Infrequent SF Microreviews
@infrequentsf.bsky.social
Reviewing short speculative fiction. The aim is one a day. The reality is...well, the reality is in the username. Despite the icon, I only reviews stories I recommend.
Jurassic Perk, by T.K. Rex in Kaleidotrope. Follows the baristas who definitely aren't at the very copyrighted Jurassic Park. Action packed and thoughtful at the same time. kaleidotrope.net/summer-2026/...
“Jurassic Perk” by T. K. Rex
kaleidotrope.net
The Voice and Her Knife, by AnaMaria Curtis in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Lush and violent and with an astonishing way of making you root for the characters who are balanced on the knife's edge. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-...
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - The Voice and Her Knife by AnaMaria Curtis
The ambassador takes a bite of her fish. It rolls across her tongue, rich and sweet with the barest hint of salt. It is not the flavor that she savors. She can feel the burst of energy from it almost immediately, can feel her mind sharpening with every bite. Her butcher has done well.
beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods, by Louis Inglis Hall in Clarkesworld. I love a good AI-perspective story, and this one is excellent. A Buddy mentoring a light switch, and so much more. clarkesworldmagazine.com/hall_05_26/
The Profitable Sentience of Household Goods by Louis Inglis Hall
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
Saint Zero of the Hollows and the Eagle Knight, by V.M. Ayala in Lightspeed. A science fictional fable, maybe. I got to the end and was stunned to remember it's only 3.5k words - astounding depth and worldbuilding. www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/sain...
Saint Zero of the Hollows and the Eagle Knight - Lightspeed Magazine
The only sound Zero heard in their helmet was their own hyperventilating and the gentle pings from their pegasus. > waiting . . . > waiting . . . > communication received > confirmation of countdo...
lightspeedmagazine.com
The Trees and the Frogs and the Sun on the Water, by M. R. Robinson in Tales & Feathers. Absolutely lovely story about poetry and magic and love. A balm. augursociety.org/the-trees-an...
The Trees and the Frogs and the Sun on the Water by M. R. Robinson
After nine years married to a poet—ten come midsummer—Rosemarie can translate every noise. The sound of poetry being born makes her feel warm, like a crackling fire on a winter night.
augursociety.org
Welcome to Heroism, by John Wiswell in Uncanny. The Dare. Hard to describe and best experienced - prescient and timely. www.uncannymagazine.com/article/welc...
Welcome to Heroism - Uncanny Magazine
Nobody read the Terms of Service. They were in a rush to watch the latest unbelievable must-see content from someone who probably died seconds later. It seemed like as soon as anyone knew The Dare exi...
uncannymagazine.com
Astral Source, by K.L. Neodecker in Kaleidotrope. Conceptual merging of technology and magic; hard to summarize but easy to enjoy (and be a bit unsettled by). kaleidotrope.net/spring-2026/...
“Astral Source” by K.L. Neidecker
kaleidotrope.net
About Face, by Teresa Milbrodt in GigaNotoSaurus. A lovely story about who we are when we're alive, ghosts, and light cross-dressing. Just on the sharp side of cozy, and comforting nonetheless. giganotosaurus.org/2026/03/01/a...
About Face - GigaNotoSaurus
Gerry and I didn’t have kids though we’d tried. I’d lost those babies in the fourth month, the fifth month, the fourth month again. By then I was so exhausted by hope and disappointment that I didn’t ...
giganotosaurus.org
"We Require an Engine," Said the Testicle Collective, by David Anacagoras in Translunar Travelers Lounge. A deft commentary on masculinity, family, relationships, self-image, and just, like, SO many balls. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/w...
“We Require an Engine,” Said the Testicle Collective by David Anaxagoras
This is the story of you, a man—simple, uncomplicated, perhaps a little stubborn, getting on in years, but still vital. And some of the stupid fucking choices you’ve made.
translunartravelerslounge.com
Person, Place, Thing, by Marissa Lingen in Clarkesworld. Linguistics, human interaction, and a colony/hive-mind. A beautifully novel and thoughtful way of imagining existence. clarkesworldmagazine.com/lingen_03_26/
Person, Place, Thing by Marissa Lingen
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
Mother's Hearth, by W.A. Hamilton in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. A beautiful fable about motherhood and witches and fear. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/moth...
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Mother’s Hearth by W.A. Hamilton
The roll was light and fluffy, and the soup had a homey warmth to it. Everything the woman served seemed to be just what Sigrun had wanted. “It’s something I’ve always dreamt of,” Sigrun found herself...
beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
Vitrification, by Ishmael Grey in Otherside. Intense psychosexual take on Frankenstein,; mind the warnings. othersidespec.com/pieces/vitri...
Vitrification - OTHERSIDE
By the time you come to your senses, his parents have already arranged for him to be burned. Your rage can’t save his body, but you rescue him from them one last time. You spin and spin the cold metal...
othersidespec.com
The Seven Virtues of Chevalière Jacqueline Aridon, by S.C. Mills in Small Wonders. You know what jousts need? Humongous mechas. Utterly delightful. smallwondersmag.com/piece/the-se...
The Seven Virtues of Chevalière Jacqueline Aridon - Small Wonders
When Jacqueline learned she would not meet Chevalière Violette Montagne until the final mêlée, she proclaimed, “Thank God.”
smallwondersmag.com
First Human Ghost on Mars, by R.L. Meza in Clarkesworld. I tend to focus on dialogue, but this was so engaging I didn't realize until the end that there was none. Skillfully done. clarkesworldmagazine.com/meza_03_26/
First Human Ghost on Mars by R.L. Meza
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
Deathcap, by Lara Elena Donnelly in Reactor. Erotic horror usually isn't my thing, but this is razor-sharp and not messing around. reactormag.com/deathcap-lar...
Deathcap - Reactor
Two space marines trapped in a doomed spaceship confront the desires that will destroy them both.
reactormag.com
You Are Invited To Our SPRING CELEBRATION, by Thoraiya Dyer in Clarkesworld. I love when stories explore the embodiment of aliens who have little in common with humans, and this is an excellent example. clarkesworldmagazine.com/dyer_03_26/
You Are Invited to Our SPRING CELEBRATION by Thoraiya Dyer
Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.
clarkesworldmagazine.com
Jefferson Dines Alone, by S.L. Harris in Diabolical Plots. I don't want to try to explain it because figuring it out is part of the joy. It reminds me of Mrs. Davis, in its clear and incisive point while getting absolutely wild. www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-1...
DP FICTION #133A: “Jefferson Dines Alone” by S.L. Harris – Diabolical Plots
diabolicalplots.com
Moss Senses, by Beth Goder in Flash Fiction Online. Cuts right to the quick, the prose both economical and poetic. A moss planet. www.flashfictiononline.com/article/moss...
Moss Senses
Sense of Touch Bryo is a moss-covered planet. A world of milky softness, cool as water, submerged in green. When Agata steps out of the spaceship, she sinks into moss up to her knees. Moss clings t…
flashfictiononline.com
The Garden of Living Flowers, by Tunvey Mou in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Lovely fantasy story about a not-a-green-mage and a jasmine girl-blossom. Beautiful prose, cozy but still full of feeling. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/t...
The Garden of Living Flowers by Tunvey Mou
“Careful, mortal.” The voice was disembodied, high and sweet as a nightingale’s call, commandingly stern as a priest’s sermon. “You dare step into the abode of a van-yakshini?”
translunartravelerslounge.com
They Live So Little and They Die So Fast, by Mira Singer in Small Wonders, originally in Flash Fiction Online. Lovely and poetic. smallwondersmag.com/piece/they-l...
They Live So Little and They Die So Fast - Small Wonders
Such tiny things, mice, the cat reflected. They live so little and they die so fast.
smallwondersmag.com
Eat, Prey, Love: A Modest Proposal for Ensuring Gender Equality Through Selective Dietary Practices; or, a Geriatric's Guide to #Girldinner, by Jilly Dreadful in Lightspeed. Sharp and delightful. www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/eat-...
Eat, Prey, Love: A Modest Proposal for Ensuring Gender Equality Through Selective Dietary Practices; or, a Geriatric Millennial’s Guide to #GirlDinner - Lightspeed Magazine
The earliest videos went something like this: disembodied female voices singing strange intonations of the words “girl dinner” in a voice-over effect as the visuals of the video featured dozens of inc...
lightspeedmagazine.com
The Wheelchair God of Ibadan, by Bella Chacha in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Pure, unadulterated anticapitalist joy. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/t...
The Wheelchair God of Ibadan by Bella Chacha
Chief Adewale always said his wheelchair was faster than most people’s legs, and he had seventy-two years of evidence to back it up. Every morning, while Ibadan’s streets clattered awake with danfo…
translunartravelerslounge.com
Borders, by Maria Clara Klein in Translunar Travelers Lounge. The main character wakes up after having teleported while sleeping. Love the voice and the deft touch. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/b...
Borders by Maria Clara Klein
Before you open your eyes, you know you’re not home. The weighted blanket gave it away, wrapped around your body like a tortilla, turning you into a breakfast fucking burrito on that cold, co…
translunartravelerslounge.com
Your First Days Back in the Court of Arthur, by Abigail Eliza in Otherside. Pointed and lovely and sharp reimagining of Arthurian myth. I've been extremely excited for Otherside and I'm deeply enjoying the first issue!
Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Café, by Catherine Tavares in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Very sweet in more ways than one; will make you want ube cake. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/m...
Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Café by Catherine Tavares
Jeffreylynn was working the counter at Universally Sweet Cafe when the other dimension opened right on top of hers.
translunartravelerslounge.com
Coat Check Girl, by Adan Jerreat-Poole in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Hard to describe - follows a coat Check Girl at a carnival that might be full of wonders or horrors depending on how you think about it. Leave your skin at the door. Stunning prose. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/c...
Coat Check Girl by Adan Jerreat-Poole
Check your skin at the door.
translunartravelerslounge.com
The Necromancer's One Weakness, by R. Lochlann. If Weird Al wrote a The Saga Begins for Gideon the Ninth. What an absolute delight - every word brought me more joy than the one before. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/t...
The Necromancer’s One Weakness by R. Lochlann
Oh my gods, calm down. Please—please—don’t hit me with that hurdy gurdy, you’ll damage it. I know how this looks but I’m not here to murder your family or burn your village—not my style. Just stay …
translunartravelerslounge.com
I Spent A Year In Forced Labour In The Helium-3 Mines on Titan. Here's What It Taught Me About Work Ethic, by Dan Peacock in Translunar Travelers Lounge. Absolutely nails the voice, perfectly paced the punchlines, made me laugh so hard I scared my dog. translunartravelerslounge.com/2026/02/15/i...
I Spent A Year In Forced Labour In The Helium-3 Mines on Titan. Here’s What It Taught Me About Work Ethic by Dan Peacock
When people ask me where I’ve been for the last year, I always enjoy seeing the look on their faces when I tell them. “Titan? That’s so far away. There’s nothing out there.” “Wait, did you say they…
translunartravelerslounge.com
Bloom Where You Are Planted, by Melanie Mulrooney in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Some women are gardens, and obviously roses are the most sought after. A wonderful literalized metaphor. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/bloo...
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Bloom Where You Are Planted by Melanie Mulrooney
A couple weeks later, I felt my first flower pulsing just below the surface in the center of my chest. The tingle of energy was like electricity—an awakening, a definition of alive I hadn’t expected. ...
beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
Everyone Hates It When The Alien Shows Up At The Club, by Elijah J. Mears in Flash Fiction Online. So fun, so sweet, so *hilarious* - and what a perfect voice, too! www.flashfictiononline.com/article/ever...
Everyone Hates It When The Alien Shows Up At The Club
Everyone hates it when the alien shows up at the club. Everyone hates it when the ten-foot-tall bright-green-and-yellow alien (the one with all the tentacles (the one that smells like ass (the one …
flashfictiononline.com