Tag Archives: Podcastle

2020 Short Fiction Roundup 2

Posted on by

Welcome again to a Short Fiction Roundup of some stories I’ve enjoyed reading in the last week or so and hope you might too. If you do enjoy any of these stories consider sharing them and giving them a shout out yourself. It’s a great way to support short fiction. We’ve been in a short speculative fiction golden age for awhile now let’s keep it going.

“When Hope is Lost, Touch Remains” by Nin Harris from PodCastle 620

A story I would call lovely, though perhaps that might put me in a strange light to some. Maria moves through her life trying to grapple with a strange discovery she makes about herself: the fact that she can literally draw out men’s souls, a feat usually performed, unnoticed by the men, during sex. She can, thankfully, also return them and this power becomes a central fact of her life as she moves through it trying to figure out who she is and wants to be while unraveling a complicated family heritage. Serious bonus points for this being a story of a middle-aged woman, it feels both rare and nice to have a story acknowledging that figuring out who you are isn’t exclusively the realm of the young.

Continue reading →

Weekly Fiction Rec Roundup 5

Posted on by

I’m coming in a day later than usual and with only 5 stories this time, but it is time for another roundup of fiction I’ve recently read and liked enough to share on my Mastodon feed. I think there’s an interesting selection here with a series of styles that range from feeling like they could have come from a different era (the 2nd and last story) to the thoroughly modern (like the first story). As usual there’s a fair bit of weird and creepy and unsettling, but not only that. And, as usual I think there’s hope to be found here too.

Continue reading →

Weekly Fiction Rec Roundup 3

Posted on by

Week 3! My goal to read at least one short story a day and to share either it or another favorite story of mine on my Mastodon feed continues to go well. I’m loving the energy I’m getting from all the great reading and from having this goal I’m sticking to. I’m also happy the roundups have started getting some momentum going on the blog here and as this gets really established I plan to start adding more regular posts (probably starting with a return to Reading Old Comics).

OK, I’ve got a full flight of 7 stories to share with you (the first time in this young project that’s happened. Week 1 wasn’t actually a full week and in week 2 I missed a day) so we need to get into them, but an important note first. I will try to focus on recent fiction, but sometimes I dip back into stories form previous years, and sometimes I share a reprint. So if you’re looking for stories to read for any sort of awards purposes just be aware not all stories I share are going to qualify for such things.

Now, the stories!

Continue reading →