The Bound Man by Ilse Aichinger

Here’s an idea I had a while ago for a series of columns: take two completely unrelated stories that happen Continue reading →

The Specialty of the House by Stanley Ellin

You might have noticed things have been sporadic here for a while. The truth is, this website is an outlet Continue reading →

Esther Gordon Framlingham by Anthony Mann

While I don’t deny that Google’s wholesale scanning of books is a flagrant abuse of copyright and all that, I Continue reading →

A Word Shaped Like Bones by Kris Millering

There is a recurring setting in short SF fiction – frequent enough to be noticeable, but rare enough that I Continue reading →

Touchstone by Terry Carr

The ‘be careful what you wish for’ story has been a staple of folk tales long before such classics as Continue reading →

. . . By Good Intentions by Carrie Richerson

Here’s an intriguing stylistic trick: never naming something in a story, while making it perfectly clear what the something is Continue reading →

The Ocean and All Its Devices by William Browning Spencer

There are some stories that come across as inevitable. They feel obvious, not because you know exactly what is about Continue reading →

Ill Met in Tanivar by Reyna Todd

I should warn you that today’s story is a gay erotic novella, and there may be graphic analysis of a Continue reading →