#ReadShortStories all over the place (106–110)

Stories from a variety of sources in this batch. Aside from finishing off my Hugo novelette reading (stay tuned for a round up of all those stories), I listened to an audio story while travelling (possibly it was a novella, but I'm including it here) and read a paper story, so a range of formats.


Rules for the Care and Maintenance of Phoenix Eggs For Wayward Daughters by Tansy Rayner Roberts — An amusing flash/listicle story about caring for a Phoenix egg, just like it says in the title. Source: Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Patreon (and subsequently newsletter)

When We Were Starless by Simone Heller — Exquisitely detailed world building as we follow a tribe and their spiritual leader across a world unable to sustain life. Their world is very different from ours and, although the tribe is not human, they are recognisably people who have forgotten their distant past and are distrustful when confronted with a remnant of it. The story felt fantastical when I started reading but became more clearly science fiction as I read further. A very well-thought-out story. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/heller_10_18/

Into Darkness by Anike Kirsten — Implausible but sort of interesting flash. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01798-z

Let Sleeping Princes Lie by Tansy Rayner Roberts — An entertaining story in a parody fairytale world with royalty and reporters and the need to dodge stray spinning wheels. I enjoyed it. Source: http://sheepmightfly.podbean.com/e/let-sleeping-princes-lie-part-1 (also available in print)

The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections by Tina Connolly — A fantasy story about magical pastries that forcibly evoke certain memories. Well, the actual story is about the wife of the baker that makes them and the tyrannical King who has taken the throne. It was an interesting that I enjoyed even as I wondered how it would end satisfactorily. Source: https://www.tor.com/2018/07/11/the-last-banquet-of-temporal-confections-tina-connolly/

Short Stories 26 to 30

This batch of stories brought to you by me being really into the Velveteen vs series by Seanan McGuire and also thinking that I had a short wait at the physio which turned out to be long enough for three flash stories PLUS their mini reviews. Oh well.



Velveteen vs the Eternal Halloween by Seanan McGuire — A story set entirely during Velveteen’s teenage years and featuring a Groundhog Day-like Halloween and the world of Halloween. A solid story. It inadvertently had me wondering how the world of Halloween would fit in with the Wayward Children, but this story was, of course, written much earlier. It was also kind of more fun (less cynical) than adult Velveteen. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs6.php

Velveteen vs the Ordinary Day by Seanan McGuire — Another chapter in adult Velveteen’s life. Having made it to Oregon, Velma reunites with some friends. An entertaining read. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs7.php

Kai Ling's Tree by Joyce Chng — A short vignette of a story, illustrating a piece of life on a Mars being terraformed. It was a nice glimpse into a possible future. Source: https://jolantru.dreamwidth.org/16009.html

Unterminator by Zen Cho — A touching flash piece about a robot sent from the future to avert an apocalypse. (Also, just first thought was that the title referred to the night/day divide kind of terminator, so, um, that was briefly confusing.) Source: http://zencho.org/unterminator/

See DANGEROUS EARTH-POSSIBLES! by Tina Connolly — A short/flash story about travelling to parallel universes where fighting monsters can be more appealing than what’s happening at home. A solid read. Source: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/see-dangerous-earth-possibles/