Short Fiction Review: September 2024
My favorite stories from September all involve things going wrong: at the office, within your community, and when you screw up your ill-conceived revenge. In “The 6% Squeeze” by Eddie Robson (published in Uncanny Magazine Issue 60), a freelancer faces an impossible assignment. In “The Ex Hex” by Jae Steinbacher (published in Lightspeed Magazine Issue 172), a witch tries to hex their ex in a fury of vengeance and screws up the spell in the process. In “We the People Excluding I” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu (also published in Lightspeed Magazine Issue 172), the very world seems to be falling apart when a new leader steps forward with a risky ritual promising to restore balance. Let’s dive in. “The 6% Squeeze” by Eddie Robson At work, Miles is tasked with the impossible. In this case, that means designing packaging for a “Mr Zeb” branded mug. The dimensions are already set, and the company style bible is extremely particular and “must be obeyed to the letter.” The style bible features exacting imperatives such as “Height of largest Mr Zeb™ image must be at least 30% the height of the packaging.” Given those strict imperatives, and considering the physical limitations of the packaging that Miles must work within, Miles realizes that the task before him is quite literally impossible. Miles does the reasonable thing and emails his coordinator outlining the problem. He even sends a follow-up, noting the urgent deadline. However, when he receives no response, he deviates — ever so slightly — from the style bible to make a functional design that he can turn in, figuring that something is better than nothing, reasoning that if there’s an actual problem, at least then someone will get back to him to discuss it. I will stop summarizing here so as to avoid spoiling the story, but I will warn you that it becomes surprisingly violent. This is a story that you either should read because you will love it or should actually skip over because it will make you irate. It’s a comically absurd take on dysfunctional, toxic corporate cultures that ask the impossible, punish you for failing to deliver it, and thereby breed fear and paranoia. I want to say it’s relatable, but Robson stretches the ordinary nonsense of office life into such a ludicrous torment that you’ll have to either laugh at the absurdity or cry in despair. Personally, I greatly enjoyed it, but I would only recommend this story to readers with a taste for dark humor. “The Ex Hex” by Jae Steinbacher This story hooked my attention from the first paragraph, which clearly introduces both the protagonist and their conflict, so let me simply share it with you here: Talis had a problem. They’d copied the spell incorrectly, in a fury, after seeing photos of their ex with a new date in “their” spot. Adelite was supposed to have experienced a night of terrible dreams leading to a remorseful morning after. Instead, he just hadn’t woken up. I love the way this story is written. The prose is clear, immediate, and compelling. The characters are fun and easy to imagine, and the conflict is engaging and surprisingly relatable. (Botching a hex? Not so much. But acting on a bad idea and screwing things up? Oh yeah.) I particularly enjoyed the casual way characters spoke to each other, such as “Yep, that’s a fuckup, all right.” What’s best about this story is its themes of justice, community, and friendship. This story is firmly rooted in restorative justice and community reparations. Talis knows they messed up and wants to make it right. They are willing to take the blame for their actions, and they want to repair the harm they caused. It’s hard, but their friends are there to support them — and to help hold them accountable. As one of Talis’ friends says, “Friends help friends, eh? You’re going to have to make reparations, but let the community handle that and not the ‘justice system’.” If I were to teach restorative justice, I’d likely start by asking folks to read this story. It’s an excellent and heartwarming illustration of these principles and a vision of justice that cares less about punishment and more about repairing harms and strengthening community. And as a bonus, it’s got lovely queer and trans representation. “We the People Excluding I” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu This is another story about the vital importance of community, but whereas “The Ex Hex” shows the presence and support of community, “We the People Excluding I” explores exclusion and isolation from community. Where “The Ex Hex” is cozy and nourishing, this story is darker and fiercer. The story begins when the world is unstable and falling apart. In this world prone to disasters and increasingly inhospitable to life, the narrator lives in a deeply collectivist society. They say, “I could walk to the ends of the earth and still see my mother, and still see my fathers. They’re a fluid group of roles and assignments, constant to change over time as I grow.” In these trying times, a leader with a smile “as predatory as a fox’s” steps forward with a solution: one person needs to disappear. If this person can sacrifice themselves and be exiled, be “separated and isolated from this community, to be never found by anyone from our society again, then the world can be restored.” For the good of their community, the narrator volunteers, but it is a more perilous assignment than they first realize. The fox man continues to hunt and threaten them, even as they try to run farther and farther away. This story has a beautiful quality of folklore to it. It features a shape-shifting trickster fox and giants who live in the south of the world. The instability of the world reminds me as easily of Noah and the great flood as it does the perils of our changing climate. The story feels mythic, like a fable passed down from generations, meant
