For my June spotlight on speculative fiction, I bring you stories of loss, regret, anticipation, hope, and resistance. These ten science fiction and fantasy stories explore the future in ways that will make you laugh out loud, roll your eyes, gasp in surprise, and sigh in concern.
“Ace of Knives” by E. A. Xiong
“It rarely rains on Mars.” I love an opening line that hooks you in. Our protagonist is an expert knife fighter. With no family or friends, her whole world is her steel blade. She fights on Mars and the Moon, racking up wins (aka kills) and patrons. But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a heroic story. Gladiators rarely get happy endings, even ones fighting in space. (khōréō magazine—June 2024; 4.2)
“The Barricade” by Joyce Ch’ng
I can see some readers categorizing this as hopepunk or utopian science fiction, but to me that misses the depth Joyce Ch’ng is getting at. Set in a future Earth where humanity has pulled itself back from the edge of extinction by implementing vast environmental policies, capitalism is gone and everything is gathered from the natural environment or recycled. But there are costs, too. Birds are dying in droves due to solar panels and wind fans. Many people suffered during the revolutions that led to this new world. And massive walls surround the islands to protect them from rising sea levels. This story asks us to imagine something better and what it will cost us to get there. (IZ Digital—June 2024)
“The Dinomancers Dance” by Ng Yi-Sheng
Dinomancers? Come on. Of course I’m gonna spotlight this story. Eight people engaged in various sorts of communication with dinosaur spirits talk about their processes. From a parrot astrologer to a dragon dancer, from an author of erotic dino romance to a nun contemplating enlightenment and reincarnation. I can safely say I’ve never read anything quite like Ng Yi-Sheng’s story. (Sunday Morning Transport—June 23, 2024)
“Elizabeth Yu Is a Universal Constant” by Sydney Paige Guerrero
Elizabeth Yu gets a job people-watching in the multiverse. Like her coworkers, she sneaks a peak at her alternate selves. Unlike her coworkers, she finds nothing but disappointment. Her own life feels like a let down, and the boring lives of the other Elizabeth Yus grates on her. I didn’t quite know where this story was going, but Sydney Paige Guerrero knew exactly where to take it: to the brink to where you think “no, she can’t” then right over the edge. (Fusion Fragment—June 2024; issue 21)
“Explaining novel scientific concepts to people whose technical acumen does not extend to turning it off, then turning it on again” by Joel Glover
Every Millennial who has tried to explain PDFs to a Boomer will relate to this. Our narrator is trying, with great patience and a clear desire to hurl themself out of a window, to explain a laser-based technological advancement to some politicians who obviously have no clue what they’re talking about. It’s not a deep story, but it made me snicker. (Nature: Futures—May 15, 2024)
“Heat Devils” by Madi Haab
Two women, Nayeli and Shan, break into a vault full of storage units owned by the corporate overlords GenesiX. It’s a fun little adventure story that starts with its foot on the gas and never lets us. Taking back power from your oppressors is always a good time. (Hexagon Magazine—Summer 2024; issue 17)
“Moon Pies” by Taylor Thackaberry
Well, this one snuck up on me! A group of teens who grew up on the moon visit Earth for the first time and roadtrip their way through the southwest. Taylor Thackaberry’s young adult story perfectly captures that sense of liminality that is the summer after high school graduation but before the first day of college. It’s a time when you’re grown up yet still holding onto your teen years, when the future that used to seem very far away is suddenly right in front of your face. (Uncharted—June 5, 2024)
“Rinse and Repeat” by Avi Burton
Avi Burton’s trippy sci-fi flash was the perfect treat. Captain Solomon Orrey is continuously being woken up by an examiner and questioned about a mysterious incident. Each time, Orrey remembers more and more, much to the frustration of the examiner. Burton plays with your expectations in clever ways. (Flash Point SF—June 28, 2024)
“Sue Dhingra’s Cat” by Shikhandin
This is for all you pet parents out there. Sue’s orange cat, Adrak, takes her on a journey with an exciting reward. Along the way, we learn about Sue’s life and that of Radha, a younger woman who is Sue’s caretaker and struggles with that darn cat. Shikhandin touches on family dynamics, superstitions, and taking care of one another. (Luna Station Quarterly—June 2024; issue 58)
“Within the Seed Lives the Fruit” by Leah Andelsmith
“Morning dawns and Lou has exactly nothing left to give.” Lou inherits her parents’ farm and gives herself over to its care, in more ways than one. Leah Andelsmith’s story about a Black family of farmers is a kaleidoscope of emotions. There’s generational trauma, the sacrifices our elders made to survive in a brutally racist landscape, the way Black elders can sometimes show they love you by being too hard on you and expecting too much, finding peace in the life that chose us, the magic of the natural world, and finding community in unexpected places. It’s bittersweet, mournful, hopeful, and wondrous all at once. (Reckoning—Spring 2024; issue 8)
