Advice is offered to a demon summoner when an exorcist arrives at her door. This playful story turns poignant and dark as it goes on, and the voice of the narrator and…
Author: Michael Hartford
“Milagroso” by Isabel Yap
A man who works for a company that produces artificial food goes to a festival in his home town where a saint’s statue miraculously generates vast quantities of natural food. This story…
“The Uncharted” by Benjamin Percy
When a team mapping an Alaskan wilderness area disappear, a manager at a Google-like company and a group of friends who operate an adventure YouTube channel go looking for them, discovering that…
“The Big Rock Candy Mountain” by Andy Duncan
A hobo reluctantly leaves the paradise of the Big Rock Candy Mountain, with its cigarette trees and fountains of stew, and rediscovers the world that he left behind. “Big Rock Candy Mountain”…
“The Long View” by Susan Palwick
A college student’s emotional support dragon poses numerous problems for the students and administrators on campus. This is a gently satirical story that pokes fun at contemporary campus life while also making…
“Syringe” by Isabel Yap
A dying woman is cared for by AI nurses, who are programmed for compassion but not too much. This is a short, sad story about the limits of technology: Merlie’s Nurses™ are…
“The Balloon” by Benjamin Percy
Two stories in a horrific pandemic – one a woman who is apparently immune to the disease that is killing her neighbors, one a police officer who is afraid of everything –…
“Familiar” by China Miéville
A creature made from a witch’s flesh and bodily fluids is rejected by its creator and roams the city learning and consuming and growing in terrible and grotesque ways. This story is…
“Video Nasty” by Philip Pullman
Three friends rent a notorious video tape and are joined by a strange fourth boy, who proves far scarier than anything they can see on the television. This is a short, sharp,…
“Heart of a Bear” by Benjamin Percy
After observing a human family, a bear takes up a life of crime (and angst) upon adopting the baby after eating its parents. This starts off as a bit of a lighthearted…