Strange Horizons, February 3 & 10, 2020

“Across the Ice” by Ada Hoffmann (February 3)

“Company” by Shannon Sanders (February 10)

Reviewed by Tara Grímravn

So far this February, Strange Horizons has published two short stories, a bite-sized SF work and a longer Fantasy piece.

“Across the Ice” by Ada Hoffmann

On Jupiter’s frozen moon, Europa, Neela is a researcher studying the remains of a long-lost alien civilization. She’s stationed there along with her lover, Sharmila. When the research team finally gets a completed scan of the ancient pyramid’s layout, it’s not at all what they expect. But, while her co-workers are taken aback by the find, Neela is elated for reasons of her own.

To be perfectly honest, any descriptive summary I give of this work is going to be misleading. The simple fact is that Hoffman’s flash fiction story isn’t about the aliens. Oh, it’s an exciting discovery, to be sure, but not for the reasons one would generally expect. No, this is a decidedly human story, one that focuses on the disabled Neela and her sense of self after a lifetime of feeling like she didn’t “move right” and of being looked down upon. At less than 1,000 words, if I say much more I will be spoiling it for readers and I’d prefer to avoid that. Suffice it to say that it is very much worth a read.

“Company” by Shannon Sanders

Fay lives in the same rowhouse in which she grew up, quite literally surrounded by the ghosts of her family and neighbors. One morning, as she’s having a chat with the spirit of her father, a young girl comes walking up to her porch. Fay opens the door before she can knock and is not entirely surprised to learn that the visitor is her niece—the child of her sister, Suzette. As the two interact, memories of her childhood surface, revealing a rich family history.

Sanders has woven a very engrossing tale about the complexities of family relationships in “Company.” There are other threads there, too, such as alienation and, in a lot of ways, abandonment. These two, I think, are the most obvious. They come across, not only in the memories that surface in Fay’s mind but also in the few words she does exchange with her niece and the way her sisters chose to gloss over so many aspects of their upbringing. Much like Hoffmann’s story, it makes for a very good read