Weekend Shorts - Middle Song by Thomas Ha

Name - Middle Song 

Written by - Thomas Ha

Published on - Bourbon Penn April 2026 (issue 38)

After being thoroughly impressed by 'In My Country', I was quite eagerly waiting to experience something new by Thomas Ha. It was no surprise that I jumped in to read 'Middle Song' after reading about it on Bluesky. And it was so different from what I expected, once again leaving me gasping at his depth of making readers amazed with his storytelling prowess.

The story starts with a group of people coming into a Roadhouse, they are looking for a fugitive and the person who helped him escape. Then Ha uses his unusually evocative style in describing their leader trying to interrogate the people in the place regarding information. Part way into investigation we finally get introduced to the actual main character of the story, "The Captain turns and, for the first time since entering, acknowledges me, standing there, behind the bar. Their type rarely looks at service people unless given reason, and I guess this finally provides that reason."

Then the real tale finally begins to unfold through his narration; we get into the backstory of the world and its people. We slowly learn about the patron of the joint, and about how he became like he currently is. In between dispersed the origin of the 'manuatons', of the struggles of the native population and the story of the mysterious magus.

Finally, the story once again changes direction, more layers are peeled away, revealing things like the futile cruelty in trying to mold our offspring into our image or showing due sympathy to those in need among other interesting bits to offer. There is another beautiful little piece towards the end describing the true essence of the story, 

"A father tells his child, I’ll find a way to live forever.

A child tells their father, I’ll bury you dead.

But the truth’s somewhere in the middle, as with all things, I hate to say."

Well, that was another very enjoyable short story by Thomas Ha, of whom I am slowly becoming a fan. I wish once again that I had the chance to spend more time in this world or the story to be longer than it was. I feel the need to read more stuff by him as soon as possible. At this point I am thinking of stopping all I am currently reading and jumping into his short story collection 'Uncertain Sons and Other Stories' right now.

This gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Every Child a Changeling by Samantha Pellegrino

Name - Every Child a Changeling 
Written by - Samatha Pellegrino 
Published by - Strange Horizons (August 3, 2026)

That was a fun read. Pellegrino took the difficulties of first experience at motherhood and the trials of being a single parent and incorporated a dark fantasy setting into it, while also hinting at the concept of how being different and not easily understandable gets someone turned into an outcast.

This is a tale of a new mother whose newborn daughter is swapped for a changeling boy, and details her struggles in nurturing the boy while also dealing with the people around her, blaming it on her carelessness. We just learned that new motherhood is always tough in any situation, especially if you are a single mother.

The prose was simple and fun to read, without attempts at over stuffing it with lyrical prose or unnecessary styling. The small number of characters that were present felt realistic and natural.

But, in the end, the story wasn't anything that hadn't been done before, and it was quite predictable from the beginning which direction it would take.

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Shorts - I Met You on the Train by J.R. Dawson

Name - I Met You on the Train

Written by - J. R. Dawson

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 68)

Well, I liked this one more than her Hugo nominated short. This one is shorter, packs more of a punch. And lingered for quite some time in my mind despite that short length due to its twisty nature.

This is the story of Jake and Natalie. Jake is a narcissistic man who can turn back time for up to a day and uses this power just so selfishly while narrating the fact. He starts off sounding quite normal but slowly the author makes us realize he is not normal at all, but rather monstrous.

So many desperate emotions are depicted so nicely throughout the prose. There is the obsession, the yearning for being loved, the growing possessiveness, the over-arching ever-growing selfish desire for his own happiness despite the consequences for everyone. This is a cruel tale at the core, but this allegorical story of toxic one-sided love is done quite brilliantly.

It's only 1533 words and free to read. Go, check it out if you like psychotic narrators; you won't regret it.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. Would have given this more if it had something from Natalie's point of view.

Weekend Shorts - In My Country by Thomas Ha

Name - In My Country

Written by - Thomas Ha

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine April 2025 (issue 223)

A timeless allegorical story with captivating prose, this one is a story remarkably fitting for current times, having a strong political message. The style and execution reminded me a lot of Ray Bradbury with its dreamlike quality, serine storytelling which is also deeply intense despite the initial appearance.

'In My Country' relates the story of a man and his family who reside in a country so much different from the ones we live in, yet so much similar when you look at it. There is government which allows criticism and maintains good governance, but only until you peel back the shiny veneer. But once you look deeper, there is the cruel reality of strict authoritarian fascism, where they are trying to regulate your thoughts and actions, while punishing you through their deceit for you trying to think for yourself.

Thomas Ha depicts the conflict inside the narrator so skillfully, peeling back the layers of the illusion and making us feel as powerless as he does. He then introduces his grief, his coming to terms with loss, and then finding hope even in such a bleak condition.

The author plays with so many allegorical elements in such a short space. The need for a writer to convey the truth, the dichotomy and dilemma with immigration, the false sense of security encompassing us, the vigour and rebellion of youth and future generations, and the inability of those who came before us to stand for what is right, etc. He tries to convey so many messages through his mesmerising prose in a poignant display of using genre fiction as literature.

This is one of my favourite stories dealing with these concepts and surely deserves the awards and nominations it received.

A well-deserved 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. I am cutting .5 because I think the author should have elaborated this into at least a novella. 

Weekend Shorts - Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

Name - Missing Helen

Written by - Tia Tashiro 

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine July 2025 (issue 226)

This one had quite an interesting concept dealing with a plausible future where clones are used like sperm banks for couples wanting to have children. The premise was sound, the themes the author was trying to explore were novel, but the means used were a bit uncomfortable at times, making the reading a bit strained.

This tells the story of a woman named Helen, who sells her genome for cloning purposes for money so that she might get a better future. Then by twists of fate that clone who is 16 years younger returns in her life as her ex-husband's fiance, awkward and yucky right. Then the two versions of the same person have a brief yet meaningful meeting.

The story has interesting themes like cloning depicted in a positive light, female empowerment, how relationships seemingly perfect erode away by time, a bit of narcissism, and the weird concept of your clone might be the best family for you if it were an option. All nice things to explore, but the introduction through ex-husband plot seemed kind of unnecessary and weird for me.

While an enjoyable story on its own, this is probably one of the weaker nominees for Hugo this year, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Six People to Revise You

Name - Six People to Revise You

Written by - J. R. Dawson

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 62)

Well, that certainly was some fine prose. The story seemed to flow so smoothly, making quite a simplistic premise shine due to sheer literary power. 

The story follows protagonist Liz, as she is thinking of going through a procedure called revision that would revise her being, cutting out the bad things, introducing new aspects, making her into a better version of herself. During the story she tries to collect input from six specific persons regarding herself, on what they would like changed about herself. 

We get to learn that Liz is queer, sensitive, and insecure; but she also has many endearing and positive qualities that she seldom recognizes herself. All the while we are discovering her, we travel towards a predictable yet emotional ending.

The story is rather simple; it has been done before, highlighting that we needn't always change to be better; instead, we should learn to embrace our true selves. Yet, the beautiful and captivating prose makes this very enjoyable and memorable.

This gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything by Effie Seiberg

Name - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything 

Written by - Effie Seiberg

Edited by - David Steffen

Published on - Diabolical Plots (DP fiction #123B)

Well, that was quite a lot of fun to read. In a modern writing landscape of overcomplicated stuff or stylistic approaches, a rather straightforward superpower science fiction with a quite relevant message for people all around.

Without spoiling much about this one, I'll just tell you that this one is about RazorBeam, who even after obtaining the power of having laser eyes, finds it difficult to get traffic circles built among her various struggles to get some comfortable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Then comes the supervillain Doctor Croc and things get interesting.

I was interested in this because of the title and with the knowledge decided to check out this Nebula winner and was quite delighted with the breezy prose, compassionate and interesting protagonist and a nice feel-good ending. While people are usually reluctant to read any genre fiction that tries to deliver a message, if it's done like this it certainly becomes worth checking out.

A deservedly award-worthy short story, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - 10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days by Samantha Mills

Name - 10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days

Written by - Samantha Mills

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 63)

Alternate realities are all the rage nowadays and this one is quite a fun attempt to put this genre into action, mixing it with a post-apocalyptic and cosmic twist. The prose was fun with bits of humor and an overarching theme of romance, but nothing that seemed rather new to me.

The narrator describes 10 possible futures that she experiences through visions, occurring mostly after an apocalyptic event that keeps the populace trying to survive in various disastrous situations.

This is my first reading of the works of this author, and I found her prose and character work quite enjoyable despite nothing remarkably original on offer.

3 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Alien Boy by Fawaz Al-Matrouk

Name - Alien Boy 

Written by - Fawaz Al-Matrouk 

Ilustrated by - Aude Abou Nasr

Edited by - Ann Vandermeer

Published by - Tor Books / reactormag.com

Our world is always full of horrors, and war is certainly one of the most dreadful precursors and instigators of horror. One of the most negative impacts war has on children is how it makes them forced to displace and makes their families broken.

This story deals with such a child, displaced from his homeland to a foreign country with rules and customs unfamiliar to him, estranged from his mother, never really accepted in this new environment. And how this fear of displacement never really leaves him.

The story is very simplistic and not very original, yet it is also poignant due to the time we currently live in. Everyone deserves their story to be told and everyone deserves second chances.

I will give this 3 out of 5 stars, simply because I expected more.

Weekend Shorts - Let's Go to the Zoo by Louis Evans review

Name - Let's Go to the Zoo

Written by - Louis Evans 

Ilustrated by - Scott Bakal

Edited by - Mal Frazier

Published by - Tor.com 

It's been a while since I read a short story, so I wanted to get restarted through something short, weird, and thought-provoking. This one fits the bill quite nicely with an added dose of psychological nuance thrown in deepening the atmosphere.

The story is told in first person, detailing a couples visit to the Zoo, without spoiling anything further I can just add that actually they are visiting to see something specific, which on the surface level might seem simple yet through small and thoughtful expositions turn out to be not so ordinary.

The prose is a bit unorthodox and gives the short story an extra edge at times, making me re-read sentences just to glimpse into any hidden bits on offer.

Despite being so minimal, this was quite refreshing, 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Wire Mother by Isabel J. Kim

Name - Wire Mother 

Written by - Isabel J. Kim 

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine October 2025 (issue 229)

This one was a blast to read, with a fun concept, engaging prose and interesting characters. When lots of stuff is being written about artificial intelligence and digital people it is really hard to sound original in this regard but Isabel shines through with making her story feel like natural and quite plausible compared to many.

This story is about Cassie, is set in far future and deals with her imaginary neuro divergent disorder making her incapable of accepting digital people as real. The story is told through her point of view and established the world around her slowly through her eyes while progressing to her inevitable rebellion against the norms of her society.

This was my first read from Isabel and this just clicked. The short yet poignant story left a sense of unease and desire to return to the setting. Maybe there are more stories to tell regarding Cassie or her world; only the author knows surely.

I will give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Shorts - When there are two of you: A documentary by Zun Yu Tan

Name - When there are two of you: A documentary 

Written by - Zun Yu Tan

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine January 2025 (issue 220)

This one had an interesting premise of a future where people use their digital clones or sentience to assist them in their daily lives. The story deals with the various scenarios that might occur as a result. 

The story is told as two interviews taken from two individuals who are dealing with this phenomenon quite differently. The story could have been developed a bit more, adding a bit more background or conflict rather than going the psychological way to describe the effect.

The bit with a conversation from an online forum was interesting and could have been used more to add more flavor.

I will give this 3 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Shorts - We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read by Caroline M. Yoachim

Name - We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read

Written by - Caroline M. Yoachim

Published on - Lightspeed Magazine May 2024 (issue 168)

This was a very experimental short, trying to convey a simple story in a rather unique manner. Although the gesture is definitely recommendable, when you really get down to it there isn't much substance in it; rather, the message it tried to convey.

This is my first experience with this author, and I quite liked her prose and style. She kept me guessing for the first half of the story regarding the direction she was aiming for, which is really a plus point in hindsight.

I would have liked it if there were a bit more stuff revealed regarding the nature of the species/race that was conveying their story, and if the story wasn't such barebones.

Kudos for style though, 3 out of 5 stars from me. 

Weekend Shorts - Five Views of the Planet Tartarus by Rachael K. Jones review

Name - Five Views of the Planet Tartarus

Written by - Rachael K. Jones 

Published on - Lightspeed Magazine January 2024 (issue 164)

Flash fiction is a relatively new kind of short stories, where it is often quite hard to express any remarkable message due to the constraints of space. The reader is often left imagining consequences and things are left without any resolution.

But sometimes authors can provide a satisfactory performance even despite such meagre room for maneuver. Rachael K. Jones tells a story without any viewpoint character, using crisp prose and blending science fiction with horror in only 549 words.

Special mention is to be given to the shocking twist at the end, which also kind of comes full circle by ties with the beginning. And like any good short story this one keeps a lingering presence in the mind of the reader for a while.

Despite everything, I would have liked the story to be a bit more divulging, especially about the setting.

This is certainly a worthy Hugo/Nebula nominee and gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Model Collapse by Matthew Kressel review

Name - Model Collapse 

Written by - Matthew Kressel 

Ilustrated by - Keith Negley

Edited by - Ellen Datlow

Published by - Tor.com 

My first read from this author was quite an interesting one. In such a small space the author has created a unique story that is part science fiction and part horror, and the story flowed like a breeze keeping focused and ended with a neat twist.

Much cannot be expressed about the story without spoiling it, so I will just say that it keeps mysterious all throughout, keeping the reader guessing what is really happening and where the story is actually going.

I would have liked a bit more explanation regarding the setting as many things are left unclear and the potential for further expansion of the premise is rather minimal due to the ending.

Overall score - 3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

Weekend Shorts - Human Resources by Adrian Tchaikovsky review

Name - Human Resources

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Ilustrated by - George Wylesol

Edited by - Lee Harris

Published by - Tor.com 

[ Back with this special feature after quite a long time, as I have quite a lot of free time now, compared to what I used to have the last 3-4 years. Hopefully I can continue for a bit this time around. ]

Anyone who reads Tchaikovsky is bound to get attached to his unique prose style and sense of humor while telling a thoughtful or serious story. It seems he can pull this off quite remarkably in the short form as well.

This short is placed in the world of his full-length novel 'Service Model', although featuring different characters and sometimes before that story as well. This one features a human employee in an office where slowly they are becoming unnecessary due to them being replaced by artificial intelligence.

The prose is as enjoyable and smoothly flowing as always by the author. But the  main problem with the setup is that the ending twist could be guessed even from the beginning. The execution was brilliantly done, but the story does seem to be desiring a bit more meat to make it as memorable as other works by Tchaikovsky.

In the end, I'll give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Weekend Shorts (Hugo/Nebula Edition) - 'Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island'

Name - Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island
Written by - Nibedita Sen
Published by - Nightmare Magazine

Colonialism is a tragic part of history for a large portion of the populace of the world (me being a part of this being a Bengali). And for a long time fiction has aimed at attempting to describe some of the emotional impact of this invasion of culture and individuality. This curiously designed short, is yet another such attempt. But, what makes this one unique is the approach and the authors skillful attempt at making the readers guess what might be the truth of the whole affair.

'Nibedita Sen' uses a series of ten bibliographic entries of a sociology paper, to try to tell a story of a fictional group of indigenous people living in a secluded fictional island and their descendants. The approach is quite unique and the different perspective of the entries from people having varied opinion creates a sense of mystery regarding the actual facts which I am quite sure the author was aiming for.

And the overall experience comes to a satisfying end, while the author aiming another jab at the invaders of the island with a message that, no matter the amount of violation and invasion a culture can never be completely destroyed.

Despite being in a unique and unorthodox package, this one is short yet enjoyable and emotionally charged story.

My rating -  4.5 out of 5.

Link to the story -  http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/ten-excerpts-from-an-annotated-bibliography-on-the-cannibal-women-of-ratnabar-island/ 

Weekend Shorts (Hugo/Nebula Edition) - 'And Now His Lordship Is Laughing'

Name - And Now His Lordship Is Laughing
Written by - Shiv Ramdas
Published by - Strange Horizons

[ It's been more than 2 months, but I am back. As the nominations for both Hugo and Nebula is already out and there is not much time before the reveal of the winners, I will try to review some of the short stories and stuff from these nominations. ]

To be honest, being a Bengali myself ( I am from Bangladesh), I may not be the right person to review this one impartially, especially since the '43 Bengal Famine' is a very difficult part of history for us. But I will try to handle this from a casual reader's point of view nonetheless.

This short is a straightforward revenge story on the first glance, depicting the story of a native woman, who after losing her family tries to take to punish the ones she deems to be responsible. But the main aspect, is that the atrocities committed on this story are based on truth.

Almost 3 million people died due to the 'Bengal Famine of '43', and it is one of the most cruel man-made famine in the history of colonialism. The author did paint a vivid picture of the circumstances while adding a hint of magical realism in the context of doll making, but the main beauty lies in the emotional depiction of the main character 'Apa'. Any reader with a heart is bound to feel for her plight and would hope for some form of redemption.

The language used also deserves some praise in my opinion, as the Bengali terms used were used with such care as easily understandable by anyone. 

Despite being a formulaic tale, this one left a lingering sense of sadness which will linger in a reader's mind for a long time.

I rate this 4 out of 5.

Link to the story - http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/and-now-his-lordship-is-laughing/

Weekend Shorts - 'His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light' by Mimi Mondal

Name - His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light
Written by - Mimi Mondal
Ilustrated by - Kashmira Sarode
Edited by - Marco Palmieri
Published by - Tor.com

This one could have been so much more, it had an interesting mixture of Jinni from the lamp with the Indian mythology of 'devadashi'. It had interesting characters in an interesting setting going against social norms and injustice. But somehow the scope and the way the plot was handled didn't seem to evoke the amount of that could have been possible it seems.

The story centers around Binu, a trapeze master whose one simple act of compassion puts him and his circus mates on a collision course with a terrifying supernatural power.

Coming from an Indian background, Mimi did strongly depict the caste and social stigma system of ancient India and tried to implement fantasy elements into her setting. The world building was very promising, but it may be that the scope was too small but in the end the story left a lot to be desired.

I would have liked further glimpses into the mysterious Jinni and the violent god as well. It all left a rather sour taste in my mind, for want of more plot or at least some adequate closure.

This gets 2.5 out of 5 from me.

Weekend Shorts - 'Blue Morphos in the Garden' by Lis Mitchell

Name - Blue Morphos in the Garden
Written by - Lis Mitchell
Ilustrated by - Mary Haasdyk
Edited by - Cory Skerry
Published by - Tor.com 

This short story had a rather promising beginning, but eventually the story did turn out a bit underwhelming. The concept was interesting, giving the normal experience of facing death a fantasy twist. The author also tried to blend in the woman's perspective of the turmoil of joining a new family into her version of altered reality.

'Blue Morphos in the Garden' tells the story of Viv, whose partner's family has a mysterious way of death surrounding them. With the protagonist we get to experience one such death and get to understand why our main character refuses to accept such a fate.

Viv was a strong and well visualized character and her views regarding everything is quite easily understandable. Lily was enjoyable like a breath of fresh air. Janet had that air of sophisticated antagonist going for her. But I rather found the character of Dash to be bland, uninspired and one dimensional. It is really quite hard to see why Viv fell in love with him in the first place.

I really need to mention the drawing by Mary Haasdyk which gives the story a strong bit of flavor.

All in all an enjoyable yet underwhelming read and an unsatisfying finish.

3 out of 5 stars.  

[ A new project, this 'Weekend Shorts'. In which, I will try to review at least one short story over each weekend. The story may be old or new, both award winning stuff or something that fancies me to try it out. ]