#ReadShortStories (up to 205)

A bit of a different configuration in this batch, since I read through most of Resist Fascism before getting a chance to post incremental updates about the stories. To be less repetitive, I'm skipping those stories and jumping straight to the next ones I read, rounding them off to a multiple of five to keep things neat.

As you will soon see, I fell into a bit of a hole reading some stories published in Wired, after being linked to a Murderbot prequel. Wired's paywall only lets you read 4 stories a month, which is exactly why I stopped reading after four of their stories by authors that caught my eye. 🤷‍♀️

Then I went back to reading the issue of Uncanny I had put down a while ago. I originally put that one down because I was partway through a story that just wasn't doing it for me. Once I realised that no one was forcing me to read anything, I skipped the rest of that story and carried on with the issue. Huzzah.

~

Compulsory by Martha Wells — A short story about our beloved Murderbot, set before the main series. Contains no spoilers, so it’s also a good place for prospective readers to get a taste of the series. Source: https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-compulsory-martha-wells/

Trustless by Ken Liu — An interesting take on legal contracts: in the future they are coded (like computer code that needs to be compiled) and fully binding with regards to payment. As expected, a good read. Source: https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-trustless-ken-liu/

Farm by Charlie Jane Anders — A super depressing take on the future state of journalism that I hope never comes to pass. Source: https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-farm-charlie-jane-anders/

Real Girls by Laurie Penny — A nice little story about fake AI girlfriends and feelings. I quite liked it. It got the tone exactly right for what it was. Source: https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-real-girls-laurie-penny/

The Cook by C.L. Clark — A flash story about the romance between a soldier and a cook, both female. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/the-cook/

In Blue Lily’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard — A story set in the Mindship/Dai Viet universe. It’s about a plague that killed a lot of humans and one Mindship. The nature of the disease, involving strange hallucinations, made this a slightly surreal read and a little difficult to follow in my jetlagged state. But I mostly enjoyed it. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/in-blue-lilys-wake/

Persephone in Hades by Theodora Goss — A fairly narrative poem on the subject matter, examine motives. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/persephone-in-hades/

#ReadShortStories that are flashy (87 to 90)

A bit of a jump in numbering this batch because I didn't want to repeat the stories that appeared for the first time in my Hugo posts and my final review of The Underwater Ballroom Society. If you missed reading my Hugo posts, you can see my thoughts and reviews of the short story ballot here and the novelette ballot here. (For completion, my novella discussion is here.) If you want to check out my reviews of the last few stories in The Underwater Ballroom Society — and my review of the whole anthology, you can find the final and complete review here.

This batch, which brings the total number of stories I've read this year to 90, contains some flash, a poem and the first story in the next anthology I've started reading: Not So Stories edited by David Thomas Moore. This anthology attempts to decolonise stories in the vein of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories and make them relevant to the modern age. With stories written by culturally diverse writers, of course. So far, it seems to be off to a good start.

How the Andan Court by Yoon Ha Lee — A flash piece that is more of a love letter explaining the absence of roses. Source: http://www.yoonhalee.com/?p=235

Ships in the Night by S B Divya — A flash story about a girl who can see futures and the changes everyone and everything will go through, who meets a girl who is unchanging. Source: http://dailysciencefiction.com/hither-and-yon/slipstream/s-b-divya/ships-in-the-night

Persephone in Hades by Theodora Goss — A narrative poem (is that the right term?) about Persephone missing winter while held prisoner by Hades. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/persephone-in-hades/

How the Spider Got Her Legs by Cassandra Khaw — Probably my favourite Khaw story so far. Told in the style of Kipling/traditional children's cosmology stories as suggested by the title. It was also a bit longer and more complicated than I might have expected with a few acts to the story rather than just one simple origin explanation of how the spider got her legs. Anyway, I rather liked it. Source: Not So Stories edited by David Thomas Moore