[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]
Strange Horizons, October 13, 2025
Strange Horizons“The Orchard Village Catalog” by Parker Peevyhouse
Reviewed by Axylus
“The Orchard Village Catalog” is a very short anecdote by Parker Peevyhouse that starts out mildly dystopian and decidedly Kafkaesque, but ends as abruptly as popping bubble wrap, with a tone as airy as meringue. The protagonist, whose sex/gender is never indicated, is placed by her/his employer into undesirable accommodations (“a cramped condo with three other newish employees”). After finding a flyer in the company cafeteria, the protagonist applies for a spot in a housing complex known as Orchard Village. What follows is an arduous cat-and-mouse process of trying to be accepted as a tenant. All form and no content, this decidedly clever and very well-written piece reads like a writing workshop exercise with the instructions, “write 4000 or fewer words about a protagonist searching for a place to live.”