The short stories were perhaps the lowest-quality category this year. Experimental and “artistic” writing was once again common, as it often is in this category more than in the others. It was easy to place the most “mundane” story first, as it was also well-written, with a nice and interesting plot. The last two places were easy to decide, as I was too stupid to really understand them. The other stories were also fairly easy to rank in what felt like the “right” voting order.
“We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, May 2024 – Issue 168)
The story consists of two parallel "story" lines, where one is a more or less repeating poem, and the other explores how difficult it is for humans to experience or read two things simultaneously. I think it’s meant as some kind of communication from aliens or something similar. Very experimental, quite short, and with little plot.
“Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld, February 2024)
A take on Ursula K. Le Guin's classic short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” Someone kills the child who is being tortured for the good of the whole city. Things start to go wrong, accidents and disagreements occur, until a new child is placed in the torture room. Then everything is wonderful again... until that child is also killed. And the next one, and the next one. Where do the children come from? Are they ethically sourced? A good story, written in a style very similar to the original.
“Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)
Margary lives in what seems to be a late medieval village, tending to her mother, who has a shaking palsy. They used to work at the manor, but when the mother fell ill, the lord gave them a small farm to live on. Margary is also caring for her little brother. One day, the boy hears that a snail is approaching the village. The snail is a giant creature whose corrosive slime destroys everything in its path. The lord must be informed so he can defend the village. He tries, but the snail is gigantic… A nice, optimistic story where people are mostly good, even the lord. Perhaps the most “classical” of the nominees. It would be nice to read more stories set in this world with these characters.
“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine, January 2024 – Issue 164)
A very short tale about a prison transport carrying inmates to another planet as part of an extremely cruel punishment. A good story with a clever twist, but very short and based on a single idea.
“Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
A sort of game which is based on simulated (?) history is run repeatedly with slightly altered choices by the characters. An oppressive government seems to monitor the game's events closely. A player (?) eventually commits an unthinkable act. The story is interspersed with quotes from a scholarly article. A very experimental (and allegorical?) piece that I didn’t really understand.
“Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57)
A Chinese (?) woman is looking for her brother, with only his last known address. She finds a small inn run by a seemingly kind family, but she notices they are wearing her brother’s clothes. When they try to kill her, she is fortunately able to use a magical connection to the clothing, which fights back and avenges her. There’s no explanation for the magic, but the story is well-written in poetic language. A pretty good story overall.
My voting order will be:
1. “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)
2. “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld, February 2024)
3. “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57)
4. “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine, Jan 2024 (Issue 164))
5. “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
6. “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, May 2024 (Issue 168))
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