“Human Studies 401” by Abby Nicole Yee – 3.0
Clarkesworld, April 2026 Narrated entirely in the clipped, clinical voice of an alien researcher named Hecrimona, “Human Studies 401” unfolds as a set of research notes documenting one of the…
“An Encounter at the Dawn of the Time War” by JT Petty – 3.6
Lightspeed, March 2026 The story is narrated by an unnamed woman living in a homeless encampment beneath an overpass in August 2019 — a university-educated immigrant sharing a row of…
“Warren’s Tentacle” by Susan Palwick – 3.3
Lightspeed, February 2026 Warren wakes from surgery after an accident to find that AI surgical bots have drastically altered his body. Rather than simply repairing his injuries, the bots have…
“Six Sides of a Fairy Tale” by Audrey Zhou – 3.5
Lightspeed, February 2026 “Six Sides of a Fairy Tale” is a second-person fantasy story told from six distinct perspectives, each labeled like the facets of a geometric shape. The central…
Conversations with You by Teresa Milbrodt – 2.6
Baffling Magazine, Issue 5 April 2025 This poignant short story explores grief, memory, and the different ways people preserve connections to those they’ve lost. The narrator prepares eggplant parmesan using…
Anything Not Impossible by Jayde Holmes – 3.8
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 This philosophical science fiction story explores the nature of probability and inevitability in an infinite universe through the improbable journey of a single bullet. The narrative begins…
Who Can Hold a Princess by Vivian M. Liu – 3.2
Diabolical Plots #131A, January 2026 This poignant fantasy story explores themes of duty, unrequited love, and gender expectations through the relationship between a royal guard and the princess she protects.…
And We Shall Find Rest – 3.5
Summary of And We Shall Find Rest by James Sallis Summary of And We Shall Find Rest by James Sallis Asimov's Science Fiction, January/February 2026 A quiet apocalypse told through…
Words That Wither, Words That Bloom – 3.7
Summary of Words That Wither, Words That Bloom by Jules Arbeaux Summary of Words That Wither, Words That Bloom by Jules Arbeaux Uncanny #68, January/February 2026 by Jules Arbeaux Vanis…
I Met You on the Train – 3.3
Summary of The Millay Illusion by Sarah Pinsker I Met You on the Train by J. R. Dawson Uncanny #68, January/February 2026 This is a deeply unsettling story about obsession,…