“Permanent Press” by Sunwoo Jeong – 4.6
Uncanny, March/April 2026 At the heart of the story is a neighborhood laundry-mat run by the stingy Mr. Lee, whose flickering neon sign alternates between two spellings—LA NDRY and L…
“Blade Through the Heart” by Carrie Vaughn – 3.5
Reactor, March 2026 Commander Graff of the TGS Visigoth arrives on a feudal planet mid-war, perched with his two-person crew — the sharp-tongued Xun and the steady Brown — atop…
“Lotus Dew for the Emperor’s Tea” by Vanessa Fogg – 4.4
Lightspeed, March 2026 In a mythic First Age, the First Emperor rules an immortal paradise where no winter falls, orchards bloom endlessly, and death is banished from the court. Each…
“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…
“Hollow in the Hope” by Aimee Ogden – 3.7
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2026 This science-fantasy novelette weaves together two parallel narratives across vastly different eras, united by a single devastating premise: parents who sacrifice their children to appease…
“Of Two Bloods” by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward – 3.8
Reactor, February 2026 Set in late 19th-century Boston, “Of Two Bloods” is a clever homage to Sherlock Holmes told through the lens of two unconventional medical students navigating racial prejudice,…
“Precipice Sun” by Ewen Ma – 3.4
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2026 “Precipice Sun” is an epistolary science-fantasy novelette told entirely through a series of journal entries addressed to an absent, unnamed recipient named Aohane. The narrator…
“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…
“Agency” by George Sandison – 3.2
Reactor, February 2026 Francis is an estate agent in financial freefall, scraping together his salary to service debt while showing rental properties across the United Kingdom. What his colleagues Misha…