Dec. 2025 (Issue 187)

We have original science fiction by Nancy Kress (“Reality Check”) and Oyedotun Damilola Muees (“The Hub Living Among the Stars”). We also have two terrific flash pieces: “Us, in Another Universe” from A.C. Wise and “The Space Between Us” by P.A. Cornell. Plus, we have original fantasy by Jonathan Olfert (“Crickets in Lost Light”) and David Marino (“Memories of the MindMine”). We also have a flash story (“You Always Told Her You’d Give Her the World”) from Aimee Ogden, and another (“HagioClass”) from José Pablo Iriarte. All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with book reviews from our terrific review team. It’s another great issue, so be sure to check it out.

Cover art by Vadimsadovski

Dec. 2025 (Issue 187)

Editorial

Editorial: December 2025

by John Joseph Adams

Be sure to check out the editorial for a rundown of this month’s content and for all of John Joseph Adams’s media and book recommendations!

Publishes Online on 12/4

Science Fiction

Reality Check

by Nancy Kress

The bedroom door was closed. It was always closed, locked from the inside. Harry and Sarah glared at each other one last time before rearranging their faces into parental smiles. Not that Oliver would see them. Still, they had to try. They’d been trying for fourteen months.

Sarah rapped on the door. “Oliver, darling, won’t you come down for breakfast?”

“No, thank you,” Oliver called. “Can Mattie bring me the tray?”

Publishes Online on 12/4

Fantasy

You Always Told Her You’d Give Her the World

by Aimee Ogden

You always told her you’d give her the world if she wanted it. So it should have been no surprise, really, when she asked you for the Moon. You might have known something like this was coming; she’d been on her best behavior for a week, chores done without nagging, shoes lined up neatly in the hall closet.

Publishes Online on 12/4

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Nancy Kress

by Delia Cullity

I know people—I am intimately related to some of them—who say, “I never read fiction. Why would I want to read about something that didn’t happen?” Those people all seem to function just fine in the world, but it is not my world. I and they have, at best, achieved peaceful coexistence.

Publishes Online on 12/4

Nonfiction

Book Review: Sinister Societies: Six Novellas of Secrets and Horrors edited by Linda Hartley

by Melissa A Watkins

If you’re looking for a collection of novellas to speedrun you through some familiar yet well-crafted horror adventures, have a penchant for secret societies, or just want to wrap your inner Grinch around something a little less holly and jolly—reviewer Melissa A Watkins suggest Sinister Societies.

Publishes Online on 12/4

Science Fiction

Us, in Another Universe

by A.C. Wise

In this universe, we fight because we can’t fuck. Call it Universe A, or One, the Golden Age where it all began. Though “began” is relative when your timeline is constantly rewritten, rebooted, shattered to bits. Call it the universe where we aren’t even supposed to show emotion, unless it’s anger, let alone kiss. Your fist skates over my jaw, bone against bone, skin brushing skin. I tie you up. Your muscles strain.

Publishes Online on 12/11

Fantasy

Crickets in Lost Light

by Jonathan Olfert

A tithe convoy of the Fivefold Church, in Ander Carmora’s sad experience, left three kinds of wakes. Armored wagons and oxen ripped lasting ruts in gravel roads, scarred them down to the mud. Tithe collectors gleaned their due from all and sundry, and left long swathes of land poorer than they’d found it. And the third wake: the bodies of any bandit crew daft enough to try its luck.

Publishes Online on 12/11

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Jonathan Olfert

by Erik Grove

I write all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons, but any time I set a story in or near the Churchlands, the priority is emotional honesty. I want the Churchlands stories to feel familiar to people who’ve worked themselves out of similar situations or wish they could. So I make it all as real as I can, take it as seriously as I can, as a matter of respect.

Publishes Online on 12/11

Nonfiction

Book Review: The Trident and The Pearl by Sarah K.L. Wilson

by Chris Kluwe

The Trident and The Pearl Sarah K.L. Wilson Trade Paperback / eBook ISBN: 978-0316586573 Orbit, February 2026, 464 pages Greetings, readers, and welcome back to another book review! This month we’re traveling to a fantasy world filled with powerful gods, impossible choices, and a queen who must navigate her duties and her sorrow—that’s right, it’s […]

Publishes Online on 12/11

Science Fiction

The Hub Living Among the Stars

by Oyedotun Damilola Muees

It is with great delight that I welcome you to Hexagon, the great hub of Ile-Ife. I know a majority of you traveled from distant planets inhabited in one of the Milky Way spiral arms. Let me inform you that your yacht, carrier, molue, shuttle-hiace, and other transport machines are safely parked in our garage.

Publishes Online on 12/18

Fantasy

HagioClass

by José Pablo Iriarte

Hayley stands by the exit to the bookstore, eyeing the torrent coming down in sheets over the parking lot. Behind her, Matt hides the tiniest of fist pumps and says, “You don’t want to go out in that. Come on, let me buy us a couple of drinks at the café.” She takes a long look at the tempest outside, checks the time on her phone, and says, “I guess I have time for a cup of tea. I’ll get my own.”

Publishes Online on 12/18

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Oyedotun Damilola Muees

by Robin Jeffrey

I’ve always been fascinated by stories about adventures, migration, environments, and documentaries, most especially those that are unique with a rich blend of history and culture. I thought for a moment, what if a place existed outside of earth where people can travel, lodge, and enjoy comfort and activities different from what they are commonly used to. This was the crux that birthed this story.

Publishes Online on 12/18

Nonfiction

Book Review: These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer

by Arley Sorg

Looking for your next horror anthology? Arley Sorg recommends These Bodies Ain’t Broken.

Publishes Online on 12/18

Science Fiction

The Space Between Us

by P.A. Cornell

Xylina

The first date had that delicious awkwardness that makes you self-conscious in the moment, but in retrospect seems endearing and makes you nostalgic for a more innocent and hopeful time. Adis suggested we meet in the Eloan sector of Gemini Station so I wouldn’t need an environment suit.

Publishes Online on 12/25

Fantasy

Memories of the MindMine

by David Marino

Rat was sure the silent, four-eyed skull of a dead god was staring at him. He followed the crowd off the train toward a rickety stand with the word Orientation painted on the front. But he couldn’t stop looking into the giant god’s eyes. Every dead person Rat had seen had eyes like that. Unseeing. […]

Publishes Online on 12/25

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: David Marino

by A Humphrey Lanham

I typically need three things to start drafting a story: A setting/premise, a character, and an opening scene, or at least an opening line. If I have all three of those, the story will “catch,” and I can ride it to the end. If I’m missing one of those three, things usually stall out within the first thousand words.

Publishes Online on 12/25