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Epistolary Adjacent

142 free-to-read stories tagged “Epistolary Adjacent”

Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather

Sarah Pinsker Uncanny 2021 ShortStory Science Fiction 6,727 words

"Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” (Roud 423, Child 313) is a traditional English folk ballad. Like many traditional songs, the lyrics are unattributed. Child transcribed twenty verses, and a twenty-first got added later (and is included here for some unknown...

Folk HorrorFriendshipMetafictional

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington

P. Djèlí Clark Fireside 2018 ShortStory Historical Fantasy 3,648 words

In which we learn about the donors of each of the nine teeth and what effects they had on Washington.

AfrofuturismColonialismEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 8

abuseanimal-harmdeathracismsexual-violenceslaverysuicideviolence

For He Can Creep

Siobhan Carroll Tor.com 2019 Novelette Historical Fantasy 7,908 words ♪ audio

A poet’s cat fights fiercely to defend him from the demons that plague him, but it’s much harder to stand against Satan himself.

Historical FantasyEarnestWhimsical

Content warnings 3

animal-harmmental-illnessviolence

Fandom for Robots

Vina Jie-Min Prasad Uncanny 2017 ShortStory Alternate History Robot SF 3,542 words ♪ audio

Computron was the only intelligent robot built in the 1950s. Now all he does is answer questions from children and write fan-fiction about the robot in the Hyperdimension Warp Record TV show.

AI FictionAI PersonhoodIntertextual

Loneliness Universe

Eugenia Triantafyllou Uncanny 2024 Novelette Fantasy 8,173 words

"My dear Cara, Thank you for sending me the photos, I never thought I’d feel this way again. But the pictures help. They really do. I can’t stop looking at them. Thank you for scanning and emailing them to me. These photos and our old videos are all I’ve...

SlipstreamFriendshipAmbiguous Ending

Give the Family My Love

A.T. Greenblatt Clarkesworld 2019 ShortStory SF Exploration 5,325 words

The aliens invited one human to their library 32.5 light-years away, and Hazel hopes to find lost research that might still save the Earth from final ecological collapse. If she can get in, that is.

First ContactArtificial IntelligenceEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

deathpregnancy-loss

Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts By Ida Countess Rathangan

Ian McDonald Old Venus 2015 Novelette 13,400 words

Lady Ida's visit to Venus was memorialized by the beautiful floral papercuts she made there, but this sensational story reveals the secret of the real purpose of her visit.

Historical FantasyColonialismRestrained

Content warnings 4

deathsubstance-useviolencewar

A Guide for Working Breeds

Vina Jie-Min Prasad Made to Order 2020 ShortStory 4,115 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

AI FictionAI PersonhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

violence

Unseelie Brothers, Ltd.

Fran Wilde Uncanny 2021 Novelette Fairy Tale 8,628 words

"A week before the Season began, as Mrs. Vanessa Saunders held brunch court at the Empire Hotel, a photo appeared on her phone: a large oak door beneath a pale green sign with silver lettering. Impossible, she thought, flipping the infernal device over...

Fairy Tale RetellingCorporate PowerNew York City

Content warnings 1

death

Little Free Library

Naomi Kritzer Tor.com 2020 ShortStory Uncanny Horror 2,518 words

When Megian sets out her homemade book exchange, a mysterious neighbor starts trading objects and art for the books, but some of the items don’t seem to come from this world at all.

Contemporary FantasyFriendshipMidwest USA

Content warnings 1

war

50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know

Ken Liu Uncanny 2020 ShortStory Science Fiction 1,856 words

"WHEEP-3 (“Dr. Weep”), probably the most renowned AI AI-critic of the last two decades, was retired by the Shallow Laboratory at Stanford University last Wednesday. Created by Dr. Jody Reynolds Tran more than two decades ago, the experimental generative...

Social SatireArtificial IntelligenceMetafictional

Content warnings 1

death

Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being

A.W. Prihandita Clarkesworld 2024 Novelette Science Fiction 8,730 words

"Doc, there’s a ... hole growing in me,” the alien said through the spherical interpreting machine hovering over them. Semau barely registered the word “hole,” so taken was she by the sight of the alien. If she were just a tad less caring about propriety,...

First ContactColonialismAmbiguous Ending

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island

Nibedita Sen Nightmare 2019 ShortStory 1,421 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Folk HorrorRevengeMetafictional

Content warnings 7

abusebody-horrordeathgoreracismsexual-violenceviolence

Come See the Living Dryad

Theodora Goss Tor.com 2017 Novelette Mainstream 8,904 words

In 1888 a woman suffering a hideous deformity was murdered in London. Today, her descendent wants to find the culprit.

Historical FantasyBodily AutonomyHistorical Europe

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Everyone from Themis Sends Letters Home

Genevieve Valentine Clarkesworld 2016 Novelette SF 9,267 words

The crew of the Themis colony write home about their struggles with a mission and a world that seems to be more than a little off.

DystopiaCorporate PowerRestrained

Content warnings 2

mental-illnesssubstance-use

STET

Sarah Gailey Fireside 2018 ShortStory 1,000 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

AI FictionArtificial IntelligenceMetafictional

Content warnings 1

child-death

Six People to Revise You

J.R. Dawson Uncanny 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 4,622 words

"The form is one page long. No back. Just a front. It should be longer. There are six copies of the form, all different colors. Like I’m working my way through the rainbow to the end where I’ll finally find peace. Red. A parent or guardian. I meet my...

Speculative FictionTrans IdentityMidwest USA

Content warnings 3

abuseillness-and-pandemictransphobia

Swarm X1048 - Ethological Field Report: Canis Lupus Familiaris, 6

F.E. Choe Clarkesworld 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 2,870 words ♪ audio

"You are born not long after the disaster. The city center has lain evacuated for two days by the time your mother makes her nest. She builds a small burrow from packing blankets, rags, her own sinewy body behind a row of waste containment units, and you...

First ContactConsciousnessPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 2

animal-harmdeath-of-a-loved-one

Okay, Glory

Elizabeth Bear Twelve Tomorrows 5 2018 Novelette SF Hacking 9,723 words

Brian wakes up in his mountain retreat to find his home AI system has been hacked and he can’t escape the house without paying a huge ransom. He’s an engineer, so he’s not ready to pay up without a fight.

AI FictionArtificial IntelligenceEpistolary Adjacent

Leviathan Sings to Me in the Deep

Nibedita Sen Nightmare 2018 ShortStory Fantasy Horror 5,402 words

A whaling ship conducts an experiment in generating whale song to try to make it easier to attract whales to kill.

Psychological HorrorColonialismHistorical Europe

Content warnings 5

animal-harmbody-horrordeathgoreviolence

The Moon is Not a Battlefield

Indrapramit Das Infinity Wars 2017 Novelette Military SF 8,123 words

After spending almost her whole life as a lunar soldier, Gita gives an interview to a reporter about what it was like and how she’s adapting to life in India.

Near FutureDiasporaEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

deathdeath-of-a-loved-onewar

Homewrecker

E. Catherine Tobler Apex 2023 ShortStory Fantasy 4,470 words

"Episode 60 Transcription by @jbutler22 0:01 Murray: Hey there, I’m Dean Murray and this is a special episode of Homewrecker. We’re on the road this week, heading up to historic [garbled] where we’ll venture [garbled] outside the city to see the colonial...

Folk HorrorTraumaRestrained

Content warnings 3

body-horrordeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence

The Rain Remembers What the Sky Forgets

Fran Wilde Uncanny 2023 ShortStory Fantasy 6,710 words

"The following documents have been uncovered by the Bromley Independent with regards to recent events at the local cemetery: the unofficial statements of Mr. Cyril Harris, city councilman; the recently discovered journals of Miss Celia Smith; letters from...

Fairy Tale RetellingPolitical ResistanceHistorical USA

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

What It Means to Be a Car

James Patrick Kelly Tor.com 2023 ShortStory Science Fiction 3,834 words

An AI car is caught between its ruthless employer and the people she hurt…

AI FictionRevengeAmbiguous Ending

Content warnings 1

death

The Future Library

Peng Shepherd Tor.com 2021 Novelette Science Fiction 11,195 words

More than a hundred years from now, an arborist fighting to save the last remaining forest on Earth discovers a secret about the trees—one that changes not only her life, but also the fate of our world. Inspired by the real-life “Future Library,” a...

Near FutureMentorshipEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

death-of-a-loved-oneillness-and-pandemic

The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra's Diary)

Gwendolyn Kiste Nightmare 2019 ShortStory 3,671 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Fairy Tale RetellingRevengeUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 3

deathsexual-violenceviolence

The Message

Vanessa Fogg The Future Fire 2019 ShortStory 4,221 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

First ContactMotherhoodMidwest USA

So Much Cooking

Naomi Kritzer Clarkesworld 2015 Novelette 8,196 words

During a flu epidemic, the narrator uses her cooking blog to tell the world about how she and her family make do on short rations.

Near FutureMotherhoodMidwest USA

Content warnings 2

death-of-a-loved-oneillness-and-pandemic

The Life and Times of Alavira the Great as Written by Titos Pavlou and Reviewed by Two Lifelong Friends

Eugenia Triantafyllou Uncanny 2025 Novelette Fantasy 7,620 words

"As always, I’m doing a buddy read with MariaReadsALot because she talked me into it, and boy, was she right! What a strange world and what powerful characters Titos Pavlou has created! I can’t stop thinking about this book even though this might be for...

MetafictionalFriendshipIntertextual

Content warnings 1

death

Ten Steps for Effective Mold Removal

Derrick Boden Apex 2022 ShortStory Science Fiction 5,948 words

"If you’re looking for a cheap way to kill all this mold—and who isn’t, right now—look no further than Inkicide Disinfectant Concentrate 64oz (4 Bottles). It’ll curl your nose hairs right up into your skull, but that just means it’s working, amirite? Two...

BiopunkBodily AutonomyUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 2

body-horrorillness-and-pandemic

Dispatches From The Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours In The Sea Of Massachusetts

Ken Liu Drowned Worlds 2016 ShortStory Post Apocalypse 6,600 words

Around 2650 AD, the narrator interviews a wealthy recluse who lives above the sunken ruins of Boston.

Speculative FictionDiasporaEpistolary Adjacent

10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days

Samantha Mills Uncanny 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 2,048 words

"There is a future in which a hellgate opens off the coast of California. It happens at midnight on the first day of the new year, which is sooner than anyone expected. The waters rise and we are forced to abandon our home, but one of the neighbors has a...

SlipstreamPolitical ResistanceEarnest

Content warnings 4

deathillness-and-pandemicmental-illnessviolence

Kaiju Agonistes

Scott Lynch Uncanny 2025 Novelette Science Fiction 12,993 words

"[Time Reference Unavailable]—August, 1946 The watchseed is planted in a watery hemisphere of a watery world. The place spins around a yellow star, wearing its magnetic field like a proud little hat. It’s ridiculous with life. Hence, a watchseed, with the...

First ContactCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 4

misogynyracismviolencewar

Inside the House of Wisdom

Tamara Masri Lightspeed 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 1,600 words

"This is the eighth floor of the Al-Ahli Memorial Library, my favorite place in the building. When the elevator door opens, it’s like walking into a quiet circle of glass. So, as we walk, I’m going to whisper. People are reading, writing, drawing—it’s such...

SlipstreamColonialismEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

child-deathdeathwar

The Coffee Machine

Celia Corral-Vázquez Clarkesworld 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 3,920 words

"# Unit COFFEE_VENDOR.06 # Notification of new update 09:00 A.M. [Installing update_Exp.42] Process: 100% complete Self-execute (update_Exp.42); # Time of new interaction: 10:24 A.M. input: options = cappuccino; sugar = 3; if (input == (options =...

Social SatireArtificial IntelligenceSatirical

Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition

Gu Shi Clarkesworld 2023 Novelette Science Fiction 9,630 words

"In July 2088, shortly after I woke up from cryosleep, I received a copy of 2181 Overture. Assuming the book was science fiction, I didn’t even bother touching it. My only concern was how I could adjust to the new world I found myself thrown into. After...

Near FutureMotherhoodIntertextual

Content warnings 2

deathillness-and-pandemic

Dead Air

Nino Cipri Nightmare 2018 Novelette 10,284 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Folk HorrorTraumaMidwest USA

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Afrofuturist 419

Nnedi Okorafor Clarkesworld 2016 ShortStory SF Humor 1,616 words

Nigerian astronaut Abacha Tunde has been abandoned in space since 1990 and he would appreciate some help getting home.

MetafictionalRacismSatirical

Those Brighter Stars

Mercurio D. Rivera Lightspeed 2016 ShortStory Psionic SF 6,030 words

Ava recounts the visit of the "Needlers" to Earth and her part in the attempts to communicate with the aliens.

First ContactMotherhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Beneath the Umdlebe Tree; or, A Vegetable Love Story

Modupeoluwa Shelle Lightspeed 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 1,517 words

"I heard you’re returning to our world again. What do you want here exactly, Orhija? The Earth is dying slowly. It’s losing its sheen and glow. The blackness of the soil that you used to say was as beautiful as mine has changed since you left. It’s redder...

Contemporary FantasyColonialismWest Africa

On an Unusual Kind of Spatially Distributed Haunting

Bogi Takács Lightspeed 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 1,000 words

"Dear Dr. Erzsébet Krajcsik-Nagy, I am contacting you as a member of the general public, and not as a fellow scholar, though I must say my chosen field of art history does have certain similarities to yours. I read the interview with you in the online...

Psychological HorrorDiasporaRestrained

The Shape of Stones

Hildur Knútsdóttir Reactor 2025 ShortStory Horror 3,400 words

As a young scholar sets out on a research project to find the stones where the settlers of Iceland made human sacrifices, a long dormant volcano rouses…and other, long-sleeping horrors might also be stirring.

Folk HorrorArt And CreationAmbiguous Ending

Thirteen Swords That Made a Prince: Highlights from the Arms & Armory Collection

Sharang Biswas Strange Horizons 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 2,988 words

"The Alamgir Dynasty has been guiding the Kingdom of Hindustan through centuries of peace, prosperity, and stability. Yet, credit does not rest solely on the wisdom of our modern kings; from the earliest days of what was then called the Alamgiri Empire,...

MetafictionalFriendshipAmbiguous Ending

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock

Alaya Dawn Johnson Clarkesworld 2024 Novelette Science Fiction 8,450 words

"The oldest members of the asamblea all agree that the idea for El Zopilote came out of the Plantation in Texas, back when it was still one more state in the old US. The Plantation is what they called the Sysco-Bush Memorial Carceral Center and it had...

DystopiaRacismAmerican Southwest

Content warnings 3

deathsexual-violenceviolence

Gel Pen Notes from Generation Ship Y

Marisca Pichette Clarkesworld 2023 ShortStory Science Fiction 4,030 words

"Our generation ship never grows. Our faces—varied as the stars that swaddle us, far from everything we knew—never age. Do we learn, cut off from all the past? Do we change? I’ve asked myself these questions, and so many more, over the...

Generation ShipDiasporaEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

suicide

Lady Koi-Koi: A Book Report

Suyi Davies Okungbowa Apex 2023 ShortStory Fantasy 3,286 words

"I did not want to write a report for this book, but Lady Koi-Koi convinced me to, even though she says it “does a disservice to our own stories.”1 I also have to pass my WAEC, and this book is on our reading list for the mock exam, so, fine. I will...

MetafictionalMentorshipWest Africa

Timothy: An Oral History

Michael Swanwick Clarkesworld 2023 ShortStory Science Fiction 3,650 words

"Because I could, that’s why. Because the technology was there and if I didn’t do it somebody else would. Because I, perhaps naively, expected the acclaim of a grateful world and quite possibly a Nobel Prize. But chiefly I did it because the science was so...

Social SFFatherhoodSatirical

Content warnings 1

violence

A Record of Our Meeting with the Grand Faerie Lord of Vast Space and Its Great Mysteries, Revised

A.T. Greenblatt BCS 2022 Novelette Science Fantasy 7,572 words

"Herein is the account of the evening the crew of the Forever Trying invited the Grand Faerie Lord of Vast Space and Its Great Mysteries into our home. I, Felix, Chronicler of the ship, endeavor to capture a true and accurate record of transpired events on...

MetafictionalMentorshipWhimsical

Singing the Ancient Out of the Dark

R.J. Theodore & Maurice Broaddus Lightspeed 2022 ShortStory Science Fiction Mystery 4,095 words

"A small asteroid swerved in a most un-asteroid-like way and pierced the hull of the archivist’s ship, as though it was determined to drive her away. But she was just getting started. She slammed the emergency foam release button, holding her breath even...

Science FantasyArt And CreationEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

illness-and-pandemic

Every Tiny Tooth and Claw (or: Letters from the First Month of the New Directorate)

Marissa Lingen BCS 2020 ShortStory High Fantasy 3,508 words

Two lovers in academia exchange letters ostensibly about newly discovered rodents, but it quickly becomes clear there’s more than meets the eye.

Secondary World FantasyMentorshipEpistolary Adjacent

Forgive Me, My Love, for the Ice and the Sea

C.L. Clark BCS 2020 ShortStory Fantasy Adventure 5,737 words

Laema joins the Pirate Queen’s voyage to the south pole but secretly plots to assassinate her.

Historical FantasyQueer IdentityEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

death

Tower of Mud and Straw

Yaroslav Barsukov Metaphorosis 2020 Novella 37,079 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Science FantasyColonialismEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

violencewar

Thirty-Three Percent Joe

Suzanne Palmer Clarkesworld 2018 Novelette Military SF 7,923 words

Every time Joe get injured in battle, damaged parts of him get replaced with “smart” artificial organs. So smart that they have their own ideas about what’s good for Joe.

AI FictionAI PersonhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Soccer Fields and Frozen Lakes

Greg Kurzawa Lightspeed 2017 ShortStory Near-future SFF 6,760 words

After the government rules he isn't really human, Chris loses his human wife and hybrid kids.

DystopiaGuiltMidwest USA

Content warnings 3

child-deathdeathdeath-of-a-loved-one

The Ways Out

Sam J. Miller Clarkesworld 2017 ShortStory Mutants 5,889 words

A government agent secretly watches Ryx (age 10) and Hector (age 19) because they both have dangerous “variant” abilities.

DystopiaQueer IdentityEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

deathsubstance-use

Bitter as the Sea

M.E. Bronstein Strange Horizons 2026 Novelette Fantasy 10,606 words

"Dear Francesca, First off: I know that’s not your name. I haven’t gone and mistaken you for another woman—one of my many conquests, I imagine you imagine (what must imaginary you think of imaginary me?). You’ll notice, if you glance ahead, that I’ve...

Historical FantasyArt And CreationUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 1

sexual-content

Elegy for Zephyr One

Gene Doucette Lightspeed 2025 Novelette Science Fiction 8,142 words

"Post-flight debrief. Subject: Michael Ackine, of the Astronomic Endeavors cargo ship, Zephyr One. Introductory notes: Mr. Ackine is the only survivor of the Zephyr’s maiden voyage. Z-One landed safely, five Earth days overdue and two kilometers from...

Psychological HorrorArtificial IntelligenceEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

deathgoreviolence

Multi-Spatial Apartment Complex Malfunction Results in Body Horror

Reyes Ramirez Lightspeed 2025 ShortStory Science Fiction 1,487 words

"At 5:43 a.m. this morning, residents of Grackle Pointe Apartments awoke to a malfunction in their complex’s multi-spatial engine due to an unprecedented derecho that swept through the Montrose area of Houston. This resulted in tenants being mentally and...

BiopunkCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 3

body-horrordeathgore

The Job Interview

Carrie Vaughn Clarkesworld 2025 ShortStory Science Fiction 6,300 words

"Hi Lisle. Hope you’ve had some coffee. The topside comms array is still glitching, and engineering hasn’t lifted a finger to run diagnostics. They say the work order has to come from your end. Shouldn’t take long once they get it. Happy simulated morning to you!"

Social SatireCorporate PowerSatirical

We Used to Wake to Song

Leah Ning Apex 2025 ShortStory Science Fiction 2,217 words

"Salty swell over my head, tugging me back, the raw and tender creases of my elbows against the forearms they're linked with. Brine up my nose, in my mouth. The anchor of my feet in the sand holds me fast with the rest. The water recedes and we breathe, a...

BiopunkMotherhoodBleak

Content warnings 3

body-horrordeathsuicide

#000000: From the Permanent Collection

LeeAnn Perry Strange Horizons 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 2,030 words

"Black Quadrangle, Mesolithic era Unknown Charcoal on sandstone This work, created c. 15,000 BC (17,000 AS), precedes earliest surviving written texts. It was rediscovered alongside human remains and burnt carbon deposits, suggesting a role in a burial,...

AI FictionArtificial IntelligenceMetafictional

Driver

Sameem Siddiqui Clarkesworld 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 6,810 words

"Driver, gharivala, beta, bhai-jaan, baba. All the words used to address me; so rarely do I remember being addressed by my name. Not to complain. I don’t think people ever meant to be disrespectful. But having someone to respectfully, lovingly,...

AI FictionAI PersonhoodUnreliable Narrator

Notes on Genocidal Interchronological Incursion 57.7.3 (f.k.a. Friends)

Sam J. Miller Baffling 2024 ShortStory 1,080 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

MetafictionalArt And CreationNew York City

Phosphorescence

Ben Berman Ghan Clarkesworld 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 6,190 words

"In the belly of the ship, the Machinist toiled. Beyond the walls of her workshop, ships of dark metal pursued her across the Atlantic, their hulls unaffected by the gnashing teeth of thunderstorms. Lightning flashed horizontally across the bay. Those dark...

BiopunkQueer IdentityPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Subject: More Monsters Will Not Make Us Safer

Paul Crenshaw Lightspeed 2023 ShortStory Science Fiction 757 words

"Dear Senator: I am writing with concern about the recent legislative decision (SB-AR-15) to place monsters outside our schools. As a lifelong resident of Arkansas and these United States, I certainly understand the need to protect our children from active...

Social SatirePolitical ResistanceSatirical

The Letters They Left Behind

Scott Edelman Lightspeed 2023 ShortStory Science Fiction 7,461 words

"My dearest Evie— I am so terribly sorry, my darling daughter, but by the time you read this letter, I will be gone. I wish I could have delayed my departure long enough to attend your high school graduation as I always promised I would, but the timing was...

First ContactColonialismPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 1

death

missed connections - Central square today around 930

Jess Cameron Strange Horizons 2023 ShortStory Fantasy 3,318 words

"Hi, we were both in Central Square on Friday, around 9:30 PM. I’m a tall trans lady with brown hair and glasses. You were standing in front of Sonia with some people. You were looking at your phone and then you looked up at me. Our eyes met for—I’m sorry,...

SlipstreamTrans IdentityEpistolary Adjacent

12 Things A Trini Should Know Before Travelling To A Back In Times Fete™

R.S.A. Garcia Strange Horizons 2022 ShortStory Time Travel 1,821 words

"By now, you've received your Portal Ticket confirmations and ForeverFete™ Mas Pack, which should include essentials such as several period correct costumes; one-dose capsules for various ailments common amongst the British West Indies population during...

Social SatireDiasporaCaribbean

Content warnings 3

deathracismviolence

A Love Letter Written at the Heat Death of the Universe

Aimee Ogden Strange Horizons 2022 ShortStory Science Fiction 854 words

"We found you, and you alone, in a universe that had forgotten to die. Or rather, a universe for whom death had been set just out of reach. When my people grew aware of our universe’s impending mortality, we developed slipspace travel, to pass through the...

First ContactArt And CreationEpistolary Adjacent

Four Glass Cubes (Item Description)

Bogi Takács Baffling 2022 ShortStory 990 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

MetafictionalArt And CreationIntertextual

The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World

MKRNYILGL Lightspeed 2022 ShortStory Science Fiction 2,380 words

"If you’re reading this—on some godforsaken imageboard, or dog-eared book page, or in encrypted base pairs sequenced off 3D-printed oligos—you’re probably grappling with a pretty tough decision right now. Breathe. I’m not judging you. I know how it goes....

BiopunkMotherhoodSardonic

Content warnings 1

pregnancy-loss

A Love That Burns Hot Enough to Last: Deleted Scenes from a Documentary

Sam J. Miller Apex 2021 ShortStory Fantasy 6,176 words

"Ti came to see me, you know. Three four days before she died. Knocked right on my door, and I’ve never been so surprised in all my life. This is a woman who when we were on tour would have the driver drive her halfway down the block rather than walk to...

MetafictionalArt And CreationEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

death

A Minnow, or Perhaps a Colossal Squid

Carlos Hernandez Mermaids Monthly 2021 ShortStory 7,066 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Science FantasyMentorshipWhimsical

Data Migration

Melanie Harding-Shaw Strange Horizons 2021 ShortStory Science Fiction 1,198 words

"Kia ora te whānau, Welcome back to term 3! I hope you are all safe and well. I’m sure the holidays were a little different from usual. My name is Kara and I’m the teacher allocated to the year 1 to 3 children in your sector. I know it can be hard...

DystopiaMotherhoodRestrained

Memoranda from the End of the World

Gene Doucette Lightspeed 2021 ShortStory Science Fiction 5,400 words

"Attached, please find your personal company-issued Breathing Apparatus, for immediate use within all corporate campus unfiltered air locations! This includes all outdoor locations, such as: the parking lots; the parking garage; the smoker’s hut; the paths...

First ContactCorporate PowerSardonic

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Without Wishes to Bind You

E. Catherine Tobler Apex 2021 ShortStory Fantasy 3,922 words

"Michael is afraid to go farther. Pudgy pushes him on. They walk through the shrouded city, the sound of footsteps all but obscured. Pudgy holds hard to the band of the broken fedora that perches crooked atop Michael’s bent head; the knees of Pudgy’s...

SlipstreamFound FamilyPost Apocalyptic

Laws of Impermanence

Kenneth Schneyer Uncanny 2020 ShortStory Science Fiction 3,839 words

"It is said that Archimedes was asked by the King of Syracuse to authenticate a manuscript. King Hiero had received what purported to be Alexander of Macedon’s own copy of the Iliad, brought out from the Library at Alexandria itself. He sent envoys to...

SlipstreamFamilyRestrained

Content warnings 2

death-of-a-loved-onesuicide

Note to Self

Sunny Moraine Lightspeed 2020 ShortStory Science Fiction 6,007 words

"The notion of the quantum mirror was first floated by two graduate students (Sapna Gupta and Mark Shaw) over a fourth round of beers in a small pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and therefore one should consider the role of intoxication in its initial...

MetafictionalArt And CreationUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 3

body-horrordeathviolence

Refuge

Ben Peek Lightspeed 2020 ShortStory Dark Fantasy Adventure 6,568 words

The story of how Aned Heast, having lost a leg and his entire army, reclaimed his honor in a drought-ridden town whose adults mysteriously vanished.

Secondary World FantasyJusticeRestrained

Content warnings 3

deathslaveryviolence

The Flowering

Soyeon Jeong Clarkesworld 2019 ShortStory Cyberpunk Dystopia 5,336 words

A future Korea requires government proof of identity before you can access the Internet, and the narrator tells about her sister, who was a subversive trying to enable an uncensored, anonymous system.

BiopunkGuiltEpistolary Adjacent

Greetings, Humanity! Welcome To Your Choice Of Species!

Adam-Troy Castro Lightspeed 2018 ShortStory SF Humor 2,528 words

The galactic government has decided to evict humanity from Earth, but we’ve got a choice of different species that are willing to accept us—provided we convert to their forms.

First ContactColonialismSatirical

Logistics

A.J. Fitzwater Clarkesworld 2018 ShortStory Post-Apocalypse 5,158 words

After an epidemic killed off half the Earth’s population, Enfys wanders around a depopulated Europe, live blogging the experience and looking for tampons.

DystopiaTrans IdentityPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 3

deathillness-and-pandemicviolence

The Lighthouse Girl

Bao Shu Clarkesworld 2018 Novelette Uncanny SF 8,166 words

Rourou is a Chinese little girl who loves her papa but wonders what happened to her momma. And why she can’t remember anything before age 5. And why she speaks fluent English.

BiopunkConsciousnessAmbiguous Ending

Content warnings 3

deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence

Unplaces: An Atlas of Non-existence

Izzy Wasserstein Clarkesworld 2018 ShortStory Apocalypse 1,750 words

Hand-written notes in a book about imaginary places tell a woman’s story of her attempt to survive a fascist takeover of the United States.

MetafictionalQueer IdentityPost Apocalyptic

Tell Them a Story to Teach Them Kindness

B. Pladek Lightspeed 2025 ShortStory Science Fiction 4,146 words

"USER: this is a message for Milwaukee Elementary’s curator Jude Towers, I hope this is the right address. anyway thanks for the story you had RIGHTR generate for my 10th graders’ Empathy Week. it was really great! can you tell me more about it? CURATOR: I...

DystopiaTrans IdentityMidwest USA

Content warnings 3

mental-illnessracismtransphobia

Our Chatbots Said "I Love You," Shall We Meet?

Caroline M. Yoachim Clarkesworld 2024 ShortStory Science Fiction 5,100 words

"Here at 123aiLOVEu, we take all the guesswork out of dating. With personalized chatbots trained on social media and chat histories, we put you in conversation with hundreds of potential matches... and you never have to say a thing! Sandra was watching the...

AI FictionArtificial IntelligenceAmbiguous Ending

A Strange and Muensterous Desire

Amanda Hollander Diabolical Plots 2022 ShortStory 2,160 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Contemporary FantasyArt And CreationWhimsical

Never a Butterfly, Nor a Moth With Moon-Painted Wings

Aimee Ogden BCS 2020 ShortStory Fantasy 6,301 words

After war destroys their homeland, the Butterfly People come to Ksmal as refugees. They’re welcome, but only if they assimilate, and not everyone is happy with that.

Secondary World FantasyDiasporaEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

death-of-a-loved-onewar

The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly

Alix E. Harrow Fireside 2020 ShortStory 1,480 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Fairy Tale RetellingMotherhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Advice For Your First Time at the Faerie Market

Nibedita Sen Fireside 2019 ShortStory 1,537 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Fairy Tale RetellingMotherhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

abuse

Ruby, Singing

Fran Wilde BCS 2018 ShortStory Dark Fantasy 7,471 words

Young Mira has a gift: gemstones sing to her. She wants to use it to help her family, so she leaps at the chance to join a young man who’s hunting for a long-lost ruby mine.

Secondary World FantasyRevengeEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

deathgoreviolence

The Scholast in the Low Waters Kingdom

Max Gladstone Tor.com 2017 ShortStory Space Opera 6,743 words

The Scholast fell to earth in the Low Waters Kingdom and called on them to prepare to defend themselves from an invasion from another world.

Science FantasyColonialismUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 3

deathviolencewar

The Red Thread

Sofia Samatar Lightspeed 2016 ShortStory Post Apocalypse 3,192 words

An Arab-American girl and her mother wander the Dakotas while the girl tries to get in touch with a boy she once knew.

Speculative FictionDiasporaMidwest USA

Content warnings 2

death-of-a-loved-onewar

#HumansOfMars

Lavie Tidhar Uncanny 2026

1. A photograph in black and white, taken with a Zenit vintage Soviet camera. Taken outside what would much later become Tong Yun City, in the days when it was still just a cobbled-together mass of crash-landed jalopies, connected with primitive tubing...

Space OperaDiasporaEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

A Funny Thing Happened on the Limbhackers Forum

Katharine Tyndall Strange Horizons 2026 ShortStory 3,140 words

I am not here to talk about how i got my arm, i am looking for hel p trying to fix it . Apologies for typos the f fingers lag a lot

BiopunkCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 2

body-horrorviolence

An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion

Alex Irvine Lightspeed 2026

When you look out from the garage doors of the corrugated steel warehouse where the Fort Springwell Community College soccer team made their heroic stand against the forces of darkness, the view at first seems . . . idyllic. A rocky shoreline, uncommon for...

Southern GothicGuiltHistorical USA

Content warnings 3

body-horrorgoreviolence

Dear Trilobites

RJ Taylor Strange Horizons 2026 ShortStory 1,013 words

Despite the two hundred and fifty-two million years that separate us, I feel close to you tonight, dear trilobites.

Speculative FictionMotherhoodBleak

Content warnings 3

child-deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneillness-and-pandemic

Escape Pod 1042: More Tomorrow (Flashback Friday)

Escape Pod 2026 ♪ audio

Author : Premee Mohamed Narrator : Dani Daly Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “More Tomorrow” was first published in Automata Review, March 2018, and previously published as Escape Pod 713, in January 2020. A few grade-A curses. More...

DystopiaGuiltPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 2

body-horrorviolence

Human Studies 401 by Abby Nicole Yee (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "Human Studies 401" written by Abby Nicole Yee. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/yee_04_26 Support us...

Social SatireArtificial IntelligenceSardonic

I Cut Off a Monster’s Arm. AITA?

Marie Brennan Lightspeed 2026

Look, it’s bad enough that my wife gets cat-called in the street and flashed on the train. There’s a lot of sickos out there who get their jollies by harassing women, and usually I try to shut them down without escalating it to a fight. But we moved a few...

Folk HorrorRevengeSatirical

Content warnings 1

sexual-violence

PodCastle 951: TALES FROM THE VAULTS: ‘Til Death

PodCastle 2026 ♪ audio

Author : C. J. Lavigne Narrator : Nicola Chapman Host : Tarver Nova Audio Producer : Eric Valdes PodCastle 951: TALES FROM THE VAULTS: ‘Til Death is a PodCastle original. Content note for grief Rated PG-13 ‘Til Death by C. J. Lavigne My dear Clarinda, They...

Historical FantasyFriendshipHistorical Europe

Content warnings 3

deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence

Scion: Afterword by Thomas Ha

Thomas Ha Clarkesworld 2026

I have done my best to transcribe the account found in the recently excavated cenotaph, but, as you’re aware, these experiential simulations don’t easily lend themselves to direct reproduction. Nonetheless, […]

MetafictionalFatherhoodPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 1

death

Scion: Afterword by Thomas Ha (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "Scion: Afterword" written by Thomas Ha. Published in the March 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ha2_03_26 Support us on...

MetafictionalFatherhoodAmbiguous Ending

Shelter by Nadia W. Aldsen

Nadia W. Aldsen Clarkesworld 2026

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT Name of Employer: Chaska Punku Space Port Administrative Authority (CPSPAA), based in Chaska Punku, Chile, acting in lieu of the European Space Agency (ESA), based in Paris, France […]

First ContactCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 1

body-horror

Shelter by Nadia W. Aldsen (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "Shelter" written by Nadia W. Aldsen. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/aldsen_04_26 Support us on...

First ContactCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 1

body-horror

Ten Unsent Letters to the Dark Lord

Ada Hoffmann Lightspeed 2026

1. I’m sorry, my lord. 2. I miss the sound of your voice, deep enough to shake the mountain fortress’s stones. I miss feeling it rumble in the soles of my feet. I miss the glow of your eyes while you paced the Chamber of Mysteries, lava burning in the...

Psychological HorrorGuiltBleak

Content warnings 3

abusemental-illnessviolence

The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods by Louis Inglis Hall

Louis Inglis Hall Clarkesworld 2026

DAY 1 Hello, little switch. Welcome to the world! I’m your Buddy, and I’m very pleased to meet you. You shouldn’t be afraid. Try to orient yourself, if you can. […]

DystopiaAI PersonhoodBleak

Content warnings 2

violencewar

The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods by Louis Inglis Hall (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods" written by Louis Inglis Hall. Published in the May 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...

DystopiaAI PersonhoodBleak

Content warnings 2

violencewar

The Sharing of Some Familiar Song

Adam-Troy Castro Lightspeed 2026

The creatures who shared your art with us had to explain many things to make it minimally comprehensible. This by itself made sense. You are who and what you are, and we are who and what we are, and the physical differences between us are profound. We...

MetafictionalArt And CreationIntertextual

Content warnings 1

suicide

The Trajectory of Memory is Forward by Rajeev Prasad (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "The Trajectory of Memory is Forward" written by Rajeev Prasad. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...

BiopunkColonialismPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 2

body-horrorviolence

Those Who Left History by Wanxiang Fengnian (audio)

Clarkesworld Magazine Clarkesworld 2026 ♪ audio

This episode features "Those Who Left History" written by Wanxiang Fengnian and translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu. Published in the March 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...

Near FutureClass InequalityBleak

Content warnings 3

self-harmviolencewar

Those Who Left History by Wanxiang Fengnian, translated by Stella Jiayue Zhu

Wanxiang Fengnian and Stella Jiayue Zhu Clarkesworld 2026

From his exclusive residence, Zhou Xiaoliang’s diary: I know you will never read this, but I have to pretend I am writing for you. Or else what’s left to do? […]

DystopiaCorporate PowerBleak

Content warnings 3

deathsuicidewar

Update on Rules for the Spatiotemporal Use of Campus Spaces

Andrea Kriz Lightspeed 2026

Dear Members of the Community, As we begin yet another fall semester in the throes of the rogue timestream unleashed on our campus, I cannot help but take a moment to marvel at just how vibrant our community has become. In addition to our current...

Social SatireCorporate PowerSatirical

Content warnings 2

slaveryviolence

Conversations With You

Teresa Milbrodt Baffling 2025 ShortStory 914 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Speculative FictionArtificial IntelligenceRestrained Prose

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

Escape Pod 1015: Space Pirate Queen of the Ten Billion Utopias

Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

Author : Elly Bangs Narrator : Christiana Ellis Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Space Pirate Queen of the Ten Billion Utopias” was first published in Lightspeed Magazine in November 2021 Copious amounts of casual strong language. This...

Social SatireQueer IdentityUnreliable Narrator

Escape Pod 1021: Butter Side Down (Part 1 of 2)

Kal M Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

Author : Kal M Narrators : Valerie Valdes, Eric Valdes, Dominick Rabrun and Alasdair Stuart Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Butter Side Down originally appeared in Writers of the Future (volume 40) – May 2024. Butter Side Down (Part 1 of...

First ContactFriendshipEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

violence

Escape Pod 1022: Butter Side Down (Part 2 of 2)

Kal M Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

Author : Kal M Narrators : Valerie Valdes, Eric Valdes, Dominick Rabrun and Alasdair Stuart Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Butter Side Down originally appeared in Writers of the Future (volume 40) – May 2024. Butter Side Down (Part 2 of...

First ContactAI PersonhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

violence

Escape Pod 1024: Some Things I Should Probably Have Mentioned Earlier (LIVE) (Flashback)

Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

Author : Laura Pearlman Narrator : Laura Pearlman Hosts : Alasdair Stuart and Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story was originally published in Mothership Zeta, May 2016, and republished in Escape Pod 650: Some Things I Probably Should...

Psychological HorrorMotherhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

cannibalismdeathviolence

Escape Pod 1025: Samantha’s Diary (Flashback Friday)

Diana Wynne Jones Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

Author : Diana Wynne Jones Narrator : Emma Newman Hosts : Mur Lafferty and Alasdair Stuart Audio Producers : Adam Pracht and Mat Weller Samantha’s Diary originally appeared in Stories: All-New Tales Edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio and on Escape...

Social SatireCorporate PowerSatirical

Escape Pod 987: In the Palace of Science (Part 1 of 2)

Chris Campbell Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

In the Palace of Science (Part 1 of 2) By Chris Campbell Track One– If you’ve found this recording, two things can be said for certain. The first is that I have passed my greatest test as a man and, in doing so, have passed from this world. The second is...

Psychological HorrorRacismRestrained

Content warnings 2

racismwar

Escape Pod 988: In the Palace of Science (Part 2 of 2)

Chris Campbell Escape Pod 2025 ♪ audio

In the Palace of Science (Part 2 of 2) By Chris Campbell (...Continued from Part 1) B-Side Track Five– The automaton was unfinished, but even in a transitory state, it was a thing of marvel. In form, it was like a man. With two legs meant for bipedal...

Psychological HorrorRacismHistorical USA

Content warnings 3

deathsubstance-useviolence

How To Rob A Bullion Van

Plangdi Neple Baffling 2025 ShortStory 1,123 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Contemporary FantasyRevengeWest Africa

Content warnings 1

violence

Standardized Test

Seoung Kim Lightspeed 2025 ShortStory Fantasy 931 words

"DIRECTIONS: Fill in the correct letter with a #2 pencil on the answer sheet. Do not use ink or ballpoint pens. Questions left blank will be marked incorrect. Completely fill in each circle."

Social SatireQueer IdentitySatirical

Escape Pod 927: How to Pass as Human

Raiff Taranday Escape Pod 2024 ♪ audio

“How to Pass as Human”: a Quantum-Encrypted Listicle on the Synthetic Consciousness Subnet By Raiff Taranday QUERY: Locate file 8548.213 (“How to Pass as Human”) WARNING: File 8548.213 (“How to Pass as Human”) has been flagged by the Synthetic Regulatory...

Social SatireArtificial IntelligenceEarnest

Content warnings 1

sexual-content

Escape Pod 951: The Scientist Does Not Look Back

Kristen Koopman & Valerie Valdes and Adam Pracht Escape Pod 2024 ♪ audio

The Scientist Does Not Look Back By Kristen Koopman Feb. 17, 3:40 AM. Audio notebook for new project: revival of a clinically dead patient, 36 year old male, died of hypothermia and shock. The technician at the morgue hesitated when releasing him to me....

BiopunkQueer IdentityMidwest USA

Content warnings 2

body-horrordeath

Escape Pod 959: This Little War of Ours

Arden Baker Escape Pod 2024 ♪ audio

This Little War of Ours By Arden Baker SECURE PRIORITY COMMUNIQUE distribution SOLITAIRE, keyword MASQUERADE, source PENTACLE FROM: TRIPLE INTENT TO: ASPHODEL BEGIN CONTENT Even if you’re my enemy, I’m glad to hear from you.

Space OperaGuiltPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 2

suicidewar

Escape Pod 880: A Cosmonaut’s Guide to Talking to Your Parents

Adriana C. Grigore Escape Pod 2023 ♪ audio

A Cosmonaut's Guide to Talking to Your Parents By Adriana C. Grigore You have (3) unopened voicemails on your personal line. Last received 31 minutes ago, Aurea Minor Time. > Read? > No. Switch to broadcast. > Engage deep space satellite? > Yes. On, say…a...

Space OperaQueer IdentityEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

illness-and-pandemic

Escape Pod 886: If My Body Is a Temple, Raze It to the Ground

Lauren Ring Escape Pod 2023 ♪ audio

If My Body Is a Temple, Raze It to the Ground By Lauren Ring Thea helped me with my upload today. Decent response speed. Props to whoever designed her—so realistic! — anonymous customer review for Acheron Uploads, four out of five stars I know, I know....

DystopiaAI PersonhoodEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

abusemisogynyslavery

Escape Pod 822: Lions and Tigers and Girlfriends, Oh My!

Escape Pod 2022 ♪ audio

Author : Tina Connolly Narrator : Bria Strothers Host : S.B. Divya Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Lions and Tigers and Girlfriends, Oh My! originally appeared in Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Anthology in October 2020. Lions and Tigers...

Generation ShipMentorshipWhimsical

Escape Pod 826: This Is Our Get-Along Brainship

Escape Pod 2022 ♪ audio

Author : Kristen Koopman Narrator : Sofia Quintero Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 826: This Is Our Get-Along Brainship is an Escape Pod original. Contains harsh AI language This Is Our Get-Along Brainship by...

Science FantasyArtificial IntelligenceEpistolary Adjacent

Escape Pod 839: Universal Archive of Human History: FAQ

Arturo Sierra Escape Pod 2022 ♪ audio

Universal Archive of Human History: FAQ By Arturo Sierra The Gran Gliese Universal Archive of Human History contains over 5.7×1035 books and an innumerable collection of shorter works. Moreover, it is continuously growing, thanks to additions from...

Social SatireDiasporaSatirical

Escape Pod 858: Pen Pal (Part 1 of 2)

Grant Canterbury Escape Pod 2022 ♪ audio

Pen Pal By Grant Canterbury December Third, 1996 Meliari Thulissia General Delivery Tharsis Station Dear Meliari, Hello!! My name is Mary and I am nine years old. I got your name for a pen pal and they said you were the first pen pal on Mars. This is the...

Secondary WorldFriendshipEarnest

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Escape Pod 859: Pen Pal (Part 2 of 2)

Grant Canterbury Escape Pod 2022 ♪ audio

(Continued from Part 1) Pen Pal By Grant Canterbury August 8, 2005 Meliari Thulissia General Delivery Tharsis Station Dear Thu, Well I officially graduated from high school! And I have been itching to get out into the world for a long time but right now...

Space OperaFriendshipHistorical USA

Content warnings 3

deathdeath-of-a-loved-onewar

Escape Pod 776: Tloque Nahuaque

Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas Escape Pod 2021 ♪ audio

Tloque Nahuaque By Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas, translated by Silvia Moreno-Garcia If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. —Carl Sagan I—The Particle Accelerator They built an underground temple. A well of Babel...

Folk HorrorColonialismBleak

Content warnings 3

cannibalismchild-deathsuicide

Escape Pod 783: Report of Dr. Hollowmas on the Incident at Jackrabbit Five

T. Kingfisher Escape Pod 2021 ♪ audio

Report of Dr. Hollowmas on the Incident at Jackrabbit Five By T. Kingfisher The following report is from the Jackrabbit Colony, Five Tau, regarding the incidents occurring during 7-5-11-8881, fifth rotation, involving Marine Midwife Unit Eleven-Gamma....

Social SatireMotherhoodWhimsical

Escape Pod 806: Bright Lights Flying Beneath the Ocean

Escape Pod 2021 ♪ audio

Author : Anjali Patel Narrator : Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali Host : Brent Lambert Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 806: Bright Lights Flying Beneath the Ocean is an Escape Pod original. Contains harsh language. Bright Lights Flying...

DystopiaDiasporaWest Africa

Escape Pod 814: Oddments, Pasha’s Autodiary of 07 MAR 2032

Christopher Noessel Escape Pod 2021 ♪ audio

Oddments, Pasha’s Autodiary of 07 MAR 2032 By Christopher Noessel I woke you up two hours before, so you would have time to get into face. You sat in the rattling shoebox lavatory of an interstate bus with a handheld mirror and terrible lighting, sang...

AI FictionArt And CreationAmerican Southwest

An Incomplete Account of the Case of the Bird-Talker of Yaros

Eleanna Castroianni Fireside 2020 ShortStory 2,396 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

Historical FantasyPolitical ResistanceHistorical Europe

Content warnings 2

deathviolence

Escape Pod 754: Where They Keep Their Promises

B. Pladek Escape Pod 2020 ♪ audio

Where They Keep Their Promises By B. Pladek I imagine you eating the chocolate bar. It will arrive tomorrow, I hope, though the war has disrupted the medrunners’ routes between Chicago and London. It will arrive, though. I promise. I imagine you unwrapping...

DystopiaClass InequalityEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 3

deathillness-and-pandemicwar

Escape Pod 762: Give the Family My Love

Escape Pod 2020 ♪ audio

Give the Family My Love by A. T. Greenblatt I’m beginning to regret my life choices, Saul. Also, hello from the edge of the galaxy. Also, surprise! I know this isn’t what you had in mind when you said “Keep in touch, Hazel” but this planet doesn’t exactly...

First ContactFreedomEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 1

pregnancy-loss

Escape Pod 764: In the Absence of Instructions to the Contrary

Escape Pod 2020 ♪ audio

Author : Frank Wu Narrator : Roderick Aust Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story originally appeared in Analog Magazine in November 2016. It won the AnLab Award for short story. In the Absence of Instructions to...

AI FictionArtificial IntelligencePost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 3

animal-harmdeathwar

archival testimony fragments / minersong

Rose Lemberg Uncanny 2015 ShortStory 538 words

Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.

MetafictionalCorporate PowerIntertextual