★★★ Guardian Of The Gods, by Tobi Ogundiran, 5,765 words

A young acolyte, frustrated that she can’t hear the gods like everyone else, sets out to find the truth. Nothing was particularly wrong with this story; it simply had nothing outstanding to draw my attention.

★★★★ Uniform, by Errick Nunnally, 5,549 words

A former mechanized Marine struggles to reintegrate into civilian life. I liked the descriptions of the machine that mobiles what’s left of Patrick’s body, and what he thinks about it, though the machine felt a little too steam punk to be realistic. And the ending — loved it! My only complaints: the machine went from 79% battery to 15% in a matter of minutes, which seemed highly unrealistic. Also: the military spent this kind of money on it but then just let him walk around with it after he was discharged?

★★★ A Terminal Kind Of Love, by Veronica Henry, 3,041 words

Having coded a world-changing program, Athena is devastated by her former husband’s betrayal in taking all the profits. Poised to release a virus that will satisfy her need for revenge, she... Well, no spoilers. This story was interesting, but it felt like too many things were competing for the plot. It tried to be about love gone sour, but also about sentient code and quantum computing, and yet also about the dangers of too many “smart” devices in the home. For a story so short, so many topics felt like clutter.

★★★ Your Rover Is Here, by L.P. Kindred, 3,415 words

Points for concept and implicit world-building. A Black ride-share driver unknowingly picks up a white supremacist on the way to an attack on a Black church. Then they battle with magic, the driver wins, and the magic police aren’t as impressed as they should be. Points off for overloading with magic-sounding words (eldritch lightning, cooling charms, Jinn, invocation, Folk Mage, incantation, coven, wards, channeling, runes, espers, etc.) without any grounding or explanation for any of them. There was also allusion to some backstory with the father, setting up expectations of a Big Reveal that never happened.

• Zombie Of Palmares, by Woody Dismukes, poem

• Autolysis After Mentor Pursues Me While In A Relationship, by Jacqui Swift, poem

As with the last issue, I didn’t get much from the poetry, which seemed intensely personal (especially the second one) but without revealing much. I fully understand this, as somone who has written poetry only for myself with no intention of anyone else ever understanding it. I didn’t include the poetry in my average star rating.