Nov. 2025 (Issue 186)

We have original science fiction by Gene Doucette (“Elegy for Zephyr One”) and Joel W.D. Buxton (“Operation: Grapevine”). We also have two terrific flash pieces: “How to Setup Your Morning Robot” from Angela Liu and “Visible Damage” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Plus, we have original fantasy by Lisa M. Bradley (“In the Zone”) and Tina S. Zhu (“How to Build a Homecoming Queen: A Guide by a Bad Asian Girl”). We also have a flash story (“Beneath the Umdlebe Tree (Or: A Vegetable Love Story)”) from Modupeoluwa Shelle, and another (“The Cold Burning Light of Her”) from Sam W. Pisciotta. All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with book reviews from our terrific review team. Our ebook readers will also enjoy a book excerpt. It’s another great issue, so be sure to check it out.

Cover art by Tithi Luadthong (aka Grandfailure)

Nov. 2025 (Issue 186)

Editorial

Editorial: November 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 11/6

Science Fiction

How to Set Up Your Mourning Robot

by Angela Liu

Fill tear ducts with provided saline solution. Do not mix or combine with non-approved third-party solutions.
Open the mouth of your robot when ready to activate. Press the purple button under the tongue unit. Speak your name into its mouth the way you want it said every day for the next three years.

Publishes Online on 11/6

Fantasy

In the Zone

by Lisa M. Bradley

As her head hit the pillow, Yadira felt exhausted and relieved. Exhausted, because she’d worked on a very large collage almost the whole day straight. Her shoulder blades ached from hunching over her worktable, and, despite scrubbing, she still had ink under her nails. Relieved, because she felt like she’d left it all out on the field, rather than still vibrating with artistic energy.

Publishes Online on 11/6

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Lisa M. Bradley

by Alex Puncekar

This story is a total wish fulfillment fantasy for me. I grew up in deep South Texas, very close to Mexico, and when the Trump administration started closing down the border, I kept seeing places I knew in the news, little towns no one ever cared about before. For example, one news report showed young men corralled for deportation in the McAllen International Airport, a place I’ve flown in and out of multiple times.

Publishes Online on 11/6

Nonfiction

Book Review: The King Must Die by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

by Arley Sorg and Melissa A Watkins

Two of our reviewers, Arley Sorg and Melissa A. Watkins, recommend The King Must Die by Kemi Ashing-Giwa for your next read.

Publishes Online on 11/6

Science Fiction

Elegy for Zephyr One

by Gene Doucette

Post-flight debrief.

Subject: Michael Ackine, of the Astronomic Endeavors cargo ship, Zephyr One.

Introductory notes: Mr. Ackine is the only survivor of the Zephyr’s maiden voyage. Z-One landed safely, five Earth days overdue and two kilometers from target. Mr. Ackine is not a pilot, and has stated he did not land the ship himself.

Publishes Online on 11/13

Fantasy

Beneath the Umdlebe Tree; or, A Vegetable Love Story

by Modupeoluwa Shelle

I heard you’re returning to our world again. What do you want here exactly, Orhija? The Earth is dying slowly. It’s losing its sheen and glow. The blackness of the soil that you used to say was as beautiful as mine has changed since you left. It’s redder than black. The air is tense and heavy with smoke. I doubt you can survive it.

Publishes Online on 11/13

Nonfiction

Book Review: Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn

by Chris Kluwe

Reviewer Chris Kluwe recommends Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn for a high-octane social horror novel.

Publishes Online on 11/13

Science Fiction

Visible Damage

by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

There wasn’t a lot of me left after the war.

I was in a skipship on my way to being deployed when the Drinzit attacked, and I got sucked into a hole in the ship’s wall before the patch system kicked in. My comrades put what was left of me in cryo, and we retreated to Known Space.

Publishes Online on 11/20

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Nina Kiriki Hoffman

by Delia Cullity

I wrote this story for a contest. The prompts were “veteran” and “art museum.” I’ve written several stories set on Kata Space Station (including “Gateway Night,” which appeared in the DAW anthology Love & Rockets in 2010), and I thought that would be an interesting place for a museum, since it’s where four different kinds of people interact with each other.

Publishes Online on 11/20

Fantasy

How to Build a Homecoming Queen: A Guide by a Bad Asian Girl

by Tina S. Zhu

We put my body double together in June Lee’s basement. Her mom was one of those chill Asian moms who liked having an artsy-fartsy daughter she could brag about at Bible study. She was already pushing the whole portfolio-for-college-apps deal, so she didn’t mind staying out of the basement to avoid contaminating our radiant artist auras humming at the frequency of the Big Bang.

Publishes Online on 11/20

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Tina S. Zhu

by A Humphrey Lanham

We’re excited to have “How to Build a Homecoming Queen: A Guide by a Bad Asian Girl” in Lightspeed Magazine! How did this story come into being, and what are the inspirations behind it? I’m excited that this story is in Lightspeed too! The first scene of this story came to me in a dream. […]

Publishes Online on 11/20

Nonfiction

Book Review: Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei

by Wendy N. Wagner

Our Senior Editor Wendy N. Wagner recommends Saltcrop for fans of Ray Nayler and thrilling stories with close familial relationships.

Publishes Online on 11/20

Science Fiction

Operation: Grapevine

by Joel W. D. Buxton

Alvin fidgeted in the austere metal elevator, flanked by two security guards in sunglasses. He felt a little out of place, so he produced his own pair of sunglasses and put them on.

“Take those off,” barked one of the guards. Alvin put them away again.

Publishes Online on 11/27

Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight: Joel W. D. Buxton

by Erik Grove

How did “Operation: Grapevine” take shape for you? I collect a lot of ideas for short stories as I wander around the city with my head in the clouds, so it’s hard to remember the genesis. But I do remember feeling very energized as soon as it popped into my head and wrote it mostly […]

Publishes Online on 11/27

Fantasy

The Cold Burning Light of Her

by Sam W. Pisciotta

Tilda stands at a crossroads just outside of town. It’s a place where worlds meet, and the perfect place to create a new person. The crescent moon glimmers through the oaks bent thick along the roadside. The cold-burning stars in the sky hold a sort of magic if you know how to swim in their light. Tilda spits in the dirt, turns a tight circle, and recites the incantation she learned as a child.

Publishes Online on 11/27