A Guide for Working Breeds, by Vina Jie-Min Prasad

Published in Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, edited by Jonathan Strahan; publisher Solaris, March 2020

This is a cute story about a robot newly activated and assigned to a contract job, and an older robot, who has paid off his construction costs and is now independent, acting as the new robot's mentor, and giving him practical advice about functioning in the world. The advice includes such basic, practical guidance as figuring out that the new robot, who has not yet chosen a name, is seeing dogs everywhere because he's got a virus, and how to remove it. It also, when the new robot, who eventually chooses the name "Kleekai Greyhound," gets assigned a job in a diner and has to figure out what his boss means in telling him to "be mean" to the customers.

There is some cute back and forth, and as is obvious from the name adopted, the young robot retains his interest in dogs after the virus is gone. Its mentor, who goes by "Constant Killer," is slowly, unwillingly, charmed by its mentee.

Open House on Haunted Hill, by John Wiswell

Diabolical Plots #64A, June 2020

This is a remarkably sweet haunted house story.

133 Poisonwood Avenue has been vacant for longer than it is happy with, and when a real estate agent hosts an open house, it's really hoping that at least one family will decide they like it.

Those who come to the open house include some real duds, notably the guy who is apparently only interested in the fact that the wallpaper in one room was not applied perfectly. He's only one among those who leave with clearly no intention of making a offer.

Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse, by Rae Carson

Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020

Brit lives in a protected enclave with a community of women, in a time of zombie apocalypse. She's also very, very pregnant, near to giving birth. Some in the community are very supportive; others think she's being selfish, putting two of the community's most essential members at risk.

Zombies are attracted to the smell of blood, of course. They're even more attracted to the smell of birth. So the enclave has a separate, secure location for women to give birth in. When Brit goes into labor, she and her partner, Marisol, go to that location--a shipping container.

What follows is a story of the drive to reproduce, danger, courage, community, and female solidarity. 

I really, really don't like zombie fiction, and wouldn't have read this if it weren't a Hugo Finalist. And yet, after my initial resistance, I enjoyed it.

Recommended.

This story is available to read for free on the Uncanny Magazine website, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.

The Mermaid Astronaut, by Yoon Ha Lee

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue #298, February 27, 2020

Essarala is a mermaid, whose chosen name means "seeks the stars." This expresses her desire, her ambition, and is a very unusual choice among her people. for whom her younger sister's name, Kiovasa, meaning "the sun and the moon are partners," is far more typical. But Essarela watches the stars, whenever she can, and is thrilled when a starship arrives with offworld traders.

She's thrilled, initially, and plans to ask if she can sign on to their ship, until she realizes that all the species that crew that ship are land dwellers, and there's no water for her to swim in. When her sister encourages her to ask the witch of the sea to help her, though, the witch offers her a knife that will enable her to transform her tail into legs. There's a price, though, and the witch will not tell her what it is until she eventually returns, and brings the knife back to her. Essarala accepts, but privately thinks she's never coming back.

Metal Like Blood in the Dark, by T. Kingfisher

Uncanny Magazine, September 2020

A man living alone on a planet (not Earth) largely stripped of its resources builds himself two robots as companions--Brother and Sister. He encourages them to experiment and redesign themselves as they please, and they enjoy doing so. Brother and Sister are as devoted to him, to Father, as he is to them.

But Father is growing old, and even nanites can't repair everything. Eventually, he has to summon help from outside his abandoned solar system. He's not willing to trust strangers with his two powerful robots, though, and tells them to hide themselves until he's departed with those who come for him. He hopes to return, but can't promise.

Having kept them confined to the planet until now, he frees them to explore the system once he's gone.

Little Free Library, by Naomi Kritzer

Tor Books, April 2020

Meigan builds a Little Free Library to recycle books she's enjoyed but no longer wants to keep (okay, for me, this is one of the weird bits; I cling to my books.) One user in particular seems a little odd, but enjoyable. They take books, but instead of leaving other books, they leave little bits of artwork--drawings and small figurines, and once, a leaf, an actual leaf, that is almost, but not quite, a maple leaf.

Also, sometimes they leave notes.

This becomes an odd sort of friendship at a distance, with Meigan wondering which of her neighbors it is.

Things get odder and odder, as the notes reveal more of the user's life.

It is, as one can fairly confidently expect from a Naomi Kritzer story, a bit weird, and sweet. In the end, this one is a little sad.

Recommended.

I bought this short story.