Finding excellent short SFF can often feel like hunting for buried treasure. Sometimes it takes a guide to help fill in the map, connecting readers with fantastic fiction and showing where X Marks The Story<\/a>\u2013a monthly column from Charles Payseur.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve officially moved past \u201cearly 2021.\u201d And as we get deeper into the meaty part of the year, the short speculative fiction isn\u2019t letting up. At turns delightful and obliterating,\u00a0it can be difficult to navigate the wide landscape of the field without a guide, without a map. Which is where I come in! Looking for a story that will tug your heartstrings? I know just the route to get there! Prefer something with more action to get your heart pumping and your feet stomping? I can show you where to look! Whatever your tastes, from science fiction to fantasy to a lovely mix of the two, slip on some sensible shoes and let\u2019s get on the trail of some X-cellent short SFF!\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>The Steel Magnolia Metaphor<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by Jennifer Lee Rossman\u00a0<\/strong>(Escape Pod)\u00a0<\/p>\n What It Is:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Astrid is a talented mechanic and inventor. She\u2019s also autistic, and metaphors, however, are something of her nemesis. So when she crafts a literal steel magnolia as a kind of present for her mother, she\u2019s not aware that what she\u2019s doing is actually creating an entirely different kind of metaphor, one that has little to do with the movie and everything to do with Astrid\u2019s feelings about her mother\u2019s cancer. The science fiction comes from what Astrid\u2019s inventions end up doing, and how that plays into the wider lines between the literal and the figurative.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why I Love It:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0This is a bittersweet story, one that looks at this raw and emotionally devastating situation and doesn\u2019t flinch. Doesn\u2019t pull away. It captures all of Astrid\u2019s struggles to come to terms with what\u2019s happening, and the ways her autism complicates the process. It does an amazing job of taking what is a very delicate situation, though, and just beautifully exploring it. Showing all the emotion, all the frustration, all the humanity on display as Astrid and her mother talk. As Astrid faces the ways her invention does and doesn\u2019t go to plan. She\u2019s a child yet, and despite a rather mature way of looking at the world the story finds her growing in some important ways, faced with things she\u2019s never had to face. Not breaking. But being changed all the same by the weight and grief of it all. And learning a bit more about herself, and the world, and metaphors. Be sure to have some tissues to hand for this one, because it is an emotional rollercoaster (and so good).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Heart Shine<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by\u00a0Shveta\u00a0Thakrar\u00a0<\/strong>(Uncanny)\u00a0<\/p>\n What It Is:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Though it wasn\u2019t available\u00a0online\u00a0until June,\u00a0I\u2019m still considering this a May release from\u00a0Uncanny Magazine, as that\u2019s when the full issue was out. And people, it is another story that aims at the heartstrings and hits its mark. It finds Komal, a young girl who feels ignored except for when she\u2019s being bullied. Desperate for escape, she chases after Faerie magic, only to find that Faerie doesn\u2019t want her. At least, not in the way she thought she wanted. It\u2019s a complex look at loneliness and escape, explored with a careful hand by the author, who understands how easy it might have been to nudge Komal\u2019s story into tragedy but doesn\u2019t. Who finds a different ending instead, one that is beautiful and inspiring and affirming.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why I Love It:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Everything about Komal seems to make her vulnerable. The subject of racist and misogynist harassment. Isolated, without an advocate.\u00a0A girl who wants to disappear, and who takes risks in part because she knows that she has to in order to maybe find a way out of her situation. On the edge of something deep and grim,\u00a0what ends up finding her isn\u2019t\u00a0a darkness but a friend. Not one who can wave away her problems or extract her from the dangers and difficulties of her life. But someone who can for once see her and the good in her. Her power and her potential. And that is a magic that is powerful indeed. One that you don\u2019t need to be a Faerie to understand or practice. And I love how the piece brings Komal to a place where she can hope for something in her own life. Not erasing the very real issues and injustices around her. But recognizing that\u00a0she has power, and will have more, to shape her place in the world, to connect with people who do see her, and who she can in turn see. It\u2019s a lovely and tender and heartwarming read.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Shi Shou<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by E. A. Xiong\u00a0<\/strong>(Strange Horizons)\u00a0<\/p>\n What It Is:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0In a peopled solar system where travel between planets and moons is common, and where\u00a0there\u2019s an increasing market for creating artificial body augmentations for a variety of reasons, the arts are seeing something of a transformation. And for a pianist, and for an artisan specializing in flesh, in somatology, the future means pushing the boundaries of what is possible, both with regards to the human body, and how a human body can create art. And what follows is something of a controversy, something of a risk, but also an undertaking that\u00a0might\u00a0bring both to new heights in their fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why I Love It:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0I love the pacing of this story, which might seem strange at first because it is a slow piece, one that unfolds over months as the characters work toward this rather huge project. As they are caught in other things, as they make plans, as they go about their lives. They aren\u2019t consumed by just this single project, but rather are committed to their careers, to their ambitions, leading them to the moment when they can reveal their breakthrough, the fruits for their intense labor, and push the boundaries of their arts forward. I just love the way that it\u2019s understated, showing that this isn\u2019t the work of a moment. Or a day or a week or even a year. That it happens in the flow of things, the constant effort that works within the constraints of making a living, funding their passions. But through all that how they still shine, and how the moments of their success ring loudly, echoing through the solar system, through time, as something new, momentous. For me it\u2019s a careful and fantastically crafted story, subtle but poignant, and very worth checking out!\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Synesthesia<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by Devin DeMarco\u00a0<\/strong>(Lackington\u2019s)\u00a0<\/p>\n What It Is:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Appearing\u00a0in the \u201cbattle\u201d themed issue of Lackington\u2019s, this story imagines a kind of team sport. One that\u2019s only possible thanks to the fact that in this world\u00a0some people are have synesthesia that isn\u2019t just about senses but allows them to manifest their altered sensations in physical form. Players of the game then use these powers to try and knock down the opposition using a point system that\u2019s not difficult to follow. Sia can make light from sound, and wield that light as a solid force. A useful power, especially when some dirty pool from the opposing, Chicago team, meaning holding back isn\u2019t an option.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why I Love It:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0SFF sports stories aren\u2019t exactly common, and I love the premise here, the rules, and the energy that the game brings to the story, and that the author brings to the game. The setup is classic and for a Chicago-area native, only a little bit of a dig. The big city team versus the local underdogs. Some less than legal play. Some mighty comeuppance. The piece shines thanks in part to the great cast of characters and their unique powers and the ways they weave those together. There is a very visual flare to the work, something that I especially like given the idea of synesthesia, where here reading the words evokes the sounds and smells, the sights and textures and tastes. It\u2019s tightly paced and powerfully\u00a0rendered, full of determination, drive, and a lot of fun. It really does make me wish this sport existed, because I\u2019d have season tickets. An incredible read!\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking for\u00a0even more\u00a0recommendations? Then good news, because here are some more great stories to X-plore!\u00a0<\/p>\n If all the X-tra Xs don\u2019t give it away, I\u2019m a bit of a fan of superheroes, and I absolutely loved Jen Brown\u2019s take on a particularly messy and traumatic superhero journey in\u00a0\u201cTo Rise, Blown Open<\/a>\u201d (Anathema).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Along the same line, you can squint and read\u00a0\u201cThrow Rug<\/a>\u201d by Aurelius Raines II (Apex)\u00a0as something of a superhero story, though it might be closer to say it explores the intersections of confidence, family, and the power of never giving up. Whatever the case, it\u2019s an inspiring read!\u00a0<\/p>\n Two women with big dreams and an even bigger love find that might not be enough in\u00a0\u201cBlood in the Thread<\/a>\u201d by Cheri Kamei (Tor). It\u2019s difficult at times, wrenching, visceral, but also unflinching and reaching for joy and triumph, and it reaches using art, trust, and a refusal to betray the people who really matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thebooksmugglers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/x-marks-the-story.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1)
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FURTHER X-PLORATIONS<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h4>\n