"The cat’s silence was less heavy than her parents’ silence"
December 6, 2021 7:42 AM   Subscribe

"Yiling was riding home on her motorcycle when she saw the cat. It was late evening and the air was thick with smells, but the scent of the cat rang out like the clang of a temple bell, cutting through the stench of exhaust and the oil-in-the-nose smell of fried food wafting from the roadside stalls." "The Guest" by Zen Cho is a short, sweet, funny fantasy story in which a young woman meets a cat and takes on a small magical job.

This post is part of a week of highlighting short speculative fiction stories published by online magazines that are no longer publishing, or that are on hiatus, but whose interesting archives remain online! Today: Expanded Horizons.

"The Guest" was published in Expanded Horizons (previously), an online magazine that seems to be on hiatus.
The mission of this webzine is to increase diversity in the field of speculative fiction, both in the authors who contribute and in the perspectives presented. We feature speculative fiction stories and artwork, as well as essays about speculative fiction and fandom from diverse points of view.
You can browse their archive by issue (per the sidebar), and browse stories by topic or by author category (e.g., Asian-American authors, transgender authors, or disabled authors).
posted by brainwane (10 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
Authors in the Expanded Horizons archives include Lavie Tidhar, Aliette de Bodard, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Joe Haldeman, Bogi Takács, Shweta Narayan, A.J. Fitzwater, Nisi Shawl, Katherine Fabian, Sofia Samatar, Brit Mandelo, Rachel Manija Brown, Iona Datt Sharma, Keyan Bowes, and many others.
posted by brainwane at 7:57 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


Thanks again for posting all these stories
posted by librosegretti at 8:39 AM on December 6, 2021 [4 favorites]


brainwave, it might be a while before I can read fiction again, but when I can, I'll know where to look. Thanks for all the good stuff you do <3
posted by mumimor at 8:54 AM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


Speculative cat fiction seems to be a hot thing. There's this call for submissions. And this.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:28 AM on December 6, 2021


I love the drop into her life, and the casual references that build our view of her situation. The very matter-of-fact turns at the end feel completely natural, not surprises or gotchas, just another one of those ordinary mentions that fill the piece. The character sketch continues through the last sentence. Wonderful.
posted by bonehead at 12:08 PM on December 6, 2021 [3 favorites]


This was lovely, thanks for pointing it out Brainwane!
posted by tavella at 12:57 PM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


I just read a collection of Zen Cho's short work, it's all really good.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:15 PM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


That was a nice break from a stressful day, thanks
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:09 PM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


This was charming, thank you for sharing it!
posted by creepygirl at 5:31 PM on December 6, 2021 [1 favorite]


Brainwane, this is better than a magazine. I usually find that I like about half the short stories I read. Picking stories you mention has sent that ration skyrocketing. Thank you so much.
posted by AaronDaMommio at 5:53 AM on December 8, 2021 [1 favorite]


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