Essence of Life by Jackson McLean tells the story of Jack Green, a boy growing up in a new settlement where life is hard, and expectations are heavy. Jack’s father is in charge of the town, and people look up to him, but he’s tough...

In Thomas S. Brown’s Echelon: The Cycle Stirs, Maria Kessler survives in the Lower East Spill by mapping patrol routes and drone cycles, until Dr. Elias Roth recruits her to Project Synthesis in Geneva, where her mind synchronizes with an artificial lattice called Echo-9. Through...

Rob wishes to earn money quickly due to his unfortunate circumstances, which have left him with insufficient income. Rob and his wife, Ann, are poorer than most people they know and work for. Their children, Matt and Marisol, must deal with this fact every day....

Elco Parks by Sandro Laudadio is one of the most unusual stories I have read in a while, and it resonates with its themes and atmosphere. The setting is Vancouver in 2008, where a new religion has taken hold in the belief that glacial striations...

En Passant by Ileana Stoica follows David, a young Canadian financial analyst working in London just after the 2007–2008 financial crash. He loses his job on Valentine’s Day and is pushed out of a harsh, empty office culture that reflects the wider collapse of the...

Elysian's Son by Douglas S. Reed is set in a future ruled by the Unified Sovereign Alliance, where David, a nearly blind boy, lives inside the domed city of Mekhane. After questioning official doctrine at the Academy, he is selected for the Cultivation Project and...

“You sit up in bed. This is where you’ve landed—fallen off the map, and no one seems to care. But that’s not new. You’ve felt invisible before. Now it’s just official.” That’s life in Eddie The KIng (the title is not a typo), a collection...

Echoes in the Void by Ben Hafer follows Captain Jonathan Reed and the crew of the Perevian on a mission that begins as a routine survey, but shifts once they encounter an energy field near the ruins of the Aetherion. The field reveals structured signals,...

On March 4, 1977, Romania was hit by an earthquake that devastated the country. The earthquake destroyed much infrastructure and killed many people. At the time of the earthquake, Alex lived in the city of Zimnicea with his parents. They lose their house, and his...

Emma Madison: Master Meddler by Pat McDermott Michener follows Emma Madison, a sharp, strong-willed widow in 1950s Medford, Ontario, whose quiet life unravels when her niece Jasmine Holmes returns home after years of disgrace. Once the town’s beauty, Jasmine is now sick, divorced, and shunned....