Book picks similar to
The Dala Horse by Michael Swanwick


short-stories
fantasy
fiction
science-fiction

Damage


David D. Levine - 2015
    "Damage" is a tale of desperate times, desperate measures, and the inner life of a fighter spacecraft.

Shtetl Days


Harry Turtledove - 2011
    It's been over a century since the War of Retribution cleaned up Europe, long enough that now curious tourists flock to the painstakingly recreated "village" of Wawolnice, where--along with dozens of colleagues--Veit and Kristi re-enact the daily life of the long-exterminated but still frightening "Jews."Veit and Kristi are true professionals, proud of their craft. They've learned all there is to know about this vanished way of life. They know the dead languages, the turns of phrase, the prayers, the manners, the food. But now they're beginning to learn what happens when you immerse yourself long enough in something real...

Firstborn


Brandon Sanderson - 2008
    And expected. And still expected, despite endless proof that young Dennison Crestmar has no talent whatsoever for war. But the life Dennison is forced to live will have its surprising lessons to impart.

A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel


Yoon Ha Lee - 2011
    Among the universe's civilizations, some conceive of the journey between stars as the sailing of bright ships, and others as tunneling through the crevices of night.  Some look upon their far-voyaging as a migratory imperative, and name their vessels after birds or butterflies....

The Three Lives of Sonata James


Lettie Prell - 2016
    But this young artist wants to prove that living forever isn't the same as living a beautiful life.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Finite Canvas


Lee Mandelo - 2012
    And erasing either of those can have unpredictable consequences...

Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was


Paul McAuley - 2016
    Something Happened Here, But We’re Not Quite Sure What It Was by Paul McAuley is a complex sf story about politics and xenophobia when human colonists on an Earth-like planet are faced with the possibility of reaching out to alien cultures, especially when a big organization that has previously done harm is in charge of the operation.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Semley's Necklace: A Story


Ursula K. Le Guin - 1964
    Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. "Semley's Necklace" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

Where the Trains Turn


Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen - 1997
    But I cannot stop remembering my son.Emma Nightingale prefers to remain grounded in reality as much as possible. Yet she's willing to indulge her nine year-old son Rupert's fascination with trains, as it brings him closer to his father, Gunnar, from whom she is separated. Once a month, Gunnar and Rupert venture out to follow the rails and watch the trains pass. Their trips have been pleasant, if uneventful, until one afternoon Rupert returns in tears. "The train tried to kill us," he tells her.Rupert's terror strikes Emma as merely the product of an overactive imagination. After all, his fears could not be based in reality, could they?Published here for the first time in English, "Where the Trains Turn" won first prize in the Finnish science-fiction magazine Portti's annual short story competition and then went on to win the Atorox Award for best Finnish science fiction or fantasy short story.

A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon


Ken Scholes - 2009
    A story set in the same world as the novel Lamentation, although taking place several thousand years earlier than the events in the book.Also contained in Diving Mimes, Weeping Czars and Other Unusual Suspects

The Martian in the Wood


Stephen Baxter - 2017
    Although people hoped and prayed peace had come, they were wrong. Across the gulf of space, plans were being drawn for a return, but before they could bear fruit a terrible discovery was made deep in Holmburgh Wood, one that would tear a family apart and shock the world.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

This Chance Planet


Elizabeth Bear - 2014
    Plus, there's a dog.

The Nostalgist


Daniel H. Wilson - 2009
    Original fiction from the publisher's site, (tor.com, Tor Books).With EyesTM and EarsTM, everything can look and sound just fine, just like it used to be; it's a shock when they break down, though.

Reborn


Ken Liu - 2014
    Hartwell. All three are based on a singular piece of art by Richard Anderson.

A Tall Tail


Charles Stross - 2012
    From the author of Rule 34 and Halting State, a tale of deception, engineering, and the most unlikely rocket propulsion technology imaginable.