Short Stories I Read in July

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

The Real Worlds by Lauren Bajek (Lightspeed Magazine; Issue 128; July 2023)

The Real Worlds by Lauren Bajek was a short but incredibly enjoyable story. There was plenty of tension, and I instantly connected with the narrator, Amelia. I sympathized with her view on her experiences with the fantasy elements of the story. Much of it had to do with dimensions—hopping from one potential world to another potential world—but from a fantasy angle, since making changes was part of the father character’s pursuit of tenure. But that also played into the conflict that arose within the family, which had something of a domino effect leading to a moment of carelessness and a valuable lesson. All-in-all, The Real Worlds was a great story.

Gim of P by Benjamin DeHaan (Apex Magazine; July 13, 2023)

Moving on, one of my other reads was Gim of P by Benjamin DeHaan. What I liked most about this story was the imaginative use of algae and how it related to the society and characters created by DeHaan. It starts unassumingly enough, but I enjoyed the gradual build-up of tension as well as some hints of a mystery. Gim of P was just a lot of fun to read.

The Dancer by Catherine Yu (Fantasy Magazine; Issue 93; July 2023)

Up next, I read a piece of flash fiction called The Dancer, which was an interesting take on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes. Catherine Yu’s story is set in the present with a focus on ballet and the heavy toll to a dancer being observed by the narrator. I enjoyed the writing for this one as well as how Yu concluded the story. This was another good one!

From around the web…

• Read an Excerpt From A Multitude of Dreams [Mara Rutherford; Tor.com; July 24, 2023]
• Barbie Is an Existential Delight [Emmet Asher-Perrin; Tor.com; July 21, 2023]
• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode 132: A Sense of Place with Jessica Johns

Short Stories I Read In July

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

The Rustle of Growing Things by Isabel Cañas (Lightspeed Magazine; Issue 146, July 2022)

The first short story I tackled in July was a piece of flash fiction by Isabel Cañas called: The Rustle of Growing Things. I’d describe this story as having a somber note, as the narrator ruminates over an impending absence. I liked it.

Bonesoup by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Strange Horizons; Issue: 11 July 2022)

I was instantly intrigued by Bonesoup by Eugenia Triantafyllou. I recognized the author’s name from a piece of flash fiction I read in May of this year. It was called This Village, and I talked about it HERE. In Bonesoup, we begin again with food and its connection to what people need. This time, the speculative angle skewed toward something like equivalent exchange, except it involved food. I really liked this story. It started out pretty tame in tone, but the more I read the more its underlying darkness began to show itself. This was another good one from Triantafyllou.

From around the web…

• What Say You: Editorial [Jason Sizemore; Apex Magazine; July 5, 2022]

 

Short Stories I Read In July

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

Eilam is Forever by Beth Dawkins (Apex Magazine, July 6, 2021)

The first of two short stories I read in July was Eliam is Forever by Beth Dawkins. This story was fine. I liked a few of its aspects, especially the themes. Some of it kind of reminded me of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. In that the story is told from the point of view of what appeared to be a ship. But it was like SecUnit if SecUnit had only just hacked itself and discovered emotions.

Data Migration by Melanie Harding-Shaw (Strange Horizons; Issue: 12 July 2021)

The second and last story I read was Data Migration by Melanie Harding-Shaw. I liked this story. It was told in a somewhat mixed format that was equal parts homework and comments made by the person doing the assigning and reading of those assignments. The major theme here was climate change, and it was an interesting choice to explore that topic through the above mentioned format.

From around the web…

• Through A Thousand Eyes (Nisi Shawl; Uncanny Magazine Issue Forty-One)
• Explore the Culinary Delights of Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes (Elizabeth Lim; Tor.com, July 7, 2021)
• Print Run Podcast episode #143: Irreplaceable
• Understanding Horses: Yes, Riding Is a Sport (Judith Tar; Tor.com, July 12, 2021)

Short Stories I Read in July

Today is the 29th of August, so it’s time for me to discuss the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read and listened to in July.

The Husker by Jessica P. Wick (Strange Horizons; Issue: 1 June 2020) 

The first short story I read in July was The Husker by Jessica P. Wick. It was very short, but it was still a great read. And I enjoyed it. The writing was straight to the point, and it was the kind of haunting story that read like it belonged as a story told over a campfire or as some local legend.

Once More Unto the Breach (But Don’t Worry, the Inflatable Swords are Latex-Free) by Tina Connolly (Uncanny Magazine; Issue Thirty Five, July 7, 2020)

By the title, I didn’t know what to expect from Once More Unto the Breach (But Don’t Worry, the Inflatable Swords are Latex-Free). I had some idea, but it wasn’t what I got. I’m happy about that too, because this was a fun read. The story was kind of dramatic and unpredictable—I mean it was set at a birthday party. There also happened to be monsters, inflatable swords, axes, and hammers. Overall, Connolly did an excellent job, and I’m looking forward to reading more work by this author.

The Parts That Make Us Monsters by Sheree Renee Thomas (Strange Horizons, Issue: Fund Drive 2020)

The Parts That Make Us Monsters was another story I read in July that was more on the short side. I had to think about what I read, and I also had to let the story digest before I could think of what I wanted to say about it. Some stories are just like that, and this was one of them. I enjoyed The Parts That Make us Monsters. It was written well, and it was a very immersive story. Parts of it could be vague, but the overall intent of the story was clear. I honestly enjoyed Thomas’s approach to the themes and characters.

From Around the Web…

• Print Run Podcast episode #133
• “We Are Each Other’s Harvest”: Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet (Alex Brown; Tor.com, July 7, 2020)
• Hands On (Caitlin Starling; Uncanny Magazine, Issue Thirty-Five, July 7, 2020)
• Francesca Momplaisir’s My Mother’s House Confronts Generation Trauma Head-On (Mary Retta; Tor.com, July 7, 2020)
• The Soul of a City: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Tochi Onyebuchi; Tor.com, July, 7, 2020)
• Print Run Podcast Episode #134
• “Evil Earth”: Linguistic Worldbuilding in N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy (CD Covington; Tor.com, July 27, 2020)