Fire and Falling, by Andrew Dykstal

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Plenty of Excitement in an Interesting Setting

(Steampunk Thriller) Mir’s mission to deliver codebooks gets complicated when she realizes she’s being followed—and followed by more than one person at that. (15,229 words; Time: 50m)

The Inaccessibility of Heaven, by Aliette de Bodard

[Uncanny]

★★★★☆ Recommended

(Fantasy Horror) Samantha searches Paris to try to find what’s killing fallen angels. (16,638 words; Time: 55m)

This is set in an alternate version of the world in her Dominion of the Fallen series. Those stories are also set in an alternate Paris with fallen angels, but in this world, there has been no destructive war; this city functions normally, with things like working taxis and cell phones. There’s no need to read those stories to read this one, and this one won’t spoil the series either.

The Monsters of Olympus Mons, by Brian Trent

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Plenty of Twists and Excitement

(SF Thriller) In the midst of a Martian Civil war, a wounded old man finds three monsters playing cards outside the abandoned Museum of Colonization, and he asks for their help. (8,370 words; Time: 27m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+2 (Q&A)

All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal, by David Erik Nelson

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ Some Laughs and Excitement, Topped with a Little Horror

(Horror) Melissa isn’t happy about her daft sister-in-law buying a derelict restaurant where the last owner killed and cooked his wife 20 years ago, but it’s worse than she thinks. (12,264 words; Time: 40m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Burn or The Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super, by A.T. Greenblatt

[Uncanny]

★★★★☆ A fun little story with a very nice protagonist.

(Superhero) Sam’s ability is modest, but he’s still excited to be accepted into the Super Team. Now he just has to figure out how he can make the biggest difference—assuming he can do more good than harm. (9,691 words; Time: 32m)

Stepsister, by Leah Cypess

[F&SF]

★★★★☆ A protagonist you'll love to cheer for.

(Cinderella Pastiche) Young Garrin, bastard brother to King Ciar, is sent to find Queen Ella’s stepsister and bring her to the castle. Not everyone lives happily ever after. (13,997 words; Time: 46m)

Recommended By: 👍RHorton.r+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Ronni and Rod, by David Gerrold and Ctein

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Good, old-fashioned thrills, chills, and excitement

(Hard SF Disaster; Ripple Effect) A young San Diego couple face a megatsunami. (10,660 words; Time: 35m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Although this is a part of a novel-length work, it stands alone very well.

Tunnels, by Eleanor Arnason

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ A great adventure in the dark.

(Space Opera Thriller; Lydia Duluth) Lydia’s visit to Innovation City on planet Grit is interrupted by an engineered virus that compels her to hide in the tunnels under the city. (17,343 words; Time: 57m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

This story is part of her Lydia Duluth series, but I had no trouble enjoying it without having read any of the other stories.

A Breath of Air, by Tom Jolly

[Analog]

★★★★☆ A great hard-SF thriller!

(Mars Colony Thriller) A series of “accidents” on their Martian homestead make Banner Goodman and his teenage son think someone wants to take their land—even if it kills them. (12,377 words; Time: 41m)

The Hummingbird Temple, by C.C. Finlay

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Fun Characters, Clean Plot, Plenty of Action and Tension

(Silkpunk) When the Dynast dies, his daughter Lin flees before her older siblings can kill her. She has a place of safety in mind, but she’s never been there herself and needs help to get in. (14,968 words; Time: 49m)

The Visitor: Kill or Cure, by Mark Lawrence

[Single]

★★★★☆ A Stirring Fight Between Good and Evil

(Superhero Thriller; Wild Cards) Ruby is a powerful “Ace” who cynically does dirty jobs for bad people who help her keep her pain under control. Her world changes when a job puts her in contact with an elusive, childish, but very powerful Ace who won’t give in. (10,283 words; Time: 34m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

This is set in the Wild Cards universe, which diverged from ours in 1946, but to appreciate this story you really only need to be familiar with the premise (i.e. you need to know what “Jokers,” “Aces,” and “Nats” are).

Only the Messenger, by Emily C. Skaftun

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Engaging Characters in a Moving Story

(Space Opera) When Astrill finds a cat-like alien attached to the outside of their spaceship, things get complicated for him and the other smugglers, and the more they learn about their visitor, the worse it gets. (10,142 words; Time: 33m)

The Amusement Dark, by Mike Buckley

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ A provocative tale that’s a little sad and a little horrifying.

(Post-AI-Apocalypse) After the AIs won the war, they still found ways to keep humans busy, and Cal’s starship is responsible for finding and evaluating human colonies that were lost during the war. (11,860 words; Time: 39m)

My Sister's Wings Are Red, by Christine Tyler

[BCS]

★★★★☆ Entertaining and Horrifying all at the same time.

(Future Fantasy) Olive’s life changes when her hated little sister’s red wings become visible in her chrysalis, and everyone knows she’ll be the new queen when she emerges. (8,911 words; Time: 29m)

Beyond the Tattered Veil of Stars, by Mercurio D. Rivera

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Full of Tension and Surprises

(Virtual Reality Thriller) Cory’s ex-girlfriend invites him to write a story about her virtual-reality machine that she uses to find solutions to real-world problems. (8,253 words; Time: 27m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

How Quini the Squid Misplaced His Klobučar, by Rich Larson

[Single]

★★★★☆ Non-stop Thrills, Chills, and Excitement.

(SF Thriller) The narrator and a friend plot to steal a valuable artwork from an underworld boss who’s pissed them off. (11,417 words; Time: 38m)

Recommended By: 👍GTognetti+1 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)

Where You Linger, by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

[Uncanny]

★★★★☆ A Tale of Loss and Redemption

(SF Drama) The narrator undergoes a special treatment that lets her revisit (and change) key memories that trouble her—all of which involve people she had sex with. (10,018 words; Time: 33m)

By its nature, the story has countless sex scenes, but it isn’t really erotica.

I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter, by Isabel Fall

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ Provocative and Thought-Provoking

(Military SF) If gender has always been a construct, then why not construct new ones? Why not weaponize it for military use? (7,726 words; Time: 25m)

Although the author chose to withdraw this story following a sequence of attacks on Twitter, it is still available on Kindle to Clarkesworld subscribers.

A Pack of Tricks, by Leah Cypess

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Full of Twists

(Historical SF) In Renaissance Italy, where mysterious “Visitors” (who look human but behave strangely) watch the creation of great works of art, a Visitor asks a young model to learn more about the artist she poses for. (8,495 words; Time: 28m)

SeeApp, by James Van Pelt

[Asimov's]

★★★★☆ Interesting, Tense, Rewarding

(Uncanny Horror) A janitor wonders if he should trust an app answers questions no one could know the answers to. Especially when that app suggests someone may be about to stage a school shooting. (8,062 words; Time: 26m)

Recommended By: 👍STomaino+1 (Q&A)