Aaron's Story Recommendation of the Week :: Mister Oak by Leah Bobet

My story recommendation of the week is "Mister Oak" by Leah Bobet, a short story from the February 2010 issue of the recently revived Realms of Fantasy. Leah Bobet becomes only the fourth author to receive two different story recommendations on this blog, joining Paolo Bacigalupi, Catherynne M. Valente, and Aliette de Bodard.

"Mister Oak" is the whimsical yet bittersweet story of a tree who falls in love with a woman. It is certainly the best story told from the point of view of a tree I have read since "Direction of the Road" by Ursula K. LeGuin. Actually, it's the only story from the point of view of a tree I have read since "Direction of the Road," but I just put Bobet's name in a sentence with Ursula LeGuin -- is she likely to complain?

It's nice to see Realms of Fantasy has come back strong under its new ownership. In addition to "Mister Oak," the February 2010 issue features a new Harlan Ellison story and tales by several up-and-coming authors including Bobet and de Bodard.

Aaron's Story Recommendation of the Week :: The Luckiest Street in Georgia by Vylar Kaftan

My story recommendation for this week is "The Luckiest Street in Georgia" by Vylar Kaftan, from the October 2008 issue of Realms of Fantasy magazine.

Miss Minette is 83. She sits in her rocking chair and watches her street. She sees everything happening on her street, and many things that have not yet occurred but will. And nothing bad happens to her neighbors when she is watching. Except perhaps for Tom across the way, the one person on the street Minette cannot change.

"The Luckiest Street in Georgia" is a short and simple story, yet thought-provoking with an emotionally satisfying resolution. Miss Minette is a well-drawn elderly protagonist, something of a rarity in science fiction and fantasy.

Vylar Kaftan is a new writer to watch. She has published some two dozen pieces of short fiction in the last five years, in small but high-quality venues such as Clarkesworld, Helix, Lone Star Stories, Paper Cities, and Sybil's Garage. (I won't mention that she was a tocmate of mine in the Glorifying Terrorism anthology, because pimping my one published story again would be pathetic.) "The Luckiest Street in Georgia" is Kaftan's first appearance in any of the genre's major print magazines, but surely not her last.

Aaron's Story Recommendation of the Week :: Daughter of Bótù by Eugie Foster

My story recommendation for this week is "Daughter of Bótù" by Eugie Foster, from the August 2008 issue of Realms of Fantasy (story illustration by Jada Fitch).

"Daughter of Bótù" is a fairy tale with an Eastern flavor. It is the tale of An-ying, a rabbit transformed into a young woman, who quickly falls in love with a prince. The premise may sound routine but it soon turns into something memorable, thanks to Eugie Foster's gorgeous prose and to the twists the story takes as the love between An-ying and her prince becomes rather complicated.

In the past five years, Eugie Foster has published an impressive volume of interesting short fiction, commonly with an Asian setting and feel. Her collection Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice is due out early in 2009 and is one to watch for.

The August 2008 issue of Realms of Fantasy has an impressive list of contributors, including Liz Williams, James Van Pelt, Carrie Vaughn, and Jim C. Hines, but even among such strong company, I found "Daughter of Bótù" the clear standout.