Locus Recommended Reading List (online short fiction)
There’s not enough time in the day to read all the short fiction published in a given year, so it’s good to have somewhere to start. The annual Locus Recommended Reading List is published every February, listing notable science fiction and fantasy from the previous year. I’ve culled through the novella, novelette and short story portions of the list and pulled out the stories that are available to read online. Go read something and tell me what you think.
Apex Magazine
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Clarkesworld Magazine
Fantasy Magazine
Flurb
Lightspeed
Subterranean Magazine
- Younger Women
- Queen of Atlantis
- Valley of the Girls
- White Lines on a Green Field
- A Long Walk Home
- A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong
Tor.com
Be sure to let me know if I’ve missed anything on the list that’s available to read for free online.
The Iron Shirts: Alternate history involving 13th century Ireland and Native Americans. The author gives some great background in the comments section and I’m seriously considering reading it a second time.
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong: K. J. Parker’s particular brand of magicless fantasy. A well crafted story about music composition, murder and the nature of genius. A story any person working in a creative field will appreciate.
White Lines on a Green Field: Football and high school, impossibly better than you ever remember but in that primal place behind your mind you’re nostalgic for it nonetheless.