I published 21 new short stories in 2012. Which is quite a lot.
Novelettes
21. Henry, Caesar of the Air, His Life and Times, or, The Book of Qat. Daily Science Fiction, 2012. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
The story of a WW2 pilot crash-landing on an island in Vanuatu, and waking up in the world of the island’s mythology. Based on my year in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu, this utilises the myth stories I was fortunate enough to have shared with me.
20. The Red Menace, Rip-Off! Anthology, ed. Gardner Dozois
It was weird writing a story for an audio-only project – being aware this is to be read aloud. Rip-Off! asked us to select a classic opening line and riff on it. I chose The Communist Manifesto, and wrote a sort of weird alternate history of the 20th century, partly inspired also by Richard Calder’s Babylon.
19. Strigoi. Interzone.
You can download a free e-book version here. A Central Station novelette, and one of several CS stories published this year.
Short Stories
These are divided roughly into three – Central Station stories, non-CS stories set in the world of the Continuity, and misc. SF/F stories.
Central Station
18. Robotnik. Dark Faith II anthology.
17. Under the Eaves. Robots: The Recent A.I. anthology.
This one was picked up for both the Dozois and Horton Year’s Best anthologies.
16. The Indignity of Rain. Interzone.
Chronologically, this is the first CS story.
15. The Lord of Discarded Things. Strange Horizons
The Continuity
14. This, Other World, The Ramayana Anthology, ed Menon and Singh
Anil Menon asked me to write a story for this anthology published by Zubaan in India. Sort of a cyberpunk retelling of a part of the Ramayana, set in SE Asia and taking place in the world of the Continuity. I like the intensity of it – I wrote it while spending a couple of months in Jakarta, if I remember right.
13. Earthrise. Redstone SF
Only Lunar-set story of the Continuity, so far. I like this one for using “Ubik” as a verb!
12. The Memcordist. Eclipse Online.
The story of a Memcordist, Pym, his life, and love. Moves across much of the solar system of the Continuity. Picked up for Dozois’ Year’s Best anthology.
Other Stories
A mix of SF, fantasy, some steampunk and even a bit of horror.
11. A Lexicon of Steam Literature of the Third Reich. Published on the blog.
I’ve published 3 original stories on the blog so far, two I think in 2011, and this one in 2012. They never really pay for themselves, but what the hell – it’s fun.
10. A Brief History of the Great Pubs of London, Stories of the Smoke anthology.
Continuing in the faux-documentary format, this is a mostly-accurate if somewhat fantastical guide to ten pubs in London. Years of research. Years.
9. The White Hands, Fungi anthology.
Another faux-documentary, but this one somewhat obsessed with mushrooms! Fungi is by far the weirdest anthology of last year.
8. The Stoker Memorandum. Daily Science Fiction
Continuing with some steampunk, this is set in the world of the Bookman Histories and, specifically, sheds some light on Stoker’s journey to Transylvania (from The Great Game). It’s also in Steampunk Revolution ed. by Ann VanderMeer, and should be out in a translation or two soon, I think.
7. The Ballad of the Last Human. The Mammoth Book of Steampunk.
Did someone say steampunk? A story of cats and dogs sharing a setting with my earlier “The Story of Listener and Yu-En”, from Bull Spec magazine.
6. Moon Landing, UFO Anthology.
Ten views of the moon landing. I thought it was funny.
5. Sleepless in R’lyeh, Dark Currents anthology.
H.P. Lovecraft meets Sleepless in Seattle.
4. The Rush of the Wind and the Roar of the Engines, and the Call of the Open Road. Daily SF.
Giant robots who turn into cars? Never heard of such a thing.
3. Love is a Parasite Meme, Apex Magazine.
Sort of a post-apocalypse.
2. Zero Game, Fandom Forever
Published in Denmark. Sort of a choose-your-own-adventure story.
1. Choosing Faces. Arc.
Gonzo SF, sort of set in the same world of Enter the Dragon. Later, Enter Another, and continuing my obsession with multiple clones. Published in Arc, the new digital magazine from New Scientist.
