written by David Steffen

Lightspeed Magazine is the award-nominated science fiction magazine edited by John Joseph Adams, and their podcast is  produced by the excellent Skyboat Media.  They publish about half of the stories they publish in text.  They published about 47 stories in 2017.

The stories eligible for the upcoming Hugo award season are marked with an asterisk (*), with novelettes eligible for the season marked with a double asterisk (**), and novellas with a triple asterisk (***).

The List

1. “The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant” by Rachael K. Jones*
Hilarious (in a very dark way) story of a ship of cyborgs trying to pass as a human restaurant ship in a remote part of the galaxy.  Soon it becomes very clear that the priorities of the individual cyborgs are not aligned.

2.  “Infinite Love Engine” by Joseph Allen Hill*
Fun and hilarious over-the-top space opera.

3.  “The Dragon of Dread Peak” (and part 2) by Jeremiah Tolbert***
Sequel to Cavern of the Screaming Eye (should probably read that one first), this continues the adventures of a band of teenagers questing in the pockets of dungeon-space that open randomly.

4.  “Cake Baby (a Kango and Sharon Adventure)” by Charlie Jane Anders*
Strapped for cash space crew for hire takes a job to get DNA from radiation-proof babies born into a religious group that denies modern technology.  Very fun story.

5.  “Probably Still the Chosen One” by Kelly Barnhill*
“You must wait here,” the Highest of the High Priests told her, before returning back through the magical doorway in her childhood home.  But time works differently on different sides of a magical portal.  How long would she have to wait?

Honorable Mentions

“Remote Presence” by Susan Palwick**

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson” by Elizabeth Bear