2023 online short fiction - part two

I'm not sure I ever linked this year's Locus list, so here's that, and here's Renay's spreadsheet.

I have a couple more recs of things I actually read during 2023, for whatever reason:

Bride of the Gulf, Danai Christopoulou, Khōréō. Interesting references to a legend I'd never heard of!

Replay Boomer, Jack Nicholls, Grist. In a bleak future, teens turn to reenacting the past.

Here's some more stuff by Authors I Like. I realize that I'm cheating myself out of one of my usual favorite parts of this whole business, discovering some absolute gem by someone I've never heard of before, but on the other hand the ballot is mostly populated by familiar names (because of administrative manipulation?? whoooo the fuck knows anymore, that is not tonight's problem) so I'm probably hitting a lot of the stuff that would actually have a shot.

One Man's Treasure, Sarah Pinsker, Uncanny, novelette. Garbage collectors and the perils of magical item disposal day. Locus, spreadsheet.

There's a Door to the Land of the Dead in the Land of the Dead, Sarah Pinsker, The Deadlands. A roadside attraction with a secret. Locus, spreadsheet.

The Case of the Blood-Stained Tower, Ray Nayler, Asimov's, novelette. This is a case where if I tell you everything I liked about it, it would spoil the story, but I'm going to go ahead and spoil part of it and say that it's a sort of Holmes-and-Watson riff set in what I think, with a little research, is 17th-century Tehran. Spreadsheet.

Even If Such Ways Are Bad, Rich Larson, Reactor (the new name of Tor.com's online publishing, apparently), novelette. Living ships and memory modification and AI corporations who still need humans for some things.

Closer Than Your Kidneys, Ursula Whitcher, Frivolous Comma. This could have gone with the other Whitcher story yesterday but I'm very disorganized this year. Spreadsheet.

Long Enough for a Cup of Tea, Aimee Ogden, Strange Horizons. A witch; mothers and daughters.

Her Suffering, Pretty and Private, Aimee Ogden, GigaNotoSaurus. Sleeping Beauty aftermath. Spreadsheet.

On the Fox Roads, Nghi Vo, Reactor, novelette. Bank robbers, running away, finding yourself. Locus, spreadsheet.

Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge, Eugenia Triantafyllou, Uncanny, novelette. Grief and deals with the devil. Locus, spreadsheet.

Contracting Iris, Peter Watts, Lightspeed, novelette. Disease and transformation. If you liked What Moves the Dead. Locus.

Ivy, Angelica, Bay, C.L. Polk, Reactor, novelette. A sequel to a story from a couple of years ago, about witches and bee magic. Locus, spreadsheet.

2023 online short fiction - part three

A last batch. Yay Strange Horizons.

The God of Minor Troubles, Megan Chee, Strange Horizons. A nice folklore/fairy-tale-esque story. Locus.

missed connections - Central square today around 930, Jess Cameron, Strange Horizons. An interesting take on time loops and relationships.

Always and Forever, Only You, Iona Datt Sharma, Strange Horizons. I read this one back when it came out, or around then, and I've gone back and forth on how I feel about it. Spreadsheet.

A Chronicle of the Mole-Year, Christi Nogle, Strange Horizons, novelette. A very different take on time loops, or maybe on virtual life.

On the Way to Jeju-do, Michelle Denham, Strange Horizons. I like that people are still finding interesting things to say about clones. Spreadsheet.

I'll Be Your Mirror, Rebecca Schneider, Strange Horizons. Artificial people. I also like that people are still doing interesting robot stories.

For However Long, Thomas Ha, khōréō. Family and moving away. Locus, spreadsheet.

2023 online short fiction - novelettes

Ok, here's everything that's a novelette. Five favorites in bold.

The Year Without Sunshine, Naomi Kritzer, Uncanny, novelette. Community solidarity and climate-collapse survival. Locus, spreadsheet.

The Fifteenth Saint, Ursula Whitcher, Asimov's, novelette. Spreadsheet.

One Man's Treasure, Sarah Pinsker, Uncanny, novelette. Garbage collectors and the perils of magical item disposal day. Locus, spreadsheet.

The Case of the Blood-Stained Tower, Ray Nayler, Asimov's, novelette. This is a case where if I tell you everything I liked about it, it would spoil the story, but I'm going to go ahead and spoil part of it and say that it's a sort of Holmes-and-Watson riff set in what I think, with a little research, is 17th-century Tehran. Spreadsheet.

Even If Such Ways Are Bad, Rich Larson, Reactor (the new name of Tor.com's online publishing, apparently), novelette. Living ships and memory modification and AI corporations who still need humans for some things.

On the Fox Roads, Nghi Vo, Reactor, novelette. Bank robbers, running away, finding yourself. Locus, spreadsheet.

Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge, Eugenia Triantafyllou, Uncanny, novelette. Grief and deals with the devil. Locus, spreadsheet.

Contracting Iris, Peter Watts, Lightspeed, novelette. Disease and transformation. If you liked What Moves the Dead. Locus.

Ivy, Angelica, Bay, C.L. Polk, Reactor, novelette. A sequel to a story from a couple of years ago, about witches and bee magic. Locus, spreadsheet.

A Chronicle of the Mole-Year, Christi Nogle, Strange Horizons, novelette. A very different take on time loops, or maybe on virtual life.

2023 online short fiction - short stories short list

Better Living Through Algorithms, Naomi Kritzer, Clarkesworld. An online AI-guided happiness club. Spreadsheet.

Spring Woods Spring, B. Pladek, Strange Horizons. A silent but bright apocalypse.

There's a Door to the Land of the Dead in the Land of the Dead, Sarah Pinsker, The Deadlands. A roadside attraction with a secret. Locus, spreadsheet.

missed connections - Central square today around 930, Jess Cameron, Strange Horizons. An interesting take on time loops and relationships.

The Big Glass Box and the Boys Inside, Isabel J. Kim, Apex. Also contracts, this time with Fae. Locus, spreadsheet.

2024 Hugos - my entire nominating ballot, I guess?

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