore

[Interzone]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Alternate Reality Horror) Fifty years later, the giant ants are more of a nuisance than anything, but lately there seem to be more than usual, and Kara thinks there’s a pattern to it. (4,009 words; Time: 13m)

This story assumes you have already seen the 1954 movie “Them.”

Soldier's Things, by Tim Lees

[Interzone]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Military SF) A wounded soldier tries to pick up the pieces of his old life, but he can’t be sure which of his memories is real. (4,430 words; Time: 14m)

The Word of Flesh and Soul, by Ruthanna Emrys

[Tor.com]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Alternate History Fantasy) A particular ancient language empowers speakers to change the world, so that knowledge has to be tightly controlled. What could be more dangerous than a student who doesn’t like those controls? (9,332 words; Time: 31m)

Bedfellow, by Jeremy Shipp

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Horror) A homeless man (or something that looks like one) breaks into the Lund family’s house on Friday night, and by distorting their memories, insinuates himself into their lives. (46,934 words; Time: 2h:36m)

See related articles on Tor.com.

Missed Connections, by Alena Flick

[Strange Horizons]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Ghost Story) A lonely young woman makes fanciful posts in an online forum for folks who’re trying to find people they met but never exchanged contact info. (3,756 words; Time: 12m)