Bird and Bread by Aparna Kapur – 2.8
Tasavvur, January 2026 “Bird and Bread” is a clever speculative fiction story told through three interconnected narratives that ultimately reveal how the end of the world was prevented by an…
“You Visit a Witch” by Jay Kang Romanus – 3.5
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 In this evocative second-person narrative, you visit a mysterious curiosity shop run by a witch named Sophia and her vampire brother Sage. Initially suspicious of the witch’s…
“Water Softener People” by EC Dorgan – 3.3
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 EC Dorgan’s unsettling short story follows an unnamed narrator who has recently escaped city life to start over in the rural prairie. What begins as a fresh…
“The Savior of the Three Lands” by K.M. Veohongs – 3.3
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 This haunting tale unfolds through the voice of Princess Naree, the third daughter of King Herrik, who addresses her unwilling companion Kawam—a woman stolen from her homeland…
“Take Flight” by Dan Peacock – 3.5
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 An ornithologist receives an urgent call from Pearson, a worker at the Heinlein Space Center, claiming to have spotted a nesting pair of northern pipers—a species believed…
“Rewilding the Many Tethered Winds” by Allison Mulder – 3.8
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 In a dying world where wind-tamers have bottled nearly all the winds and left the seas in doldrums and the land in drought, a young woman who…
“More Than Feathers” by Phoebe Barton – 3.6
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 Iadene, a hero who can magically grow to giant size, defeats a mechanical dragon with her partner Tuaamala, but victory comes at a devastating cost—the dragon kills…
“Magie Vol, Ogies Toe” by C.L. Hellisen – 3.2
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 Two sisters, the narrator and Marieke, are clearing out their recently deceased mother’s cottage when she begins appearing as a restless ghost. The mother, who died painfully…
The Book of Fading Gods by E.M. Linden – 3.8
Diabolical Plots #131B, January 2026 In the After Realm, Aoife works at the Department of Fading Gods, where she and her new intern Cata review tiny, nearly forgotten deities to…
Confessions of the Little Seer by Emily Linstrom – 4.0
Kaleidotrope, January 2026 This haunting narrative follows a fraudulent spiritualist who, after being exposed as a charlatan, finds herself genuinely haunted by the dead she once pretended to contact. The…