Strangelet, Volume 2, Issue 3

By Strangelet Press

Volume 2, Issue 3 of Strangelet, featuring cover art by Nina Vakueva

Fiction:
"Living as Phineus" by Katherine Heath Shaeffer
What happens when your wings only weigh you down?

"Beneath the Skin" by Matthew Chamberlin
Nothing in the flesh is what it seems. You have to reach the pit.

Poetry:
"Forever Yours, Astrid*" by Laurin DeChae
A love letter from the end of the world.

"All that remains of civilization" by James Valvis
An ode to the fragility of life in space.

"Microchip" by Laurin DeChae
A day in the life of electronics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Strangelet Press
• Release date: May 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310223198

Strangelet Press

Strangelet is a journal of speculative fiction that publishes fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic stories/comics, and artwork six times a year with an anthology at the end of each year. We showcase the intersection where genre and literature collide. We want works to reveal compelling, universal truths that speak to us—from starship computers, from dragons’ mouths, and from everyday worlds tinged with miracles. Genres Strangelet primarily publishes short fiction but we also want exceptional artwork, essays, graphic stories, poetry, and reviews that explore the same space. We are looking for works of science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and anything else that takes the reader to new worlds (or a shadowy corner of ours). Visit our submissions page for more information if you would like to be included in the journal. Visit our store and check out our subscription rates if you would like to purchase an issue. Inspirations Our inspirations include authors and artists like Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, Emily Carroll, Madeleine L’Engle, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rod Serling, and Ralph Steadman, who have broken the bounds of genre and literature (and even form) to keep us transfixed. To find out current news about submissions, upcoming issues, or to see what’s inspiring us right now, sign up for our newsletter, follow us at Twitter, Facebook, and our Goodreads page, or use the contact info below.

Book preview

Strangelet

Volume 2, Issue 3

Published by Strangelet Press

Boston • Chicago • Indianapolis

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Volume 2, Issue 3 of Strangelet is a production of

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Strangelet is a new journal accepting speculative artwork, fiction, graphic stories/comics, nonfiction, and poetry. Strangelet is published 6 times a year.

We want to showcase works where genre and literature collide. We want pieces that situate the gravity of living amid the high energy of imagination to find compelling, beautiful, universal truths that speak to us—whether from starships, from dragons’ mouths, or from an everyday world tinged with miracles.

Visit strangeletjournal.com/subscribe to subscribe to Strangelet!

Submissions: We accept submissions year-round. We also accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your submission has been accepted elsewhere.

Published works appear in both the print and ebook editions of Strangelet. We may occasionally publish excerpts from accepted and/or published pieces on our website and social media platforms.

Our goal is to notify all submitters of acceptance or non-acceptance within four months of submission. We look forward to reading your work!

For more information, visit strangeletjournal.com/submit or turn to or go here.

Book design and production by Franco A. Alvarado

Ebook edition by Franco A. Alvarado

Cover art is What Lies Beneath © Nina Vakueva

© 2016 by Strangelet Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews. Rights revert to authors and artists upon publication.

Strangelet

Volume 2, Issue 3, May 2016

Executive Editor

Casey Brown

Business Manager

Leah Alaani

Design and Production Editor

Franco A. Alvarado

Content Manager

Andy Dost

Advisory Editors

Chelsea Cohen, Timothy Ellison, Aaron Krol

Publicity Intern

Hannah Sears

Readers

Anita Felicelli, Rebecca Jones, Dana Mele, Kurt Newton, Christine Young

Star Patron

Cathy Swanek

Founding Partners

Chandra Asar, Tami Marie Lawless

Fiction

Living as Phineus by Katherine Heath Shaeffer

Beneath the Skin by Matthew Chamberlin

Poetry

All that Remains of Civilization by James Valvis

Forever Yours, Astrid* by Laurin DeChae

Microchip by Laurin DeChae

James Valvis

All that Remains of Civilization

Amazing Stories, May 1929

What cannot be explained, at least not well,

is, once you’re off the home world,

everything around you becomes death.

Even the air, which is not air.

Even a tear on the knee,

that on Earth would mean a change of clothes,

here means the end of everything.

The suit now becomes your planet,

a red planet that has collapsed in on

one person, a planet that is all aura.

The ax and shovel you carry

are all that remain of human civilization

and the weights in your clown shoes

all that keep you from hurtling up

beyond the lifeless scraggy peaks

and into a future of drifting past stars—

like an endless game of connect-the-dots.

Is it any wonder we tie ourselves to each other

so, that if one