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Yoon Ha Lee

14 free-to-read stories indexed on Quasar

The Starship and the Temple Cat

Yoon Ha Lee BCS 2018 ShortStory Future Fantasy 3,499 words

Even the ghosts have abandoned the ruins of the space station once known as the City of High Bells. All but the faithful temple cat, who sees a starship reenter the system after many long years.

Science FantasyAI PersonhoodHopeful

Content warnings 4

deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolencewar

The Mermaid Astronaut

Yoon Ha Lee BCS 2020 ShortStory Future Fantasy Adventure 6,009 words

Until a visiting starship arrived, the other mermaids thought Essarala was silly for wanting to explore the galaxy.

Fairy Tale RetellingFriendshipSlow Burn

Content warnings 1

death

Extracurricular Activities

Yoon Ha Lee Tor.com 2017 Novelette Space Opera 14,259 words

A Heptarchate undercover mission lead by one of Jedao’s friends has gone missing, so Jedao goes undercover to try and rescue them.

Space OperaFriendshipDeep Space

Content warnings 3

deathsexual-contentviolence

Foxfire, Foxfire

Yoon Ha Lee BCS 2016 Novelette Military Fantasy 8,500 words

Baekdo, a fox who wants to become human, needs one more kill to achieve his goal. A collapsing city in the middle of a civil war seems like a good place to do it but there are complications.

Science FantasyFriendshipSecondary World

Content warnings 3

deathviolencewar

The Chameleon's Gloves

Yoon Ha Lee Cosmic Powers 2017 Novelette Space Opera 7,865 words ♪ audio

Rhehan used to be a Kel supersoldier before being kicked out. Now the Kel needs Rhehan for a dangerous mission—offering the only coin Rhehan might consider.

Space OperaFound FamilyDefiant

Content warnings 1

violence

Beyond the Dragon's Gate

Yoon Ha Lee Tor.com 2020 ShortStory SF Thriller 3,925 words

Anna’s an AI expert who’s called in to figure out what a new upgrade is causing AI-captained ships to destroy themselves.

Space OperaAI PersonhoodPhilosophical

Content warnings 1

death

Bonsai Starships

Yoon Ha Lee BCS 2022 ShortStory Science Fantasy 4,146 words

"At the center of every starship was a bonsai starship. It rested in the starship’s command garden and provided the magic that propelled it. Novice Kei had known this longer than she had known her own name, especially since she was the eighth Kei who...

Science FantasyPolitical ResistanceFar Future

Nonstandard Candles

Yoon Ha Lee Sunday Morning Transport 2022 ShortStory

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

The Ethnomusicology of the Last Dreadnought

Yoon Ha Lee Sunday Morning Transport 2023 ShortStory 1,480 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Cutting Corners

Yoon Ha Lee Reactor 2026 Novelette Space Exploration 8,370 words

A team of pilots is trained to fly ships in a war where it’s become cheaper to send humans instead of machines.

Space OperaMentorshipRestrained Prose

Content warnings 2

deathwar

Counting Casualties

Yoon Ha Lee Tor.com 2023 ShortStory Space Opera 4,940 words

Commander Niaja vrau Erezeng is up against an enemy that doesn’t just destroy all the beings, ships, and planets in its path, but also consumes their greatest arts, scratching them from existence everywhere…

Space OperaArt And CreationIntrospective

Content warnings 2

deathwar

Variations on an Apple

Yoon Ha Lee Tor.com 2015 ShortStory 5,045 words

Surreal science fantasy, in which three goddesses come to Paris, prince of a mathematical Troy, and ask him to decide to whom to award an apple.

Fairy Tale RetellingFreedomMetafictional

Content warnings 2

deathwar

Shadow's Weave

Yoon Ha Lee BCS 2016 ShortStory Fantasy 5,699 words

Tamalat has come to a priest to find out how to restore her friend Brio's shadow, in the hopes it will restore him to what he once was.

Secondary World FantasyGuiltRestrained Prose

Content warnings 2

suicideviolence

The Aerialist

Yoon Ha Lee Lightspeed 2026

The typewriter proved, at first glance, to be a poor investment for a daring aerial escape. Kallista had been drawn to the typewriter from the moment she viewed it languishing in a Museum of Curioddities, a pun that 3% of Pennon City’s citizens might...

Science FantasyArt And CreationWhimsical