Gods, demons, angels, etc. deal with bureaucracy and support groups in some short fantasy stories. “Magicians at Law” by Grace Seybold has arbitration and a kitty-cat: “Hm. I’m assuming, given the smell, this was a standard demonic service contract?” “…
5 short Diwali stories
By Iona Datt Sharma (previously
on Diwali): “Light
and fire: five stories for Diwali (2018)”, a collection of miniature
stories for the festival.
“the now-expected upwelling of frustration tinged with hysteria”
Two short scifi stories about accommodating disability. “Metal and Flesh” by Marie Vibbert is darker: “Five stitched the cloth with a single thread in the human way.” “Fractured” by Aimee Kuzenski is more triumphant eventually, but starts: “Since the s…
Quakers… in… SPACE… (and time, and alternate realities)
The November issue of the American Quaker magazine Friends Journal is dedicated to speculative fiction and sci-fi. If you’re a fan of The Dazzle of Day, read on! Here’s the introductory essay by Quaker SFF writers Annalee Flower Horne and Hilary B. Bis…
“The music, at least, did not make me feel like an outsider.”
Three short speculative stories about love, yearning, and relationships beyond the human boundary. “Cold Wind” by Nicola Griffith: “From the park on Puget Sound I watched the sun go down on the shortest day of the year.” “Traveling Mercies” by Rachael …
True Philippine Ghost Stories
Romano Santos (Vice, 10/27/2021), “Remembering the Thrill of Reading ‘True Philippine Ghost Stories'”: “‘Very chilling stories, indeed. I can’t imagine ever seeing someone’s doppelgänger. But for sure, I am not looking forward to seeing mine,’ Mendoza …
“They left the sukkah standing when they fled.”
Two speculative stories in which girls and women disagree about how to cope with change, both published this year. “A Stone’s Throw from You” by Jenn Reese in Mermaids Monthly: “And then I told you I was leaving. That I’d been called to the sea.” “For …
Word-portals between worlds
Two scifi stories about literary professions in uncertain futures. “The Bookstore at the End of America” by Charlie Jane Anders, about a bookseller at the border between California and America: “Some of those screaming people were old enough to have gr…
innovation, death, sorcery and meaning
Two short, triumphant fantasy stories about well-worn prophecies and magical customs that take a left turn. “Another End of the Empire” by Tim Pratt (audio version): “The probability witches hit an impasse.” A short story by Dyce (a.k.a. Sarah Blackwel…
“Your grandpa was a lot of things in the old days”
Two short speculative stories about growing up in a powerful family. “Horangi”, fantasy by Thomas Ha (reminds me a little of Ursula Vernon’s Grandma Harken stories): “I’m sorry to hear that,” my grandfather responded politely, and he gave a smile that …