“The Soundtrack of My Afterlife” by P. A. Cornell – 4.6
Adventitious, February 2026 This quietly moving novelette is narrated by Red, a 1972 Mustang who is, in fact, a reincarnated human soul. Red has no clear memory of his previous…
“Bloom Where You Are Planted” by Melanie Mulrooney – 4.1
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2026 In a speculative society where women grow literal flowers on their bodies — a phenomenon overseen by a bureaucratic “Scent Authority” — social status is…
“The Garden of Living Flowers” by Tunvey Mou – 4.8
Translunar Travelers Lounge, Issue 14, February 2026 Shaili is an apprentice apothecary without green-magic — a rare and shameful lack in a family of celebrated green-mages — working under her…
“Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Café” by Catherine Tavares – 4.0
Translunar Travelers Lounge, Issue 14, February 2026 “Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Café” is a tender and inventive romance about two café owners from parallel dimensions who fall in love…
“Like Thorns on Her Tongue” by R.Z. Held – 4.1
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2026 “Like Thorns on Her Tongue” by R.Z. Held — Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue #450Trist is a blood mage traveling the settlements along the great Mother…
“A Dirge for the Mirrorbirds” by Emily C. Skaftun – 4.0
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2026 The narrator is a Yem — a species unique in the universe for their ability to direct their own reincarnation using meditative tones, returning life…
“The Placemat at Baldy’s Diner” by Michael Libling – 4.2
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 A grief-stricken man named Shore drives aimlessly through New England, barely sleeping, living in his car, haunted by the loss of his daughter and wife.…
“The Ghosts of Goldilocks” by Kevin J. Anderson & Rick Wilber – 4.6
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 Forty years after the damaged generation ship Hind barely managed to land its passengers on the planet Goldilocks, humanity struggles to survive on a world…
“A Fierce Need” by James Van Pelt – 4.7
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 This poignant novelette follows Theo and her best friend Celeste from childhood through young adulthood, united by their fierce dream of reaching space.As ten-year-olds, the…
Crisis Actors by Maddison Stoff and Corey Jae White – 4.4
Strange Horizons, 20 January 2025 In a dystopian near-future America, the Department for a Safe America employs “Watchers” who monitor surveillance feeds across the country, flagging suspicious activity to law…