Lowlife Orbit, by Rich Larson

[Analog]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama) A space pirate shows his nephew how to steal terraforming supplied headed for Mars. (975 words; Time: 03m)

Warm Math, by Rich Larson

[F&SF]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF Thriller) An escape pod with two passengers needs just a bit more reaction mass to reach safety—an amount about equal to the mass of a person. (3,250 words; Time: 10m)

Since this story plays with the concept from “The Cold Equations,” by Tom Godwin, it might be worth reading that story before this one. Although considering how wrenching that story is emotionally, you might want to wait and read it after.

The Sniper and I, by Rich Larson

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Military SF) Dwet has come to New Warsaw to evaluate a special kind of sniper—an augmented human with neural connections to a special kind of rifle. (3,463 words; Time: 11m)

How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobučar, by Rich Larson

[Single]

★★★★☆ Non-stop Thrills, Chills, and Excitement.

(SF Thriller) The narrator and a friend plot to steal a valuable artwork from an underworld boss who’s pissed them off. (11,417 words; Time: 38m)

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

The Star Plague, by Rich Larson

[BCS]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Historical Fantasy Horror) The glare from a falling meteor leaves Bragi temporarily blind, but the local monks nurse him back to health—just in time to learn that the “meteor” brought something much worse than blindness. (11,927 words; Time: 39m)

All Electric Ghosts, by Rich Larson

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆

(Alien Visitors) A drug addict mourning his lost love hunts for fishlike aliens scattered around the French countryside. (5,104 words; Time: 17m)

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)

Painless, by Rich Larson

[Single]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Supersoldier) With tremendous powers of regeneration, Mars is an incomparable killing machine, but he’s on the run, and there’s one special prisoner he’s determined to rescue. (5,412 words; Time: 18m)

Death of an Air Salesman, by Rich Larson

[Clarkesworld]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Dystopia Romance) Maya’s drab life selling packaged air and sleeping in a capsule changes for the better when she meets a cute boy. (4,645 words; Time: 15m)

Contagion's Eve at the House Noctambulous, by Rich Larson

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Gripping, Memorable, and Profoundly Disturbing

(Post-Apocalypse Dystopia) Young Burgewick will prove his manhood at tonight’s hunt, but even though he’s part of the ruling class, he feels sympathy for the abused servants and even the synthetic things he’ll be hunting. (7,954 words; Time: 26m)

Octo-Heist in Progress, by Rich Larson

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ One hilarious unexpected complication after another.

(SF Caper) Etta left her sister’s shoes behind at last night’s drunken party, and she’s ashamed to show her face there again, so she hires a man and his octopus to sneak in and steal them from under the bed. (7,470 words; Time: 24m)

Smear Job, by Rich Larson

[Analog]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Near-Future SF) Jalen is sentenced to “court-mandated perception modification,” which seems like a very mild penalty. At first. (1,620 words; Time: 05m)

Render Unto Caesar, by Eduardo Vaquerizo

[Analog]

★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

(Near-Future Horror) Resentful of the punishment the Church has sentenced him to, Father Augustine plans to reveal one of its dark secrets. (5,002 words; Time: 16m)

Meat And Salt And Sparks, by Rich Larson

[Tor.com]

★★★★★ Great Characters in a Great Setting

(SF Mystery) An enhanced chimp and her human partner investigate an apparently pointless murder committed by a woman who was under remote control from an unknown source. (7,373 words; Time: 24m)

Recommended By: GTognetti+2 KBurnham+2

Fifteen Minutes Hate, by Rich Larson

[Apex]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Near-Future SF) Savina wakes up to find herself the subject of a massive online attack. (1,388 words; Time: 04m)

Carouseling, by Rich Larson

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ Moving story with an interesting concept

(SF Adventure) Ostap can’t wait to visit his girlfriend and see her big project that’s trying to use quantum mechanics to develop faster-than-light travel. (5,250 words; Time: 17m)

Our King and His Court, by Rich Larson

[Tor.com]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Post-Apocalypse) In the ruins of Mexico, a professional killer returns the kidnapped son of a brutal dictator, with unexpected consequences. (6,923 words; Time: 23m)

In Event of Moon Disaster, by Rich Larson

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Clever and Chilling

(SF Horror) On the moon, Laurie returns from investigating the aftermath of a large, nearby impact with nothing interesting to report. Until a second “Laurie” turns up a few minutes later. (4,678 words; Time: 15m)

Razzibot, by Rich Larson

[Analog]

★★★★☆ Topical, Engaging, Thought-Provoking

(Near-Future SF) Teenage Marisol wants a Razzibot so she can stream her life online in ways that always make her look good. (2,648 words; Time: 08m)

Penitents, by Rich Larson

[BCS]

★★★★☆ A nice coming-of-age piece

(Post-Apocalypse) Mara has made a deal with a scavenger girl to help her rescue her best friend, who left the underground habitat to try to talk to the aliens and never came back. (6,374 words; Time: 21m)