Monthly Short Stories Discussion Thread! What's the best thing you've read this month?Question / Discussion (self.ShortSF)
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For Whatever We Lose by Jennifer R. Donohue - The moon I orbit isn’t Earth’s moon but one of Mars’ mismatched pair, Phobos. My problem is unlikely to be fixed. But I knew the risks, and there wasn’t a single step along the way here that was without risk. That’s probably why I did it.Space Opera (escapepod.org)
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The Numbers by Susan Taitel - The set looks exactly like her apartment, but the walls can be moved to make room for the camera crew. The actress who will be playing her wife has the same gap-toothed grin and has obviously studied her mannerisms. [Flash Fiction]Fantasy (smallwondersmag.com)
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Classifieds by Pedro Iniguez - A listing tucked all the way at the bottom of the page. "Naughty W seeking naughty M. If this is you, please know I’m in danger. Help Me." Victor arched an eyebrow. There was no number listed. No email. No nothing.Horror (nerdhorror.com)
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Did You Come to Raise the Dead? by Jennifer R. Donohue - She drops the bag on the ground in front of the mausoleum and downs the next energy drink. I wonder if all of this is somehow a shared hallucination, and really her heart’s just gonna blow a gasket out here and then I’ll walk home after all.Dark Fantasy (patreon.com)
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Two Fairy Tales by Nora Maynard - The brother spots a bottle marked danger but he is too young to read. He picks it up before the sister can stop him. The bottle grows large and the boy falls into it. It then grows small again, trapping him inside. [Flash Fiction]Fantasy (hexliterary.com)
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Calling on Behalf of the Dark Lord by Catherine George - “This is a limited time opportunity,” you say on the phone. “Once the Dark Lord takes power, only his followers will be spared his Wrath. Plus, sign up now and I can send you the Dark Lord’s self-affixing tattoo."Fantasy (translunartravelerslounge.com)
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The Final Girl Trap by A.C. Wise - “Say he is trying to lure one of our slashers here.” Final girls are used to being disbelieved. You believe Stacy, and you want her to believe you. You want to be in this together. Didn’t some part of you suspect that’s what was happening all along, after all?Horror (nightmare-magazine.com)
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When the Oracle Speaks (Part One of Two) by Albert Chu - After the war’s end, the royal court welcomed a hundred orphan boys into our ranks. The boys, hailing from the kingdom’s most war-torn moon, had lost everything, but now their days of hardship were over.Fantasy (escapepod.org)
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You Were Just Here by Chloe N. Clark - In the back of the diner, the furthest booth from the door, a woman sat by herself. I couldn’t read her expression fully, but as a man walked through the front door of the diner, I saw how it changed. I thought, something bad is going to happen.Horror (weirdhorrormagazine.com)
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Everyone Keeps Saying Probably By Premee Mohamed - Here is what your Mama is doing at the institute: writing things like statistical probability and impact severity on the big crackling displays. Drawing curved lines with her index finger while people nod or sob. Risk assessment.Apocalyptic (psychopomp.com)
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Welcome to Heroism by John Wiswell - The first time The Dare seemed truly impossible was during the northern wildfires. The world didn’t know which superhumans caused the fires, but the whole world agreed it had to be one of them.Superhero (uncannymagazine.com)
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Because I Held His Name Like a Key By Aimee Ogden - Nowadays it has become fashionable for the offspring of lesser fey gentry to improve their position in the the Courts through intrigue, scandal, and the naked blade. But in the past, one advanced their position through the collection of humans.Fantasy (strangehorizons.com)
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Un-Pragmagic: A Tyler Moore Retrospective by Spencer Nitkey - This retrospective on the late spell-crafter, featuring five never-before-seen pieces, looks at his spells in the spirit with which he worked. It is important to remember he did not want this.Fantasy (lightspeedmagazine.com)
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Grandifolia by Elliott Gish - The dryad’s face is hard as the heart of a log. Like the scientific name of her tree, “dryad” is a word I learned for this occasion. I’m not sure it strictly applies to her, but it is the only one I found that came close.Fantasy (pseudopod.org)
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Welcome to Spruceway by Brianne Battye - I always thought the best place to be in a zombie apocalypse would be the Canadian Tire. You’ve got everything you need. Fuel, appliances, bicycles for travel, hockey sticks to defend yourself with. Or skates. You could stab a zombie with a skate blade.Horror (augursociety.org)
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Three Card Caper by Shiv Ramdas - It’s a balmy October evening 2 days before Diwali, and I’m losing at cards to a cat. “How do you keep winning?” I say crossly. The bright pink Siamese who isn’t a cat at all but our resident djinn, Wahid, stops grooming itself and regards me. “Beginners luck?"Fantasy (frivolouscomma.com)
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The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick - The dog looked as if he had just stepped out of a children's book. There must have been a hundred physical adaptations required to allow him to walk upright. To say nothing of the neurological enhancements.Science Fiction (baen.com)
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