Lightspeed #151, December 2022
“Last Stand of the E. 12th St. Pirates” by L.D. Lewis
“To my daughter, in the dark of the moon” by P H Lee
“One Day in the Afterlife of Detective Roshni Chaddha” by Rati Mehrotra
“Deathmatch” by Rich Larson
“The Spread of Space and Endless Devastation” by Stewart C Baker
“Mad Honey” by Aimee Ogden
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are six newly published stories in Lightspeed’s 151st issue, plus two previously published stories. The new tales include one novelette and two flash stories. Overall this was an entertaining collection of tales.
“Last Stand of the E. 12th St. Pirates” by L.D. Lewis
This short SF story takes place in a climate-ravaged future where parts of the coastal cities are underwater. Dee works for the postal service in one such city. She delivers mail via a boat to third-floor apartments now at sea level.
After years of desolation and isolation, big money is coming to rebuild parts of the city. And that means zero tolerance for the local pirates who scoop out a meager life along the waterways. Dee knows the pirate leader and tries to warn him to stay away from a massive Amazon shipment arriving that afternoon.
The author sets this inviting story against a typical coastal flooded future.
“To my daughter, in the dark of the moon” by P H Lee
Lee’s flash fantasy is a letter from a mother warrior to her little daughter, extolling the girl to grow in the fullness of time and become a greater warrior than her mother, so she can continue the quest to take on the cursed spire that will soon take her mother’s life.
This nicely told story held the reader’s attention.
“One Day in the Afterlife of Detective Roshni Chaddha” by Rati Mehrotra
In this fantasy novelette, Roshni is a private detective in the afterlife when a Yamaduta engages her to help find a soul they lost. Despite her friend’s sage advice and her own misgivings, Roshni accepts the case, needing the money.
When Madhav, the Yamaduta, takes her to where he lost the woman’s soul, the real trouble begins. First, they run into an afterlife police inspector who suspects they are illegally searching for a lost soul. The inspector further claims the lost soul was his niece, and he will ensure Madhav pays for losing her soul.
Worse yet, Madhav’s boss visits them, claiming they have each broken sacrosanct laws of the afterlife. He threatens to toss them all into the most unforgiving of the twenty-eight hells. Roshni always lives on the precipice of eternal damnation, but this time she seems doomed.
The story was an appealing mystery set around the Hindu view of the afterlife. However, the story’s attention-grabbing moments didn’t come until halfway through the midpoint of the story.
“Deathmatch” by Rich Larson
Henrik is doing what he does most days in this SF short story. He is traveling in an autonomous cab to work. However, today the cab takes a detour. When Henrik asks why, the cab says they’ve selected him for a deathmatch.
Years earlier, Henrik agreed to be available for selection, though few people ever considered the system would choose them. Henrik is far past his prime and argues with the cab, claiming he is needed. But no one needs Henrik: his job doesn’t care, his spouse is a robot, and his children will get along fine without him. So, all Henrik can do is wait for the cab to bring him to the deathmatch site.
The author revealed a chilling future where people existed but did little else.
“The Spread of Space and Endless Devastation” by Stewart C Baker
A time loop has caught Ship’s crew in this flash SF story. Each iteration of the loop slowly pulls a torus of devastation closer. No matter what Ship does, it can’t stop crewmember Zander from recycling the loop by touching a mysterious device. How long can Ship struggle to find a way out before the torus arrives?
Although the time-loop sub-genre of SF is new, this story adds little to the story idea.
“Mad Honey” by Aimee Ogden
In this short fantasy, Aran shoots a wolf that is deranged from eating locally grown mad honey. Life is hard in this part of the world; each autumn, the village selects one man to eat some mad honey. It converts the man into a blood prophet who can accurately predict the future for that winter. Last year, Aran drew the short straw, so he’s exempt for this year.
Aran brings the wolf carcass to the village food share, where women butcher it and distribute the meat. At home, his wife complains about the quality of the wolf’s meat, though she does prepare a delicious wolf stew. That night, Aran has a vision from the tainted meat, and the prophecy is troubling for everyone in the village.
The author’s story made for compelling reading, though its speculative elements were well concealed until the end.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com. There are links there to join his mailing list for a weekly newsletter on the recent release of his second novel, The Fifth Kingdom.