Book picks similar to
The Ones Who Look by Katharine Duckett


short-stories
science-fiction
sci-fi
short-story

The Terracotta Bride


Zen Cho - 2011
     In the tenth court of hell, spirits wealthy enough to bribe the bureaucrats of the underworld can avoid both the torments of hell and the irreversible change of reincarnation. It's a comfortable undeath … even for Siew Tsin. She didn't choose to be married to the richest man in hell, but she's reconciled. Until her husband brings home a new bride. Yonghua is an artificial woman crafted from terracotta. What she is may change hell for good. Who she is will transform Siew Tsin. And as they grow closer, the mystery of Yonghua's creation will draw Siew Tsin into a conspiracy where the stakes are eternal life – or a very final death. THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE is an 11,000-word standalone fantasy novelette.

Radicalized


Cory Doctorow - 2019
    Radicalized is the story of a desperate husband, a darknet forum and the birth of a violent uprising against the US health care system.The final story, The Masque of the Red Death, tracks an uber-wealthy survivalist and his followers as they hole up and attempt to ride out the collapse of society.

The Grove


Jennifer Foehner Wells - 2015
    Hain wants to explore the stars but when she finally encounters aliens, her destiny is forever changed. This novelette was previously published in the anthology: The Alien Chronicles. It is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella. This story is available for free for readers who sign up for Jen's newsletter on her website: www.jenthulhu.com

The End of the End of Everything


Dale Bailey - 2014
    The inhabitants of the colony indulge in suicide parties as the world teeters on the brink of extinction, worn away by some weird entropy.

The Minority Report


Philip K. Dick - 1956
    He is the originator of the Precrime System, which uses precogs—people with the power to see into the future—to identify criminals before they can do any harm. Unfortunately for Anderton, his precogs perceive him as the next criminal.

The Devil in America


Kai Ashante Wilson - 2014
    The shattering consequences of this confrontation echo backwards and forwards in time, even to the present day.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Fracture Me


Tahereh Mafi - 2013
    He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance... including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi's epic dystopian series. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam's perspective.

The Visitor: Kill or Cure


Mark Lawrence - 2020
    The saga continues with Mark Lawrence's short story The VisitorThe visitor comes... but she needs to be invited in.Ever since she woke up in the hospital with the ability to generate heat, Ruby Johnson, a.k.a the Dragon, has built a reputation as an unstoppable force of nature. She makes her living as an assassin for hire, but one day she comes across a benevolent ace whose powers she vastly underestimates.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Veldt


Ray Bradbury - 1950
    The advanced technology of a house first pleases then increasingly terrifies its occupants.

Until Midnight


Melissa Landers - 2014
    Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship. When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.Coming December 23rd, this FREE short story will include multi-chapter excerpts of both ALIENATED and the sequel, INVADED.

The Hundredth House Had No Walls


Laurie Penny - 2019
    She has written six books, including Bitch Doctrine, Unspeakable Things, and Everything Belongs To The Future. She writes essays, columns, features and gonzo journalism about politics, social justice, pop culture, feminism, technology and mental health and she gets time, she also writes creepy political science fiction. She makes words for money, trouble and social change for lots and lots of places including The Guardian, Longreads, Time Magazine, Buzzfeed, The New York Times, Vice, Salon, The Nation, The New Statesman, The New Inquiry, Tor.com and Medium. When she’s not on the road, Laurie is based between London and Los Angeles.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Big Trip Up Yonder


Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - 1954
    Anti-Gerasone halts the aging process and prevents people from dying of old age as long as they keep taking it; as a result, America now suffers from severe overpopulation and shortages of food and resources. With the exception of the very wealthy, most of the population appears to survive on a diet of foods made from processed seaweed and sawdust. Gramps Ford, his chin resting on his hands, his hands on the crook of his cane, was staring irascibly at the five-foot television screen that dominated the room. On the screen, a news commentator was summarizing the day's happenings. Every thirty seconds or so, Gramps would jab the floor with his cane-tip and shout, "Hell, we did that a hundred years ago!" Emerald and Lou, coming in from the balcony, where they had been seeking that 2185 A.D. rarity--privacy--were obliged to take seats in the back row, behind about a dozen relatives with whom they shared the house. All save Gramps, who was somewhat withered and bent, seemed, by pre-anti-gerasone standards, to be about the same age--somewhere in their late twenties or early thirties. Gramps looked older because he had already reached 70 when anti-gerasone was invented. He had not aged in the 102 years since. "Next one shoots off his big bazoo while the TV's on is gonna find hisself cut off without a dollar--" his voice suddenly softened and sweetened--"when they wave that checkered flag at the Indianapolis Speedway, and old Gramps gets ready for the Big Trip Up Yonder." He sniffed sentimentally, while his heirs concentrated desperately on not making the slightest sound. For them, the poignancy of the prospective Big Trip had been dulled somewhat, through having been mentioned by Gramps about once a day for fifty years.

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)


Neil Clarke - 2020
    This was published as a Clarkesworld audiobook podcast in 2020.

The Witch of Duva


Leigh Bardugo - 2012
    But it's just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo's debut novel, Shadow and Bone.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Thyme Fiend


Jeffrey Ford - 2015
    When he finds the skeleton of a missing man the skeleton begins to haunt him. What does it want?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.