Here are the four short stories I liked the most in January, at first I wanted to combine my short fiction favorites of January and February but it was too long so I’ll do another SFS next week with my February picks!
I chose to only review a few stories to be more thorough and really explain why I liked them so much. I have full reviews of the issues mentionned available on Goodreads if you want to read my thoughts on all the stories.
Clarkesworld #146
“The Gift of Angels: an introduction” by Nina Allan ★★★★★
The Gift of Angels is set in a future version of Paris and follows a writer as he tries to learn more about his mother. She was one of the first astronauts who died on a mission to Mars and it deeply affected his life. He follows her steps in Paris as he visits places she once went to. Paris was the city his parents met and fell in love and the writer tries to imagine what their encounters were like as he goes from museums to museums and streets to cafés.
I really admire Nina Allan, she’s a great writer so I’m always looking forward to her stories. I’m also a bit biased because I studied and lived in Paris. I love this city and reading about streets and places I used to go to was both nostalgic and heartwarming. I also liked the focus Allan’s made on art in this novella, several paintings and movies are at the heart of this story and it made me enjoy it even more. It’s a slow story but it’s a beautiful one.
You can read this story here.
“Death on Mars” by Madeline Ashby ★★★★★
It’s my second favorite story of the issue, the title of the story is a bit misleading because I was expecting a war story or a military one set on Mars but it’s actually a very quiet story. It follows the crew of a spaceship studying samples from Mars and how their group dynamic is shattered when they learn about the illness of their leader.
It’s a poignant and sad little story and it left me in tears at the end. I read other stories by Ashby and I enjoyed them as well but this one is the best I read by her so far. I really need to check her longer works.
If you want to read another review of that story, I highly recommend Maddalena’s review over at Space & Sorcery!
You can read this story here.
Apex Magazine June 2018
“Suzie Q” – Jacqueline Carey ★★★★★
A young girl with a bad reputation enters a magic school where she hopes to start over. However, it doesn’t happen when she’s betrayed by people she trusted and she’s now on the street trying to keep her inner demon in her body while protecting a little boy.
I love Carey’s longer epic fantasy works but it was the first time I tried her short fiction. I really liked Suzie Q, my favorite aspect of the story was seeing how the events of the story influenced Suzanne’s character arc. The pacing and the writing were excellent and the ending was very satisfying.
Read this story here.
“Three Meetings of the Pregnant Man Support Group” – James Beamon ★★★★
What would happen if men were pregnant? You might think that you have read this story a million time over but I can assure you Beamon’s take on this trope is pretty original and worth your time.
In this story, men are expecting alien babies according a contract binding aliens with humans. In exchange for advanced tech, a couple of chosen men bear alien babies. This story follows a pregnant man and the meetings he has with a support group of other pregnant men. At first, it’s hilarious but the tone gets more and more serious as we learn about the implications of those pregnancies and how they affect the chosen men.
Read this story here.
Death on Mars moved me very deeply, and it was one of the “martian” stories I most enjoyed in recent times. And than you for the shout-out! 😉
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It’s my pleasure! 😉
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These all sound good! I’m anxious to check them all out. Especially Jacqueline Carey’s story😁
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They all are! 😀 I really liked Suzie Q, it was very different from her epic fantasy books, it was quite a bit darker and the writing was different but it worked well for the story! 🙂
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Love the short story reviews! I’m always looking for good shorts to read and don’t find many reviews on them. Thanks for this!
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Thanks for this! I’m always looking for good recommendations on short stories and don’t find many reviews.
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Thanks! I love short stories and I’m always sad to see most people overlook them, they’re a great way for authors to try different narration style and new type of stories and they’re a great way for readers to discover a ton of authors! 😀 Glad to see you liked this format of reviews! 🙂
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It’s actually how I discovered Alix Harrow and Rebecca Roanhorse both in Apex Magazine. Unfortunately I don’t read as many shorts as I would like. But if this is a regular thing you post I might find a bunch more to enjoy.
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I didn’t know Rebecca Roanhorse published a story in Apex, I have to check it out! 😀
I hope to make this a regular segment, I’m subscribed to four magazines so if I don’t fall behind too much, I should be able to read enough stories to make those posts! 🙂
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Welcome To Your Authentic Indian Experience. It was from August 2017. Won a Hugo and a Nebula.
https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome-to-your-authentic-indian-experience/
What mags did you subscribe to?
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Thanks! 😀
I’ve been subscribed to Clarkesworld for about a year and a half, I’ve been subscribed to Interzone on and off for about three years, and I just subscribed to Uncanny Magazine and Apex at the beginning of the year because I was already reading a few issues here and there and enjoying them quite a bit! 🙂
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