Tangent Online 2018 Recommended Reading List
As with previous years, this list is not meant as comprehensive, there being a number of items we didn’t see. As was the case with the last several years we narrowed our focus (with a few exceptions) to those stories published in professionally paying markets as defined by SFWA.
There are 342 stories on this year’s list (down from last year’s 378): 276 short stories (down from last year’s 292), 52 novelettes (down from last year’s 76), and 14 novellas (up from last year’s 10). As with any such list–especially ours with its ever-changing staff–different reviewers bring different tastes and perspectives on how to approach stories, how they are thus measured, and of course the stories themselves are of different “quality” (up or down) if such a thing as quality can be measured by any objective standard. That said, it does seem as if each year has its own nebulous, general level of quality, with some years being known in retrospect as great years for quality fiction and others not so much. There are just too many variables to nail down as to why any given year–or recommended reading list–has more or fewer stories placed on it by a different cast of reviewers, each of whom brings their own individual set of standards (some liberal and others more strict) to the fiction they read.
Such a list as the one below brings to it a rather broad cross section of the genre’s general readership. Some reviewers are relatively new to SF/F (compared to some of us who’ve been around for many decades), while others have a long relationship with the genre but may not have experience at the reviewing end of the process. There are those who have read extensively for many years and who have experience at reviewing as well; there are a few selling writers who know from experience what goes into crafting a work of fiction, and there are those with an academic viewpoint and wide knowledge of the genre who bring a more critical approach to the fiction they review, and then place on this list.
This wildly varied rainbow of experience and perspectives makes for an interesting barometer for writers, readers, and even academicians to set against other well known or familiar lists that may have become, over time, accepted as standards of reliability for the best fiction of any given year. And we can point to several final short lists and their eventual winners decided upon by judges (and not the public) for several awards to include here as well, stocked in whole or in part specifically with “critics,” self-proclaimed or otherwise, and some (not all) who value their opinions and approach to evaluating literary works above all others as the only worthy judgments to be taken seriously, while ofttimes relegating to second or third tier importance pure storytelling ability, or the actual story itself—what the story is actually about first and foremost—in favor of the elegance or style with which a story is told, regardless of the sometimes trivial or quotidian subject matter. In essence, style over substance (though it is that elusive balance between substance and style that the critical eye should seek as its highest priority), and that crucial substance only when it coincides with or affirms their world view. Which, alas, is rather to be expected, human nature being what it is, though perhaps not so readily forgiven.
Or such appears to be the case, if the past four or five years (with rare exception) are any indication where select nominating lists or final award ballots are concerned, where voters have taken their cues from the former, not having the time to read nearly as much as they might have liked (and who were undoubtedly influenced to one degree or another by certain “accepted as reliable” lists in high profile venues). Over time, however, what comes to be the accepted criteria for “proper and award worthy” fiction invariably tends to narrow and restrict the range of fiction written, and over time the field comes to embrace by fiat (i.e., that unquestioning herd mentality of accepted “wisdom” for that which supposedly constitutes good fiction), while simultaneously cauterizing it from the inside of any true diversity of thought if such fiction is considered out of bounds from the currently accepted canon; that canon from which any idea or story challenging the accepted orthodoxy (i.e., troubling or controversial) might upset those with certain views on what is to be tolerated and/or given serious consideration for inclusion on lists or award ballots. And this is dangerous for any artistic field, not least of which is the literary, and none more so than the field of science fiction.
All types of lists, from the individual reader, the group recommended, to the official award nominating lists, have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. It is when the weaknesses begin to outweigh the strengths and tip the balance into that foggy territory where the reliability of the list begins to be questioned as unreliable or chronically slanted in any direction that we become concerned. That said, all are yet part of the critical machinery any field of artistic endeavor needs in order to engage in dialogue with itself, the crucial feedback it requires in order to keep its vital imaginative juices flowing. So here is our recommended reading list for 2018, with about as diverse a bunch of intelligent genre-loving fans, readers, writers, academics, and now reviewers as you are likely to find.
As is our custom, there are four sections to each length category. Those making the list in the short story, novelette, and novella lengths but having no stars, and those with either one, two, or three stars, according to how well the reviewer or reviewers valued a particular story. From time to time you will see more than a single reviewer’s initials following a given entry. We have placed the story in the category receiving the most stars. Thus, it is possible that while one reviewer placed a story on the list without any stars, another also placed it on the list but with one or more stars, thus elevating that story to the higher ranking. Where there are more than one reviewer’s initials following a story recommendation, they appear in no particular order, thus making it impossible to determine which of the reviewers provided this higher ranking. Conversely, it is also possible that each reviewer held the same opinion of any given story.
If a story is placed in an incorrect length category, please let us know and we’ll be happy to correct the oversight. Reviewers are free to place stories on this list from any of their reading during the year, and are not restricted to those venues covered here, nor to publications they have personally reviewed.
If you would like to review for Tangent Online, knowledge of the SF/F/H genres is a must, and reviewing experience is highly preferred. Interested parties may contact the editor here. Please note that Tangent Online is a fanzine (eligible for Hugo award consideration in the fanzine category) and does not pay its contributors.
(Cover above for the May/June 2018 Analog. Cover art by Fred Gambino.)
2018 Reviewer names and initials
Jeffrey Abrams (JA), Christos Antonaros (CA), Colleen Chen (CC), Kat Day (KD), Rebecca DeVendra (RD), Tara Grimravn (TG), Gyanavani (GV), Kevin P Hallett (KPH), C. D. Lewis (CDL), Jason McGregor (JM), Mariam Melikadze (MM), Michelle Ristuccia (MR), Chuck Rothman (CR), Seraph (S), Pedro Silva (PS), Victoria Silverwolf (VS), Mark Suplinskas (MS), Dave Truesdale (DT), Robert L Turner III (RLTIII), Stephanie Wexler (SW), Mike Wyant, Jr. (MW), Filip Wiltgren (FW).
I wish to thank the reviewers for the time and energy they have devoted to reading and reviewing this year’s offerings. Without them, no Tangent Online and no Recommended Reading List; they’re the ones who make it all work. Thanks are also due those who sent material for review, and of course our loyal readership throughout 2018—our 25th year since that first, slim July/August 1993 print issue was mailed out.
Below are covers from original anthologies, or reprint collections which included original fiction making the list. Magazine covers (print and online) are interspersed throughout the list in no particular order.
Short Stories
“Hobson’s Choices” by Mary A. Turzillo (Analog, 1-2/18) SF (VS)
“Ten and Ten” by Alan Dean Foster (Analog, 1-2/18) SF (VS)
“Air Gap” by Eric Cline (Analog, 1-2/18) SF (VS)
“The Meme Hunter” by S. R. Algernon (Walls and Wonders, 1/18) SF (VS)
“Achievement” by S. R. Algernon (Walls and Wonders, 1/18) SF (VS)
“Thicker Than Water” by S. R. Algernon (Walls and Wonders, 1/18) SF (VS)
“Sour Milk Girls” by Erin Roberts (Clarkesworld #136, 1/18) SF (JM)
“Mother’s Rules for a Burned Girl” by Rebecca Mix (Flash Fiction Online #52, 1/18) F (SW)
“After the Story Ends” by M. E. Garber (Galaxy’s Edge #30, 1-2/18) F (MR)
“Suite for Accompanied Cello” by Tamara Vardomskaya (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #242, 1/4/18) F (VS)
“Ice” by Diana Silver (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 1/18) F (KD)
“Duende” by J M Donellan (Aurealis #107, 2/18) F (VS)
“O King of Pain and Splendor!” by Darrell Schweitzer (Weirdbook #38, 2/18) F (KPH)
“Death is Not My Master” by Scott Harper (Weirdbook #38, 2/18) H (KPH)
“The Starship and the Temple Cat” by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #244, 2-1/18) SF (KPH)
“Red Dreams” by R. Z. Held (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #245, 2-15/18) SF (KPH)
“This Tyrant Crown” by Liam Hogan (Monstrosities, 3/18) F (VS)
“The Great Mall” by Salinda Tyson (Monstrosities, 3/18) SF (VS)
“Eaten” by Ville Meriläinen (Monstrosities, 3/18) F (VS)
“Into Xibalba” by Sita C. Romero (Monstrosities, 3/18) F (VS)
“The Ghost In Angelica’s Room” by Maria Haskins (Flash Fiction Online #54, 3/18) F (JM)
“A Metal Box Floating Between Stars” by Jamie Lackey (A Metal Box Floating Between Stars and Other
Stories, 3/18) SF (KPH)
“The No-One Girl and the Flower of the Farther Shore” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld #138, 3/18) F (VS)
“We Are New(s)” by Bentley A. Reese (Apex #106, 3/18) SF (VS)
“This Big” by John Cooper Hamilton (Nature, 3-21/18) SF (JM)
“A Very Large Number of Moons” by Kai Stewart (Strange Horizons, 3/12/18) F (DT)
“The Harmonic Resonance of Ejiro Anaborhi” by Wole Talabi (F&SF, 3-4/18) SF (VS)
“Perfect Little Boy” by Jon Lasser (Galaxy’s Edge #31, 3-4/18) SF (VS)
“Turnabout” by Erik Bundy (Writers of the Future #34, 4/18) F (VS, DT)
“Flee, My Pretty One” by Eneasz Brodski (Writers of the Future #34, 4/18) F (VS)
“Death and Natalie, Natalie and Death” by Jordan Taylor (On Spec #107, Vol. 28, No.4, 4/18) F (JM)
“Without Exile” by Eleanna Castroianni (Clarkesworld #139, 4/18) SF (SW)
“Logistics” by A.J. Fitzwater (Clarkesworld #139, 4/18) SF (SW)
“Lost and Found” by Greg Mitchell (C.H.U.D. Lives! 4/18) H (TG)
“C.H.A.D.” by Michael Hanson (C.H.U.D. Lives! 4/18) H (TG)
“Samsa’s Party” Ben Fisher (C.H.U.D. Lives! 4/18) H (TG)
“I’ll Get Back to You” by Ryan Bloom (Terraform, 4-6/18) SF (JM)
“My Favourite Sentience” by Marissa Lingen (Nature, 4-25/17) SF (JM)
“We Are All Mad Here” by Lisa Smedman (Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland, 5/18) H (VS)
“Soup of the Evening” by Robert Dawson (Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland, 5/18) SF (VS)
“Wonderband” by Alexandra Renwick (Alice Unbound: Beyond Wonderland, 5/18) F (VS)
“Reliving My Grandmother’s Youth” by Charlotte Huggins (Flash Fiction Online #56, 5/18) F (SW)
“Nobody Puts Baby in a Chamber” by Alexis A. Hunter (Flash Fiction Online #56, 5/18) SF (SW)
“Sun in the Heart” by Roberta Spindler (Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World,
5/18) SF (CR)
“The Guile” by Ian McDonald (Tor.com, 5/18) SF (VS)
“Sylvan Simulacrum” by Chad Hensley (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F (CDL)
“Posthumous” by Marlane Quade Cook (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F (CDL)
“Crawling With Them” by Jason Zwiker (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) SF (CDL)
“Clartley Chowder” by Richie Brown (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) SF (CDL)
“Divine Wind of the Dark” by Frank Schildiner (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F (CDL)
“Bride Before You” by Stephanie Malia Morris (Nightmare #68, 5/18) H (JM)
“Tender Loving Plastic” by Amman Sabet (F&SF, 5-6/18) SF (VS)
“What You Pass For” by Melanie West (F&SF, 5-6/18) F (VS)
“Ku’gbo” by Dare Segun Falowo (F&SF, 5-6/18) F (VS)
“Jackbox” by Brian Trent (Galaxy’s Edge #32, 5-6/18) SF (KPH)
“Bones of Flightless Birds” by Matt Thompson (Black Static #63, 5-6/18) H (TG)
“The Fire and the Stag” by Nicholas Kaufmann (Black Static #63, 5-6/18) H (TG)
“Family, Fair and True” by Dayle A. Dermatis (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F (CR)
“The Call of the Wold” by Holly Schofield (Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers, 6/18) SF (VS)
“Amber Waves” by Sam S. Kepfield (Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers, 6/18) SF (VS)
“Party Smashers” by Ken McGrath (Cirsova #8, Summer/18) SF (TG)
“Targeted Behavior” by J.D. Moyer (Compelling SF #11, Summer/18) SF (JM)
“Redaction” by Adam R. Shannon (Compelling SF #11, Summer/18) SF (JM)
“New Heaven, New Earth” by Neil James Hudson (Galileo’s Theme Park, 6/18) SF (VS)
“First, They Came as Gods” by G. D. Watry (Galileo’s Theme Park, 6/18) SF (VS)
“Leviathan Sings to Me in the Deep” by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare #69, 6/18) H (TG, JM)
“The James Machine” by Kate Osias (Clarkesworld #142, 7/18) SF (VS)
“A Song of Home, the Organ Grinds” by James Beamon (Lightspeed #98, 7/18) F (JM)
“Tamarack and the Stone” by Timothy Reynolds (On Spec #108, 7/18) SF (PS)
“The Saffron Curse” by Marcelle Dubé (On Spec #108, 7/18) SF (PS)
“The Adjunct” by Cassandra Rose Clarke (F&SF, 7-8/18) F (KPH)
“A Simple Question” by Kris Dikeman (Analog, 7-8/18) SF (CC)
“The Blockage” by Jack Westlake (Black Static #64, 7-8/18) H (JM)
“Superbright” by Ryan Row (Interzone #276, 7-8/18) SF (MM)
“Venus Witch’s Ring” by Inda Lauryn (Strange Horizons, 7/30/18) F (VS)
“Copy Cat” by Alex Shvartsman & K. A. Teryna (Strange Horizons, 8/18) F (GV)
“The Barnum Effect” by Celia Neri (Apex #111, 8/18) SF (VS)
“Medium Matters” by R.K. Duncan (Diabolical Plots #42, 8/18) SF (MW)
“A Bond as Deep as Starlit Seas” by Sarah Grey (Lightspeed #99, 8/18) SF (VS)
“Rapunzel—A Re-Winding” by Joan Stewart (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 8/18) F (TG)
“No Flight Without the Shatter” by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com, 8/18) SF (TG)
“The Kite Maker” by Brenda Peynado (Tor.com, 8/18) SF (TG)
“And the Living is Easy” by Mike Chinn (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F (MW)
“The Santa Anna” by Jack Lothian (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F (MW)
“True Blue” by Darrell Schweitzer (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F (MW)
“Election Day Murders” by Chrome Oxide (28 Minutes into the Future, 8/18) SF (DT)
“Czar Wars” by Chrome Oxide (28 Minutes into the Future, 8/18) SF (DT)
“Zero Tolerance” by Chrome Oxide (28 Minutes into the Future, 8/18) SF (DT)
“Rights” by Chrome Oxide (28 Minutes into the Future, 8/18) SF (DT)
“Gateway” by Chrome Oxide (28 Minutes into the Future, 8/18) SF (DT)
“A Kiss from the Sun for Pardon” by John F. D. Taff (Little Black Spots, 9/18) H (VS)
“Gethsemane, in Rain” by John F. D. Taff (Little Black Spots, 9/18) F (VS)
“Ghost of the Pepper” by M. K. Hutchins (Flash Fiction Online #60, 9/18) F (VS)
“Hot Water in Wormtown” by Robert Lang (Cirsova #9, Fall/18) F (KPH)
“Foster Earth” by Julie Czerneda (Amazing, Fall/18) SF (JM)
“Seedlings” by Audrey R. Hollis (Strange Horizons, 9/3/18) F (VS)
“The Glassblower’s Peace” by James Rowland (Aurealis #114, 9/18) F (TG)
“The Fisher in the Yellow Afternoon” by Michael Anthony Ashley (Diabolical Plots #43, 9/18) F (TG)
“Triquetra” by Kirstyn McDermott (Tor.com, 9/18) F (GV)
“Uncle’s in the Treetops” by Darrell Schweitzer (What October Brings, 9/18) H (TG)
“Nyarlahotep Came Down to Georgia” by Nancy Holder (What October Brings, 9/18) H (TG)
“No Other God But Me” by Adrian Cole (What October Brings, 9/18) H (TG)
“In the Mirror” by Rotem Baruchin (Zion’s Fiction, 9-25/18) F (VS)
“Optimizing the Verified Good” by Effie Seiberg (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“A Surprise Beginning” by Gregory Benford (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“When the Rain Comes” by Ron Collins (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“Shepherd Moon” by Premee Mohamed (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“Nevertheless” by Elizabeth Rubio (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“Off-Road” by Harry Lang (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“Impetus” by Shane Landry (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“In the Sharing Place” by David Erik Nelson (Asimov’s, 9-10/18) SF (KPH, JM)
“The Memorybox Vultures” by Brian Trent (F&SF, 9-10/18) SF (MR)
“Employee Theft is an Ongoing Problem” by Brenda Kalt (Galaxy’s Edge #34, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“The Day Time Stood Still” by Shawn Proctor (Galaxy’s Edge #34, 9-10/18) F (VS)
“El Paletero” by Sharon Diane King (Galaxy’s Edge #34, 9-10/18) F (VS)
“Dethroning the Champeen” by Mike Resnick (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F (CR)
“Key Fang and Klaw” by Fred Stesney (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F (CR)
“The Dragon, the Drudge, and the Drone” by Esther Friesner (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F (CR)
“Jump” by Cadwell Turnbull (Lightspeed #100, 9/18) F (JM)
“The Android Graveyard” by Diane Morrison (Terra! Tara! Terror!, 9/18) SF (KPH)
“Spacism is Still with Us” by Matthew Reardon (Terra! Tara! Terror!, 9/18) SF (KPH)
“Memory and Muchness” by Rhonda Eikamp (Terra! Tara! Terror!, 9/18) SF (KPH)
“How to Have a Productive Relationship with Your Semi-Autonomous Vehicle” by Josh Taylor (Terra! Tara!
Terror!, 9/18) H (KPH)
“The Mirror Crack’d” by Jordan Taylor (Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 9/18) F (JM)
“When We Were Starless” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld #145, 10/18) SF (MM)
“The Tomb of Arisel” by Bonnie Elizabeth (Fiction River #29: Pulse Pounders Countdown, 10/18) F (TG)
“Blood Chase” by Leah Cutter (Fiction River #29: Pulse Pounders Countdown, 10/18) F (TG)
“The Case of the Dead Son” by Laura Ware (Fiction River #29: Pulse Pounders Countdown, 10/18) F (TG)
“Black Phantom, Gray Op” by Stefon Mears (Fiction River #29: Pulse Pounders Countdown, 10/18) SF
(TG)
“The Last Ramekin” by Liz Pierce (Fiction River #29: Pulse Pounders Countdown, 10/18) F (TG)
“Fitting In” by Max Gladstone (Tor.com, 10/18) SF (GV)
“Cerise Sky Memories” by Wendy Nikel (Nature, 10/18) SF (JM)
“Asphalt, River, Mother, Child” by Isabel Yap (Strange Horizons, 10/8/18) F (VS)
“Words I’ve Redefined Since Your Dinosaurs Invaded My Lunar Lair” by Stewart C Baker (Flash Fiction
Online #61, 10/18) SF (MW)
“A Place of Peace and Joy and Rest” by Brian Staveley (Grimdark #17, 10/18) F (TG)
“Coachwhip and Wade, Hex-tamers for Hire” by Tony Pi and K.G. Jewell (InterGalactic Medicine Show
#65, 10-11/18) F (KD)
“The Bells of Bel-Hazir” by Michelle Muenzler (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #38, 11/18) F (TG)
“The Vault of Sowdek” by Seth Skordowsky (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #38, 11/18) F (TG)
“Spicer’s Modest Success” by Jared VanDyke (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores 11/18) SF (TG)
“The Price of Eternity” by Laura Quijano Vincenzi (Strange Horizons, 12/3/18) F (VS)
“Overwintering Habits of the North American River Mermaid” by Abra Staffin-Siebe (F&SF, 11-12/18) F
(CDL)
“Smear Job” by Rich Larson (Analog, 11-12/18) SF (VS)
“Sandy” by Bruce McAllister (Analog, 11-12/18) SF (VS)
“Body Drift” by Cynthia Ward (Analog, 11-12/18) SF (VS)
“Spirits’ Price” by Van Aaron Hughes (On Spec #109, 12/18) F (KPH)
“The Forest Eats” by Santiago Belluco (Compelling #12, Winter/18) SF (JM)
“A Song in the Deepest Darkness” by Jason Ray Carney (Cirsova #10, Winter/18) F (TG)
“Amsel the Immortal” by Lauren Goff (Cirsova #10, Winter/18) F (TG)
“Sequestration; Vitrification” by Allison Jamieson-Lucy (Strange Horizons, 12/17/18) SF (VS)
“Book of Winter” by Caroline Friedel (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 12/18) F (TG)
“Graymatters” by David Stier (Pulphouse #4, 12/18) SF (KPH)
“Skinwalker” by Valerie Brook (Fiction River #30: Hard Choices, 12/18) F (VS)
“Tendrils” by Leigh Saunders (Fiction River #30: Hard Choices, 12/18) SF (VS)
Short Stories One Star
“Body Memory” by M.L. Buchman (Pulphouse #1, 1/18) SF* (CR)
“My Little Old One” by Jody Lyn Nye (The Cackle of Cthulhu, 1/18) F* (CDL)
“In the Employee Manual of Madness” by G. Scott Huggins (The Cackle of Cthulhu, 1/18) F* (CDL)
“The Call of Uncopyrighted Intellectual Property” by Amanda Helms (The Cackle of Cthulhu, 1/18) F* (CDL)
“A Feather in Her Cap” by Mary Robinette Kowal (F&SF, 1-2/18) F* (FW)
“The Hydraulic Emperor” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny #20, 1-2/18) SF* (JM)
“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” by Alix Harrow (Apex #105, 2/18)
F* (JM)
“Rafts” by Lorenzo Crescentini (Weirdbook #38, 218) F* (KPH)
“Eyes of Wood, Heart of Stone” by Rebecca Birch (Flash Fiction Online #54, 3/18) F* (CR)
“You Do Nothing But Freefall” by Cassandra Khaw and A. Maus (Lightspeed #94, 3/18) F* (KD)
“Mr. Try Again” by A. Merc Rustad (Nightmare #66, 3/18) H* (KPH)
“Sun Splashed Fields and Far Blue Mountains” by Susan Forest (Analog, 3-4/18) SF* (KPH)
“The Camel’s Tail” by Tom Jolly (Analog, 3-4/18) SF* (KPH, JM)
“Never the Twain“ by Michael Reid (Interzone, 3–4/18) SF* (JM)
“Kings and Queens” by Raluca Balasa (Grimdark #15, 4/18) SF* (CDL)
“What Is Eve?” by Will McIntosh (Lightspeed #95, 4/18) SF* (KPH)
“Worth Her Weight in Gold” by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com, 5/18) F* (MS)
“Strange Waters” by Samantha Mills (Strange Horizons, 4-2/18) F* (VS, JM)
“Canvas Tears” by Steve Rodgers (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #36, 5/18) F* (MS)
“Fifteen Minute Hate” by Rich Larson (Apex #108, 5/18) SF* (KD)
“Cherry Wood Coffin” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Apex #108, 5/18) H* (KD)
“Gary Johnson” by Daniel I. Dutra (Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World,
5/18) SF* (CR)
“Escape” by Gabriel Cantareira (Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World, 5/18)
SF* (CR)
“Misdiagnosed” by Jackie Bee Cook (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F* (CDL)
“The Colors of the Gods” by Ken Heuler (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F* (CDL)
“Dominion over Abbadon” by Richard J. O’Brien (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F* (CDL)
“Demiurge” by Marc A. Fitch (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F* (CDL)
“Yiwu” by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, 5/18) F* (MS)
“Cat and Mouse” by L. C. Brown (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 5/18) SF/F* (S)
“Discard the Sun, for It Has Failed Us” by Marina J. Lostetter (Uncanny #22, 5-6/18) SF* (CR)
“How I Became a Fairy Godmother” by Bonnie Elizabeth (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F* (CR)
“Granted” by Robert Jeschonek (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F* (CR)
“What Alanna Wished, How, and Why” by Dave Raines (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F* (CR)
“As Fast as Wishes Travel” by Dale Hartley Emery (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F* (CR)
“Deserted Lies the City” by S R Dean (Aurealis #111, 6/18) SF* (MR)
“Meat And Salt And Sparks” by Rich Larson (Tor.com, 6/18) SF* (MS)
“The Need for Air” by Lettie Prell (Tor.com, 6/18) SF* (MS)
“Burnover” by K. D. Julicher (InterGalactic Medicine Show #63, 6-7/18) SF* (KD)
“My Father’s Life, Furnished in Stars” by Maxwell Peterson (InterGalactic Medicine Show #63, 6-7/18) SF*
(KD)
“The Life Cycles of Goldfish” by Jamie Lackey (InterGalactic Medicine Show #63, 6-7/18) SF* (KD)
“A Good Negro” by Ezekiel James Boston (Pulphouse #3, 7/18) H* (MS)
“Collector’s Curse: A Dan Shamble Zombie PI Adventure” by Kevin J. Anderson (Pulphouse #3, 7/18) H* (S)
“Attachment Unavailable” by Leah Cypess (Asimov’s, 7-8/18) SF* (PS)
“The Monstrosity in Love” by Sam Thompson (Black Static #64, 7-8/18) DF* (JM)
“Sanctuary” by John Linwood Grant (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F* (MW)
“This Godless Apprenticeship” by Clint Smith (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F* (MW)
“Impossible Male Pregnancy: Click to Read Full Story” by Sarina Dorie (F&SF, 9-10/18) SF* (MR)
“Suicide Watch” by Susan Emshwiller (F&SF, 9-10/18) SF* (MR)
“Imposter/Imposter” by Ian Muneshwar (Black Static #65, 9-10/18) H* (S)
“In the Gallery of Silent Screams” by Carole Johnstone and Chris Kelso (Black Static #65, 9-10/18) H* (S)
“The Secret Destiny of Heroes” by Matthew Bailey (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F* (CR)
“Contractual Obligations” by C. Flynt (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F* (CR)
“Quick Cash in the Old Kingdom” by Elin Korund (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F* (CR)
“Spear Carriers’ Union #109” by Jamie Gilman Kress (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F* (CR)
“The Dance of a Thousand Cuts” by Liam Hogan (Terra! Tara! Terror!, 9/18) F* (KPH)
“What I Understand Now” by Lauren Ferebee (Flash Fiction Online #61, 10/18) F* (MW)
“I Will You Back to Time and Space” by Dafydd McKimm (Flash Fiction Online #61, 10/18) F* (MW)
“With Lips Sewn Shut” by Kristi Demeester (Apex #113, 10/18) F* (KPH)
“Walking on Titan” by Mike Adamson (Aurealis #116, 10/18) SF* (CR)
“The Late Mr. Folsom’s Luminosity Shop” by Megan Lee Beals (InterGalactic Medicine Show #65, 10-11/18)
F* (KD)
“In the Ground, Before the Freeze” by Margaret Ronald (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #264, 11/818) F* (KPH)
“Octo-Heist in Progress” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld #146, 11/18) SF* (JM)
“The Island and Its Boy” by Bo Balder (F&SF, 11-12/18) F* (CDL)
“Other People’s Dreams” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (F&SF, 11-12/18) F* (CDL)
“Two from the Field, Two from the Mill” by Geoffrey W. Cole (On Spec #109, 12/18) F* (KPH)
“The Island of Beasts” by Carrie Vaughn (Nightmare #75, 12/18) H* (KPH)
Short Stories Two Stars
“Queen of the Mouse Riders” by Annie Reed (Pulphouse #1, 1/18) F** (CR)
“A Few Minutes in the Plantation Bar and Grill Outside Woodville, Mississippi” by Steve Perry (Pulphouse #1,
1/18) F** (CR)
“Cthulhu, P. I.” by Laura Resnick (The Cackle of Cthulhu, 1/18) F** (CDL)
“The Shadow Over My Dorm Room” by Laura Pearlman (The Cackle of Cthulhu, 1/18) F** (CDL)
“The Lighthouse Girl” by Bao Shu (Clarkesworld #136, 1/18) F** (RD)
“The Court Magician” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed #92, 1/18) F** (CR)
“A List of Forty-Nine Lies” by Steven Fisher (F&SF, 1-2/18) F** (FW)
“An Unfamiliar Face” by David VonAllmen (Galaxy’s Edge #30, 1-2/18) SF** (MR)
“Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse” by S. B. Divya (Uncanny, 1-2/18) SF* (KPH)
“Got Time?” by Lee Rutty (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 2/18) SF** (S)
“Early Morning Service” by Irette Y. Patterson (Strange Horizons, 2-19/18) F** (CA)
“The Independence Patch” by Bryan Camp (Lightspeed #94, 3/18) SF** (KD, JM)
“Soft Clay” by Seth Chambers (Diabolical Plots #37, 3/18) F** (KPH)
“Giant Robot and the Infinite Sunset” by Derrick Boden (Diabolical Plots #38, 4/18) SF** (KD)
“The Witching Hour” by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 4/18) SF** (S)
“An Account of the Madness of the Magistrate, Chengdhu Village” by Richard Parks (Beneath Ceaseless Skies
#250, 4-26/18) F** (CR)
“Godmeat” by Martin Cahill (Lightspeed #96, 5/18) SF** (CA)
“And In Her Eyes The City Drowned” by Kyla Lee Ward (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) F** (CDL)
“A Tiny Cut” by Samson Stormcrow Hayes (Weirdbook #39, 5/18) H** (CDL)
“Blessings” by Naomi Novik (Uncanny #22, 5-6/18) F** (CR)
“Movie Boy and Music Girl” by Ron Collins (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F** (CR)
“Ellen Double Prime” by Alexandra Brandt (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F** (CR)
“Blame It on the Ghosts” by Annie Reed (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F** (CR)
“Starfish at Ebbtide” by Lisa Silverthorne (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) F** (CR)
“The Egg and the Cat” by Miles Hurt (Aurealis #111, 6/18) SF** (MR)
“Suzie Q” by Jacqueline Carey (Apex #109, 6/18) F** (CA)
“The Clockwork Man’s Canteen” by J. Steven York (Pulphouse #3, 7/18) SF** (MS)
“Red Carnation” by Lee Allred (Pulphouse #3, 7/18) H** (S)
“Hainted” by Ashley Blooms (F&SF, 7-8/18) F** (KPH, JM)
“The Prague Relic” by Paul St. John Mackintosh (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F** (MW)
“The Giving of Gifts” by Matt Neil Hill (Weirdbook #40, 8/18) F** (MW)
“The God Down the River” by J.P. Sullivan (InterGalactic Medicine Show #64, 8-9/18) F** (KD)
“Bimble Bimble Bop Bop!” by Richard Anderson (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) SF** (CR)
“The Oracle and the Sea” by Megan Arkenberg (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #263, 10/11/25) F** (CR)
“The Bodice, the Hem, the Woman, Death” by Karen Osborne (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #263, 10/11/25) F**
(CR)
“‘Til Devil Do Us Part” by Jamie Gilman Kress (InterGalactic Medicine Show #65, 10-11/18) F** (KD)
“The Baron and His Floating Daughter” by Nick DiChario (F&SF, 11-12/18) F** (CDL)
“When We Flew Together Through the Ice” by J.R. Dawson (F&SF, 11-12/18) SF** (CDL)
“The Hammer’s Prayer” by Benjamin C. Kinney (Diabolical Plots #46, 12/18) SF** (KD)
“For the Last Time, It’s Not a Ray Gun” by Anaea Lay (Diabolical Plots #46, 12/18) SF** (KD)
Short Stories Three Stars
“We Don’t Talk About Death” by KJ Kabza (The Ramshead Algorithm and Other Stories, 1/18) SF*** (CA)
“Her Beautiful Body” by Adrienne Celt (Strange Horizons, 2-5/18) SF*** (CA)
“In Event of Moon Disaster” by Rich Larson (Asimov’s, 3-4/18) SF*** (RD, JM)
“Love Songs For the Very Awful” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, 3-4/18) SF*** (RD)
“Her February Face” by Christie Yant (Diabolical Plots #38, 4/18) F*** (KD)
“Fireskin” by Joanne Rixon (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #249, 4-12/18) F*** (CR)
“The Rock of Kansas” by Eric Kent Edstrom (Fiction River: Wishes, 6/18) SF*** (CR)
“Zoo Day” by Jim Butcher (Brief Cases, 6/18) F*** (CDL)
“Withholding Judgment Day” by Ryan Dull (Diabolical Plots #40, 6/18) F*** (MW)
“From the Root” by Emma Törzs (Lightspeed #97, 6/18) F*** (RD, JM)
“Sin Titulo” by Dan Stout (InterGalactic Medicine Show #63, 6-7/18) F*** (KD)
“The Chariots, the Horsemen” by Stephanie Malia Morris (Apex #110, 7/18) F*** (MW)
“When You’re Ready” by M. Ian Bell (Apex #110, 7/18) F*** (MW)
“The Vampire’s Apprentice” by Gini Koch (Unidentified Funny Objects #7, 9/18) F*** (CR)
“Toward a New Lexicon of Augury” by Sabrina Vourvoulias (Apex #114, 11/18) F*** (CDL)
“The Coal Remembers What It Was” by Paul R. Hardy (Diabolical Plots #45, 11/18) F*** (KD)
Novelettes
“Blurred Lives” by Adam-Troy Castro (Analog, 1-2/18) SF (VS)
“Sea of Dreams” by Cixin Liu, (Asimov’s, 1-2/18) SF (VS)
“An Aria for the Bloodlords” by Hannah Strom-Martin (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #242, 1-4/18) F (JM)
“The Ghoul Goes West” by Dale Bailey (Tor.com, 1/18) F (JM, VS)
“Deep Sea Fish” by Chi Hui (F&SF, 3-4/18) SF (VS)
“A Dog of Wu” by Ted Rabinowitz (F&SF, 3-4/18) SF (VS)
“The Spires” by Alec Nevala-Lee (Analog, 3-4/18) SF (KPH)
“Sanguinary Scar” by E. Catherine Tobler (Black Static #62, 3-4/18) SF (KPH)
“Fleeing Oslyge” by Sally Gwylan (Clarkesworld #140, 5/18) SF (JM)
“Grace’s Family” by James Patrick Kelly (Tor.com, 5/18) SF (JM)
“Inquisitive” by Pip Coen (F&SF, 5-6/18) SF (VS)
“The Harder It Gets The Softer We Sing” by Steven J. Dines (Black Static #63, 5-6/18) H (GV)
“Promontory” by Jon Zaremba (Cirsova #8, Summer/18) F (TG)
“Until We Are Utterly Destroyed” by Frank Wu (Analog, 7-8/18) SF (CC)
“True Jing” by Zack Be (Asimov’s, 7-8/18) SF (PS)
“Chasing the Start” by Evan Marcroft (Strange Horizons, 7-9/18) SF (JM)
“The Nearest” by Greg Egan (Tor.com, 7-19/18) SF (JM)
“A Study in Oils” by Kelly Robson (Clarkesworld #144, 9/18) SF (VS)
“House of Small Spiders” by Weston Ochse (Nightmare #72, 9/18) H (KPH)
“The Pendant Lens” by Sean McMullen (Analog, 9-10/18) SF (VS)
“Powerless” by Harry Turtledove (F&SF, 9-10/18) SF (DT)
“Empress of Starlight” by G. David Nordley (Analog, 11-12/18) SF (JM)
“The Fifth Horseman” by Nicholas Kaufmann (Black Static #66, 11/18) H (KPH)
“The Word of Flesh and Soul” by Ruthanna Emrys (Tor.com, 11/18) F (JA)
“The Gift of Angels: an introduction” by Nina Allan (Clarkesworld #146, 11/18) SF (JM)
“Crying in the Salt House” by B. Morris Allen (Cirsova #10, Winter/18) F (TG)
“Bringing Down the Sky” by Alan Bao (Clarkesworld #147, 12/18) SF (KPH)
“When We Find Our Voices” by Eleanna Castroianni (Clarkesworld #147, 12/18) SF (KPH)
Novelettes One Star
“The Donner Party” by Dale Bailey (F&SF, 1-2/18) F* (FW)
“Galatea in Utopia” by Nick Wolven (F&SF, 1-2/18) SF* (FW, JM)
“Hideous Flowerpots” by Susan Palwick (F&SF, 3-4/18) F* (JM)
“Angry Kings” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #250, 4-26/18) F* (CR)
“Ephemera” by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov’s, 7-8/18) SF* (PS)
“The Paladin of Golota” by Djeli Clark (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #37, 8/18) F* (KPH)
“Nine Last Days on Planet Earth” by Daryl Gregory (Tor.com, 9/18) SF* (GV, JM)
“DENALI” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, 9-10/18) SF* (KPH)
“The Crow Knight” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #262, 10/11/18) F* (CR)
“The Tragedy of Zayred the Splendid” by Grace Seybold (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #262, 10/11/18) F* (CR)
“Godzilla vs Buster Keaton, Or: I Didn’t Even Need a Map” by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex #114, 11/18) F*
(CDL)
“The Thing About Ghost Stories” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny #25, 11-12/18) F* (JM)
“The Iconoclasma” by Hanuš Seiner (F&SF, 11-12/18) SF* (CDL)
Novelettes Two Stars
“Red Planet Reds” by Gregory Benford & Gordon Eklund (For the Good of the Game, 1/18) SF** (CR)
“The Flight of Morpho Girl” by Caroline Spector & Bradley Denton (Tor.com 5/18) F** (MS)
“What Gentle Women Dare” by Kelly Robson (Uncanny #22, 5-6/18) SF** (CR)
“The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections” by Tina Connolly (Tor.com, 7/18) F** (MS)
“The Last To Matter” by Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed #100, 9/18) SF** (GV)
“Joe Diabo’s Farewell” by Andy Duncan (An Agent of Utopia, 11/18) F** (CR)
“Lady of Butterflies” by Y. M. Pang (F&SF, 11-12/18) F** (CDL, JM)
Novelettes Three Stars
“The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births” by José Pablo Iriarte (Lightspeed #92, 1/18) F***
(CR, JM)
“The Thought That Counts” by K.J. Parker (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #250, 4-26/18) F*** (CR, JM)
“Soylent Green is People!” by Carlos Orsi (Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable
World, 5/18) SF*** (CR)
“The Tale of the Scout and the Pachydormu” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #262,
10/11/18) F*** (CR)
Novellas
“Jewel of the Heart” by Matthew Hughes (F&SF, 1-2/18) F (FW)
“Farewell, Doraemon” by A Que (Clarkesworld #140, 5/18) SF (KPH)
“The Harder It Gets, the Softer We Sing” Steven J. Dines (Black Static #63, 5-6/18) H (TG)
“Literature®” by Guillermo Stitch (Nineveh Editions, 7/18) SF (RLTIII)
“Freezing Rain, a Chance of Falling” by L. X. Beckett (F&SF, 7-8/18) SF (KPH)
“Starship Mountain” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, 7-8/18) SF (PS)
“Ashes of Exploding Suns, Monuments to Dust” by Christopher McKitterick (Analog, 11-12/18) SF (VS)
Novellas One Star
“Likho” by Andy Stewart (F&SF, 3-4/18) SF* (VS, JM)
“The Last Biker Gang” by Wil McCarthy (Analog, 5-6/18) SF* (JM)
“The Secret City” by Rick Wilber (Asimov’s, 9-10/18) SF* (KPH)
Novellas Two Stars
“The Good of the Game” by Gregory Benford & Gordon Eklund (New Ball Games for the Future, 1/18) SF**
(CR)
“Umbernight” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld #137, 2/18) SF** (FW, JM)
“Shadowdrop” by Chris Willrich (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #261, 9/27/18) F** (GV, JM)
Novellas Three Stars
“You Can Take it With You” by KJ Kabza (The Ramshead Algorithm and Other Stories, 1/18) SF*** (CA)
“We Ragged Few” by Kate Alice Marshall (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #261, 9/27/18) F*** (GV)
Text for Tangent Online 2018 Recommended Reading List copyright © 2018 by Dave Truesdale and Tangent Online.
All rights reserved.