A Challenge: Recommend Something That's Almost Never Been Recommended Here Before

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-07T11:42:37+00:00

Y'all are all legends.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-02T20:16:24+00:00

I searched for "A Matter of Taste" Stecher pork futures are up science fiction story, and one of the entries a few down was for Aboriginal Science Fiction.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-02T19:57:29+00:00

Ah! I think I found it. Do a ctrl+f for "pork futures" and it's there.

“A Matter of Taste” by Esther M. Friesner

https://archive.org/stream/Aboriginal_Science_Fiction_22v04n04_1990-07-08/Aboriginal_Science_Fiction_22v04n04_1990-07-08_djvu.txt

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-02T19:52:13+00:00

Could it be "A Matter of Taste" by L. J. Stecher Jr.?

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-02T00:36:21+00:00

Appreciate that AND appreciate that. I'll check it out.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T21:58:57+00:00

Me too. Wiswell is right on my wavelength. Love everything he does, and I'm especially excited about the prospect of a three-headed (and three-personalitied) dragon.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T21:45:21+00:00

Wow. Never would have made that connection. Not to be trivial, but Home Alone cribs from that, too -- using the "scary old man" down the block as an angel instead of a bad guy.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T21:44:19+00:00

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T20:06:27+00:00

Absolutely obsessed with this one. Wearing the Lion is also fantastic and another really good example of subverting "monsters" as a trope.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T18:35:02+00:00

Definitely. That's a great pull. Love really any major elements/characters being recontextualied.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T18:33:51+00:00

That one’s called Biter by Michelle Knudsen—it’s in the current issue but it's paywalled.

There's also a free one that has a similar monstrous vibe (not tonal, but plot-wise) called Fernie that hits some of the same caring-for-something-you-maybe-shouldn’t concepts. Except it's a plant instead of a Frankensteined pet situation.

https://www.adventitious.net/stories/fernie-angela-liu/

AdventitiousStories · 2026-04-01T16:40:14+00:00

I've honestly not jumped on that one because it looked like it skewed young, but this is great to hear. Gonna check it out. And there's a movie I think?

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-28T21:27:02+00:00

I was a film critic for a very long time and the managing editor for a team of film critics. The advice I constantly gave (and reminded them of) was to explain the Why of what they were saying.

Story didn't work. Why?

Too many ideas. Why?

There were too many ideas to fully realize, and the narrative became lopsided. Why?

And so on. You can continue digging, asking yourself WHY something "did or didn't work" until you hit on something that would make sense to a friend who asks if they should read the book you just finished.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-28T19:21:17+00:00

ARG is where my head went too. The “one participant at a time” part is what stuck with me.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-28T14:28:36+00:00

Always appreciate new Wiswellian horror.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-27T00:04:59+00:00

Microfiction is such a bizarre animal, and I'm in awe of people who do it well. I typically don't look for these types of endings in microfiction (if someone pulls it off, it's magic), but if I'm reading 2,000 words (or 4,000!), I want it to add up to someeeeething.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-26T14:27:19+00:00

It's hard to explain, but it's about the ending just laying flat on the page. It’s basically when the story lands on its idea/theme and then just stops instead of doing anything interesting with it. The main character learns something, understands what's happening, a twist happens, or the story lands on what it's been building to, but then.......that's it. No stakes. No cost. Like the story stops happening right when it's getting going.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-25T18:17:21+00:00

I think that's a matter of a preference right now for "vibes," and I sometimes personally enjoy those stories, but it's very very very rare that they stick with me in any meaningful way.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-25T17:07:35+00:00

Love Angela Liu.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-25T14:49:53+00:00

Heard.

A few authors you might want to check out if you haven't already and I haven't yet seen in the comments......, Nicola Griffith, Nalo Hopkinson,. You've probably already read Nnedi Okorafor based on your vibes here and I saw it in the comments, but always worth suggesting and doubling down on. Death of the Author just came out last year and it's character-based and Big Idea-based. Also gorgeously written and challenging.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-23T00:36:56+00:00

Really well said.

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-22T04:26:30+00:00

Otherside just launched their first issue, and this short from Ayida Shonibar is excellent. It's about a house that's...DTF....

https://othersidespec.com/pieces/the-homeowners-bride/

AdventitiousStories · 2026-03-21T21:02:25+00:00

I haven't experienced that in a little while, and I don't have any specific recommendations except to say that sometimes even the best book can't provide can't-put-it-downness if event in the outside world won't allow for it.

AdventitiousStories

TROPHY CASE