Time is precious. Spend it wisely with a few terrific spacefaring short stories.
Like so many other aspiring writers, book lovers, and speculative fiction fans, life for me is incredibly busy. My wife and I are both working professionals and parents to a rambunctious and tenderhearted toddler. We’re also eagerly awaiting the arrival of another child in the coming months. We strive to lead active and healthy lives and to regularly satiate our love of the outdoors, too. Despite all of that, and along with so many other obligations and interests that take up an exorbitant amount of time, I also possess a crazy desire to attempt writing my own speculative fiction.
Happily, one of the most rewarding effects of my journey into fiction writing has been the inspiration to read more than I have in many years. But that doesn’t mean I have ample time to absorb all of the books, stories, and journals I’d prefer. Like so much in life, time is precious. So when it comes to my available reading opportunities, I’ll often prioritize the works of writers with whom I’m already familiar. But other times, I’ll seek out recommendations for new (or, more often than not, simply new-to-me) authors whose work seems to fall in line with my interests. And what a joy it is to discover something new, or even missed!
A quality story is worth celebrating, so here are a few that I’ve read recently that I can whole-heartedly recommend. All three of these spacefaring short stories loosely share some sort of celestial travel motif, but each is magical in its own way. Interestingly, this trio of stories, along most of the others on my recent reading list, also contains strong themes of familial connection and the impact of parental/authority figures. That’s probably no coincidence—after all, the greatest impetus for my desire to start writing (and reading more) fiction was becoming a father for the first time.
TL;DR—I really enjoyed these stories, and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too. Scroll down to check them out.
“Give The Family My Love” by A.T. Greenblatt
This is a tale of epic discovery set amidst humanity’s last attempts to save itself. Greenblatt’s story deftly combines high-concept science fiction and grandiose imagery with the incredibly personal connections between a solitary main character and her loved ones. I missed this story last year when it was published in issue #149 of Clarkesworld. But I was extremely fortunate to find it a few weeks ago, thanks to the publicity of its Nebula Award nomination for Best Short Story. [UPDATE: “Give The Family My Love” won the Nebula Award!] Broadly speaking, the epistolary structure can be difficult to execute well. However, Greenblatt not only uses the form to powerful emotional effect, but also provides a unique spin on it that those who dream of galaxy-spanning adventurers will enjoy immensely. Click here to read it.
“The Mermaid Astronaut” by Yoon Ha Lee
Maybe it’s because my wife and I are attempting to introduce several of our favorite animated Disney films to our two-year-old daughter. And, The Little Mermaid has been chief among those. But this story instantly resonated with me. Appearing in issue #298 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, “The Mermaid Astronaut” tells of the journey of a mermaid who yearns to visit the stars and other worlds that exist beyond her planet’s skies. Part science fiction and part fantasy, this story will speak to anyone who’s ever yearned for something just beyond their reach, and then faced the ramifications of actually grasping it. Always dreamlike, sometimes surreal, and uniquely hypnotic, “The Mermaid Astronaut” is a short story you shouldn’t miss. Click here to check it out.
“The Message” by Ken Liu
Ken Liu’s short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” is one of my all-time favorites. Achingly personal yet profoundly universal in its themes of isolation and family, as well as the challenges and joys of cultural identity, it’s one I revisit on a regular basis. I’m excited to experience anything that Liu puts out, so when he recently released a new collection of short stories entitled, “The Hidden Girl and Other Stories,” I grabbed myself a copy.
The whole collection is wonderful, but one story that stood out to me was “The Message.” It first appeared in issue #242 of Interzone back in 2012, but this was my first experience with it. And I’m glad I discovered it at this point in my life. As a father, this story’s themes of parenting, responsibility, and connection strongly resonated with me. But it’s a terrific science fiction story for any fan of the genre. It’s rich with mystery and wonder, and feels like a homage to classic spacefaring short stories of the past. I’ve even learned that it could be making its way to the big screen. Chase down your own copy here.
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