Lightspeed “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones
“A Saint Between the Teeth” by Sloane Leong
“Shadow Films” by Ben Peek
“In the Tree’s Hollow, a Doe” by Lowry Poletti
“Night Desk Duty at the Infinite Paradox Hotel” by Aimee Ogden
“Farewell to Faust” by Adam-Troy Castro
“We Shall Not Be Bitter at the End of the World” by David Anaxagoras
“To Be a Happy Man” by Thomas Ha
Reviewed by Mike Bickerdike
“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones is flash fiction. It’s quite an effective SF horror tale and is well structured. I’m not sure the actions of the shuttle pilots would be condoned by the powers that be (you’ll need to read it), but that’s a minor gripe given the tale has more substance than most flash fiction.
“A Saint Between the Teeth” by Sloane Leong is described in the editorial as a fantasy short story, though it could equally be described as SF. A sentient race of blind subterranean creatures fast for several winters before they take a traditional journey to the surface of their world, where they feed on another sentient, crustacean-like race. The tale is told in quite a poetic way, focussing on the strange symbiotic relationship between the two species. The story seems to explore the compelling nature of religious belief despite a background of unethical traditions. It’s quite inventive and intriguing, though the prose may be a little flowery for some tastes.
“Shadow Films” by Ben Peek is an inventive and engrossing SF novelette, and the titular shadow films of the title are a neat concept. A professional ‘extra’ in the movies receives lines from a mysterious ‘shadow film’ agent. The extra mouths these short lines in the background shots of ordinary films, and when the extra’s parts from many movies are edited together, the aggregate ‘movie’ featuring the extra will tell a story of its own. As the lines are very short, and the extra doesn’t know how they may be edited together, he cannot know what the resulting ‘shadow film’ may be about. The story explores this concept well and provides an entertaining underlying plot. Recommended.
“In the Tree’s Hollow, a Doe” by Lowry Poletti is fantasy flash fiction. A hunter shoots a doe, but finds within it a man—who may be a fairy—and two fauns, nestled in the chest cavity. Identities seem to switch between characters in the tale, and the central theme and meaning is obscure. Interpretations are likely to vary between readers.
“Night Desk Duty at the Infinite Paradox Hotel” by Aimee Ogden is a humorous flash fiction story. A hotel can accommodate infinite guests, so long as they don’t mind moving rooms according to certain mathematical principles. It gets points for presenting a novel idea, though it offers little else.
“Farewell to Faust” by Adam-Troy Castro is a fantasy short story, meeting the definition of metafiction—that is, it refers to its own plot and prose. The title references the classical tale of Faust, who made a deal with the devil for knowledge and success. In Castro’s tale, the protagonist makes logical, ethical arguments for why he should refuse to accept a game of risk and reward. It’s certainly clever, and the metafiction approach suits the topic and style. More of a thought-experiment than a tale with a story arc, this should nonetheless appeal to many.
“We Shall Not Be Bitter at the End of the World” by David Anaxagoras is a surreal, end of the world, SF short story. An approaching ‘Wormwood’ (which may be a black hole, or a white hole, or a wormhole, but may be none of these), causes time to conflate, and will bring about the end of the Earth. A twelve year old boy gathers with friends, relatives and aliens over an outdoor picnic to see the End in. The tale is rather dreamy and strange but is told in the matter-of-fact way of a children’s story. It’s quite poignant and well done.
“To Be a Happy Man” by Thomas Ha is another piece of flash fiction. Ostensibly a short piece of horror, it’s really a piece of allegory, exploring the influence of fathers on sons, and the inevitable way the influences (and sins) are inescapable. It’s effective and a little chilling.
More of Mike Bickerdike’s reviews and thoughts on science-fiction can be found at https://starfarersf.nicepage.io/