By Cooper Shrivastava Alena has momentarily escaped her world and its imminent gravitational collapse by cheating her way into the selection process of the Board of Cosmogamy. By passing this stringent exam, she may finally learn the secrets of building a universe from first principles. But the competition is smarter and better prepared, and evenContinue reading “Aptitude“
Tag Archives: fantasy
On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera
By Elizabeth Bear An academic’s whimsical decision to take a DNA test leads her into uncharted territory, where she discovers some extraordinary truths about herself and new possibilities for her future. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you’d flunked Algebra, Griswold,” Roberts said, racking another shell into his hunting rifle and peering over ourContinue reading “On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera“
Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre
By Lavie Tidhar Judge Dee returns to solve a new case involving a Parisian party gone wrong. But this time? Everyone in attendance is a suspect, including the judge himself. 1. Jonathan had liked Paris immediately. The air was just growing cold as the year turned, and the autumn leaves fell beautifully across the pavedContinue reading “Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre”
Small Monsters
By E. Lily Yu All its life, a small monster with emerald scales has been a source of never-ending food to larger and more powerful creatures who feast on the small monster’s limbs each time one regrows. This is the story of how the small monster meets an industrious artist and re-forms into someone new—someoneContinue reading “Small Monsters”
The Tinder Box
By Kate Elliott “One spark. Two sparks. Three. This is what it takes to ignite a revolution.” A reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairytale, “The Tinder Box” tells the story of a witch at the heart of an incipient rebellion—and all of those to come. After the soldier cut off my head it rolledContinue reading “The Tinder Box”