Rememorations by Paul B Kohler

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: September, 2015 in The Immortality Chronicles (Future Chronicles Book 6)

Genre: science fiction

Setting: a random city on Earth, near future

Summary: Short version: Don’t mess with your memories

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Shattered Vessels by Kary English and Robert B. Finegold

I’m home from vacation and mostly caught up from being away. So, it’s back to my regularly scheduled posts. That means, today’s post is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: March, 2016 in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine

Genre: mythology

Setting: various parts of Earth, from prehistory to the present

Summary: Short version: The ongoing struggle between good and evil tips to good

Nuking the Noomies by Bill Patterson

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: October 2016 in Chronicle Worlds: Paradisi (Future Chronicles Book 14)

Genre: science fiction

Setting: Paradisi system, late 2000s

Summary: Short version: Unsupervised robots do bad things

Abere and the Poisoner by Jonathan Edelstein

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: September, 2016 in Beneath Ceaseless Skies (you can either read or listen to the story at that link)

Genre: folk tale

Setting: a Pacific island, pre-European contact

Summary: Short version: The swamp-witch will get you if you hunt the dream-orchids

The Minotaur’s Wife by Thomas K. Carpenter

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: September 2016 in Galaxy’s Edge: Issue 22

Genre: urban fantasy short story

Setting: a diner between Albuquerque and Durango, present day

Summary: Short version: All is not what it seems at breakfast in the diner

Hyrmnal by Jonathan Laidlow

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: August, 2016 in Daily Science Fiction (you can read it for free at that link)

Genre: science fiction

Setting: another planet, far future

Summary: Coryde is a snail player stuck in the outer planet circuit. After her performance, she’s approached by a guy who asks her out for a drink. She agrees, just to be close to someone. Turns out, he’s part of the Mollusc Liberation Front and he’s letting her snail free so she can no longer her it.

Final thoughts: An interesting concept, playing the snail. Laidlow explains the process, which involves paralyzing snail venom and singing into the mouth of the snail so its body and shell can enhance the sound. Sounds kind of gross, and I can see why a liberation society would develop. Of course, just letting a snail go in a random wild area will likely lead to its death, but it won’t be hurt by people anymore. Just eaten by the local predator or dried to a crisp in the baking sun. People on a mission don’t think about reality like that, though.

Title comes from: Snails are hermaphroditic and the guy uses the pronoun “hyrm” for the snail. Since there’s singing involved, Laidlow made a play on hyrm and hymnal for the title

 

Skills to Keep the Devil in His Place by Lia Swope Mitchell

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: in Shimmer Magazine (check it out – it’s got some lovely fonts)

Genre: fantasy

Setting: generic high school, present day

Summary: Rachel can see the devil, and she doesn’t know what to do about that. He dances around, trying to get her attention so he can do more evil. She lists the actions she’s taking to try to ignore him, but it isn’t working. Another high school students, Julie, can also see the devil. Julie has figured out how to placate the devil. He sucks the evil right out of her, and she can show Rachel how to do it as well. Rachel figures out that the devil is taking something vital from them, and comes up with a plan to stop him.

Final thoughts: I liked the format of the story. It’s set up in sections that describe Rachel’s plan of attack. Of course, some of those plans are more successful than others. I did find it amusing that Rachel was going to talk to Julie about whether or not she noticed the devil, but Julie seemed too perfect to have problems with him. That was just because Julie had figured out how to keep him under a bit of control. Of course, you can’t really control the devil. Rachel was the first to realize their situation couldn’t continue and made an effort to change things up.

Title comes from: It describes the sections of the story and the overarching story line