Notable Short Fiction: Clarkesworld January/February 2026

There are three stories in this issue (January) I liked and would like to share. They are:

"The Desolate Order of the Head in the Water" by A.W. Prihandita is a creepy little horror story, and the title is fully accurate. This is a near-future story of an all-conquering AI, and is as bleak as you might expect. It's probably not something you want to read if you're depressed. Having said that, why did I like it, you ask? Well, even bleak stories, if written well enough and with compelling characters, can worm inside your head and stay there. This is one of those. 

"The Stars You Can't See By Looking Directly," by Samantha Murray, is an interesting little story that is a cross between science fiction and magical realism. The precipitating event, snow on Christmas Day in Australia at the height of summer, sets off a chain of events that represent a new evolution for the human race, with all babies conceived thereafter apparently genetically modified humans. The story becomes a quiet, thoughtful examination of the past and the future of humanity, and what it will mean for the respective children of the protagonist and her best friend, one of which will be an "old" human and one of which will be new. This story packs quite a punch. 

"Donor Unknown," by Nika Murphy, is a clever, complicated story of an android matchmaker wearing the holographic face of a human, who goes hunting for a painting taken from a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation in 1941. This story deals with prejudice and ghosts of the Holocaust, and generational trauma. It talks at the very end about "loving one's true self," so it has a nice uplifting conclusion. 

The February issue cover art has another instance of the funny little robots that artist Matt Dixon apparently loves--they've made several appearances. This issue has two outstanding stories. 

"Painstaking," by Rich Larson, is a cyberpunk story set in Nigeria dealing with family and identity. The premise is a bit bonkers--the protagonist, Mars, is inhabited by an immortal alien organism that has turned his body into something resembling a starfish, capable of regenerating a twin, called a "clone-brother," Balarabe, after Mars was accidentally cut in half. This is a rather gross idea that get explored in detail in this story, and ends up being quite interesting. 

"Three Fortunes on Alcestis As Told By the Fraud Baeliss Shudal," by Louis Inglis Hall, is the tale of a "false" fortune-teller who nevertheless manages to tell quite a bit of truth. This story has a touch of the horrific as well, as the protagonist reads the mad emperor's fortune in the "shattered entrails of an entire civilization." This is another story that is on the quiet side, but the further you read the more steam it gathers, and the more it pays off at the end. 

I also want to once again plug Clarkesworld Magazine. I've been subscribing to them for years, and even if you get a print subscription through their Patreon (as I do), this high-quality magazine is worth the expense. There's a reason editor Neil Clarke is a four-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Editor. In the meantime, please check out the above stories.