American Gold Mine, by Paolo Bacigalupi

[F&SF]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Dystopia) A controversial TV talk show host inflames her audience even as a massive protest builds outside her building. (9,191 words; Time: 30m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

The White Cat's Divorce, by Kelly Link

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Gently humorous but with a bite

(Modern Fairy Tale) A wealthy man sends his three sons on a quest to find him the perfect dog, although he really just wants them out of the house. (9,664 words; Time: 32m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 (Q&A)

Not Hugo eligible because it originally appeared in the catalog for the Weatherspoon Art Museum’s 2018 exhibit "Dread & Delight: Fairy Tales in an Anxious World"

All In, by Rajan Khanna

[Lightspeed]

★★★★★ Shattering

(Old-West Fantasy) Two men seeking a better understanding of the decks of magic cards they carry find trouble instead. (9,961 words; Time: 33m)

A Bird, a Song, a Revolution, by Brooke Bolander

[Lightspeed]

★★★★☆ Well-written, moving, memorable

(Fantasy) An ice-age girl who learns to play the flute has an unusual connection with a future girl starving in a flooded city. (5,208 words; Time: 17m)

The Answer That You Are Seeking, by Jenny Rae Rappaport

[Lightspeed]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Fantasy) You are researching quantum mechanics to change the world so guns are restricted. But it seems the world is changing you instead. (2,115 words; Time: 07m)

Sacrid's Pod, by Adam-Troy Castro

[Lightspeed]

★★★★☆ A rather different escape drama.

(SF Thriller) On the eve of her 20th birthday, Sacrid Henn’s parents send her to an AI prison for her failure to conform. It’s a pleasant prison, but prison nonetheless, and she’s determined to get out. (8,741 words; Time: 29m)

Malinche, by Gabriela Santiago

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Meso-American Alternate History Fantasy) Cortez invades a Mexico that has electricity, and he gets help from an unhappy slave girl. (6,888 words; Time: 22m)

Lapis, by Sara Saab

[Clarkesworld]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Dystopia) Szanna visits bonespace from realspace and enters a park that contains the pestilent, including a man Szanna once loved. (7,284 words; Time: 24m)

To Catch All Sorts of Flying Things, by M.L. Clark

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Space Opera; The Partnership) Someone killed the last member of an intelligent species, and Greysl investigates on behalf of the human-led Partnership. (14,868 words; Time: 49m)

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

Amorville, by Bella Han

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ A tale of obsession and deception

(Dystopia) In 2050s China, a young woman distracts herself from her dead-end job and tiny apartment by falling in love with an online guy who seems too real to just be a simulation. (9,164 words; Time: 30m)

Dave's Head, by Suzanne Palmer

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Dystopia) Cassie takes her hallucinating uncle and a needy animatronic dinosaur head on a road trip through the suburbs of a decaying city. (8,096 words; Time: 26m)

The City That Never Sleeps, by Walton Simons

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Super Hero; Wild Cards) In 1986, James “Demise” Spector gets a request for a job from someone who still hasn’t paid for the last people he killed. (11,726 words; Time: 39m)

Note: This story is very dependent on the reader already having good familiarity with the Wild Cards universe, particularly the first few books.

The Sweetest Fruit of Summer, by R.K. Duncan

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Memorable and Surprising

(High Fantasy) To keep the peace, Corra’s family surrenders her to the bandit king who terrorizes all the countries around the desert. He wants more from her than sex—much more. But she has plans too. (6,542 words; Time: 21m)

A Song for the Leadwood Tree, by Aimee Ogden

[BCS]

★★★☆☆

(High Fantasy) On her last day as Queen, Nehan leads her troops into battle, pitting spears, swords, and shields against guns. (4,775 words; Time: 15m)

Seonag and the Seawolves, by M. Evan MacGriogair

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Scottish Folktale Fantasy) This is the story of Seonag and how she crossed the waves ahead of the hunters and how she found the wolves and what happened then. (8,459 words; Time: 28m)

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

Invisible and Dreadful, by S.R. Mandel

[Strange Horizons]

★★★☆☆

(SF Adventure) Studying in Japan, Carrie is having trouble starting her thesis, so her friends take her to visit the famous Japanese writer, Murasaki—even though she’s been dead 1000 years. (6,224 words; Time: 20m)

At the Old Wooden Synagogue on Janower Street, by Michael Libling

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Not really speculative fiction, but a very strong story

(Mainstream) Ben’s family all died in the Holocaust, so he’s astonished to see them turn up in his diner in 1960. (2,403 words; Time: 08m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Mike has a deeply moving companion piece to the following story on his website. How a Comic Book Ad Taught Me about the Holocaust

Can You Watch My Stuff, by Rich Larson

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Horror) A customers asks a Starbucks barrista to watch her laptop while she’s in the toilet. But there’s something funny about this laptop. (2,019 words; Time: 06m)

When We Saved the World, by James Sallis

[Asimov's]

★★☆☆☆

(Allegory) Two retired SF writers deal with a menace that threatens their community. (3,968 words; Time: 13m)

All in Green Went My Love Riding, by Megan Arkenberg

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆

(Historical Fantasy) At a special girls’ boarding school, the fun and games are interrupted when someone kills a girl from the local town. Margot and her friends are sure they can take care of themselves though. (6,007 words; Time: 20m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)