Short Stories 366:99 — “T-Bone, Medium Rare,” by Jerry L. Wheeler

We're back with Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits from Jerry L. Wheeler, and we're going on a blind date and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy this makes me, because this blind date is... unforgettable. The shifts in tone of Strawberries are one of the strengths of the collection. "Waafrneeaasuu!!" which is …

Short Stories 366:98 — “The Concubine’s Heart,” by Matthew Bright

The notion of being sealed up in a tomb, buried alive as part of the funeral of a powerful person, is rarely done as well as it's done here. That Matthew Bright also adds a steampunk lens, puts the tomb in question in space, and places it all on an empress-and-her-concubines world building foundation is …

Short Stories 366:97 — “By Degrees and Dilatory Time,” by SL Huang

In case it's not clear by this point, I have adored my journey through Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction, and really suggest you pick up a copy if you haven't already. This short story, the first of two reprints in the collection, is a perfect example of why. We meet a man as he faces …

Short Stories 366:96 — “Find Me Unafraid,” by Shanaé Brown

Charlotte, Carolina in 1905 is the setting of this next story from Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, and given that it starts with an attack from the KKK, I was braced for impact. Brown doesn't pull punches with the aftereffects, nor the ongoing impact of the looming fear that is the …

Short Stories 366:95 — “The Future Looks Good,” by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Holy flying crap this story. Okay. First off, I bumped into this anthology thanks to the LeVar Burton Reads podcast reading of the titular story from the collection last month, and so I went out of my way to find the book—even better, it was available on audio—and snapped up a copy for myself. What …

Short Stories 366:94 — “Chivalry,” by Neil Gaiman

Sometimes, the touch of humour to a tale is so deftly added that it's like an aftertaste. I enjoy stories like those, ones that don't necessarily make me laugh out loud while I'm reading them, but instead leave me smiling when I'm done, ever-so-gently amused (but also charmed). "Chivalry," from Neil Gaiman, is one of …