We’re doing death, betrayal, and the unexpectedly weird in this short speculative fiction spotlight. I read these ten stories last month and they were so good I had to go back and read them all again.
“Everything in the Garden is Lovely” by Hannah Yang
Every now and again, a short fiction author hits me with an opening line so striking I can’t stop thinking about it. Hannah Yang gave me one of those with “Now that I’ve failed as a woman, my punishment is to become a garden.” Her story is exactly what the sentence describes. A woman fails to meet the rigid, patriarchal rules of her society—in other words, she cannot have children—and is condemned to be turned into a garden. She’ll give life one way or the other. (Apex Magazine, March 2024; issue 143)
“Flight Pattern” by Azure Arther
Gotta say, I had no idea Azure Arther’s story would end the way it did, given that it opens with a guy casually munching on the last dragonfly on earth while hiding out in a bunker with his android wife. Strong Ex Machina vibes with this one, but with a feminist twist that was thoroughly enjoyable. (Uncharted Magazine)
“Lanterns” by Manu Zolezzi
Winnet, a widow in her sixties, is forced to confront a malevolent abuser in this empowering entry. In Winnet’s town, she sits on the council helping to keep order. When the town council vote to let in the Caravan of Light, Winnet isn’t happy about it. The traveling show breaks the borders between the living and the dead and allows spirits to walk the earth for one night. A creative way to explore abuse, trauma, and community support. (IZ Digital)
“Leprechaun Gold Accepted” by Vivian Chou
I loved this little quirky piece. It’s written in the style of a GoFundMe appeal for covering healthcare costs for a fairy attacked by three children, and the comments various donors have left in support. Vivian Chou’s insightful satire pokes at the ways allies often fall into performance territory, either with performative outrage or offering meaningless sympathy. She touches on the way the system oppresses and how when individuals collectivize under resistance, the system finds another way to get at you. (Flashpoint SF, March 8, 2024)
“Let the Star Explode” by Shingai Njeri Kagunda
In a not too distant future, beings in human shape but decidedly “not human” arrive on Earth. They bring with them technology for star jumping, but now only the wealthy can afford to use it frequently. Karu has the chance to star jump, and the things she experiences during her trip change her in ways she has only begun to understand. It should be no surprise that Shingai Njeri Kagunda has written a beautiful, thought-provoking Afrofuturist tale, but if this is your first introduction to her, get ready for a journey as surreal as Karu’s. (Lightspeed, March 2024; issue 166)
“Marshman” by Sara Omer
A cryptozoologist heads out to a strange swamp near a pit on the outskirts of farmland. The pit is a strange place, made stranger by the mysterious creatures lurking around the rim. The cryptozoologist descends into the pit to explore and gets more than they bargained for. Another win for The Dark in creeping me the hell out! A great story full of looming dread. (The Dark, March 2024; issue 106)
“Naglfar” by Elin Olausson
Elin Olausson’s piece feels the way a storm does, one of those rains where you’re cooped up and miserable inside but it’s too dark and cold to go outside. Hella lives alone in her apartment after her daughter abandoned her to travel the world. She took with her a magic coat and all Hella’s hopes and dreams. The title references a ship from Norse mythology that is made of the finger and toenails of the dead, and it gets even more unsettling from there. (Gamut, March 2024; issue 4)
“Saguaro Wedding” by Jordan Kurella
This was the first story I read in the first issue of Small Wonders I’ve ever read and it was just too perfect to pass up. Jordan Kurella’s flash fiction is about the person officiating a wedding between a crow and saguaro cactus. It’s weird, queer, a little bit Western, and a whole lot random in the best way. (Small Wonders, March 2024; issue 9)
“Summitting the Moon” by Pragathi Bala
A moon landing where the moon does the landing? Pragathi Bala puts a spin on the moon landing by pushing its orbit down until it scrapes the surface of the Earth. Ghis longs to “be in space gazing down at the Earth. She imagined her problems shrinking away—her life turned into a blip when compared to the vastness of space beings.” And in a few days, she’ll get her wish, even if her wife is less than enthused. The premise is just so interesting I couldn’t help but dig this piece. (Escape Pod, March 21, 2024; #933)
“The Witch Who Lives Next Door” by Zoe Kaplan
“Father says the Witch who lives next door is frightening, and a little bit beautiful. Mother says the Witch who lives next door is beautiful, and a little bit frightening.” A child lives next door to a witch in a town where witches are both feared and relied on. As the child and the witch grow their friendship into an apprenticeship, the child learns that being feared and needed aren’t necessarily bad things. A charming story about being your true self. (Kaleidotrope, Spring 2024)
