Escape Pod, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies: Short Fiction Reviews by Charles Payseur

Escape Pod 5/16/24
Strange Horizons 5/20/24, 5/27/24, 6/10/24, 6/17/24
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/30/24, 6/13/24

Rocky Cornelius returns to Escape Pod with An­drew Dana Hudson’s May story, “The Concept Shoppe: A Rocky Cornelius Consultancy”. Having left uncool hunting behind her, Rocky is a creative consultant for Primal, a new store that’s selling the postapocalypse experience in a future that feels in many ways postapocalyptic, right down to the paramilitary bandits that roam California. When said bandits end up turning what is supposed to be a romantic open­ing into something more action-heavy, it’s up to Rocky to ride the zeitgeist and steer what could easily be a disaster into PR gold. Hudson blends an undeniable energy and culture-focused voice that makes even the grittier elements seem fun rather than harrowing. And it further expands the world of Rocky Cornelius and her unique way of moving through the world, trailing de­struction and surprisingly satisfied customers.

“The Spindle of Necessity” by B. Pladek feels right at home in May’s Strange Horizons, blend­ing literary and fantastical sensibilities as it reveals Andrew, a trans man who is somewhat obsessed with the possible gender of a now-deceased novelist whose works have deeply resonated with him. He wants the author to be transgender, despite there being no historical proof beyond her focus of writing queer men characters. And yet a lot of Andrew’s own identity has become tangled with her, with how her works made and make him feel, to the point that it might break reality itself to some extent, as a series of dreams transports Andrew back in time where he meets the author. Upon waking each time, he discovers new novels by her that he has no memory of, and yet the answers he so desperately wants remain elusive. Pladek does an incredible job of handling the complexities of gender, discourse, desire, and identity, and through the lens of literary obsession, which seems decidedly appropriate for a short story. I really can’t recommend this one enough. Clos­ing out May, Christopher Morgan also appears with “The Lantern Runner”, a narrative poem that follows Lenora as she seeks to push back the darkness and dangers of the forest she and her people live in, through the light and flames of her lantern. As she attempts to deal with a particularly violent assault by the Old Ones, however, she begins to realize that the nature of the balance of power between them and the humans isn’t what she’s been told. It is a moody and horror-tinged piece, and Morgan does a nice job in telling a complete story in verse with some startling and deep implications and grim character work. It’s well worth checking out.

Moving into June, Jess Hyslop makes her debut in the publication with her poem “After”, which focuses on conflict and its aftermaths. The narrator of the poem brings children to a park in a nation that has just been through a war, and on the playground notes shadow children that play as well, that might be ghosts or reflections of those on the “other side” of the conflict, in their own nation, at their own parks. Hyslop both seems to question whether conflicts like wars that leave so many dead and displaced can be considered truly ended, and does a great job exploring the world of those trying to live following the official ending of hostilities. It’s a deep and contemplative read. Lesley Hart Gunn’s poem “The Exorcism of Icarus”, meanwhile, explores the longing and desire to fly despite human limitations. Flight is just not something we are designed for with our dense bones and heavy bodies, and yet the poem refuses to see in the story of Icarus a warning. Or at least not one worth heeding, as the idea and experience of flight is captured by Gunn in a defiant and invigorating way. The piece centers the yearning for flight as a push for freedom, and a dream worth pursuing, despite the warnings of those content to remain earthbound.

The last of May’s Beneath Ceaseless Skies features stories of blood, infiltration, and competition, as in Andrew K Hoe’s “We Shall Drink Wine”, which revolves around Ai-Lian and Guang-Ping, the storied Heroic Pair who helped to find order out of chaos in a tempestu­ous time on the outskirts of an empire. Forty years later, they have more or less fallen out, but reports to Guang-Ping that Ai-Lian is act­ing strangely and might have been infected by a creature they once defeated together draws them once more to the same place for a final confrontation. Through their discussion and memories, Hoe digs into the messy relationship between them. The love and the rivalry and the resentment. Ai-Lan, who comes from humble origins, part of poor masses, who manages to rise out of poverty; and Guang-Ping, of noble lineage but concerned with trying to “save” those less fortunate. The two put their martial skills and philosophies to the test, but under all of it something else is happening. A deeper truth, uncomfortable and tragic, is coming clear at last, and it makes for a mesmerizing and frankly heartbreaking read. But what a read it is! Moving to the publication’s first June issue, and Cara Masten DiGirolamo tells an interesting story about maps and missed opportunities in “An Uncanny Path and Uncanny Hole: The Final Account from the Records of Ptaten, Im­perial Surveyor”. Unfolding in ancient Egypt, the story finds the titular Ptaten looking back over his long career and forward to a sudden mystery – a void that appears in real life in the same place that a hole exists in all of his care­fully made maps. It’s something he’s heard of before, when his old partner disappeared into a similarly unexplained void and was never seen again. Having experienced a comfortable life, and feeling his dedication to his post perhaps slipping some, Ptaten must decide whether to retain his characteristic distance from danger or do something unexpected. DiGirolamo bal­ances the mundanity of Ptaten’s work against the yearning of his heart and the possibility of something new and exciting just within reach. It’s a captivating story.

Recommended Stories
“The Concept Shoppe: A Rocky Cornelius Consultancy”, Andrew Dana Hudson  (Escape Pod 5/24)
“The Spindle of Necessity”, B. Pladek (Strange Horizons 5/24)
“We Shall Drink Wine”, Andrew K Hoe (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 5/24)

This review and more like it in the August 2024 issue of Locus.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.

©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.