On "In The Middle Of Nowhere With Company" by Ruth Nestvold (4733 words) ***

Put a story on unfamiliar ground and add some strange metaphor made literal, and you have the makings of something quite unique. Nestvold's story here, about the birds of sorrow, chases those birds around the Alaskan frontier until they disappear. It's a story of grief and of recovery in a literalized form. Read it here at Abyss and Apex.

On "Deep Moves" by William Highsmith (1330 words) ****

Highsmith has apparently written a number of technical manuals and journal articles, and it shows here, in this brief piece about an astronaut on a deep-space mission in an antiquated and slow-moving vehicle that only goes one-fifth of the speed of light. The absurdity of communication in such a situation is highlighted in a series of faux e-mails. And yet, one feels a little bit for the poor lady stuck out there, just waiting to hear from someone, anyone. Read the story here at Abyss and Apex.