Things I enjoyed in 2026 (Part 4)

Flash “The Age of Cancer” by Vajra Chandrasekera (2026): Riffing on a classic and playing a bit with formatting. Short Stories “The Necromancer’s One Weakness” by R. Lochlann (2026): I felt slightly guilty about how much I enjoyed this one, since my spouse is a big fan of playing bards in D&D. But only slightly. “Middle Song” by Thomas Ha (2026): Control and memory, occupation and resistance. Novellas The Blossoming of the Big Tree by Dilman Dila (2026): Fun solarpunk with an unevenly distributed future that wisely mixes dystopic elements into its utopia. (Because yes, if you have a loose federation that works based on public discussion and consensus, you’re also going to have assholes and social pressure and dogpiling and physical threats. Some of these elements are just part of the worldbuilding, some are addressed as plot/thematic points.) Knowing that the author also makes short films, there were certain moments (like the unfurling of a computer screen) that seemed specifically…