Short Stories I Read In October

It’s the twenty-ninth of November. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in October. 

The Locked Coffin: A Judge Dee Mystery by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com; October 25, 2023)

Admittedly, I haven’t kept up with the Judge Dee stories lately. But in October I was in the mood for something with vampires and, as it happens, a new Judge Dee story was released. I enjoyed this latest installment! The dynamic between the judge and Jonathan remains an endless source of entertainment. As for the case, this one had another castle but also a locked-room aspect to the mystery. Or should I say, as the title says, a “locked coffin mystery?” The world of Tidhar’s vampires remains fascinating and totally vicious in a myriad of ways, and there is never a shortage of suspects. That remains true here. And the twists—including the one that ultimately resolved the mystery of The Locked Coffin—usually play into the complicated nature and the interpersonal relationships of the vampires Judge Dee and Jonathan encounter. Overall, if you’ve enjoyed Judge Dee stories in the past, then I recommend this one as well.

What You Are and the Wolf by Jae Steinbacher (Lightspeed Magazine; October 2023; Issue 161)

The second story I checked out in October was Jae Steinbacher’s What You Are and the Wolf, and I liked it. This one is essentially a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf, the red cloak, and visits to the grandmother’s house. That was combined with some social commentary and what was effectively a coming-of-age narrative set within a dark fairy tale.

From around the web…

• How Do You Manage Reading Expectations? [Molly Templeton; Tor.com; October 26, 2023]
• How Becoming the Doctor Made My Heart Bigger on the Inside [Riley Silverman; Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty-Four]
• New Story Out: Six Version Of My Brother Found Under The Bridge [Eugenia Triantafylloy; October 6, 2023]
• Failing the Marshmallow Test: On Not Saving Books for Later [Marissa Lingen; Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty-Four]
• Hitmen and Monster: The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey [Charles Bonkowsky; Tor.com; October 25, 2023]
• The Haunted Hallways of Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson [Vanessa Armstrong; Tor.com; October 26, 2023]

Short Stories I Read In October

 

It’s November twenty-ninth. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in October.

The Three Books and What They Tell by Alexandra Manglis (Lightspeed Magazine; Oct. 2022, Issue 149)

The first story I tackled in October was a piece of flash fiction called The Three Books and What They Tell by Alexandra Manglis. This story was beautiful. And, as its title suggests, it’s about three books. I liked what the author did by adding some fantasy elements into the descriptions about the substance of the books, and who their ideal readers are. All-in-all, this was a great story.

The Skinless Man Counts to Five by Paul Jessup (Apex Magazine; September 27, 2022)

The second story I read is called The Skinless Man Counts to Five by Paul Jessup. This was the perfect kind of read for October, because there was something so eerie and horrifying about the events as they unfolded. The first death was a warning. And from there the story spiraled into an apocalyptic nightmare set in space and aboard a generation ship that may or may not be about to fail. The isolation of the setting provided the perfect backdrop, and the lightning quick way the story was told kept me on the edge of my seat. It would be a page-turner, if there were pages to turn.

The First Morning In May by Rebecca Buchanan (Strange Horizons; Issue: 3, October 2022)

The third piece I read in October was some poetry from Strange Horizons. I am a sucker for almost anything that reads like a fairy tale, and The First Morning in May by Rebecca Buchanan fit the bill perfectly. It involved an elf and seven brides, and with the way it played out, I was reminded of certain aspects of the folktale Bluebeard. The writing was lyrical, and it accurately conveyed the inherent darkness within the framework of the poem.

The Portal Keeper by Lavie Tidhar (Uncanny Magazine; Issue Forty-Eight)

The next and last story I read was The Portal Keeper by Lavie Tidhar. I was interested in this one, because it seemed totally different from the Judge Dee stories. I loved it. The story was written like a daily log from October 1st to the 31st, and each entry showed a scene that was like an overview of the keeper’s day. So the title tells you what it’s about. But I also liked the exploration of the role of “portal keeper”—the loneliness of the job, the routine, but also the need for connection in a situation where encountering the fantastical (and sometimes dangerous) is the norm. There are a few recognizable references here, particularly for stories like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as well as Peter Pan.

From around the web…

• Come On, Younglings, We’re Not Totally Screwed [Brandon Crilly; Apex Magazine, September 8, 2022]
• A Reflection on Consistency [Essay by Ashia Monet; October 7, 2022]
• Print Run Podcast Episode 154: Object Lessons
• Words for Thoughts: October 2022 [A.C. Wise; Apex Magazine, September 29, 2022]
• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode 116: Water Disasters
• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode 117: What Makes a Story Feel "Fast" or "Slow"?

Short Stories I Read in September-October

It’s November 29th. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in September and October.

Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com; September 15, 2021)

I did not get to the latest Judge Dee story in time for Halloween. However, I was more than excited to finally get to it in October. As always, the vampire elements were done very well. This time, the story takes Judge Dee and Jonathan to Paris for their latest case. It was a slight shift in tone, since there were brief indulgences in plays and other parts of night life—which sometimes involved other vampire characters. The setting was also far less remote than some of the other locations in the previous two stories, and I enjoyed all the descriptions of the city. I was thoroughly engaged in the mystery. It was kind of chaotic, but it had a satisfying resolution.

Thread Count by Cynthia Gómez (Strange Horizons; Issue: Fund Drive 2021)

The second short story I read in October was Thread Count by Cynthia Gómez. I like this one a whole lot. It was a mystery with circumstances that leaned toward the possibility of something speculative (fantastical) in nature. At its core though was a timely topic. It was also well-written, and I liked the way the author approached the story. I will definitely keep an eye out for future work by Cynthia Gómez.

Bespoke Nightmares by Carolina Valentine (Strange Horizons; Issue: 18 October 2021)

Some of my favorite types of stories are ones that involve dreams or nightmares in some capacity. Carolina Valentine’s Bespoke Nightmares fit that bill perfectly with a shop that literally makes and sells nightmares. And rarely ever does its keeper make dreams. That wasn’t without reason or consequences, with dreams being difficult to make. The line—be careful what you wish for—duly applies here. All-in-all, Bespoke Nightmares was a great story.

From around the web…

• Our Opinions Are Correct episode #91: Three Simple Tests That Reveal A.I. Consciousness
• Understanding Horses: Getting to Know You (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, September 20, 2021)
• I Write Fantasy Because of Patricia McKillip’s The Riddlemaster of Hed (Julie E. Czerneda; Tor.com, September 24, 2021)

Short Stories I Read In February

It’s the 29th of March already. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in February. 

Judge Dee and The Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, February 10, 2021)

I said before that I would read another story about Judge Dee. Well, there’s another one, so here I am. Judge Dee and The Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels moved incredibly fast. The story bounced from one event to the next, with little room for anything else. It wasn’t until the case of Count Werdenfels fell into Judge Dee’s hands that the story slowed down a little, and a bit of a mystery began to unfold. This story was a sequel to Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law with familiar characters as well as some new ones. Count Werdenfels’s death was quite a mystery, since so many people claimed to have a part in it. This was simply good story, and the twist toward the end made for a satisfying conclusion.

A Serpent For Each Year by Tamara Jeree (Strange Horizons, Issue 1 February 2021)

A Serpent For Each Year is as its title suggests in a very literal way—a woman received a snake for each year from her mother—yet it packs into its short length some commentary on grief and mourning with a speculative edge. This was a good one.

From around the web…

• Of Grandmothers and Wolves: Rose Szabo’s What Big Teeth (Molly Templeton; Tor.com, February 2, 2021)
• When Genres Clash: Andre Norton’s Here Abide Monsters (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, February 1, 2021)
• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode #76: The Truth About Lost Cities
• An Epic Life Untold: The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (Molly Templeton; Tor.com, February 10, 2021)
• The Waters of This Place: Aotearoa New Zealand Speculative Fiction (AJ Fitzwater; Strange Horizons, Issue: 25 January 2021)
• Understanding and Writing Horses: Interspecies Communication (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, February 8, 2021)
• Print Run episode #137 
• Understanding and Writing Horses: Paying Attention (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, February 22, 2021)
• Songs from The Deep (Book Haven)

Short Stories I Read In November

Today, I’m here to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in November. This post is appearing earlier this month, since I will mostly be away from the blog toward the latter half of December.

An Egg Before It Is Broken by Miyuki Jane Pinckard (Strange Horizons; November 9, 2020)

An Egg Before It Is Broken was the first story I read in November, and it was a nice bit of light reading. Recently, I’ve enjoyed stories where a character reminisces about some event in the past, and that’s essentially what this story was about. It was a scene, a moment in time, and it was written excellently. Also there were soft-boiled eggs.

Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, November 11, 2020)

In October, I read a story by Lavie Tidhar called Juvenilia. In searching for more work by this author last month, I came across Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law. Recently, there have been a slew of vampire novels, and I’m not mad at the trend—especially if it keeps giving gems like Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law. This was such a fantastic vampire story. I loved the characters, and at times the story had a mystery novel feel to it along the same lines of Sherlock Holms—while part of it also felt like an origin story as well. The two characters, Judge Dee and Jonathan, kind of gave off a feel that reminded me of the dynamic between Holms and Watson. I gotta be honest, it was great. Besides the characters, the story was easy enough to get into, and the case Judge Dee and Jonathan took on kept me reading till the end. As the synopsis says “No vampire is ever innocent.” The limits of the laws vampires had to abide by were pretty clear, and it was interesting to see how Judge Dee applied them while making his verdicts. All-in-all, this was an enjoyable story to read.

From Around The Web…

• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode #70
• Writing Horses: Setting the Magic (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, November 16, 2020)
• Evoking The Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built (Meghan Ball; Uncanny; Issue Thirty-Seven, November/December 2020)
• Gingerbread Bricks, Cherry-Stealing Cats, and Other Culinary Disasters (Patricia A McKillip; Tor.com, November 25, 2020)

Short Stories I Read In October...

It’s the twenty-ninth of November, so it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in October.

Juvenilia by Lavie Tidhar (Uncanny; Issue Thirty-Six, September/October 2020)

The first story I read in October was Juvenilia by Lavie Tidhar. I really enjoyed this story. Coming on the heels of reading Mexican Gothic, many aspects of Juvenilia reminded me of that story. There was a little mystery as well as some genuinely creepy moments—and the atmosphere and way the story went reminded me of that achieved by Mexican Gothic—even though it wasn’t inherently a horror story. It was kind of a house story too, given that the setting primarily took place at a single property—Wildfell Hall—which was an integral part of the plot. It was well-developed with an eerie atmosphere and an equally odd set of rules the character was asked to follow. Overall, Juvenilia was a fantastic story. 

Hearts in the Hard Ground by G.V. Anderson (Tor.com; September 9, 2020)

Feeling in the mood for another house/ghost story, I decided to check out something that had been on my radar since September. Hearts in the Hard Ground is an incredibly somber tale of a haunted house and the woman who moved-in. There were themes of loss and grief, and it was in the form of the character’s mother having suffered from an illness before passing away. Fiona’s story was an excellent read. Her journey was one filled with memoires and ghosts, as she tried to make a home of the house she’d moved in to. In a lot of ways, this was a story about navigating grief and about places being haunted as well as people being haunted by their memories: of what’s happened and the choices they did or didn’t make. It was about coming to terms with and accepting the “would have” and the “could have,” and the secrets and fears. And while some of the ghosts were charming, the house, for the most part, was suitably frightening with spirits that refused to—or simply couldn’t—rest. 

From around the web…

• A Children’s Tale for All Ages: Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker (Alex Brown; Tor.com, October 6, 2020)
• A Question of Horror: Stephen Graham Jones’ Night of the Mannequins (Tobias Carroll; Tor.com, October 8, 2020)
• Our Opinions Are Correct episode #68
• Fangirl Happy Hour episode #131