Have you read this MURDERBOT short story from 2021?

This story (with its long title) came out as a bonus if we pre-ordered NETWORK EFFECT, which I did. And now Tor/Reactor offers it freely to you to read.

I really enjoyed it from Ayda's POV, seeing what SecUnit is and means to her, its confidence in its own realms.

https://reactormag.com/home-habitat-range-niche-territory-martha-wells/

New SF from Book View Cafe--DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes

Now from Book View Cafe--DESCENDING FROM THE MOON by Steven Popkes.

*LeRoy Parkin had a secret: a project to raise the intelligence of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and baboons to human levels.*

Some would say that wasn’t a very high bar. Fifteen years after he began, plagues – preventable but not prevented – broke the world.

Then the apes began discussing who they were, what they wanted, and what they should do next.

Popkes reminds us of the connections that both sustain & endanger humanity and the world around us.

Stop by and read a sample! #books #SFF

https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc-announces-descending-from-the-moon-by-steven-popkes/

An Essay Worth Reading on How Horror Stories are not just Monster of the Week Boo-Scares....

I often say (in best short convention bio speak) that I don't read or watch horror, I live it.

This is not merely a joke--it's a statement of fact. I had to walk back the trail of Change to get to where biology started to change me. Then I saw the nightmares my system had hidden from me, way back then. So yeah--a touch of humor for you, and not a joke. Even the best fantasy reminds me that for the average human, I'm an Other. And always have been--I didn't fool anyone. (But of course some people find The Other attractive and exciting.)

Laura Elliott has spent a lot of time thinking about horror, how it's often written and used. Who is the monster--and why? How? Is there subtext (and in the best stories, it may be subtext all the way down.) She has found many horror tropes to be ultimately freeing and encouraging.

Here's her thoughts on the why.

https://crimereads.com/the-horror-of-a-border-laura-elliott-on-writing-the-abject/

For Audiobook fans--a murder mystery set in Maine by Sharon Lee is on sale!

I believe this link discount is good until July 12, 2025. The book is BARNBURNER by Sharon Lee
rolanni. I enjoyed the two Maine mysteries she did that I've read (I have the plain white cover ones, it was in the Olden Days). Plus if you are young enough that you never even heard of chat rooms or local intermediaries to the Internet? Here you go!

On list: See if other Sharon Lee mysteries happened. (I know about the Carousel Tides gang, but am behind on the short pieces.)

Note that this is 75% off retail price!

https://www.audiobooks.com/promotions/promotedBook/431003/barnburner?refId=198976