Although one of the main characters is a ghost, this story by Manoj Das is not a horror story. An unfortunate ghost in a deserted villa has become an integral part of life in an Indian village. The government plans to demolish the villa to pay its taxes, and the villagers must try to relocate the ghost so that it doesn’t try to resettle in someone’s house. Themes include coming of age, the important role of superstition in traditional village culture, and the impact of modern ideas in changing traditional values and beliefs. More…
The Looking-Glass
In this story by Anton Chekhov, a young woman dreams 24/7 about getting married and settling down with the perfect man. One night, while sitting in front of her looking-glass, she has a vision of what the future may hold. She sees the reality of living and raising a family in rural Russia in the late 1800s. The vision encompasses many of Chekhov’s common themes: love, hope, disease, fear, financial struggle, the challenges of parenthood, death and despair. The woman’s cry of Why is it, what is it for? introduces a final theme: disillusionment. Her dream has become a nightmare. More…
Death by Scrabble
You know that a story which begins It’s a hot day and I hate my wife is not going to end well for one of them. In this story by Charlie Fish, a bored couple sit down for a “friendly” game of scrabble. As the competition intensifies, the man notices something strange. The words the couple put down on the board seem to be coming true in the room around them. To test the theory, he puts down the letters Q-U-A-K-E. As the ground begins to shake, he realizes too late that his wife has made the same discovery. More…
Slaughter House
Richard Matheson fans may find Slaughter House hard going as he drops his normal crisp, easy to read writing style to experiment with the formality of mid-Victorian writing. The result: some very obscure vocabulary and long, pompously formal sentences that sometimes appear disjointed and confusing. The story itself is captivating. Two brothers, whose described relationship suggests a little more than brotherly love, fall for the lustful ghost of a young woman that enchants, has its way with, and then tries to kill them. Only one of the three survives! Themes include insanity, homoeroticism, seduction, jealousy, the supernatural! More…
The Perfect Match
In this dystopian story by Ken Liu, a powerful cyber system gathers information on the habits, desires and preferences of almost everyone in the world. Through its motherly virtual assistant “Tilly” (Hey Google!), it uses this information to control unfavourable governments and manipulate user’s lives, including autosuggesting products from advertising partners. A member of a rebellious hacking group and disillusioned lawyer caught trying to take down the system are made an offer they cannot refuse. Themes include corporate greed vs. “benevolence”, the dangers of overreliance on AI (blind acceptance and loss of humanity), manipulation and control, rebellion. More…