Wenceslas Square by Arthur Phillips

The 1980s: the CIA has groomed Tyler to be a spy, carefully seasoning his diplomatic career with drinking in public Continue reading →

Eternally Yours by Joy Williams

‘The Wedding Cake in the Middle of the Road’ is anthology where every story has the central image of a Continue reading →

Wine on the Desert by Max Brand

This is a story about thirst. It is entirely designed to make you feel as if you are trudging through Continue reading →

Fool’s Mate by Stanley Ellin

George is resigned to his unhappy marriage with Louise. She controls his life, never letting him out to make new Continue reading →

The Adder by Fred Chappell

In most Lovecraftian fiction the cosmic horror is either played straight – and therefore horrific – or played for laughs, Continue reading →

Aristotle and the Gun by L. Sprague de Camp

Most time travellers, when they decide to change history for the better, opt to kill Hitler or tweak the American Continue reading →

The Green Arches by Joan Aiken

It’s highly subjective whether a story feels magical, as opposed to merely containing magic. This story succeeds at both, and Continue reading →

Two Sadnesses by George Alec Effinger

This comprises two thematically similar stories: one with a thinly disguised version of Winnie the Pooh (here called ‘The Bear’), Continue reading →