Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 233, February 2026 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Remember Me in the Meat" by Sarah Pauling -- (4*) This one goes hard with the emotions and the meat-space. Shouldn't be all that surprising with that title. :)

"Chip" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires -- (3*) A pretty universal question being asked here - Just what do you want to do with your life? Just a light cosmetic change.

"Think of Me Before I Disappear" by Raahem Alvi -- (4*) Longing, love, and another robot story. At least love ... ok, it's another SF with a light cosmetic change. Reading so many like this recently is beginning to take a toll on me. Not a reflection of this story, but of general saturation. This one is pretty decent.

"A Sleeper Ship Is Like a Game of Go" by Claire Jia-Wen -- (5*) I don't honestly know what it is I like most about this one, but I suspect it's the details. The lived-in, delicious spilling out of life in a situation where life is... on hold. It hits in all the best ways. Making me think and feel.

"The Iron Piper" by Fiona Moore -- (4*) Ongoing short story series. This one's about the price of slavery and freedom. Maybe not my favorite, in this case case, but solid.

"Painstaking" by Rich Larson -- (5*) Easily the most interesting, creative, and exciting of this month's stories. "Twins", survival, and gore, SF-style.

"Three Fortunes on Alcestis as Told by the Fraud Baeliss Shudal" by Louis Inglis Hall -- (4*) Fairly interesting story about the lies we tell ourselves and just living.




"A Sleeper Ship Is Like a Game of Go" and "Painstaking" were by favorites this month. Very different flavors, but worth the reads.



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