Sunday Shorts—The Patchwork Girl by Evelyn Deshane

This story, from We Shall Be Monsters, is so intrinsically queer and—something I freaking adore—queerly empowering that I basically fell in love from pretty much the get-go. From the nonbinary lead POV, to the slow revelations of the narrative, this is a contemporary fantasy with the perfect amount of magic and fantasy to counter the …

Sunday Shorts—Birthday Girl by Rachel Swirsky

As someone who writes contemporary spec-fic, I'm a little embarrassed to admit it took me almost until the end of this short story from Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction to spot the science fiction. The story here is a woman visiting her niece on her niece's birthday, bringing a present, and being very nervous as …

Sunday Shorts—Rib of Man by Geonn Cannon

Found in Scourge of the Seas of Time (And Space), "Rib of Man" reads like the start of an adventure, and while it did make me wish there was more, that's not meant to be a criticism. We meet a pirate captain heading her crew back to port after what has been a successful streak, …

Sunday Shorts—As Long as it Takes to Make the World by Gabriela Santiago

This story, from People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction, leaves the reader with quite a few questions, but honestly it's done so well I didn't mind not having all the pieces. It's set sometime after the world has ended—destroyed? ruined?—but begins with a small group of farmers who seem to be labouring with technology from …

Sunday Shorts—Increasing Police Visibility, by Bogi Takács

Oh, Queers Destroy Science Fiction. So many of the stories are frustratingly dark or depressing, and while I can't say "Increasing Police Visibility" is uplifting, it was one of the most clever science fiction stories I've ever read, and I mean that as the highest compliment. It uses actual math, explained through a character who …

Sunday Shorts—Walking Awake by N.K. Jemisin

Holy. Flying. Crap. It's possible I walked the dog a few extra blocks—okay, an extra kilometre or three—to get to the end of this short story on audiobook. Women Destroy Science Fiction is freaking magic, and this story is just... wow. N.K. Jemisin sets up a world were it's obvious something has gone very, very …