Stories

Audio
La Gorda and the City of Silver by Sabrina Vourvoulias (Podcastle 506, narrated by Sandra Espinoza)
A Guatemalan woman who was raised around luchadors, develops her own mask and persona in order to protect the women of her city from dangerous men. This story felt very powerful, La Gorda's yearning to fulfill a masculine role that is denied to her become something greater and more important when she uses her skills to become a protector of other women. It was great that the main character was explicitly fat and felt no shame about this. The scene setting leading up to the ending felt a little rushed, but the ending itself was great.

There Are No Wrong Answers by LaShawn M. Wanak (Podcastle 505, narrated by Jen R. Albert and Khaalida Muhammad-Ali)
A story told through the medium of a multiple-choice personality test as an interesting idea and it works well here. Exploring psychology and divination, suggesting the similarities between the two and throwing in a bit of the fantastical worked well. I was OK with the endings, though I imagine some might not enjoy it. The episode was narrated by the two editors and the dual narration worked well.

The Substance of My Lives, The Accidents of Our Births by Jose Pablo Iriarte (Lightspeed Magazine Podcast, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki - also available in print)
Jamie can remember all of their past lives, it makes them a bit of an outsider. When a man who has served a murder sentence moves into the trailer park Jamie knows he's familiar. After some investigation Jamie realises they knew him in previous life, and with the help of their best friend Jamie tries to get justice. This story is intriguing, dealing with the challenges Jamie faces by being out-of-the-norm, and a decades-old mystery.

The Sixes, The Wisdom and the Wasp by E. J. Delaney (Escape Pod 612, narrated by Nadia Niaz)
This clever story, told from a child's point of view, seems like it's just about time travel at first, but then things get more complicated. The setting and main character are interesting, and the in media res beginning works well. The narration wonderfully conveyed the frustration of a girl who was just trying to undo a stupid accident, but ends up with a beloved horse held hostage and a threatening doppelganger.


Currently reading Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire, but not finished it yet.