Asimov’s Science Fiction, January/February and November/December 2024.
Cover art by Maurizio Manzieri and John Sumrow

Here’s a look at a few of the finalists for the 2024 Asimov’s Readers Award, voted on by readers and given to the most popular stories from Asimov’s Science Fiction the previous year. (Read each of the stories at the Asimov’s website by clicking on the titles below.)

“Wildest Skies,” a Novella by Sean Monaghan

From Asimov’s Science Fiction, November-December 2024

The title suggests a much wilder adventure than the somewhat cozy, but satisfying, one we get. Ed Linklater is the sole survivor of a missile strike that destroys his ship while surveying the planet Dashell IV. He is able to land safely on the Earth-like planet and is eventually befriended by a ten-eyed alien he calls Casper.

After living with Casper’s tribe for some time, he is led to a strange complex of stone structures, where he meets Barnaby, a fellow human who has survived another crash, sixteen years earlier. Barnaby’s only companion is Erica, who is immobilized and partly merged with an AI.

We discover more about how Ed came to be exiled on Dashel IV, and what the future holds for him.

The story never reaches a fever pitch of suspense or excitement, but quietly draws the reader into a most affecting tale that I was sorry to finish.

Rating ***+ (Very Good)

“The Adherence,” a Short Story by Jeffrey Ford

From Asimov’s Science Fiction, January/February 2024

A company called Adherence Corp sells impossibly cheap goods — a matter of nickels and dimes for furniture, and a few dollars for a car. But there is something deeply disturbing about the Adherence goods. They give off a strange vibe which may resonate with depression sufferers—whereupon the victim simply disintegrates into thin air.

This is what happens to Phil’s wife, Lily. But then he meets an old friend, Deirdre, who introduces him to Rolando, a cult member who claims that Lily can be hocus-pocused back into existence, for a sum of one thousand bucks, which Phil, as a retiree, can ill afford. Phil is desperate to be reunited with Lily—but can Rolando’s plan be relied on?

This is a decidedly unusual story with some very vague future tech, almost fantasy, that turns into a rather nasty criminal scam.

Rating *** (Good)

Asimov’s Science Fiction, May/June and March/April 2024.
Cover art by Shutterstock and Eldar Zakirov

“The Rattler,” a Novelette by Leonid Kaganov (Translated by Alex Shvartsman)

From Asimov’s Science Fiction, May/June 2024

The Rattler is an alien invader, or possibly an alien device, that remains stationary in a park, while firing a weapon that kills one person every second. It prioritizes anyone it sees as a threat, and beyond that it simply chooses victims at random.

It can be defeated only by a mass simultaneous attack, but everyone is too afraid to be among the victims to test this theory. A TV crew enters the picture with a plan to disable the alien device.

This appears to be a sort of puzzle story — intriguing enough at first, but ultimately unconvincing. Why would an alien intelligence behave like this? Original concept, though.

Rating **+ (average)

“Une Time Machine S’il Vous Plait,” a Novella by Peter Wood

From Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2024

Adeline Devereaux, a coffee chain billionaire, takes off in her tachyon drive spaceship with three passengers: her deadbeat brother Pascal, and two TV stars from a 1970s Canadian science fiction show, FTL, the egotistic lead, Matthew Wallace, and Ruth Mulu.

Something goes wrong on the flight and the tachyon drive causes a weird time travel effect. Each of the four characters ends up in their own past and tries to manipulate events to their advantage. Ruth, Wallace, and Pascal all have conflicting interests and their lives will be dramatically altered by interference with their past. Trembley, whose work inspired the tachyon drive in the first place, also becomes involved.

This entertaining story ends with different results for all the main characters.

Rating ***+ (Very Good)

“Sunsets,” a Short Story by Lavie Tidhar

From Asimov’s Science Fiction, March-April 2024

Valentina is a visitor from Mars who grieves for her deceased lover, Amir. She wants to see the beautiful sunsets Amir has told her about.

Both she and Amir have a weird physical alteration: they randomly grow organs that can be harvested and sold. Some of these grow externally, and at a disconcertingly rapid tempo. This unfortunately gives the story an ick factor that offsets the rather lovely concept of a grieving woman looking for a sunset.

Rating **+ (Average)

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Piet Nel’s last article for us was Unearthing Scattered Memories: Detectorists. He is an administrator for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Group on Facebook, where these reviews first appeared. He lives in South Africa.