Welcome to issue 182 of Lightspeed Magazine!

Relationships aren’t easy, and our newest short science fiction stories explore these challenges. In “The Lord of Mars,” Meghan McCarron writes about a complicated crush in a troubled Martian colony. In “Domestic Disputes,” Naomi Kanakia delves into the kinds of power struggles that emerge in long term relationships, even when those relationships are unfolding in the exciting realm of space exploration. Our flash fiction also explores relationships—“How to Win Against the Robots” by Katherine Crighton is a heart-tugging story of mother-daughter love, while Leah Cypess’s “Finding Love in a Time Loop: A How-To Guide” has some humorous advice for anyone struggling with dating.

Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe’s new story “A Dish Best Served Cold, Or, An Excerpt from the Cookbook of the Gods” is a follow-up to “Immortality Soup, Or, An Excerpt from the Cookbook of the Gods,” which appeared in our October 2023 issue (but you don’t need to read the first story to enjoy these gods’ magical adventures). Paul Crenshaw writes about an unusual bodily response in his story “You Knit Me Together in My Mother’s Womb.” We also have a flash story from sadoeuphemist, “What Else, What Else, in the Joyous City?” and another (“Un-Pragmagic: A Tyler Moore Retrospective”) from Spencer Nitkey.

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 terrific issue, so thanks for joining us!