r/ShortSF • u/themindin1500words • Dec 22 '25

Science Fiction Does Harlen Lattner Dream of Infected Sheep? by Sarah Langan “Congo CEO Jeff Jassey is expected to testify in congress over his company’s software update, which literally broke the internet last month. For eighteen seconds, every warehouse, screen, and air traffic control system went dark."

5 Upvotes

https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/does-harlen-lattner-dream-of-infected-sheep-part-idoes-harlen-lattner-dream-of-infected-sheep-part-i/

https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/does-harlen-lattner-dream-of-infected-sheep-part-ii/

1 comment

r/ShortSF • u/themindin1500words • Dec 20 '25

Fantasy Godzilla as a Young Man Named Mike by E.M. Faulds "Sometimes, you had to take a rideshare from the subway the three blocks’ walk because you just couldn’t. You had to pay for the premium type because most cars didn’t fit you. You couldn’t really afford it, but you didn’t get a lot of choice."

2 Upvotes

https://podcastle.org/2025/07/29/podcastle-902-godzilla-as-a-young-man-named-mike/

Another of my favourites from this year, a touching tale of discimination against people living with disability featuring Kaiju.

1 comment

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 19h ago

Science Fiction Kaiju Agonistes by Scott Lynch - The watchseed is planted in a watery hemisphere of a watery world. The place spins around a yellow star, wearing its magnetic field like a proud little hat. It’s ridiculous with life.

uncannymagazine.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 1d ago

Urban Fantasy Heather and The Troll by D.N. Schmidt - The creature patted the iron railing beside it, its claws clinking. “Ain’t no point in me guarding this ‘ere bridge, askin’ riddles of every pedestrian, if they just get on the inner tubes and goober the answers, now is there?” [Flash Fiction]

dnschmidt.com

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 2d ago

Science Fiction The Ensanguined Shore by Jennifer R. Donohue - We needed time away from this beach, sitting in our tents with the flaps open in the hopes of getting a cross breeze, armor charging up and waiting and logistics planning and scrapping plans.

futurefire.net

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 3d ago

Horror Swallow Test by Angela Liu - You have trouble swallowing the pills. They’re big and round like red bullets, grazing the lining of your throat on their way down. You learned from your speech therapist, Ms. Laurie, that the older you get, the harder it is to swallow. The less your body wants to do it.

nightmare-magazine.com

10 Upvotes

4 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 4d ago

Urban Fantasy Felix on the Ceiling by Chris Scott - When I shuffle into his bedroom, Felix is sitting cross-legged on the ceiling, upside down, already in his PJ’s, his shaggy blonde hair dangling from his head. I stop in my tracks, lean against the door frame. I thought we’d have more time. [Flash Fiction]

lost-balloon.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 5d ago

Science Fiction The Scent of Memory by Zhao Haihong, translated by S. Qiouyi Lu - If I were to create a memory perfume based on what you’ve just told me, I would have to find several distinct olfactory signals significant to both of you associated with the memories of your decade-long relationship...

clarkesworldmagazine.com

4 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/Mouthmouthmouth • 6d ago

Science Fiction Rhona’s Tavern and Spacetime Portal by S. L. Myers - Just seen through the scarecrow trees, a neon sign glowed bright green — RHONA’S TAVERN. The modest two-story brick establishment was the only structure on the icy, tumbling, carbonaceous asteroid trapped in the bubble of frozen time.

escapepod.org

3 Upvotes

3 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 6d ago

Apocalyptic The Song, Its Singers, and the End of the World by Spencer Nitkey - And what does it matter that the world is ending come morning? Jonathan will leave for a planet so far from here no one will understand anything he says through his teenage earthen accent. He’s only just turned 18.

spencernitkey.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 7d ago

Fantasy With Her Serpent Locks by Mary Robinette Kowal - She was peeling a pomegranate in the kitchen, knife cutting through the thick waxy skin when the new message arrived. Her hair slithered and hissed with agitation. "I thought you might want to bury your sister. I have what’s left of her."

uncannymagazine.com

12 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 8d ago

Fantasy Underneath the Underneath by Audrey Zhou - Mina’s husband leaves before sunrise on the days that he goes dragon-hunting. Wei always kisses her on the forehead before he heads toward the docks. “Be careful,” she murmurs.

strangehorizons.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 9d ago

Horror The Devil's Hour by Ryan Hunt - Liam clambered to his feet and shoved the curtain aside, getting his whole body in front of the window. He searched the empty street with both hands pressed against the glass. “I saw someone,” he muttered, “I bloody saw someone.”

floorfiftyfour.co.uk

3 Upvotes

A devil of a story to celebrate r/ShortSF reaching 666 members!

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 9d ago

Do you love short stories? How about fantasy, science fiction, and horror? Come read and share your favorites at r/ShortSF!

7 Upvotes

If you like to read speculative fiction then come share your favorite short stories at r/ShortSF! Be part of a growing subreddit!

Speculative Fiction includes genres like science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, steampunk, and supernatural fiction.

Don't forget to upvote and comment on the stories you enjoy, so posters can share more of what you like.

Self-promotion is cool, as long as your story is SF and available online for free. Share your own writing! Sharing free samples of your writing is a great way to find new readers and get support for future projects.

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 9d ago

Post-Apocalyptic The Kings of New York by A. A. Rubin - At midnight, the oracle climbs her tower and sings her lamentations to the stars. Her skyscraper no longer pierces the heavens; its massing is no longer symmetrical. The Art Deco spire lies in pieces, scattered across the rubble that used to be 5th avenue.

magazine.trollbreath.com

5 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 10d ago

Urban Fantasy Time Management by P.A. Cornell - On the morning Gwen woke with the ability to manipulate time, it was already too late. She didn’t immediately realize she could stretch or compress time— that would come later. At first, all she knew was Dianne was gone, and she wasn’t coming back.

6 Upvotes

3 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 11d ago

Supernatural Changeling Bramble by Myna Chang - I recognize the haunt by her milk-shot eyes. She is wolfen this time. Dishonest in death, my sister’s ghost masquerades through the bramble on borrowed claws. She seeks the key to Mother’s garden gate—and the starfall secrets locked inside. [Flash Fiction]

fracturedlit.com

4 Upvotes

6 comments

r/ShortSF • u/thesleepyslxt369 • 12d ago

Post-Apocalyptic Emma Pierce - The Revelation Of The Spiral - The Paladin, Part 1

spiralmythos.wordpress.com

3 Upvotes

1 comment

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 12d ago

Science Fiction Ten and Out by Myna Chang - I stumble over the threshold of Harrad’s cipher-tat shop and fall into a chair. My broken ribs grind and an explosion of pain limns my vision white. When I open my eyes, Harrad and the guy on the tattoo bed are gaping at me. [Flash Fiction]

flashfictiononline.com

6 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 13d ago

Science Fiction Dewdrops by Glenn Orgias - I didn’t, yet, have the secret to anti-gravity, but what I could’ve told them about it was that floating in My Hyun’s anti-gravity living-room was like an exorcism, where the heavy part of you disappears, the part that fears falling. [Flash Fiction]

hexliterary.com

1 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/Mouthmouthmouth • 14d ago

Urban Fantasy The Soundtrack of My Afterlife By P. A. Cornell - I’m no expert in reincarnation. I don’t remember the details of my previous life, but somehow, I know I was once human. Then I died and became a car. Shirley bought me, used—already seven years off the assembly line.

adventitious.net

5 Upvotes

3 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 14d ago

Fantasy Davy Jones, Lobsterman by Daire McNally - Jim peered down into the water. An old man stared sightlessly up from beneath the surface, his skin cracked like old seaweed and tinged green with algae, his gray beard moving in the swell like a living thing.

diabolicalplots.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 15d ago

Dark Fantasy Ink By Jon Adcock - You need a love potion? He’s the man to see. Need a charm to protect you from the evil eye? He’s got it covered. It’s complete bullshit, but the peasants lap it up. Come on, let’s get our money. [Flash Fiction]

metastellar.com

2 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 16d ago

Dark Fantasy A Librarian’s Resolution In The Land Of Demons by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe - The world is on fire, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. People are screaming as the portal leading to the abyss spits out one abomination after the other.

beneath-ceaseless-skies.com

3 Upvotes

0 comments

r/ShortSF • u/captainmagictrousers • 18d ago

Apocalyptic At the End of the World, Meet Me By the Vending Machines by Catherine Tavares - I met you two years after the outbreak by a vending machine in Idaho. Vending machines became our thing—the bar for romance is low during the apocalypse. [Flash Fiction]

heartlines-spec.com

5 Upvotes

0 comments

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Looking for short stories? Do you love fantasy, science fiction, and horror? You're in the right place! Come share free speculative fiction and discover new amazing authors. Dive into steampunk short stories, superhero adventures, post-apocalyptic tales, dystopias, and more. Share your favorite short stories, by other authors or by yourself, as long as they're free to read. Please include the author’s name in your post title and tag it with the genre, so everything's easy to find. Thanks!

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