“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…
“And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must” by Elou Carroll – 2.9
Haven Spec Magazine, January 2026 In this quiet, unsettling piece of speculative fiction, Elou Carroll builds a world where every person is accompanied by a “wickend” — a shadow-self pulled…
“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…
“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 High Shrines” by Stephen Case – 3.3
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 In a future where benevolent AIs once guided humanity to prosperity before mysteriously vanishing, investigator Galédin searches for missing asteroids that might explain their departure.…
“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…
“Satan’s Slave” by R. Garcia y Robertson – 3.2
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 In a future where slavery has returned to the outer solar system, Diana Spartaca is a gladiator fighting to survive in Nova Roma, a colony…
“How Else” by David Ebenbach – 3.6
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 Sharon (Shar) Katz is a chronic second-guesser who always wonders how her life might have turned out differently. When Virtual Alternative Reality (VAR) technology becomes…
“Antarctic Radio” by Gu Shi – 3.1
Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2026 Gu Shi’s “Antarctic Radio” presents a haunting vision of climate catastrophe through the format of a radio broadcast interwoven with a family’s desperate journey at…