To Us May Grace Be Given, by L.S. Johnson

[GigaNotoSaurus]

★★★★★ Intense and Powerfully Moving

(Western Fantasy) Addy and her mom barely scratch out a living on their homestead. Bill Boyland is going to take their land away, but Addy’s mom is ready to do a deal with the devil to stop him. (15,368 words; Time: 51m)

The Emperor and the Maula, by Robert Silverberg

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Space Opera) Laylah comes to the Ansaar homeworld to convince the emperor that conquered Earth deserves better treatment. But it’s death for a barbarian to even set foot there, much less beg an audience with the Lord of the Universe. (32,936 words; Time: 1h:49m)

This story is Hugo-eligible in 2018 because it is a substantial modification to the original (much shorter) story by the same name published in 2007.

Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue, by Charlie Jane Anders

[Boston Review]

★★★★☆ Thought-Provoking but Exciting Too

(Dystopia) In a near-future ruled by conservatives, an organization called “Love and Dignity for Everyone,” kidnaps Rachael in order to “fix” her. But she doesn’t want to be “fixed.” (7,410 words; Time: 24m)

Recommended By: GDozois+1 RHorton+2 JStrahan+2

The Hunger After You're Fed, by James S.A. Corey

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(Near-Future SF) In a world where everyone has basic income, a secretive writer speaks to a generation that struggles to make their comfortable lives meaningful. (3,763 words; Time: 12m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Sidewalks, by Maureen F. McHugh

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(SF) Dr. Rosni Gupta examines Malni, a woman who’s institutionalized because she speaks gibberish. She’s sure it’s just another language, but what could it be? (5,789 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Birding: A Fairy Tale, by Natalia Theodoridou

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(Apocalypse) A plague has turned almost everyone in the world into birds, but Maria is determined to make her way home and find her husband. (8,640 words; Time: 28m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Forever Night, by Dana Beehr

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(Dark Fantasy) Her grandmother stopped the darkness at great price, so when Elseir comes to Tomas’s village, he’s eager to help her in her new quest. Whatever it is. (7,007 words; Time: 23m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Trette's Bones, by Grace Seybold

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(Dark Fantasy) In a town where becoming an adult means surrendering a body part and getting a ghostly replacement, the narrator opts to sacrifice a finger, but their twin sister has something extreme in mind. (8,167 words; Time: 27m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Sasabonsam, by Tara Campbell

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(African Folklore Horror) In the darkness, a Sasabonsam hangs from a tree waiting for suitable victims to walk underneath. You shouldn’t go out alone. (1,794 words; Time: 05m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Chilling but Satisfying

Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities, edited by Ed Finn and Joey Eschrich

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(SF Exploration) Stories on the theme of planetary exploration in the near future. (52,377 words; Time: 2h:54m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Shikasta, by Vandana Singh

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(SF Exploration) Four college friends collaborated on a probe to an extrasolar planet. Now they’re struggling to make sense of what the probe is telling them and wondering if they need new definitions for life and even for science itself. (14,251 words; Time: 47m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Night Shift, by Eileen Gunn

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(SF Exploration) Sina works with AI nanobots in space, processing small asteroids into raw materials. She likes the AI and considers him her friend—which means she’s not watching as closely as she’s supposed to be. (5,959 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Use of Things, by Ramez Naam

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(Hard SF) Ryan’s the only person on a prospecting mission to an asteroid, so when he gets knocked loose, there’s no one he can call for help. (4,569 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Death on Mars, by Madeline Ashby

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(SF Adventure) Four women staffing an advance base on Phobos get a male visitor who brings them some bad news. (8,206 words; Time: 27m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Moving and thought-provoking

The Baker of Mars, by Karl Schroeder

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(Near-Future SF) Lots of Earth people are earning money operating drones on Mars to construct habitats for colonists—assuming someone can get around the fact that it’s illegal to own land up there. (7,705 words; Time: 25m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Mozart on the Kalahari, by Steven Barnes

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(SF Adventure) Meek dreams of visiting a luxury space station, but a black teen living in poverty hasn’t got much chance of that—until a science contest offers him the chance of a free trip to it. (5,780 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Uneven

Vanguard 2.0, by Carter Scholz

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(Hard SF) In the early 2030s, Sergei works for Uber collecting trash in low-Earth orbit. He’s surprised when Uber’s boss comes up and has a special mission for him. (5,907 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Museum Piece, by J.D. Popham

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(SF Adventure) The last robot in the solar system uses his creator’s death as an excuse to escape from the museum he’s been imprisoned in for forty years. (5,999 words; Time: 19m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Edge of Things, by Katharine E.K. Duckett

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(Alternate Reality) The narrator wakes up every day to an endless party in an infinite house that seems to have replaced the whole world. She’d like to get out, but she can’t even remember her own name. (6,585 words; Time: 21m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Behind Her, Trailing Like Butterfly Wings, by Daniela Tomova

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(Apocalypse) Space-time anomalies are destroying the world. Some survivors live in “oases,” which are mostly protected but other walk the road following a mysterious woman. Mallow interviews a roadie to find out why. (6,300 words; Time: 21m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average