Last week, my partner emailed me a small selection of links and said you have to read these. I did so.

And now I am giving you a small selection of links and saying no, really, YOU HAVE TO READ THESE.

First up, we’ve got How to Become a Mars Overlord by Catherynne M. Valente, published by Lightspeed Magazine. The explosive richness of the prose and the vivid snapshots of alien culture and mythos are amazing – reading this is like bathing in a nebula.

Next is Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time, also by Cat Valente, published by Clarkesworld Magazine. I can’t even begin to describe the brain-melting blend of science, world mythology, and personal history that she encapsulates here. I mean, just look at the beginning lines:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was a high-density pre-baryogenesis singularity. Darkness lay over the deep and God moved upon the face of the hyperspatial matrix. He separated the firmament from the quark-gluon plasma and said: let there be particle/anti-particle pairs, and there was light.

How cool is that?

Thirdly, we have As Below, So Above by Ferrett Steinmetz, published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I am a sucker for stories written from non-human viewpoints, and Ferrett pulls it off with brilliant clarity and easy readability. The worldbuilding is stellar in its subtle detail, and the slow, smooth untangling (or further tangling) of the plot kept my eyes glued to the screen with barely time for a blink.

And lastly, certainly not leastly, the fourth story is from Cat Valente: The Days of Flaming Motorcycles, found in Apex Magazine. This is the most unexpected and original zombie story I’ve ever read, and it packs an emotional punch right next to a fascinating premise.

That’s what I’ve been reading – what about you? Got links to other short stories or poems to share? I’m hungry for more words!