I’m back from Adelaide Writer’s Week (it was brilliant) and it occurred to me that in the rush of flying to Adelaide, eating canapes, meeting famous writers and talking about Daleks, I hadn’t as yet made my February short fiction recommendations.

In February I read from:

  • Interzone – Jan / Feb
  • Fantasy and Science Fiction – Mar / Apr
  • One Hundred Stories
  • Giganotosaurus.com (Jan and Feb)
  • Strange Horizons;
  • Apex Magazine;
  • Lightspeed Magazine; and
  • Clarkesworld

Interzone

Ray Cluley, “Fata Morgana” – It took me a bit of time to warm up to this piece, but in the end the world building and the plight of the main character won me over.

Fantasy and Science Fiction

Michael Blumlein, “Twenty-Two and You.” – Gene Therapy stories have probably been done to death, but this one was thoughtful and sad.

One Hundred Stories (Rob Shearman)

“Madalyn Morgan” begins with the line “Snoopy is dead.”  It’s a wonderful satirical piece that’s respectful to the source material.  I also shed a tear at the end.

Giganotosaurus.com

Ken Liu, “All The Flavors” – Rachel says it best here.  This is a story that shouldn’t work but somehow does.

Strange Horizons

Joy Kennedy-O’Neill, “Aftermath” – Just when you thought there was absolutely nothing new you could so with zombies, this astonishing story comes along.  Just go read it.

Brooke Bolander, “Tornado’s Siren” – I just loved how surreal and lyrical and genuinely original this story was.

Apex Magazine

David J. Schwartz “Bear in Contradicting Landscape” – A piece of meta that nearly collapses on itself toward the end.  But the writing is smart without being smug, so the story just about gets away with it.

So, what did you all think?  Is there anything I’ve missed?

 

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