Three Miles Down by James Hamilton-Peterson

Happy Trieste Day! It’s the fifty-seventh anniversary of the Bathyscaphe Trieste’s descent to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. At 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 →

A General in the Library by Italo Calvino

This is my 150th recommendation, and it also happens to be this website’s one-year anniversary. And you know what? It’s Continue reading →

Understand by Ted Chiang

Characters who are smarter than the smartest human are notoriously difficult to write well. It’s relatively easy to get away Continue reading →

Negative Reinforcement by Chuck Palahniuk

I seem to be running a spate of second person stories. The received wisdom is that you shouldn’t use it. Continue reading →

The Soul Selects Her Own Society by Connie Willis

Sometimes you just need a story that makes you laugh out loud repeatedly, no matter where you are. Even if Continue reading →

Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros by Peter S. Beagle

A charming story is a difficult quality to articulate, as is the definition of ‘magical’ that leaves the reader feeling Continue reading →

Water Bringer by Mary Rosenblum

You know how westerns often start, with a stranger walking out of the desert into an isolated community. Well, this Continue reading →