Category Archives: Short Stories

QUICK REVIEW: As Yet Unsent – Tamsyn Muir

A small but intriguing part of the Locked Tomb Series, Tamsyn Muir’s short story As Yet Unsent is available to read for free on the Tor.com website. [SPOILER WARNING: read Harrow the Ninth before reading this review or the short story in question] Fitting in roughly between Harrow the Ninth and Nona the Ninth, it’s written from the perspective of Second House necromancer Judith Deuteros and takes the form of excerpts from a report she wrote while in captivity at the hands of Blood of Eden. As she slowly, begrudgingly recovers from the injuries she sustained at Canaan House, Captain Deuteros documents her observations of her captors, what they seem to want from her and what this means for her continued existence, as well as the changing behaviour and attitude of the other Canaan House survivors – Camilla Hect and Coronabeth Tridentarius.

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QUICK REVIEW: Bone Armour – Victoria Hayward

Victoria Hayward’s short but razor-sharp story Bone Armour couldn’t be more suited to Grimdark Magazine (it’s available in issue 30) if it tried, setting its stall out early with mention of Bonecutters and ‘cadaver grinding facilities’ before getting really dark. Told via a series of written reports, it details Warrant-Officer Tamoh’s pursuit of a worker gone rogue and suspected of impeding the ‘war effort’. As Tamoh follows Meret’s trail through the vast manufactory dedicated to the production of bone armour, from crowded Habitation Zones to empty transport hubs, the net gradually closes in even as the danger Meret poses becomes increasingly clear.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Sins of My Brothers – Peter Fehervari

Available in Black Library’s The Successors anthology, The Sins of My Brothers is the 11th short story in Peter Fehervari’s Dark Coil series, and serves as both a fascinating companion to his novel The Reverie and a revelatory extension of his short story The Crown of Thorns. High up on the walls of Kanvolis, the ancient fortress of the Angels Resplendent – now the Angels Penitent – a warrior walks alone, and recounts his story of betrayal, grief and determined purpose. Through his recollections he confesses the part he had to play in his Chapter’s fall, and reveals more of the truth behind this bleak tragedy.

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Bleeding From Cold Sleep – Peter Fehervari

Available in the Sword & Planet anthology from Baen Books, Bleeding From Cold Sleep is Peter Fehervari’s first non-Warhammer short story, introducing a brand new setting that’s as rich and full of promise as you could imagine. Set in a bleak, distant future not entirely unlike (yet definitely not) the 40k universe, on the midwinter world of Iscarcha out in “the backwaters of human space”, a man calling himself Vikram is finally brought to heel by the hunters who have long been on his tail. Once an elite soldier for the Frontline, chosen and engineered to fight at the forefront of mankind’s pioneering exploration into space, over the long years of his flight he has taken many identities and lived many lives, accompanied only by his enigmatic shadow. Now, confronted by his hunters and tired of his long flight, Vikram faces the choice of whether to keep running, or stand and tell his side of the story.

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QUICK REVIEW: Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre – Lavie Tidhar

Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre, the third of Lavie Tidhar’s Golden Age detective (but with vampires) short stories for Tor.com, sees the eponymous vampire judge and his human companion Jonathan in Paris, remaining in one place for an unusually long time. Even as Jonathan enjoys a measure of stability, not to mention plenty of good French food, he wonders what it is that’s keeping them in Paris, as the normally ascetic judge spends his time attending plays and mingling with Paris’ vampiric population. When a dinner party turns bloody, however, the judge has his work cut out identifying the culprit, given that every vampire in attendance had motive for murder.

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QUICK REVIEW: Delhi – Vandana Singh

First published in So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy (edited by Uppinder Mehan and Nalo Hopkinson) in 2004, Vandana Singh’s short story Delhi is a fascinating tale of a man burdened with a purpose he doesn’t understand, constantly searching for answers. Aseem has always been able to see apparitions around him, brief glimpses of people from other times who offer him momentary snapshots of Delhi’s past and future. He lives on the fringes, helping others where he can, always on the lookout for the one woman who he believes will provide clarity on what he’s supposed to be doing and why.

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QUICK REVIEW: Oracle – Liane Merciel

Liane Merciel’s Age of Sigmar short story Oracle, part of the wider Broken Realms narrative and a sequel of sorts to Red Claw and Ruin (from Covens of Blood), starts with an investigation and ends with an invasion. Posted to the city of Anvilguard to support the Anvils of the Heldenhammer, most of whom have been redeployed elsewhere, Etanios of the Hammers of Sigmar finds himself in the unusual position of assisting with a murder investigation, after several deaths among the city’s prominent citizens. When he’s contacted by an old ally with a dire warning of Morathi’s duplicity, however, he finds himself pulled in different directions trying to do his duty.

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QUICK REVIEW: Roadwarden – Liane Merciel

Liane Merciel turns her attention to the harsh landscape of Aqshy with the short story Roadwarden, available in the Inferno! Volume 6 anthology. When strangers approach roadwarden Fereyne wanting to hire her as a guide through the Reaver Wastes, at first she balks at aiding anyone once claimed by the Blood God, but her scepticism is soon outweighed by the truth of their situation…and the high price they’re offering for her services. As she leads the motley party through the wastes in search of a magical artefact with the power to bring life to arid Aqshy, Fereyne and her companions find themselves faced with the stark reality of Chaos’ influence on the Mortal Realms.

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QUICK REVIEW: Hochmuller’s Hound (short story) – Josh Reynolds

The title story in the second Casefiles of the Royal Occultist anthology from 18th Wall Productions, Josh Reynolds’ Royal Occultist short story Hochmuller’s Hound sees Thomas Carnacki and his apprentice Charles St. Cyprian up to their knees in mud and blood in the trenches of the Great War. Something has been tearing apart soldiers on the edge of No Man’s Land, and it wasn’t the Germans. When Carnacki and St. Cyprian’s investigations are interrupted by a ferocious German assault on the lines, however, the two men come face to face with more than just a dangerous beast out for blood.

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QUICK REVIEW: Fandom For Robots – Vina Jie-Min Prasad

First published in Uncanny Magazine and nominated for Best Short Story awards at both the Nebulas (2017) and Hugos (2018), Vina Jie-Min Prasad’s Fandom For Robots offers a warm, affectionate take on online fan communities and the value of fan fiction. As “the only known sentient robot”, Computron resides in the Simak Robotics Museum and takes the stage each day to answer audience questions and demonstrate his sentience. When an audience member suggests he might enjoy a Japanese anime series called Hyperdimension Warp Record (超次元 ワープ レコード) he finds himself drawn in by the show’s story, despite his inability to experience it emotionally. While waiting for new episodes, he discovers a fan-made wiki for the series, which sets him off on an unexpected path.

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