Tangent Online 2017 Recommended Reading List
As with previous years, this list is not meant as comprehensive, there being a number of items we didn’t see. As was the case with the last several years we narrowed our focus (with a few exceptions) to those stories published in professionally paying markets as defined by SFWA. While SFWA changed its pro-market requirements in 2014 to 6c/wd., we will continue to cover those markets paying the former rate of 5c/wd.
There are 378 stories on this year’s list (down slightly from last year’s 397): 292
short stories, 76 novelettes, and 10 novellas.
While there are few novella recommendations each year (for one thing, compared to other lengths there just aren’t nearly as many published), this year includes even fewer due to the fact that one website went from posting their novellas free online (leaving their short stories and novelettes free to read), to making them available for purchase only (nothing wrong with that, but it meant we had to forego reviewing them due to financial considerations).
As is our custom, there are four sections to each length category. Those making the list in the short story, novelette, and novella lengths but having no stars, and those with either one, two, or three stars, according to how well the reviewer or reviewers valued a particular story. From time to time you will see more than a single reviewer’s initials following a given entry. We have placed the story in the category receiving the most stars. Thus, it is possible that while one reviewer placed a story on the list without any stars, another also placed it on the list but with one or more stars, thus elevating that story to the higher ranking. Where there are more than one reviewer’s initials following a story recommendation, they appear in no particular order, thus making it impossible to determine which of the reviewers provided this higher ranking. Conversely, it is also possible that each reviewer held the same opinion of any given story.
If a story is placed in an incorrect length category, please let us know and we’ll be happy to correct the oversight. Reviewers are free to place stories on this list from any of their reading during the year, and are not restricted to those venues covered here, nor to publications they have personally reviewed.
If you would like to review for Tangent Online, knowledge of the SF/F/H genres is a must, and reviewing experience is highly preferred. Interested parties may contact the editor here. Please note that Tangent Online is a fanzine (eligible for Hugo award consideration in the fanzine category) and does not pay its contributors.
(Cover above for the Jan./Feb. 2017 F&SF. Cover art by Charles Vess.)
Reviewer names and initials
Christos Antonaros (CA), Bob Blough (BB), Jennifer Burroughs, (JB), Colleen Chen (CC), Kat Day (KD), Rebecca DeVendra (RDV), Jen Finelli (JF), Kevin P Hallett (KPH), Eric Kimminau (EK), C. D. Lewis (CDL), Valerie A. Lindsey (VAL), Nicky Magas (NM), Adrian McCauley (AM), Jason McGregor (JM), Michelle Ristuccia (MR), Chuck Rothman (CR), Seraph (S), Victoria Silverwolf (VS), Dave Truesdale (DT), Robert L Turner III (RLTIII), Clancy Weeks (CW), Filip Wiltgren (FW).
I wish to thank the reviewers for the time and energy they have devoted to reading and reviewing this year’s offerings. Without them, no Tangent Online and no Recommended Reading List; they’re the ones who make it all work. Thanks are also due those who sent material for review, and of course our loyal readership throughout 2017—our 24th year since that first, slim July/August 1993 print issue was mailed out.
Below are covers from original anthologies, or reprint collections which included an original story making the list. Magazine covers (print and online) are interspersed throughout the list in no particular order.
Short Stories
“The Regression Test” by Wole Talabi (F&SF, 1-2/17) SF (DT)
“Pieces of Ourselves” by Robert R. Chase (Asimov’s, 1-2/17) SF (JM)
“The Werewolves of Maplewood” by James Morrow (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF (DT)
“Your Lying Eyes” by Jack McDevitt (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF (DT)
“Public Domain” by Scott Sigler (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF (DT)
“Curl up and Dye” by Tina Gower (Diabolical Plots #23, 1/17) F (KD)
“Vernal Fall” by Edward Ashton (Flash Fiction Online #40, 1/17) SF (KD)
“World Ablaze” Jane Lebak (Forbidden Thoughts, 1/17) SF (RLTIII)
“Test of the Prophet” by L. Jagi Lamplighter (Forbidden Thoughts, 1/17) SF (RLTIII)
“Flight to Egypt” by Sarah A. Hoyt (Forbidden Thoughts, 1/17) SF (RLTIII)
“Graduation Day” by Chrome Oxide (Forbidden Thoughts, 1/17) SF (DT)
“Yours in Heaven” by James Beamon (Sci Phi Journal #21, 1/17) SF (MR)
“The Transmuted Child” by Michael Reid (Interzone, 1-2/17) SF (JM)
“Within” by Fabio F. Centamore (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) SF (CR)
“The Garbage Doll” by Jessica Amanda Salmonson (Nightmare #53, 2/17) H (JM)
“The Perfect Porn” by Carl Franzen (Terraform, 2/17) SF (JM)
“The Terminator” by Laurence Suhner (Nature, 2/17) SF (JM)
“The New Life” by Jamie Brindle (Aurealis #97, 2/17) F (KD)
“Marking the Witch” by Lina Rather (Flash Fiction Online #41, 2/17) F (JM)
“The Avatar In Us All” by J. D. Carelli (Diabolical Plots #24, 2/17) SF (DT)
“St. Theophilus the Penitent” by Rich Larson (Apex #93 2/17) SF (CR)
“Kitsune” by David Hallquist (Sci Phi Journal #22, 2-17) SF (VAL)
“The Sea of Ghosts” by Anna Zumbro (IGMS #55, 2-3/17) F (RLTIII)
“A Mundane Encounter with a Civilized God” by Samuel Marzioli (IGMS #55, 2-3/17) F (RLTIII)
“The Lights We Carried Home” by Kay Chronister (Strange Horizons, 2-6/17) H (DT)
“X and Y” by Lynn Kilmore (Compelling SF #5, 2-3/17) SF (VS)
“The Last Call” by Kristin L. Norman (Superheroes: The Crossover Alliance Anthology, 3/17) F (KPH)
“The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard)” by Matthew Kressel (Tor.com, 3/17) SF (JM)
“Luminaria” by John Hornor Jacobs (Apex #94, 3/17) H (NM)
“Wither And Blossom” by Suvi Kauppila (Samovar #1, 3/17) F (FW)
“After the Atrocity” by Ian Creasey (Asimov’s, 3-4/17) SF (KPH)
“Eli’s Coming” by Catherine Wells (Analog, 3-4/17) SF (CC)
“Shakesville” by Adam Troy-Castro and Alvaro Zinos-Amaro (Analog, 3-4/17) SF (CC)
“The Snatchers” by Edward McDermott (Analog, 3-4/17) SF (CC)
“Alexander’s Theory of Special Relativity” by Shane Halbach (Analog, 3-4/17) SF (CC)
“A Death in the Wayward Drift” by Tim Akers (Interzone #269, 3-4/17) SF (KD)
“Extinctions” by Lina Rather (Shimmer #36, 3-4/17) F (FW)
“Dreamweaver” by Arthur Byron Cover (Five to the Future, 4/17) SF (CC)
“Strays” by Marion Deeds (Flash Fiction Online #43, 4/17) F (KD)
“Floaters Can’t Float” by Pip Coen (Compelling SF #6, 4/17) SF (CR)
“The Dragon Killer’s Daughter” by Todd McCaffrey (Writers of the Future #33, 4/17) F (KPH)
“Mental Diplopia” by Julianna Baggott (Tor.com, 4/17) SF (NM)
“The Sound of Salvation” by Leslie Claire Walker (No Humans Allowed, 4/17) F (RLTIII)
“We, the Ocean” by Alexandra Brandt (No Humans Allowed, 4/17) F (RLTIII)
“The Legend of Anlahn” by Eric Kent Edstrom (No Humans Allowed, 4/17) F (RLTIII)
“The Greater of Two Evils” by Marc Turner (Evil is a Matter of Perspective, 4/17) F (KPH)
“I Have Been Drowned in Rain” by Carrie Vaughn (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #223, 4-13/17) F (JM)
“When We Go” by Evan Dicken (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #223, 4-13/17) F (JM)
“Red” by Ramsey Shehadeh (Tor.com, 5/17) F (VAL)
“Carnival Nine” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #225, 5/11/17) F (MR)
“Second Born” by Ashley Mullins (On Spec #104, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2017) DF (VS)
“The Wind Father” by Geoff Gander (Principia Ponderosa, Spring/17) H (JB)
“No County for Young Men” by Martin Clark (Principia Ponderosa, Spring/17) SF (JB)
“When the Moon Fell into the Sea” by Story Boyle (Aliterate #2, Spring/17) F (CR)
“The Dragon and the Orange Juice” by Genoveva Detelinova, (Aliterate #2, Spring/17) F (CR)
“The Reordering of Tonia Vivian” Karen Heuler (Aliterate #2, Spring/17) F (CR)
“Mother Azalea’s Sad Home for Forgotten Adults” by James Van Pelt (The Sum of Us, 5/17) SF (KPH)
“The Gatekeeper” by Juliet Marillier (The Sum of Us, 5/17) F (KPH)
“The Oracle and the Warlord” by Karina Sumner-Smith (The Sum of Us, 5/17) SF (KPH)
“This Is for You” by Bruce McAllister (Lightspeed #84, 5/17) SF (JM)
“A Thousand Million Small Things” by Eleanor Whitworth (SQ Mag #31, 5/17) SF (CR)
“Reef” by Kat Clay (SQ Mag #31, 5/17) H (CR)
“Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon (Uncanny #16, 5-6/17) F (JM)
“Like you, I am a system” by Nathan Hillstrom (Interzone #270, 5-6/17) SF (FW)
“Dirty Code” by Wayne Simmons (Interzone #270, 5-6/17) SF (FW)
“Memories of Fish” by Shauna O’Meara (Interzone #270, 5-6/17) SF (FW)
“The Woman with the Long Black Hair” by Zach Shepard (F&SF, 5-6/17) F (VS)
“On the Ship” by Leah Cypess (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF (EK)
“Triceratops” by Ian McHugh (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF (EK)
“Persephone of the Crows” by Karen Joy Fowler (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) DF (EK)
“Let Me Sleep When I Die” by Wendy Nikel (Nature, 5/17) SF (JM)
“The Last Meal He Ate Before She Killed Him” by Malcolm Devlin (You Will Grow Into Them, 6/17) F (KD)
“The Four Thirty-Five” by Annie Reed (Fiction River #23: Editor’s Choice, 6/17) F (MR)
“Crossing the Threshold” by Pat Murphy (Lightspeed #85, 6/17) F (JM)
“Quality Testing” by S. E. Foley (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF (KD)
“Integration” by John Eckelkamp (Compelling SF #7, 6-7/17) SF (VS)
“Thinking Inside the Box” by Michèle Laframboise (Compelling SF #7, 6-7/17) SF (JM)
“The Buffalo Hunters” by Sam Knight (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17) SF (RLTIII)
“Chance Corrigan and the Lord of the Underworld” by Michael A. Stackpole (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17)
SF (RLTIII)
“The Key” by Peter J. Wacks (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17) SF (RLTIII)
“A Fistful of Warlocks” by Jim Butcher (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17) SF (RLTIII)
“Tree With Chalicotheres” by Vicki Saunders (Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 7/17) F (JM)
“The Martian Obelisk” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, 7/17) SF (VS, JM)
“A Touch of Heart” by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro & Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed #86, 7/17) F (KPH)
“Red Glass” by Anna Smith-Spark (Grimdark #12, 7/17) F (CDL)
“The Dead Father Cookbook” by Ashley Blooms (Strange Horizons, 7–17/17) F (JM)
“Rivers Run Free” by Charles Payseur (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #230, 7–20/17) SF (CR)
“In a Wide Sky, Hidden” by William Ledbetter (F&SF, 7-8/17) SF (VS)
“Field Studies” by Sheila Finch (Asimov’s, 7-8/17) SF (VS)
“To Dance is Feline” by Yz Chin (Black Static #59, 7-8/17) H (JB)
“Perspective” by Kyle Kirkland (Analog, 7-8/17) SF (VS)
“Clarity of Signal” by Holly Schofield (Analog, 7-8/17) SF (VS)
“Words of Wisdom” by Andrew Knighton (On Spec #105, 2017) SF (VS)
“Dust to Dust” by Annie Reed (Fiction River #24: Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline, 8/17) DF (VS)
“Gallows Girl” by Mel Kassel (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #233, 8/17) F (JM)
“The Library of Lost Things” by Matthew Bright (Tor.com, 8/17) F (JM)
“Legale” by Vernor Vinge (Nature, 8/17) SF (JM)
“These Constellations Will Be Yours” by Elaine Cuyegkeng (Strange Horizons, 8–7/17) SF (VS)
“Musings of a Hermit” by Larry Correia (Forged in Blood, 9/17) F (DT)
“The Thin Green Line” by Michael Z. Williamson (Forged in Blood, 9/17) SF (DT)
“Family Over Blood” by Kacey Ezell (Forged in Blood, 9/17) SF (DT)
“The Tachi” by Zachary Hill (Forged in Blood, 9/17) F (CDL)
“The Day the Tide Rolled In” by Michael Z. Williamson and Leo Chapman (Forged in Blood, 9/17) F (CDL)
“Heavies” by Rich Larson (Infinity Wars, 9/17) SF (JM)
“Strung” by Xinyi Wang (Diabolical Plots #31, 9/17) F (FW)
“Best Friend Becky” by Wayne Faust (Weirdbook Annual #1, 10/17) F (KPH)
“The Witch of Pender” by John Linwood Grant (Weirdbook Annual #1, 10/17) F (KPH)
“The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld #132, 9/17) SF (FW)
“No One Prays to the Goddess” by Ashok K. Banker (Nightmare #60, 9/17) DF (VS)
“The Balance Between Strength and Wisdom” by Jamie Lackey (The Blood of Four Gods, 9/17) F (AM)
“Hollywood Squid” by Oliver Buckram (F&SF, 9-10/17) SF (JM)
“The Fourth Hill” by Dennis E. Staples (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) F (CR)
“The Shuttered Child” by Tim Lees (Black Static #60, 9-10/17) H (VS)
“Though She Be But Little” by C. S. E. Cooney (Uncanny #18, 9-10/17) F (JM)
“A Delightful Comedic Premise” by Barry N. Malzberg (Galaxy’s Edge #28, 9-10/17) F (DT)
“Ghostmail” by Eric Del Carlo (Analog, 9-10/17) SF (NM)
“The First Trebuchet on Mars” by Marie Vibbert (Analog, 9-10/17) SF (NM)
“A Tinker’s Damnation” by Jerry Oltion (Analog, 9-10/17) SF (NM)
“Invaders” by Stanley Schmidt (Analog, 9-10/17) SF (NM)
“Oshun, Inc.” by Jordan Ifueko (Strange Horizons, 9–18/17) F (VS)
“Legs” by Stephen Mohan, Jr. (Fiction River #25: Feel the Fear, 9/17) H (VS)
“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny #18, 9-10/17) SF (JM)
“Return to Sender” by Melissa Mead (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F (CR)
“Approved Expense” by David Vierling (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) SF (CR)
“Dear Joyce” by Langley Hyde (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) SF (CR)
“Decision” by Joyce Chng (Where the Stars Rise, 10/17) F (KPH)
“Udatta Sloka” by Deepak Bharathan (Where the Stars Rise, 10/17) F (KPH)
“The Nightingales in Plátres” by Natalia Theodoridou (Clarkesworld #133, 10/17) SF (RLTIII)
“The Last Boat-Builder in Ballyvoloon” by Finbarr O’Reilly (Clarkesworld #133, 10/17) SF (RLTIII)
“The Future of Hunger in the Age of Programmable Matter” by Sam J. Miller (Tor.com, 10/17) SF (VS)
“Penelope Waits” by Dennis Danvers (Apex #101, 10/17) SF (JM)
“A Siren Song for Two” by Steven Fischer (Flash Fiction Online #49, 10/17) SF (JM)
“Dragon in Amber” by Patrice Sarath (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #34, 11/17) F (VS)
“A Vortal in Midtown” by Ashok K. Banker (Lightspeed #90, 11/17) SF (KPH)
“Howling Mad” by Kris Ashton (Aurealis #106, 11/17) SF (KPH)
“Odd Hours” by Tony Pisculli (Grievous Angel, 11/14/17) SF (JM)
“Three May Keep a Secret” by Carlie St. George (Strange Horizons, 11/20/17) F (JM)
“Papoose Lake” by Richard A. Lovett (Analog, 11-12/17) SF (CR)
“Fermi’s Slime” by Tom Jolly (Analog, 11-12/17) SF (CR)
“Weaponized” by Jay O’Connell (Analog, 11-12/17) SF (CR)
“Redo” by Larry Hodges (Compelling SF #10, Winter 2017) SF (KPH, JM)
“Museum Piece” by J. D. Popham (Compelling SF #10, Winter 2017) SF (JM)
“Watchers” by David A. Gray (Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, 12/17) SF (CC)
“The Leviathans Have Fled the Sea” by Jon Lasser (Diabolical Plots #34, 12/17) F (CC)
“Hakim Vs. the Sweater Curse” by Rachael K. Jones (Diabolical Plots #34, 12/17) H (CC)
“A Third of the Stars of Heaven” by Cadwell Turnbull (Lightspeed #91, 12/17) SF (RLTIII)
Short Stories One Star
“Down and Out” by Ken Wharton (Science Fiction by Scientists, 1/17) SF* (JM)
“Mine, Yours, Ours” by Jack Skillingstead (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF* (DT)
“Elderjoy” by Gregory Benford (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF* (DT)
“Elephant on Table” by Bruce Sterling (Chasing Shadows, 1/17) SF* (DT)
“Cease and Desist” by Tyler Young (Nature, 1/17) SF* (JM)
“Killing Spree” by Brigid Collins (Fiction River #21: Tavern Tales, 1/17) F* (VAL)
“Trees Struck by Lightning Burning from the Inside Out” by Emily Lundgren (Shimmer #35, 1-2/17) H* (CR)
“Farewell My Soldier, My Husband, My Love” by Paul Eckheart (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) F* (CR)
“Zombies Anonymous” by Larry Hodges (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) F* (CR)
“Giovanni’s Tree” by Nick DiChario (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) F* (CR)
“To Them We Are Merely Clay” by Liz Colter (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) SF* (CR)
“It’s Not a Purple People Eater” by Marina J. Lostetter (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) F* (CR)
“Queen of Dirt” by Nisi Shawl (Apex #93 2/17) SF* (CR)
“How Bees Fly” by Simone Heller (Clarkesworld #125, 2/17)* SF (CW)
“Mukden” by Sean Patrick Hazlett (Weirdbook #34, 2/17) H* (VAL)
“Rule the World” by Jody Lynn Nye (Little Green Men—Attack!, 3/17) SF* (MR)
“Soccer Fields and Frozen Lakes” by Greg Kurzawa (Lightspeed #82, 3/17) SF* (EK)
“The Worldless” by Indrapramit Das (Lightspeed #82, 3/17) SF* (EK)
“The Toymaker’s Daughter” by Arundhati Hazra (F&SF, 3-4/17) F* (KD)
“Rising Star” by Stephen Graham Jones (Uncanny #15, 3-4/17) SF* (JM)
“Closing the Frontier” by Philip DiBoise (Principia Ponderosa, Spring/17) SF* (JB)
“A Green Silk Dress and a Wedding-Death” by Cat Hellisen (F&SF, 3-4/17) F* (KD)
“Daisy” by Eleanor Arnason (F&SF, 3-4/17) SF* (KD)
“Unbearable Burden” by Gwendolyn Clare (Analog, 3-4/17) SF* (CC)
“The Common Sea” by Steve Rasnic Tem (Interzone #269, 3-4/17) SF* (KD)
“Queen of the Cats” by Emily Devenport (Five to the Future, 4/17) SF* (CC)
“Seven Permutations of My Daughter” by Lina Rather (Lightspeed #83, 4/17) SF* (JM)
“O Stone, Be Not So” by José Pablo Iriarte (Diabolical Plots #26A, 4/17) F* (RDV)
“The Sound Of” by Charles Payseur (Nightmare #56, 5/17) SF* (JB)
“A Place to Grow” by A. T. Greenblatt (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #225, 5/11/17) F* (MR)
“The Stars that Fall” by Samantha Murray (Flash Fiction Online #44, 5/17) SF* (RLT)
“Tired of the Same Old Quests?” by Peter Wood (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF* (EK)
“The Escape of the Adastra: Asha’s Story” by James Gunn (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF* (EK)
“Songs to Help You Cope When Your Mother Won’t Stop Haunting You and Your Friends” by Gwendolyn
Kiste (Black Static #58, 5-6/17) H* (VAL)
“Owning the Dragon” by Frances Pauli (Flash Fiction Online #45, 6/17) F* (KD)
“The Confrontation Station” by Ryan Dull (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF* (KD)
“Cyborg Shark Battle (Season 4, O’ahu Frenzy)” by Benjamin C. Kinney (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF* (KD)
“The Glass Girl” by Leah Cutter (Fiction River #23: Editor’s Choice, 6/17) F* (MR)
“A Late Quintessence” by Justin Howe (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #228, 6-22/17) DF* (DT)
“Easy Money” by Phil Foglio (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17) SF* (RLTIII)
“Dance of Bones” by Maurice Broaddus (Straight Outta Tombstone, 7/17) SF* (RLTIII)
“Here, Only Sorrow” by Damien Angelica Walters (Black Static #59, 7-8/17) H* (JB)
“Twisted Knots” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires (Clarkesworld #131, 8/17) F* (CR)
“What Fools These Immortals Be” by Evan Dicken (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 8/17) F* (AM)
“The Glanconer” by L J McLeod (Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, 8/17) DF* (AM)
“I am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds” by Raphael Ordonez (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #33, 8/17) F*
(JB)
“Rakefire” by Jason Carney (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #33, 8/17) F* (JB)
“And All Our Bones Were Dust” by Steven Fischer (Flash Fiction Online #48, 9/17) SF* (CR)
“Little /^^^\&-” by Eric Schwitzgebel (Clarkesworld #132, 9/17) SF* (JM)
“In Everlasting Wisdom” by Aliette de Bodard (Infinity Wars, 9/17) SF* (JM)
“Command and Control” by David D. Levine (Infinity Wars, 9/17) SF* (JM)
“The Lightning Bird” by Kristi DeMeester (Apex #100, 9/17) H* (JB)
“Okoyyūki” Tom Kratman (Forged in Blood, 9/17) F* (CDL)
“Starlight Express” by Michael Swanwick (F&SF, 9-10/17) SF* (JM)
“Dead Men in Central City” by Carrie Vaughn (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) F* (CR)
“The Cabinet” by William Preston (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) F* (CR)
“An Incident in the Literary Life of Nathan Arkwright” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) SF* (CR, DT)
“Cut-rate Couples Weekend at the Witch House Inne and Tavern” by Stewart C. Baker (Galaxy’s Edge #28,
9-10/17) SF* (RD)
“The Absence” by Robert R. Chase (Analog, 9-10/17) SF* (NM)
“A Game of Goblins” by Jim C. Hines (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F* (CR)
“Agent of Chaos” by Jack Campbell (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F* (CR)
“Thistle” by Larry Correia (The Monster Hunter Files, 10/17) F* (RDV)
“The Sum of Her Expectations” by Jack Skillingstead (Clarkesworld #133, 10/17) SF* (RLTIII)
“So Sings the Siren” by Annie Neugebauer (Apex #101, 10/17) SF* (KPH)
“An Unexpected Boon” by S. B. Divya (Apex #102, 11/17) F* (JM)
“Crater Meet” by Brian Trent (Flash Fiction Online #50, 11/17) SF* (KD)
“The Stars and the Rain” by Emily McCosh (Flash Fiction Online #50, 11/17) SF* (KD)
“The Siret Mask” by Marie Brennan (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #238, 11/9/17) F* (JM)
“Marley and Marley” by J. R. Dawson (F&SF, 11-12/17) SF* (CDL)
“Quirks” by Marie Vibbert (Analog, 11-12/17) SF* (CR)
“Time Travel Is Only for the Poor” by S.L. Huang (Analog, 11-12/17) SF* (CR)
“Kindle No Flame” by Stephen R. Loftus-Mercer (Analog, 11-12/17) SF* (CR)
“The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant” by Racheal K. Jones (Lightspeed #91, 12/17) SF*
(RLTIII)
Short Stories Two Stars
“Women’s Work” by Amelia Aldred (Flash Fiction Online #40, 1/17) F** (KD)
“The Hot Eagle Roadhouse” by Chuck Heintzelman (Fiction River #21: Tavern Tales, 1/17) SF** (VAL)
“Requiem for the Unchained” by Cae Hawksmoor (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #217, 1-19/17) F** (MR)
“Shadow Man, Sack Man, Half Dark, Half Light,” by Malon Edwards (Shimmer #35, 1-2/17) H** (CR)
“Hot Blood and Iron Teeth” by Catherine Moller (Aurealis #97, 2/17) F** (KD)
“You Too Shall Be Psyche” by Rich Larson (Apex #93 2/17) SF** (CR)
“Servant of the Aswang” by Samuel Marzioli (Apex #93 2/17) F** (CR)
“Little (Green) Women” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Little Green Men—Attack!, 3/17) SF** (MR)
“Stuck in Buenos Aires With Bob Dylan On My Mind” by Ken Scholes (Little Green Men—Attack!, 3/17) SF**
(MR)
“Wind Farmers From Outer Space” by Robert Cox (Aurealis #98, 3/17) SF** (CR)
“Death Every Seventy-Two Minutes” by Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed #82, 3/17) SF** (EK)
“Things Crumble, Things Break” by Nate Southard (Nightmare #54, 3/17) H** (VAL)
“Ecuador vs. The Bug-Eyed Monsters” by Jay Werkheiser (Analog, 3-4/17) SF** (CC)
“Terra Nullius” by Hanus Seiner (Strange Horizons, 3-20/17) SF** (CA)
“Samaritan” by Karl K. Gallagher (Compelling SF #6, 4/17) SF** (CR)
“The Black Clover Equation” by Zach Shephard (Flash Fiction Online #43, 4/17) F** (KD, JM)
“Acquisition” by Jake Marley (Writers of the Future #33, 4/17) F** (KPH)
“The God in The Window” by Steven R. Stewart (InterGalactic Medicine Show #56, 4-5/17) F** (RDV)
“War of the Ruby” by Brian K. Lowe (Cirsova #5, Spring/17) F** (CA)
“Shapes in the Fog” by Brian K. Lowe (Cirsova #5, Spring/17) F** (CA)
“Octopus v. Bear” by Kendra Fortmeyer (Lightspeed #84, 5/17) F** (RDV)
“Whatever Knight Comes” by Ryan Row (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #226, 5–25/17) F** (MR)
“Good Show” by William Preston (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF** (EK)
“We All Need Somewhere To Hide” by Malcolm Devlin (You Will Grow Into Them, 6/17) H** (KD)
“An Account of Sky Whales” by A Que (Clarkesworld #129, 6/17) F** (RDV)
“They Grow Up So Fast” by Konstantine Paradias (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF** (CA)
“One Is One” by Vaughan Stanger (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF** (CA)
“Strange Stars” by Laurence Raphael Brothers (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF** (KD)
“Drop Dead Date” by August Marion (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF** (KD)
“Trees” by Diana Benedict (Fiction River #23: Editor’s Choice, 6/17) F** (MR)
“Bad Dates Bite” by Kerrie L. Hughes (Fiction River #23: Editor’s Choice, 6/17) F** (MR)
“The White Throated Transmigrant” by E. Lily Yu (Tor.com, 6–21/17) F** (BB)
“Travelers” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld #130, 7/17) SF** (BB)
“When We Are Open Wide” by Kristi DeMeester (Black Static #59, 7-8/17) H** (JB)
“Reversion” by Nin Harris (Clarkesworld #131, 8/17) SF** (CR)
“Between Sea and Flame” by Evan Dicken (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #33, 8/17) F** (JB)
“Listen and You’ll Hear Us Speak” by A.T. Greenblatt (Flash Fiction Online #48, 9/17) SF** (CR)
“Squamous and Eldritch Get a Yard Sale Bargain” by Tim McDaniel (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) F** (CR)
“Henosis” by N.K. Jemisin (Uncanny #18, 9-10/17) SF** (RD)
“The Sweater” by Nick DiChario (Galaxy’s Edge #28, 9-10/17) SF** (RD)
“The Great Manhattan Eat-Off” by Mike Resnick (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F** (CR)
“A Mountain Man and a Cat Walk into a Bar” by Alan Dean Foster (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F**
(CR)
“The Friendly Necromancer” by Rod M. Santos (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F** (CR)
“The Observer Effect” by E. C. Myers (Where the Stars Rise, 10/17) F** (KPH)
“The Troll Factory” by Alex Shvartsman (The Monster Hunter Files, 10/17) F** (RDV)
“The Case of the Ghastly Spectre” by John Ringo (The Monster Hunter Files, 10/17) F** (RDV)
“And the Village Breathes” by Emily B. Cataneo (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #236 10-12/17) F** (RDV)
“Prasetyo Plastics” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires (Clarkesworld #134, 11/17) F** (RDV)
“Downsized” by Bud Sparhawk (Analog, 11-12/17) SF** (CR)
“Reentry” by Brendan DuBois (Analog, 11-12/17) SF** (CR)
“Housekeeping, 100 XP” by Brenta Blevins (Analog, 11-12/17) SF** (CR)
“The First Stop Is Always the Last” by John Wiswell (Flash Fiction Online #51, 12/17) F** (CR)
“Inside-of-Body Experience” by Pip Coen (Compelling SF #10, Winter 2017) SF** (KPH)
Short Stories Three Stars
“The First Ingredient” by Eric Kent Edstrom (Fiction River #21: Tavern Tales, 1/17) F*** (VAL)
“The Torchman’s Tale” by Edward M. Lerner (Galaxy’s Edge #24, 1-2/17) SF*** (CR)
“The Legendary Legend of the Darkly’s Slayer” by J. R. Dawson (Mothership Zeta #6, 1/17) F*** (JF)
“The Singing Tree” by Lawrence Buentello (Weirdbook #34, 2-17) F*** (VAL)
“Bloody Therapy” by Suzan Palumbo (Diabolical Plots #25, 3/17) H*** (CR)
“Regulation” by Michael Earp (Aurealis #99, 4/17) SF*** (KD)
“Number One Draft Pick” by Claire Humphrey (The Sum of Us, 5/17) SF*** (KPH)
“Secret Keeper” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Nightmare #57, 6/17) H*** (CA)
“The Narrow Escape of Zipper-Girl” by Adam-Troy Castro (Nightmare #57, 6/17) H*** (CA)
“Regarding the Robot Raccoons Attached to the Hull of My Ship” by Rachael K. Jones and Khaalidah
Muhammad-Ali (Diabolical Plots #28, 6/17) SF*** (VAL)
“Spooky Action” by David A. Kilman (Cat’s Breakfast, 6/17) SF*** (CA)
“Peddler” by William Stiteler (Grimdark #12, 7/17) F*** (CDL)
“The Lamentation of Their Women” by Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com, 8/17) F*** (BB)
“Zigeuner” by Harry Turtledove (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) SF*** (CR)
“From This She Makes a Living?” by Esther Friesner (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17) F*** (CR)
“Hitler’s Dog” by Jonathan Maberry (The Monster Hunter Files, 10/17) F*** (RDV)
“A Ballad of Osmosis McGuire” by Travis Heermann (Fiction River: Superpowers, 11/17) F*** (RDV)
Novelettes
“The Dark Birds” by Ursula Vernon (Apex #92, 1/17) F (JM)
“Fatherbond” by Tom Purdom (Asimov’s, 1-2/17) SF (JM)
“The Catastrophe of Cities” by Lisa Goldstein (Asimov’s, 1-2/17) SF (JM)
“The Atonement Tango” by Stephen Leigh (Tor.com, 1/17) SF (KPH)
“Gravity’s Exile” by Grace Seybold (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #219, 2-16/17) F (JM)
“Soulmates.com” by Will McIntosh (Asimov’s, 3-4/17) SF (KPH)
“Ten Half-Pennies” by Matthew Hughes (F&SF, 3-4/17) F (KD)
“Sunflower Junction” by Simon Avery (Black Static #57, 3-4/17) F (JM)
“Envoy in the Ice” by Dustin Steinacker (Writers of the Future #33, 4/17) SF (KPH)
“That Lingering Sweetness” by Tony Pi (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #224, 4–27/17) F (VS)
“Dirty Old Town” by Richard Bowes (F&SF, 5-6/17) F (VS)
“To See the Elephant” by Julie Novakova (Analog, 5-6/17) SF (VS)
“Last Chance” by Nicole Kornher-Stace (Clarkesworld #130, 7/17) SF (JM)
“Gale Strang” by Michael Bishop (Asimov’s, 7-8/17) F (VS)
“Party Discipline” by Cory Doctorow (Tor.com, 8/17) SF (JM)
“ZeroS” by Peter Watts (Infinity Wars, 9/17) SF (JM)
“Ripper” by Peter Grant (Forged in Blood, 9/17) SF (CDL)
“Old Souls” by Fonda Lee (Where the Stars Rise, 10/17) F (KPH)
“Impress Me, Then We’ll Talk About the Money” by Tatiana Ivanova (Unidentified Funny Objects #6, 10/17)
SF (CR)
“The Best Man Wins” by K. J. Parker (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F (DT)
““I Am a Handsome Man,” Said Apollo Crow” by Kate Elliott (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F (DT)
“Hrunting” by C. J. Cherryh (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F (DT)
“The Smoke of Gold is Glory” by Scott Lynch (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F (DT)
“Waterfalling” by Lavie Tidhar (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F (DT)
“Black City Shadow” by Richard A. Knaak (Grimdark #13, 10/17) H (KPH)
“Sasabonsam” by Tara Campbell (Strange Horizons, 12–11/17) H (NM)
Novelettes One Star
“The Gatherer of Sorrows” by J. M. Sidorova (Science Fiction by Scientists, 1/17) SF* (JM)
“The West Topeka Triangle” by Jeremiah Tolbert (Lightspeed #80, 1/17) F* (JM)
“The Ghost Ship Anastasia” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld #124, 1/17) SF* (KPH, JM)
“A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Clarkesworld #124, 1/17) SF* (JM)
“There Used to be Olive Trees” by Rich Larson (F&SF, 1-2/17) SF* (KPH)
“Tav” by Dustin Kennedy, (Compelling SF #5, 2-3/17) SF* (JM)
“Hierro” by Jen Finelli (Superheroes: The Crossover Alliance Anthology, 3/17) SF* (KPH)
“The Wisdom of the Group” by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov’s, 3-4/17) SF* (KPH)
“Europa’s Survivors” by Marianne J. Dyson (Analog, 3-4/17) SF* (CC)
“Moonlight One” by Stephen Lawson (Writers of the Future #33, 4/17) SF* (KPH)
“Remote Presence” by Susan Palwick (Lightspeed #83, 4/17) F* (VS, JM)
“Katausky vs. Paper” by Jon Hakes (Aliterate #2, Spring/17) F* (CR)
“The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore” by Alex Marshall (Evil is a Matter of Perspective, 4/17) H* (KPH)
“A Game of Mages” by Courtney Schafer (Evil is a Matter of Perspective, 4/17) F* (KPH)
“Sweetlings” by Lucy Taylor (Tor.com, 5/17) SF* (JM)
“Blinders” by Tyler Keevil (The Sum of Us, 5/17) SF* (KPH)
“Holiday Romance” by Mark Morris (Black Static #58, 5-6/17) H* (VAL)
“Fool’s Cap” by Andy Dudak (Clarkesworld #129, 6/17) SF* (JM)
“Weather Girl” by E. J. Swift (Infinity Wars, 9/17) SF* (JM)
“Tumbledown” by Kameron Hurley (Apex #100, 9/17) SF* (JB)
“Lovers” by Tony Daniel (Forged in Blood, 9/17) SF* (CDL)
“Wind Will Rove” by Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) SF* (CR)
“Books of the Risen Sea” by Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) SF* (CR)
“i know my own & my own know me” by Tracy Canfield (Analog, 9-10/17) SF* (NM)
“Blessings Erupt” by Aliya Whiteley (Interzone #272, 9-10/17) SF* (KD)
“Hybrid, Blue, by Firelight” by Bill Johnson (Analog, 11-12/17) SF* (CR)
“Keepsakes” by Kenneth Schneyer (Analog, 11-12/17) SF* (CR)
Novelettes Two Stars
“Interchange” by Gary Kloster (Clarkesworld #124, 1/17) SF** (KPH)
“Rain Ship” by Chi Hui (Clarkesworld #125, 2/17)** SF (CW)
“Chronostream’s Father” by Adam David Collings (Superheroes: The Crossover Alliance Anthology, 3/17) F**
(KPH)
“The Avenger” by Albert E. Cowdrey (F&SF, 3-4/17) F** (KD)
“The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales” by Fei Dao (Clarkesworld #127, 4/17) SF** (BB)
“The Aging of a Kill” by Peter Orullian (Evil is a Matter of Perspective, 4/17) F** (KPH)
“Ora et Labora” by Theodore McCombs (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #229, 7-6/17) SF** (CR)
“The Martian in the Wood” by Stephen Baxter (Tor.com, 8/17) SF** (BB)
“Pan-Humanism: Hope and Pragmatics” by Jess Barber and Sara Saab (Clarkesworld #132, 9/17) SF** (FW)
“Universe Box” by Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s, 9-10/17) F** (CR)
“The Old Man” by Rich Larsen (Analog, 9-10/17) SF** (NM)
“Carbo” by Nick Wolven (F&SF, 11-12/17) SF** (CDL)
“Water God’s Dog” by R.S. Benedict (F&SF, 11-12/17) F** (CDL)
“Racing the Rings of Saturn” by Ingrid Garcia (F&SF, 11-12/17) SF** (CDL)
“Whatever Comes After Calcutta” by David Erik Nelson (F&SF, 11-12/17) SF** (CDL)
Novelettes Three Stars
“Goodnight, Melancholy” by Xia Jia (Clarkesworld #126, 3/17) SF*** (BB)
“You Will Always Have Family: A Triptych” by Kathleen Kayembe (Nightmare #54, 3/17) H*** (VAL)
“Still Life With Falling Man” by Richard E. Gropp (Interzone #269, 3-4/17) SF*** (KD)
“Come as You Are” by Dale Bailey (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) SF*** (EK)
“Night Fever” by Will Ludwigsen (Asimov’s, 5-6/17) DF*** (EK)
“Uncanny Valley” by Greg Egan (Tor.com, 8/17) SF*** (BB, JM)
“Angel of the Blockade” by Alex Wells (Tor.com, 9/17) SF*** (BB)
“Stronger than Steel” by Michael Massa (Forged in Blood, 9/17) F*** (CDL)
“The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham (The Book of Swords, 10/17) F*** (DT)
Novellas
“The Speed of Belief” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, 1-2/17) SF (JM)
“Mountain” by Ursula Pflug (Inanna Publications, 5/17) SF/F (VS)
“Stillborne” by Marc Laidlaw (F&SF, 11-12/17) F (CDL)
Novellas One Star
“The Necronaut” by R.N. Jorden (Spaceboy Books, 4/17) SF* (CR)
“Pretty Marys All in a Row” by Gwendolyn Kiste (Broken Eye Books, 11/17) H* (KD)
Novellas Two Stars
“The Adventure of the Incognita Countess” by Cynthia Ward (Aqueduct Press, 2/17) F** (MR)
“The First American” by Schuyler Hernstrom (Cirsova #5, Spring/17) F** (CA)
“Native Seeds” by Catherine Wells (Analog, 11-12/17) SF** (CR)
Novellas Three Stars
“Nexus” by Michael Flynn (Analog, 3-4/17) SF*** (CC)
“Never, Now, Always” by Desirina Boskovich (Broken Eye Books, 3/17) SF*** (S)
