The Flight of Morpho Girl, by Caroline Spector and Bradley Denton

[Tor.com]

★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

(Superhero; Wild Cards) Teenage Adesina’s best friend has been kidnapped, and it’s up to her to save her. (17,734 words; Time: 59m)

If you’re not already very familiar with the Wild Cards universe, this story is going to be difficult to read. See related articles on Tor.com.

Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Sweet, Exciting, Funny, and Moving

(Portal Fantasy; Wayward Children) Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children caters to children who went to a portal world, came back, and can’t cope. No one planned on the arrival of a child born in a portal world, much less one asking for help—from a dead person. (39,193 words; Time: 2h:10m)

It’s not strictly necessary to read “Every Heart a Doorway” before this story, but it will help. See related articles on Tor.com.

Mandelbrot the Magnificent, by Liz Ziemska

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(Historical Fantasy) An account of how the young Benoit Mandelbrot learned he could affect physical reality with his mathematics and how he tried to mount a defense against the Nazi’s in France. (20,135 words; Time: 1h:07m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

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Gluttony Bay, by Matt Wallace

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Modern Fantasy Horror; Sin du Jour) Now that Sin du Jour is in open conflict with Allenby, something terrible is bound to happen. Allenby has something suitably sadistic in mind, tailored to the unique nature of Sin du Jour. (30,936 words; Time: 1h:43m)

This story is so tightly tied to the previous ones that it would be hopeless to start reading the series here. Readers should start with "Envy of Angels." See related articles on Tor.com.

Weaver's Lament, by Emma Newman

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(Alternate History Fantasy Adventure; Industrial Magic) Charlotte’s brother Ben needs her help to stop a saboteur who keeps destroying looms at the factory where he’s apprenticed. Magic may be involved, but she has to keep her own abilities secret. (37,062 words; Time: 2h:03m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

This story depends heavily on the reader having already read “Brother’s Ruin.” It will make little sense without that. See related articles on Tor.com.

A Long Day in Lychford, by Paul Cornell

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(Modern Fantasy; Lychford) Autumn learns that casting spells when drunk and angry has bad results when she accidentally shatters Lychford’s magical defenses and traps a number of people inside unstable space-time bubbles. (25,934 words; Time: 1h:26m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Sequel to The Lost Child of Lychford (2016). Stands alone, but reading it first might spoil the earlier one. See related articles on Tor.com.

The Murders of Molly Southbourne, by Tade Thompson

[Single]

★★★☆☆

(Horror; Molly Southbourne) Molly has an affliction: whenever she bleeds, the blood grows into duplicates of her. Duplicates who always want to kill her. (21,176 words; Time: 1h:10m)

Recommended By: 🏆₂BFantasy+2 🏆₂BSFA+2 🏆₂SJackson+2 (Q&A)

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The Red Threads of Fortune, by JY Yang

[Tor Novella]

★★★☆☆ Average

(Fantasy Adventure; Tensorate) Mokoya and her brother use their powerful magic to defend Bataanar from external attack which her mysterious new love interest may be involved with. (37,277 words; Time: 2h:04m)

This novella is #2 in the series, and readers are strongly advised to start with the first one. See related articles on Tor.com.

The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang

[Tor Novella]

★★★★☆ Rich, Complex, Rewarding

(Epic Fantasy; Tensorate) The Protector’s twin children threaten her absolute rule. Their magic is almost as strong as hers, and they pursue technology as well. (40,011 words; Time: 2h:13m)

This is the first novella in a series, but it tells a self-contained story. (Technically, this is a short novel, but it’s within the 5,000-word tolerance the Hugo Awards allow.) See related articles on Tor.com.

The Twilight Pariah, by Jeffrey Ford

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(Horror) College friends Henry, Maggie, and Russell decide to play archeologist in the back yard of an old, abandoned house, but things get serious when they find the deformed skeleton of a child. (33,158 words; Time: 1h:50m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Great Characters, Plenty of Suspense

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Acadie, by Dave Hutchinson

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(SF Adventure) Even after 500 years, Earth is still after the founders of the Colony, so when a probe wanders into their system Duke has to find a way to get everyone to safety. (20,356 words; Time: 1h:07m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

A Song For Quiet, by Cassandra Khaw

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(Horror; Persons Non Grata) Deacon James plays the blues, but on a train ride a new melody gets into his head. Something powerful enough to change people’s lives—or end them. (17,748 words; Time: 59m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Add a star if you really know music and enjoy reading descriptions of how it is played. See related articles on Tor.com.

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion, by Margaret Killjoy

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(Near-Future Fantasy) In the dried-out ruins of an Iowa town, anarchists cope with a demon deer they summoned to protect themselves from “predators” but which seems to have its own definition of the word. (25,011 words; Time: 1h:23m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

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The Ghost Line, by Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison

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(SF Thriller) Saga and her husband help a client take over a mothballed luxury spaceship between Earth and Mars. There’s something the client isn’t telling them, though. Something deadly. (28,863 words; Time: 1h:36m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

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Mapping the Interior, by Stephen Graham Jones

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(Horror) At 12, Junior thinks his dead father has returned to protect his family. There’s a lot Junior doesn’t know about his father—living or dead. (22,778 words; Time: 1h:15m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Deeply Creepy

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Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire

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(Portal Fantasy; Wayward Children) Twin sisters, Jack and Jill, escape from overbearing parents into The Moors, a fantasy land where werewolves and vampires are real. (39,787 words; Time: 2h:12m)

Rating: ★★★★☆ Grim Yet Oddly Touching

Although this is the prequel to “Every Heart a Doorway,” it will actually spoil that story if you read this one first. See related articles on Tor.com.

Lightning in the Blood, by Marie Brennan

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(High Fantasy; Varekai) As Ree and Aadet track down a murderous band of rebels led by people loyal to the usurper they defeated a few years ago, Ree meets a migrant group who may hold the key to her forgotten past. (26,132 words; Time: 1h:27m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

This story builds on Cold-Forged Flame, but there’s no need to read that story to enjoy this one. See related articles on Tor.com.

Greedy Pigs, by Matt Wallace

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(Modern Fantasy; Sin du Jour) The staff of Sin du Jour are honored to be invited to cater the inauguration of the president of the magical “shadow government” that really runs the world. (30,500 words; Time: 1h:41m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

In order to make sense of this story, readers must start with Envy of Angels and read the rest of the series. This story is not complete; it ends at a cliffhanger See related articles on Tor.com.

Killing Gravity, by Corey J. White

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(Space Opera; Voidwitch) She calls herself Mars. She’s running from the authorities, who want to use her powerful telekinetic powers. Powers that leave scores of dead in her wake. (32,315 words; Time: 1h:47m)

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ Needs Improvement

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All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

[Tor Novella]

★★★★★ Thrilling, Thoughtful, Touching

(SF Thriller; Murderbot Diaries) A “security bot” assigned to support a survey team impresses them with its competence as a series of things go wrong. What they don’t know is that it has disabled the governor that prevents it from hurting people. (31,128 words; Time: 1h:43m)

Recommended By: RHorton+2 Nebula+2 Hugo+2 Locus+2

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