Short Stories I Read In August

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

Something Small Enough to Ask For by Anamaria Curtis (Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifty-Nine)

I read Anamaria Curtis’s Something Small Enough to Ask For. This was a great story, which starts fairly simple—Lucy and her grandmother working on a sewing project—before it takes a speculative twist, as a thoughtful gift has unforeseen consequences. The story basically asks: If you could relive fond memories (good times in the past) would you? For the protagonist, Lucy, that question becomes pertinent, and the majority of story explores the scenario as much as it does its main character. Even though Something Small Enough to Ask For was the only short story I read last month, it was bittersweet but ultimately hopeful, and it’s one of my favorite works of short fiction this year so far.

From around the web…

• The Road Goes Ever On: When Fantasy Sends You on Your Own Journeys [Molly Templeton; Reactor Magazine; August 15, 2024]
• Scalzi on Film: Hollywood Totally Lied to Us About AI: Why Cinemaic Cyborgs Are So Much Smarter Than What We Have in the Real World [John Scalzi; Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifty-Nine]
• Summertime Spookiness: On the True Meaning of Summerween [Lorna Wallace; Reactor Magazine; August 19, 2024]

Short Stories I Read In August

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

The Magazine of Horror by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki [Apex Magazine; August 15, 2023]

The Magazine of Horror is an unusual little story, but it’s one of the best that I read in August. A series of correspondences—structured as emails—revealed the interaction between editors of a magazine and a writer submitting a story (who also shared a name with Ekpeki). But there were some unusual terms revealed about the way the magazine operated, which culminated in some creative speculative aspects. All-in-all, I liked this one.

The Discarded Ones by Linda Niehoff (Apex Magazine; August 8, 2023)

The Discarded Ones is a ghost story to put on your October reading list. It’s not a scary one, but was instead thoughtful and thought-provoking. There was a well-meaning and lonely narrator who believed the rosy-hued account sold by a commercial. And there were ghosts that couldn’t move on, in a situation that read like a pet adoption from a local shelter. It was an interesting idea and a little eerie, but it was also the kind of story that was very melancholic but ended on a more hopeful note. Overall, The Discarded Ones was very good.

**Starting this month, I’m including stories I’ve read from an anthology called The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan. I’m reading the book in no particular order. And for context and as a disclaimer: I won a hardcover copy from Harper Voyager; thank you!**

What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata by P. Djèlí Clark (The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by Alyssa Winans)

Clark is an author who is familiar to me, since I read and loved The Haunting of Tram Car 015. So, when I saw What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata, it was one of the first stories in The Book of Witches that I wanted to read. I enjoyed this story so much! Set in Mara’s Bay, the coastal town receives a victor who offers a cryptic warning and a solution, for a price. The rest of it unfolds from there, following a trajectory toward broken promises and near tragedy. And, in a way, it can feel very familiar. That’s especially the case when it comes to fiction stories about witches: how determination and welcome, turns to doubts and rumors, and that inevitably is a pot waiting to boil over into violence. What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata is another good story by P. Djèlí Clark.

From around the web…

• Monarchy, Power, and the Stories We Tell [Nghi Vo; Tor.com; August 16, 2023]
• The Matter of King Arthur on the Screen [Natania Barron; Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty-Three]
• Print Run Podcast Episode 164: Level Drain
• The Last Voyage of the Demeter Tackles the Deeper Themes of Stoker’s Dracula [Tyler Dean; Tor.com; August 23, 2023]
• Walking, Reading, and the Rhythms of the Mind [Molly Templeton; Tor.com; August 24, 2023]

Short Stories I Read In August

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

Questions For The Fallen by Omodero David Oghenekaro (Strange Horizons; Issue: 1 August 2022)

The only piece I got to in the month of August was a poem called Questions For The Fallen by Omodero David Oghenekaro. The title gives a good idea of what it’s about. I loved this poem so much. It was short, metaphorical, and beautifully written.

From around the web…

• The Joy of Painting Middle-earth With Ted Nasmith [Jess LaSala; Tor.com; August 5, 2022]
• Print Run Podcast Episode #152: Show Trial
• The Power of a Myth Retold: Hadestown Make a Melodic Case For Reviving and Reimaging Stories [Cole Rush; Tor.com; August 4, 2022]
• Print Run Podcast Episode #152: A New Achilles Heel

Short Stories I Read In August...

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

Survival, After by Nicole J. LeBoeuf (Apex Magazine, August 3, 2021)

Survival, After was an apocalyptic and surreal narrative about a person trying to survive a strange and limited but seemingly world-ending event. This is a fantasy story, so the speculative elements are strong with this one. It was written in second person, and I liked it; although, I recommend checking out the content warnings before giving this one a read.

What Cacti Read by Mary Soon Lee (Strange Horizons; Issue; 26 July 2021)

I rarely read poetry, but the title of Mary Soon Lee’s poem, What Cacti Read, got my attention. It was short, but I really loved this one. It reminded me of the style of poetry from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (think Homework Machine). 

Cocoon by H. Pueyo (Strange Horizons; Issue: 2 August 2021)

Everything I read over on Strange Horizon’s in August has been really good. From Mary Soon Lee’s What Cacti Read, and now to H. Pueyo’s Cocoon, it’s all been great. I liked this story a lot. It was about eventual loss while also exploring the associated guilt of the “what ifs,” which couldn’t be changed. It was a really lovely read that had a tone of sadness and trepidation.

From around the web…

• When the Dancing Horses Go Viral (Judith Tarr; Tor.com; August 9, 2021)
• Decadent Magic and Dangerous Secrets: Revealing Hotel Magnifique (Tor.com, August 4, 2021)
• Even and Odd: Fun and Thought Provoking (Jana Nyman; Fantasy Literature, August 9, 2021)
• Memory and Politics: The Justice in Revenge by Ryan Van Loan (Paul Weimer; Tor.com, August 12, 2021)
• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode 90: How To Use Research To Make Your Fiction Even More Irresistible
• Comfort Me With Sadness: Grief, Hope, and a Different Kind of Comfort Read (Molly Templeton; Tor.com, August 19, 2021)
• Print Run Podcast Episode #145
• Becoming the Thing That Haunts the House: Gothic Fiction and the Fear of Change (Holly Kybett Smith; Tor.com, August 25, 2021)

Short Stories I Read in August...

Today is the 29th of September, so it’s time to talk about the short stories, podcast episodes, and other miscellaneous posts I read or listened to in August.

Last Orders In The Green Lane by Stephen O’Donnell (Strange Horizons; Issue: 6, July 2020)

The first short story I tackled in August was Last Orders In The Green Lane. From the first line to the last, I was drawn into the story. It was short and straight to the point. I would say that it was a little melancholic, with a note of reminiscing and hopeful determination at some points. It was a little like starting a story in the middle of the climatic point of the plot. It was the calm before the storm, the preparation before the battle, and that’s where it ended. Still, I liked this one.

The Ruby Of The Summer King by Mari Ness (Uncanny Magazine; Issue Thirty-Five, July/August 2020)

The second short story I read was The Ruby of the Summer King. I loved this story. It reminded me of a lot of the fairy/fey lore heavy books I’ve read in the past, particularly Holly Black’s work. Though it was never explicitly stated that the characters were any kind of fey, the tone and elements in the story had a strong resemblance to it. Mari Ness’s writing was absolutely lovely, and I enjoyed how the story used the seasons and months as characters in their own right. I also enjoyed how the themes as well as a love story—that was unfortunately doomed—was explored.

The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine; Issue Thirty-Five, July/August)

You can’t go wrong with an Aliette de Bodard story, and The Inaccessibility of Heaven was fantastic. It was a hardboiled detective noir story, set in a world with witches and fallen angels. It reminded me of The House of Shattered Wings, which is still one of my favorite stories by this author. Bodard’s take on fallen angels has always been one of my favorites, so I enjoyed finding many similarities to that series in this story. The Inaccessibility of Heaven was full of surprising twists, and it was made even better by the complicated relationships and history between the characters. The “Fallen” were quite complex as characters, and there was a question of holding one’s self accountable for past actions (it was a theme that came up throughout in much of the story). It was, however, kind of dark, but with the type of story it was—murder mystery—that’s to be expected. So if you’ve enjoyed any of Aliette de Bodard’s work in the past, then this is a story that should be on your radar.

From Around The Web…

• Read an Excerpt From Wayward Witch, Conclusion to the Brooklyn Brujas Trilogy (Zorida Cordova; Tor.com, August 10, 2020)
• Shinning Bright: Cosmology and History in Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (Gabriella Tutino; Tor.com, August 17, 2020)
• The Wild Magic of Emily Tesh’s Drowned Country (Alex Brown; Tor.com, August 18, 2020)
• Sleeps With Monsters: Into the Woods With Emily Tesh and Carrie Vaughn (Liz Bourke; Tor.com, August 25, 2020)