Short Fiction Review: June–August 2019
Sometimes the stories that I review in a given month are all united by a particular theme. That is not the case this month. This time around, the only strand uniting these three stories is that each story features something I like. If (like me) you like smart stories about dis/ability and social structures, you should check out “Spectrum of Acceptance” by Nyla Bright, which appears in Escape Pod. If (like me) you like fables about Death or meditations on storytelling itself, you should check out “The Night Princes” by Megan Arkenberg, which appears in Nightmare Magazine. And if (like me) you like stories about happy queer couples or unconventional families, you should check out “A House With a Home” by Jon Mayo, which appears in Anathema Magazine.
Short Fiction Review: May 2019
My favorite stories from May all happened to be about resistance. They all had good and satisfying endings, although none of them had a clean ending where everything was wrapped up neatly with a bow. Then again, I don’t think resistance often works that way. First, I loved “Everything is Closed Today” by Sarah Pinsker. It’s delightful tale about skater girls, activism, and building community, and it appears in Do Not Go Quietly: An Anthology of Victory in Defiance edited by Jason Sizemore and Lesley Conner. Next, I recommend Joe Ponce’s “Raices (Roots),” which appears in Issue 7 of Anathema: Spec from the Margins. It’s a powerful and important story about immigration, border justice, and political consciousness. Lastly, if you love academic scholarship and theory — or, for that matter, if you hate those things — you must check out “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island” by Nibedita Sen in Issue 80 of Nightmare Magazine. Now, on to the reviews!
Book Review: RADICALIZED by Cory Doctorow
Radicalized, the new collection of four novellas by Cory Doctorow, features an uncommon structure for a book. Authors tend to release either standalone novels or collections of short stories. Sure, sometimes they’ll release a standalone novella or include a novella or two in a collection, but I’m not sure I’ve ever read another book composed solely of a handful of novellas before. However, I really enjoyed this structure, and I wish more authors would release books like this. Although the novellas are unconnected and each stand on their own, their interweaving themes of technology, activism, politics, and society work together to make Radicalized a cohesive and powerful collection. And it’s timely too. In a recent interview, Doctorow said that he “didn’t intend to write ANY of these — they got blurted out while I was working on another book.” The stories deal with refugees, police brutality, terrorism, preppers, and other elements of our increasingly dystopian modern world. Since there’s so much to talk about here, I’m going to explore each story individually.
Short Fiction Review: April 2019
My favorite stories often revolve around similar themes: justice, community, gender, and religion. In April 2019, the dominant themes in my favorite stories were gender and justice (or lack thereof), two important topics that intersect our lives in countless ways. These stories include “In That Place She Grows a Garden” by Del Sandeen in FIYAH Literary Magazine; “A Conch-Shell’s Notes” by Shweta Adhyam in Lightspeed Magazine; and “Vīs Dēlendī” by Marie Brennan in Uncanny Magazine. I found these stories emotionally and intellectually engaging, and they asked me to approach the themes of gender and justice from a variety of perspectives.
Short Fiction Review: March 2019
This past month, my three favorite stories all happened to be love stories. None of these stories are exactly typical or traditional love stories, which I think is the reason I liked them so much. “Green Glass: A Love Story” by E. Lily Yu feels like a fun romcom about the super-wealthy. It’s also a sharp critique of the 1%. It appears in If This Goes On, a new anthology edited by Cat Rambo. “Every Song Must End” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, which appears in Uncanny Magazine, is a moving, intelligent meditation on love, which centers around two polyamorous couples. “Octonet” by Keyan Bowes appears in Escape Pod and was part of Artemis Rising 5, an annual event put on by the Escape Artists podcast network featuring authors of marginalized genders and sexes. Although “Octonet” does include a lovely romance between two women, it’s mostly a love story about octopuses. If you agree octopuses are awesome, you’ve got to read this. If you haven’t yet realized how awesome octopuses are, you should also check this out.
Short Fiction Review: February 2019
February saw the release of A People’s Future of the United States, an anthology of resistance and hope that’s edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams and features big names such as Charlie Jane Anders, Hugh Howey, N. K. Jemisin, Sam J. Miller, and Catherynne M. Valente. The anthology is filled with great work, and in particular I want to spotlight “Riverbed” by Omar El Akkad and “Harmony” by Seanan McGuire. I could easily rave about A People’s Future of the United States for the rest of this review, but I also want to spotlight some other great new stories by less well-known authors. In February, Nightmare Magazine published “58 Rules to Ensure Your Husband Loves You Forever” by Rafeeat Aliyu, a creative and disturbing take on zombies that powerfully comments on toxic social norms around marriage. This piece is dark and disturbing, so it won’t be for everyone, but if you like horror, I highly recommend it. I also enjoyed “This Wine-Dark Feeling That Isn’t The Blues” by José Pablo Iriarte, which appears in Escape Pod. It’s a short and surprising story about love, grief, and simulated realities. Lastly, I loved “Ti-Jean’s Last Adventure, as Told to Raccoon” by KT Bryski, which appears in Lightspeed Magazine. It’s a very Canadian story that’s equal parts fun folklore and serious cultural critique.
