A man recovering from eye surgery is mystified and intrigued by visions of a mysterious sea-side house, and on regaining his sight he loses the visions and, it would seem, his mind….
“Travel Guide to Spaceport Rest Stops” by Seoung Kim
An interplanetary smuggler reviews rest stops and evades the Undying Priesthood. This is a quick, fun story framed as a series of blog posts about various rest stops before becoming the story…
“The Delta at Sunset” by J.G. Ballard
An injured archeologist is mesmerized by the appearance at dusk near his camp of a hoard of snakes. Ballard does a great job of capturing the tone of the British colonial mindset…
“A Grand Day Out” by Robert Shearman
On their last day together, a husband and wife have to choose between the special and the mundane. This is a fairly realistic story with one strange wrinkle: when people are about…
“The Pub With No Beer” by Kevin Barry
A strange encounter at a pub shuttered during the pandemic causes the publican to reflect on the role his pub has played in his town’s social life, particularly as related to class…
“Where I’m Calling From” by Raymond Carver
Stories are shared on New Year’s Eve at Frank Martin’s drying-out house. A classic Carver story, meandering and poignant, with a good deal of humor to buoy the brokenness. I listed to…
“The Terminal Island” by J.G. Ballard
A man tormented by his past hides on an island that had been used for nuclear weapons testing. This story has a post-apocalyptic feeling, even though the nuclear devastation has been limited…
“Now: Zero” by J. G. Ballard
A man discovers that he has the power to write a description of a person’s death and have it come to pass. This feels like a particularly dark “Twilight Zone” episode, with…
“In the Space of 12 Minutes” by James Yu
While his wife is on a mission to Mars, an astronomer is assigned an android replica of her, which develops its own ambitions when both are making world-changing discoveries. This story starts…
“Two Truths and a Lie” by Sarah Pinsker
A woman who has fabricated much of her life since high school discovers a past she had forgotten about that throws everything into question. This is a strange and slippery tale, with…