I’ve spent most of the last two years working on LANTERN, my second novel. The first draft is finally complete, with structural revision and line-edits nearly complete. But, as I let that manuscript sit for a little while right after finishing it late last year, I had some time to write in an entirely different medium: the short story.
I now have three science fiction short stories that I think are ready for fresh eyes. I am interested in soliciting targeted feedback from readers who are well-versed in the genre.
Summaries of the three stories follow:
The Bequest of the Accretion (2,200 words)
A far-future story about civilization, knowledge, and what we leave behind for people we’ll never meet.
The Docent (3,100 words)
An aging curator investigates a primitive language model in a world flooded with machine-generated content and begins to question some of his deepest assumptions about art.
A Preliminary Description of the Radioactive Decay Patterns of a Novel Device of Unknown Extraterrestrial Origin (4,300 words)
A scientific report written by a radiological scientist investigating an impossible alien object that lands outside Washington, D.C.
Taken together, these stories explore many of the themes that keep showing up in my writing: reason, discovery, inheritance, meaning, and humanity’s place in a very large universe.
If you’re a regular reader of science fiction short fiction (things like Clarkesworld, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Lightspeed, etc.) and would be interested in taking a look, leave a comment below or reach out directly on whatever platform you like. I’d especially appreciate readers who aren’t afraid to tell me when something isn’t working and why.
And if you enjoy the kinds of ideas discussed on Plot and Theme—science fiction, literature, film, philosophy, and writing craft—consider subscribing while you’re here.
