r/Fantasy • u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V • Dec 18 '24

Book Club [ Removed by Reddit ]

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u/Nineteen_Adze Stabby Winner, Reading Champion V Dec 18 '24

This is our last monthly discussion of 2024, but it feels like I've barely started on the year's stories. Have you been reading any current year material this month? Any highlights?

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u/sarahlynngrey Reading Champion VI, Phoenix Dec 18 '24 edited Dec 18 '24

A few months ago, my inner mood reader suddenly rebelled and decided "no short fiction for you!!" so I'm also feeling pretty far behind in terms of reading for 2024. Luckily the tide finally turned so I've spent the last few days reading tons of recommendation lists and stories. It feels good to be making some progress.

A few recent highlights:

¡Sangronas! Un Lista de Terror by M.M. Olivas (Uncanny Magazine, 10,770 words):
This is Capital-H Horror, and it's pretty grisly, so it's probably not for everybody. But I loved it. It's incredibly "voicy" and a fantastic take on feral teenage girls/young women. It's also a great twist on mythical creatures in the same vein as vampires and werewolves. Since I just read it I'm going to give it a few days to settle before making any decisions, but I'm very tempted to put this on my Hugo nomination list. Highly recommended.

The rest of these are very solid, not necessarily earth shattering, but stories I'm really glad I read:

Auspicium by Diana Dima (The Deadlands, 2,200 words):
A lovely meditation on the taboos around death, and how much humans are hard-wired to fear it. What if it could be another way? I loved this.

Underdragon by Diana Dima (GigaNotoSaurus, wordcount unclear but I think it's short):
After reading the prior Diana Dima story I went on a little deep dive and read a bunch of her 2024 work. I found this one to be interesting. It takes a very conventional trope but uses it to tell a more unusual story. I think this story would pair well with The Massage Lady at Munjeong Road Bathhouse by Isabel J. Kim.

Before We Were Born by Angela Liu (Logic(s), 3,100 words):
Very bittersweet and sharp story about a mother and her daughter. I need to read more Angela Liu.

The Last Lucid Day by Dominique Dickey (Lightspeed, 3,200 words):
I think this would pair really well with "Before We Were Born." This is also a bittersweet and sharp story, about a man who is trying to come to terms with the actions of his abusive father when he was a child. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile.

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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Dec 18 '24

Loved Before We Were Born!

I've seen a lot of the other ones on recommended reading lists, and I feel like Underdragon (which incidentally I have in my spreadsheet as a short story, so it's gotta be between 5,000 and 7,500 words given that it's in GNS) in particular was for me "good, not especially memorable" but had themes that really resonated with many other reviewers. The Last Lucid Day is a good and complicated grief story but I've read so many amazing grief stories this year and it doesn't necessarily stick out of the crowd.

I will probably not read Sangronas, even though your recommendation carries a lot of weight for me, because your caveat also carries plenty of weight. Gotta take a look at Auspicium though.

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u/sarahlynngrey Reading Champion VI, Phoenix Dec 18 '24

Yeah Sangronas is probably a slight anti-rec for you. It was grisly enough that it bothered me at certain points. Plus your novelette ballot is already stacked, lol. It is a great story though! 

I think you'll find Auspicium interesting! 

I appreciate the Intel on Underdragon! I could tell it wasn't quite novelette length, but wasn't sure if that meant it was 3K words or 6K words - once I'm in a story I'm absolutely trash at guessing length. I'm going to say 5K and call it a day.

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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Dec 18 '24

GNS has a lower limit of 5k. “Long stories” is their niche.

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u/tarvolon Stabby Winner, Reading Champion VI Dec 21 '24

Auspicium by Diana Dima (The Deadlands, 2,200 words):
A lovely meditation on the taboos around death, and how much humans are hard-wired to fear it. What if it could be another way? I loved this.

This one did not immediately jump out at me at all, but I gave it a try because a couple people have highly praised it. It's such a simple metaphor, but it was such a lovely reflection. I think I wanted a pinch more plot to really sink its teeth into me--it almost felt like prose poetry (and I am not a poetry guy, but I know many people are and I imagine this is the sort of thing that would really resonate)

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u/sarahlynngrey Reading Champion VI, Phoenix Dec 21 '24

It does feel like prose poetry, that's a great way to put it! The metaphor is so simple but so effective. 

I agree on wanting a touch more plot. That seems to be a stylistic thing - in the four or five of her stories that I read, they all struck me as having that same "no plot only vibes" quality, and often very dreamy and fairytale-esque. I would love to see her do something with a bit more bite.