Short stories. A full story on just a few pages.
Short story day is December 21. Here are a few of my favorites.
“On K2 with Kanakaredes” by Dan Simmons has stuck with me for years. It’s a story about how perceptions and expectations can change in a moment when a human and an alien ascend K2 together. Mistrust, language problems, and expectations fade away as every moment is a heightened desire to survive, together.
“Stories of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. As the movie “Arrival” was being promoted, I made sure to read the short story it was based on before I saw the movie. They are both very good and yet different in critical areas.
The list of short story writers, modern and classic, in just about every genre, is long and storied.