LINKDING

excerpt: Sandrine dropped into the chair beside me and stretched her back dramatically. I took the opportunity to admire the view, as I was sure she intended. “Ugh!” She wiggled her fingers high overhead. “Never be a compositor, Mylène my beauty. You’ll have to typeset a scholar’s list of sources in eight point, half of them in Greek.” “I don’t speak a word of Greek,” I pointed out, though it didn’t need saying. When would a girl from a little Normandy village have learned such a thing as Greek? Sandrine was the one who had grown up in this printshop two streets from the Quartier Latin, not me. I had the impression that she didn’t read it terribly well herself, come to that; the king’s censors had been striking out texts so eagerly recently that the shop had been taking on jobs we might ordinarily have farmed out. ➤ as one would expect from the venue, this short story is about historical lesbians! ➤ specifically, historical lesbians working in a parisian printshop in 1830 (2 years before Les Mis is set, if that's relevant for you) ➤ ahhhh I love all the different women in this story, their relationships with each other and their work and their beliefs ➤ and the main character a provincial girl who's finding a place for herself and coming to understand the world of revolutionary paris she's found herself in! ➤ I also love how real and grounded the printshop work is that they all do ➤ it was great from start to finish <3 ➤ and yes the author is a friend but I'm not biased at all!! ➤ 5k words in length ➤ available as written text and as podcast; I have been told that the podcast version is excellent too.

excerpt: We drove out to Joshua Tree for the star party—a gathering of amateur astronomers under a clear, dark sky. It was Holly’s idea, an impromptu adventure on a Friday after work: “Hey, Lou, do you want to go look at the moon tonight?” Holly had the best ideas and the worst ideas, and in the daylight, it was hard to tell them apart at first glance. I took a gamble. I said yes. And I meant it—I wanted nothing more than to lay down under the Milky Way with my hand in hers and gaze into forever. For a long time, our love was the biggest thing I knew how to believe in. ➤ an sff novelette about family dynamics, religion, queerness, trauma, and the beauty of the night sky ➤ it's a horrifying story even as it's also beautiful, exploring its ideas in ways that leave me not quite sure what to think about any of it, but in a way that's clearly done with purpose and care ➤ content note for explicit child murder. I am serious about the horrifying aspects of the story! but if it's something you feel able to read, it's definitely worth it imo ➤ 9k words in length

excerpt: Every date followed the same pattern. After the dinner and drinks, and the long moonlit walk along the canal, Jules would casually remark that the hangar was not far from here, and would they like to come see? Once outside the heavy metal door, he would pause with his hand above the security scanner, as if having second thoughts about inviting an unauthorized guest. The hesitation was no more than a cruel act. It was the look on their faces that made him keep doing it. As if it was just hitting them in that moment, how lucky they were to get both Jules Mercer and his giant robot on the same night. ➤ a short story about a mech pilot taking his date for a ride in his giant robot ➤ I love the uneasy way the narrative sits with the point of view the main character provides ➤ and the way the story opens up to questions about the way this society is structured, the things it values and the things it ignores ➤ and the strength of the ending in its refusal to tie things up tidily ➤ it's really good! ➤ 5k words in length ➤ I also liked the author spotlight in which they were interviewed about this story: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/author-spotlight-sagan-yee/

quote: Alice wants to hold a funeral for me, which is disconcerting because I’m not dead. But humans, like all aliens—and certainly all single-forms—have their own idiosyncrasies. ➤ scifi short story about a multi-bodied alien in a relationship with a human ➤ questions of identity, of whether you're being seen for who you truly are by people who want to interpret the whole world as being inhabited by people like them, eyes closed to the reality of differences ➤ I loved the intertwining of the worldbuilding and the relationship drama, and I loved that we got to see Yonder's relationships with other people, friends and siblings and so forth, the ways those relationships are different than the one with Alice ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Nogorod is built of black rock and dull iron and pale ivory, a city of high towers rising like petrified trees beside the rough grey seas. The common folk are whale-fishers, hunting with harpoons from their ships, but the nobles are all wizards, and they hunt dragons from bone chariots drawn by captive winds, slaying them with darts of ensorcelled ivory and poison spells. How this tradition began is lost to dishonorable history, but now the nobles hunt out of self-preservation, for dragons are wise and the wind that is their mother and their substance whispers the names of those who would slay them, so that they come to Nogorod to hunt in their own turn.</blockquote> ➤ fantasy story about wizards and dragons and power, and being queer, and being horny for a dragon who is also your death ➤ deliberately written in a higher register, which can too easily feel stilted or cold, but here works to give the whole thing a sense of dignity and depth ➤ 5k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>I tell Mateo to meet me at a wine bar. It’s a quiet, low-key spot—ideal for first dates, because it’s easy to make a speedy exit in case the red flags start flying—or worse, if the men in blue come knocking. It’s been over an hour, and we’re on our second glass of wine when I realize there are no red flags. He’s not just monologuing, he’s asking me questions too. This is actually a good first date—and when was the last time that ever happened for me? But I can’t help but worry that the puddles from this afternoon’s shower may have dried up. Any time there’s a pause in the conversation, my head swivels to the exit to check for the men in blue.</blockquote> ➤ a beautiful story about fear and trauma and being an immigrant or from an immigrant family, and queer romance and the wisdom of the people who love you, and how something that can help save you and that can bring joy and fun in your life can also be an unhealthy coping mechanism if you take it too far. I loved reading about Javier and Mateo as they developed their relationship!