Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Our weekly exploration of free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about, including some nominees for the 2016 Nebula award.
“A Militant Peace” by Tobias Buckell (2014, $2.62 at Audible)
“No nation has ever seen an invasion force like this.”Tobias Buckell’s short story “A Militant Peace” was published in Mitigated Futures, a collection of tales dealing with “the future of war,
May 22nd, 2017. Kat Hooper, Tadiana Jones and Katie Burton | Frank Herbert, Sam J. Miller, Tobias Buckell | Audio, Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
River of Teeth (2017) is Sarah Gailey’s first novella-length work, and if the idea of a gonzo queer alt-history hippo extravaganza doesn’t immediately set your imagination aflame, then perhaps rich character work and a thoroughly convincing atmosphere will do the trick. Beyond that, there’s a caper (which Mr. Winslow Remington Houndstooth would like everyone to know is an operation) and a whole lot of revenge to be had.
Let’s travel back in time,
May 19th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Sarah Gailey | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein
Children of the New World (2016) by Alexander Weinstein was a bit of a mixed bag as a story collection, with a few excellent ones, several decent ones, and several that fell flat. At his best, Weinstein offers up moving examinations of the impending impact of near-future technology, even if many of the ideas will seem familiar.
Example number one is the first story, “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” as Weinstein starts off with the best of the bunch (a choice that has its advantages and disadvantages).
May 17th, 2017. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Alexander Weinstein | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Perseids and Other Stories by Robert Charles Wilson
I’m mostly a sceptic of both short stories and short story collections. When reading short science fiction, I can’t help thinking that if the premise were truly worthwhile, the author would have developed it into a novel — or at least a novella. I’m perhaps revealing my own limitations rather than my preferences. Still, I’ve found that the most common descriptions of short story collections are “mixed bag” or “some are duds.” And because every word counts so much more in shorts,
May 12th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Robert Charles Wilson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Our weekly exploration of free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. Here are a few stories that caught our eyes this week.
“The Secret” by Mark Lawrence (2015, $1.95 at Audible)
I haven’t read Mark Lawrence’s BROKEN EMPIRE series yet, but after reading “The Secret,” I definitely want to. This story gives some background into Brother Sim, an assassin who is part of Jorg Ancrath’s brotherhood. Brother Sim has snuck into a princess’s bedroom (invited) and is telling her the story of an assassin.
May 8th, 2017. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones | Arthur C. Clarke, Carrie Vaughn, Jason Mott, Mark Lawrence | Audio, Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stories about people trapped in virtual reality have been thoroughly done, and the trope of the horror-story “final girl,” the lone survivor or almost-survivor who makes it to the end of the movie, at least, is pretty familiar too. In Mira Grant’s latest story, the novella Final Girls (2017), she mixes both of these with a dash of science fiction for an interesting tale that didn’t completely work for me.
Dr. Jennifer Webb is a visionary who has created proprietary VR technology designed to help people address and ultimately heal old traumas.
May 4th, 2017. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Mira Grant | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
“In the Shade of the Pixie Tree” by Rodello Santos (March 2017, free at Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 99c Kindle magazine issue)
On a sunny springtime day, 14 year old Bekka, the apprentice of a wicker witch, has been sent to the pixie-orchard to pick some new pixies for the witch (the “unripe ones still on the trees,
May 1st, 2017. Tadiana Jones, Katie Burton and Marion Deeds | Amal El-Mohtar | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
“From the Editorial Page of the Falchester Weekly Review” by Marie Brennan (2016, free at Tor.com, 99c Kindle version)
Have a little pity for the editors of the Falchester Weekly Review — when they published Mr. Benjamin Talbot’s news that he had recently come into possession of a cockatrice, they can’t have known it would result in a flurry of correspondence between Talbot and one Mrs.
April 24th, 2017. Jana Nyman, Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper | Bruce Sterling, Marie Brennan, Mira Grant, Nancy Kress | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus edited by Brian W. Aldiss
The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus (1973) is a compilation of three short story anthologies: Penguin Science Fiction (1961), More Penguin Science Fiction (1963), and Yet More Penguin Science Fiction (1964), all edited by Brian Aldiss. Presenting an all-star lineup of established Silver Age and burgeoning New Age writers, most all are well known names in the field, including Isaac Asimov,
April 19th, 2017. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 3.5 | A.E. Van_Vogt, Arthur C. Clarke, Brian W. Aldiss, Clifford D. Simak, Damon Knight, Eric Frank Russell, Frederik Pohl, Gordon R. Dickson, Harry Harrison, Isaac Asimov, J.G. Ballard, James Blish, James H. Schmitz, John Brunner, Robert Sheckley, Walter M. Miller, Ward Moore | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
There is so much free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet these days. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about.
“Willing” by Premee Mohamed (2017, anthologized in Principia Ponderosa, $3.99 Kindle ebook)
“Willing” is set in a world that has pickup trucks, spaghetti and meatballs, ceramic heaters and gods that walk the earth. Gods demand sacrifices. When the gods help cattle rancher Arnold during a difficult calving season, they soon visit with an “invitation” to Arnold’s youngest child … and everyone knows what that means.
April 10th, 2017. Marion Deeds, Tadiana Jones and Bill Capossere | Theodora Goss | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.