This is part two of my top ten short stories that I’ve read over the last few months.  As I’m not a big fan of ordered lists of things, these are in no particular order, but I still recommend you check out my prior post (though whether you do it before or after this one shouldn’t make that big of a difference.

The Tamarisk Hunter – Paolo Bacigalupi (Escape Pod 384)

The Tamarisk Hunter is one of those stories that I really love, but is utterly terrifying to me in almost every way.  Paolo Bacigalupi really captures the desert of some near-future Western slope, where his protagonist works along the Colorado river, as the water and the rights of the people on the river go right downstream.  I have a hard time not being emotionally vested in this story as it is so close to home (such that he actually mentions my home town and I can so easily visualize the towns that he walks us through), but Paolo takes it one step further and uses very charged language making the whole story a bit surreal.

I recommend this one to anyone who has an interest in the Western slope, and how we think of water rights, but I think it also hits home in any kind of natural disaster area.  Where we live defines how we think of the things nature throws our way, and who we’re willing to blame or displace as a result.  Understanding that, I think, provides good context for any person’s struggle with disaster – we are all human after all.

Marley and Cratchit – David Steffen (Escape Pod 375)

Escape Pod’s Christmas stories are generally good, though this one really stood out to me as a head above the rest, and, actually, is a solidly good story in any context.  What David Steffen does with Marley and Cratchit is both tell a good story while also reframing the classic A Christmas Carol; what makes this story really ring in my mind though is that he did both very well.  It would have been too easy to just do the reframing (and, at first, that’s what I was expecting due to some heavy-handed narrator cues), but instead we get a story about two men that so amazingly captures the essence of a personal/professional relationship that it really rang true.

I definitely recommend this story any time of year, because the story itself is just great.  The only hesitation I have is if name-drops will break a story for you, this may be less enjoyable.

Asteroid Monte – Craig DeLancey (Escape Pod 333)

I think I may have a weakness for alien buddy cop stories, but I enjoyed Asteroid Monte quite a bit.  Craig DeLancey blends a neat mystery, cool interplay between the main characters, and a cool space setting into a full package that is entertaining throughout.  The explanation about herbivores was an interesting exercise in how an alien might think of certain things, and made for an interesting touchstone in how the story evolved.

I would recommend this one a bit more universally than Next Time, Scales, if only because it’s a bit more traditional in its narrative.  Still, this story is just all-around fun, and a worthwhile read.

“Run” Bakri Says – Ferrett Steinmetz (Escape Pod 339)

Groundhog’s Day was a romantic comedy about a guy living the same day over and over again without consequences.  “Run”, Bakri Says takes that premise and turns it into something a lot more terrifying – what happens when you can’t leave the loop until you do something anathematic to you?  Ferrett tackles the moral and emotional implications head-on and really looks at how such a thing would affect a person long-term.  There’s nothing about this story that is easy or comfortable, and it is captured in the tone, atmosphere, and even the reading.

This one is a hard recommendation for me – I unilaterally liked it, but it’s not an easy story.  I would set this one aside until you have the wherewithal to think about it, or, like me, when you’re shoveling the walk…  …Just like you did yesterday…  …Just like you’ll do tomorrow…  …The same snow…

Stray – Benjamin Rosenbaum & David Ackert (The Year’s Best Science Fiction 25th anniversary edition)

Stray is another story that really measures consequences, but this time it looks at the consequences of having power over people.  I found the moral conundrum of this story really compelling as the main character struggles with what it is to manipulate people, and if there is such a thing as “for good reasons”.  I think Benjamin Rosenbaum and David Ackert really nailed the tone here, and got a piece that really forces the reader to feel every part of this dissection.

This one I would recommend to anyone who is willing to look deeper than the coding.  It makes it a bit cryptic to read, so, again, would be best when you have the time to digest it.