Clarkesworld: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Clarkesworld 7/24, 8/24

Every Hopeless Thing” by Tia Tashiro in the July issue of Clarkesworld is a sweet story about a spacefaring pilot, Elodie, who while scavenging on a supposedly abandoned Earth discovers a whole population living underground. The story carries emotional weight and paints a lovely pic­ture of finding hope in seemingly hopeless times. “The Best Version of You” by Grant Collier is another story ...Read More

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Analog: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Analog 7-8/24

The July/August 2024 issue of Analog opens with the “Great Martian Railways” by Hûw Steer. An engineer named Lowell oversees the first voyage of a new prototype steam train on Mars as a rail system is being built. When unexpected complications arise, Lowell and the other engineers on board must come up with innovative solutions on the fly to avoid a high-speed disaster. “Vouch for ...Read More

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Asimov’s: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Asimov’s 7-8/24

The July/August issue of Asimov’s opens with the novella “Sisters of the Flare” by Stephen Case, set in the same world as the author’s earlier story “Daughters of the Lattice”, though in a differ­ent time period. The story focuses on Tars, who encounters a woman named Petrichora who has forsaken her vows as is now on the run. Tars and Petrichora’s story is interwoven with ...Read More

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The Deadlands : Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

The Deadlands Spring ’24

The Slave Boy” by Denzel Xavier Scott in the Spring 2024 issue of The Deadlands looks at dif­ferent forms of captivity and freedom. A young boy contemplates his own imprisonment and the imprisonment of the talking animals he’s forced to care for, pitying them, but also resenting them and the way they mock and torment him. He meets a strange man who offers him ...Read More

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khōréō: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

khōréō 4.1

Anna Bendiy’s ‘‘The Goddess of Loneliness and Misfortune’’ in khōréō 4.1 effectively explores healing, going back to the place you were born, and the cost of war. Bohdana re­turns to her war-ravaged home and calls on a goddess for help, only to discover the goddess has a bit of an attitude and intends to put Bohdana to work before she’ll get involved. ‘‘Child’s Tongue ...Read More

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Clarkesworld: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Clarkesworld 6/24

“Twenty-Four Hours” by H.H. Pak starts off the June issue of Clarkesworld on a high note. The story is beautiful and heartbreaking as a mother spends a final twenty-four hours with a programmed version of her recently deceased daughter in an effort to gain closure. The story does a wonderful job of portraying grief in its various stages and capturing the feeling of wanting to spend just a ...Read More

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Analog: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Analog 5-6/24

The May/June 2024 issue of Analog opens with “Uncle Roy’s Computer Repairs and Used Robot Parts” by Martin L. Shoemaker, a charming novella about a man who retires with his wife to her hometown and starts his own computer repair business only to find himself accidentally in a bitter rivalry with the town’s resident “whiz kid.” It’s a fun story that does a good job of capturing ...Read More

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khōréō: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

khōréō 3.4

Due to an error in my logging stories for review, I acciden­tally left three stories out of my initial review of khōréō 3.4. The stories are reviewed here with apologies to the authors, editors, and publisher of the magazine.

“The Maiden Voyage of the Piranha Belle” by L.M. Guay is a diamond of a story, with beautiful glittering surfaces and a sharp, cutting point. The Piranha Belle of ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld 5/24

The May issue of Clarkesworld opens with a charming story, which also offers up some touch­ing emotional moments. “Fishy” by Alice Towey sees a daughter tasked with going through her father’s office after his death, trying to track down a prototype he was working on that would provide clean water to millions. His shifty business partner is after the prototype as well, but it turns out ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Asimov’s

Asimov’s 5-6/24

The May/June 2024 issue of Asimov’s in­cludes three novellas, making it perfect for readers wanting to sink their teeth into some longer short fiction. The first of the three, opening the issue, is “Barbarians” by Rich Lar­son. Yanna and his partner Hilly have been hired to take a pair of creepy rich twins on an expedition into a decaying deepswimmer. Hilly is essentially a head ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Analog, khōréō, and Clarkesworld

Analog 3-4/24 khōréō 3.4 Clarkesworld 4/24

The March/April 2024 issue of Analog opens with “Enough” by William Ledbetter, wherein a graffiti artist en­counters tech designed to resist tagging and report the location of artists to authorities. Working with his ex-girlfriend and her new partner, he finds a way to co-opt the tech and broadcasts a message of hope and resistance. “A Long Journey into Light...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Asimov’s

Asimov’s 3-4/24

The March/April 2024 issue of Asimov’s is quite a strong one. It opens with a “How Sere Kept Herself Together” by Alex­ander Jablokov, the third in a series of stories featuring Sere, an investigator, who in this case starts off looking into a kidnapping, but finds herself embroiled in a far more complex case. The worldbuilding is nicely done and the novella does a good ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: The Deadlands

The Deadlands Winter ’24

The Winter 2024 issue of The Deadlands is full of lovely prose and quiet stories meditating on life and death. In the beautifully written “Threnody in Dark Wood” by Avra Margariti, a profes­sional mourner who sings the dead through the Doorway receives a mysterious assignment to attend an empty funeral with a sealed coffin and soon realizes this is a job unlike any other. ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld 3/24

Clarkesworld’s March issue opens with “Hello! Hello! Hello!” by Fiona Jones, a sweet story about an alien entity encountering a human adrift in a shuttle, eventually realizing that the human is dy­ing, and carrying out a rescue mission. Jones does a wonderful job of presenting a truly alien alien, and showing the difficulties of communication between vastly dissimilar species, but also the possibilities opened up ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Analog

Analog 1-2/24

The January/February issue of Ana­log kicks off with “Kagari” by Ron Collins, which follows the young heir to a kingdom of birdlike beings. He is in love with a commoner, and not overly enamored of the strict rules governing his society, but he is given a human named Kagari as a pet who helps him see he might work within the system to effect change. “ ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: khōréō

khōréō 3.3

khōréō 3.3 includes two short stories and a nov­elette in two parts. The one I found to be most effective of the three is “The Blue Glow” by Lisa Hosokawa, which follows a failed suicide pilot as he returns home in search of his family, and finds only destruction. His journey is plagued by ghosts, but he holds onto hope that his mother and baby ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction from Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld 1/24

January’s Clarkesworld opens on a high note with “Nothing of Value” by Aimee Ogden. Skip technology allows people to travel long distances by allowing all the information about themselves to be downloaded into a new body at their des­tination while the old version is destroyed. The unnamed protagonist travels to Mars to meet up with a former friend/lover in hopes of rekindling their relationship. One of ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Asimov’s

Asimov’s 1-2/24

The January/February 2024 issue of Asimov’s is bookended by two novellas, each involving the investigation of a crime. In Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Proof of Concept”, Orli is a detective on an intergalactic cruise ship, investigating a seemingly straightforward mur­der. However, when she arrives at the crime scene, Orli discovers the body is actually a sophisticated hologram, leaving her to unravel what crime has actually been ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Augur

Augur 6.2

Several stories in Augur issue 6.2 draw on vari­ous traditions and fairy tales for inspiration. In “Moon-Eaters & Monsoons” by Rachel Evange­line Chiong, twin brothers Amihan and Hagbat set out to determine what is ailing one of their realm’s gods. They haven’t spoken in years, and the journey is fraught, their failure to listen to and understand each other putting both of them in danger. “ ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld 12/23

Clarkesworld’s December issue starts off with a sweet story, “Morag’s Boy” by Fiona Moore, about a young man named Cliff who leaves home and ends up being taken in by a woman named Morag who lives alone on a farm. Cliff shows an aptitude for fixing tech, but struggles to find a direction in life. Morag helps him find his way, leading him to become ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Analog

Analog 11-12/23

Analog’s November/December issue in­cludes a wide variety of short fiction. The standout story in the issue was “An Infestation of Blue” by Wendy N. Wagner, told from the point of view of a dog who wakes to find her consciousness altered through an Op­erator meant to allow her to communicate with humans. The dog, who now thinks of herself as Rebecca, discovers that the Man who ...Read More

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The Year in Review 2023 by A.C. Wise

The Year in Review 2023 by A.C. Wise

It’s been an odd year for me, reading-wise. I served as a World Fantasy Award judge, which was a won­derful experience, but meant a large portion of my year was devoted to works originally published in 2022. As a result, I feel – even more than I normally do – like I missed out on tons of fantastic work published in 2023, ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Asimov’s, Clarkesworld and khōréō

Asimov’s 11-12/23 Clarkesworld 11/23 khōréō 3.2

Asimov’s November/December issue includes three novellas, along with an assortment of short stories and novelettes. The wide variety of themes and styles in this issue work well, with stories evoking classic science fiction, stories with an epic science fantasy feel, and others taking a quiet slice-of-life approach. “Berb by Berb” by Ray Nayler is one of the most effective pieces in the ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Analog, Clarkesworld and Flash Fiction Online

Analog 9-10/23 Clarkesworld 10/23 Flash Fiction Online 10/23

Analog’s September/October issue opens with the excellent novelette “The Apotheosis of Krysalice Wilson” by Howard V. Hendrix. Teen­age figure skater Krysalice is approached with the opportunity to implant experi­mental technology that will give her bet­ter reaction times and improve her sense of spatial relations – a kind of natural GPS akin to the way birds navigate as they migrate – enhancing ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Asimov’s and Clarkesworld

Asimov’s 9-10/23 Clarkesworld 8/23, 9/23

Asimov’s “Slight Spooky” September/October 2023 issue starts off strong with the novelette “Deep Blue Jump” by Dean Whitlock. The story is set amongst a group of children who have been sold or abandoned into a life of harvesting drug-like dream berries. The conditions are brutal, working long hours, risking their lives climb­ing on dangerous vines to reach the berries, and watched over by slappers ...Read More

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A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Augur and khōréō

Augur 6.1 khōréō 3.1

Augur issue 6.1 is packed with a mix of fic­tion and poetry and includes Bailey Ma­cabre‘s “âniskac”, a comic which features lovely art and is set in a world recovering from environmental collapse looking back on the follies and failures of the past. Several of the stories and poems in the issue reflect on similar themes of climate change, regret over the past, ...Read More

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