WORDS
WORDS is a free monthly fiction 'zine featuring short stories, samples from anthologies, and exclusive editorial content. Reviews by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, whose non-fiction has appeared in markets like the Los Angeles Review of Books, Strange Horizons, Asimov's, Clarkesworld, The New York Review of Science Fiction and Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Curated and edited by Joshua Viola.
The Twilight Zone: Season 02 Review
Published June 25th, 2020
"Maybe you haven't been looking in the right place. You've been looking behind you, Martin. Try looking ...
The Wretched Review
Published June 1st, 2020
Teenage Ben is struggling with his parents’ divorce, but life is about to get a whole lot gnarlier ...
Patterns Across Narratives: A Conversation with Carlie St. George
Published May 3rd, 2020
Carlie St. George is a Clarion West graduate whose work has appeared in Nightmare, The Dark, and Strange Horizons, among multiple ...
The Invisible Man Review
Published March 11th, 2020
In a film whose title gently mocks the name of this review series, Cecilia Kass tries to escape ...
Terminator: Dark Fate Review
Published November 11th, 2019
Your name is Dani Ramos. You live and work in Mexico City. You live an unassuming life with your brother and father, but things are about to become royally complicated. Over two ...
Child's Play Review
Published July 1st, 2019
Meet Kaslan Corporation’s new AI-powered, cloud-based, fully interactive children’s doll: Buddi. ...
“Brunch"
Horror, Published June 4th, 2019
It was a Sunday. We knew better than to go to Tennyson Street for brunch at 11 on a Sunday morning but we did it anyway. And, no, we hadn’t ...
Brightburn Review
Published May 30th, 2019
Tori and Kyle Brewer’s wish for parenthood appears to be granted by divine intervention: after failing to conceive naturally, a small alien craft ...
“Habituation"
Horror, Published May 24th, 2019
Alone in my tent, staccato kisses flick down the back of my neck, whispering heat and moisture against my skin. It happens and then ...
The Final Wish Review
Published February 5th, 2019
Aaron Hammond’s life is not going well: he wants to be a big league lawyer, but in reality he can’t ...
“Horn of Plenty, Horn of Famine"
Fantasy, Published January 20th, 2019
Adam wanted the horn the moment he saw it. We’d stumbled upon an estate auction by accident and I was ...
Escape Room Review
Published January 20th, 2019
Six individuals from wide-ranging backgrounds—a store stock clerk, a high-level trader, a physics student, a former miner, a war vet, and a games enthusiast—receive invitations ...
Replicas Review
Published January 3rd, 2019
William Foster is attempting to transfer human consciousness from recently deceased humans to robotic bodies—without success. After his own family ...
“The Letter From Santa"
Fantasy, Published December 3rd, 2018
Dear Jane, You’ll forgive this reversal of roles, but I have much to say to you. ...
Venom Review
Published October 30th, 2018
Eddie Brock seems poised for greatness: he’s a successful, gritty Bay Area reporter prized by the news company for which he works, and is soon ...
Upgrade Review
Published September 28th, 2018
In a future of increasingly sleek automation and virtualization, Grey Trace likes to stay home and fix vintage cars the old-fashioned way, with plenty of sockets, wrenches and ...
Ghost Stories Review
Published July 10th, 2018
Phillip Goodman, whose life’s work has been to debunk the supernatural, is contacted by the once-famous paranormal investigator Dr. Charles Cameron, who challenges ...
Hereditary Review
Published July 10th, 2018
Miniature artist Annie Graham’s mother dies, and in her eulogy, somewhat unconventionally, Annie discusses her mother’s strange, difficult ...
The Endless Review
Published May 1st, 2018
The tranquil but penurious lives of brothers Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) and Justin (Justin Benson), who were once part of a doomsday ...
Shake Things Up: A Conversation with Mike Thorn
Published April 1st, 2018
Mike Thorn is the author of the short story collection Darkest Hours. His fiction has been published in a number of magazines and anthologies, including ...
Ravenous (Les Affamés) Review
Published April 1st, 2018
Mist obscures a field. Next, at a racetrack, a driver is making out with his girlfriend near his car when a young girl ...
The Ritual Review
Published March 1st, 2018
Five mates—Luke, Phil, Hutch, Dom, Robert—discuss vacation options at a pub. Later that evening, Luke tries ...
Insidious: The Last Key Movie Review
Published February 1st, 2018
Elise Rainier, naturally attuned to otherworldly realms and a paranormal investigator for many decades, receives a disquieting call from Ted Garza, a man experiencing ...
Horror Without Apology: A Conversation with S.P. Miskowski
Published February 1st, 2018
S. P. Miskowski is a three-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and a Swarthout Award. Her stories have been published in ...
Overlooked Films of 2017
Published January 1st, 2018
2017 was a very good year for cinema in general and for horror films in particular. While critically-acclaimed box-office monsters ...
Marjorie Prime Review
Published December 1st, 2017
Eighty-six year-old Marjorie, a former violinist of some renown, struggles with declining mental and physical faculties but finds ...
Blade Runner 2049 Review
Published October 29th, 2017
[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro] Matt, thanks for joining me for this conversation. I’m excited to talk about Blade Runner 2049! I’d like to begin by ...
It Review
Published October 1st, 2017
The self-designated “Losers’ Club”—comprised of stuttering Bill Denbrough, hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak, overweight new-kid-on-the-block Ben Hanscom ...
Flapper Occultism: A Conversation with Emily B. Cataneo
Published October 1st, 2017
Emily B. Cataneo is a writer and journalist. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming from magazines such as ...
Annabelle Creation Review
Published September 1st, 2017
For a dozen years Samuel Mullins and his wife Esther grieve the tragic loss of their seven-year-old daughter ...
“Takers Find Givers"
Published September 1st, 2017
I head northwest on the Phoenix-Wickenburg Highway. I work to keep cool. Keep my foot light on the gas pedal. ...
A Conversation with Kristi DeMeester
Published August 1st, 2017
Kristi DeMeester is the author of Beneath, a novel published by Word Horde ...
“All in Good Fun"
Horror, Published August 1st, 2017
Chas said he could find Merry by smell and smell alone. Not because her scent was anything large or special ...
It Comes at Night Review
Published August 1st, 2017
Trey Edward Shults, director of the riveting psychological drama Krisha (2015) ...
“Headlong"
Science Fiction, Published June 1st, 2017
By the time David got around to flat out begging us, he really was the only kid left at school who didn’t have ...
Alien Covenant Review
Published June 1st, 2017
In Riddley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, the sixth installment in the main Alien continuity, the crew of the Covenant is bound for ...
A Conversation with Michael Griffin
Published June 1st, 2017
Michael Griffin has released a novel, Hieroglyphs of Blood and Bone (Journalstone, 2017), and a short fiction collection ...
From a House on Willow Street
Published May 1st, 2017
In Alastair Orr's From a House on Willow Street (alt. House on Willow Street) four misfits—Hazel, Ade, Mark and James—plan the kidnapping of Katherine ...
“Three Orcs In A Boat"
Fantasy, Humor, Published May 1st, 2017
The orcs stank like corpses floating in a swamp. I could smell the elf-blood on them from the battle—and the luscious marrow of the half-gnawed bone one of them had tucked into his girdle. I edged deeper ...
Life Review
Published April 1st, 2017
In Daniel Espinosa’s Life (2017) the crew of the International Space Station retrieves a sample of Mars soil containing dormant extraterrestrial cells. Scientist Hugh Derry is able ...
“Death and the Demon Hunter"
Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Published April 1st, 2017
Midnight in the nursing home. New moon. The closet in Malachi Drago’s room opened. Untouched. ...
Rings: First You See It. Then You Sigh -- A Spoiler-Laden Review in Twenty Questions
Published March 1st, 2017
Why, after fifteen years, couldn’t we get a sequel to The Ring (2002) that was at least better than the confusing, plodding and uneven The Ring Two (2005)? ...
Get Out Review
Published March 1st, 2017
As Jordan Peele’s debut film opens, a young African American man walking by himself at night through a well-maintained suburb is abducted. ...
“In A Green Dress, Surrounded By Exploding Clowns"
Science Fiction, Humor, Published March 1st, 2017
Heaving for breath, I spin in a circle, looking for a way out. But I see the same thing in every direction. Nothing but clowns. Dozens of clowns. ...
“Necrocyte"
Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Published March 1st, 2017
Sai hated necrocytes. People in the Freezone believed the alien species knew the moment each human would die, arriving at the perfect time to work the corpse. Scientists said ...
“The Great Game at the End of the World"
Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopian, Published February 1st, 2017
The Creepy playing second base is a hell of a fielder, but his arm's for shit, so they can forget about the double-play. ...
Split Review
Published February 1st, 2017
Has director, writer, and producer M. Night Shyamalan returned to ...
“One Good Deed: An Anna Strong Tale"
Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Published February 1st, 2017
“Flagstaff?” I put my coffee mug down on the table and stare over at Frey. “Why would you want us to go to Flagstaff now?” ...
“R.I.P. David R. Jones"
Alt History, Fantasy, Published January 10th, 2017
David R. Jones, the cult science fiction author who spent decades in seclusion after a brief career as a novelty singer in the late ’60s using the stage name David Bowie... ...
“Best Horror films of 2016"
Published January 9th, 2017
...here are my five favorite horror flicks from 2016, with five runners-up, three bonus picks, and four noteworthy disappointments! ...
“The Forgetting Shiraz"
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Published January 2nd, 2017
When I heard about the winegrower in New South Wales working on a red for forgetting... ...
The Monster Review
Published January 2nd, 2017
Bryan Bertino, the director of The Strangers (2008) and Mockingbird (2014), now brings us The Monster (2016)... ...
“Her Oh So Pretty Face"
Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Published January 2nd, 2017
Carol asked them several times who designed her new face, and if it was based on another woman. Usually they avoided the question... ...
“Just Between Us"
Fantasy, Published December 1st, 2016
Dolores opened the closet door. Here was the problem. A dead woman hung by her neck... ...
“Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz"
Science Fiction, Humor, Published December 1st, 2016
I was standing at the bar in the Outpost, which is the only good watering hole in the Plantagenet system, lifting a few with my old friend Hurricane Smith, another practitioner of the hero trade. Somehow... ...
“The Tears of Some Lonely God"
Fantasy, Published December 1st, 2016
Gold flakes, fine as ash, fell around her feet, catching in her dark hair like the tears of some lonely god. The apocalypse... ...
Arrival Review
Published November 18th, 2016
Dennis Villeneuve, director of twisty and somber movies like Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2014), and Sicario (2015), winningly adapts ...
“The Dust and the Red"
Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Published November 1st, 2016
I was ten the first time I saw the pearl. The soil had come loose in Sweetgrass, and to protect the family ...
“The Ripper is You"
Horror, Published October 1st, 2016
Murder the First. [Superficial charm. Absence of delusions or nervousness. Lack of remorse or shame.] In the chilly dark, M spots her coming out of the Frying Pan Public House ...
“The Return"
Horror, Published October 1st, 2016
I’m half-naked on the toilet, straining, near tears, when an arctic blast rattles the door. I snap a look at the knob. Please don’t start turning. ...
“Decorations"
Horror, Published October 1st, 2016
Ben had been keeping an eye on the house across the street for several days now. It was already October tenth, late in the month for the tent to go up. Usually the man started earlier ...
Blair Witch Review
Published October 1st, 2016
Adam Wingard, the director of well-regarded movies such as You’re Next (2011) and The Guest (2014), here delivers a faithful if ...
Into the Forest Review
Published September 15th, 2016
For reasons unexplained, the power goes out. A father and his two daughters, living in a high-tech home in a remote forest ...
Lights Out Review
Published September 1st, 2016
The title of this horror film couldn’t be more apt, as a week ago I suffered a giant retinal tear that caused sudden vision loss in my left eye and required ...
“A Letter to Nancy"
Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, published September 1st, 2016
Molly always looked the soldiers in the eyes, or eye, in this case. ...
“Bad Haircut Day"
Crime, published September 1st, 2016
César shook my snipped hair from his striped barber cloth. ...
Star Trek Beyond Review
Published August 1st, 2016
Star Trek Beyond (2016), third in the "Kelvin timeline" movie series that kicked off with Star Trek (2009), and the thirteenth entry overall in the movie incarnation of the Star Trek franchise, will ...
“Scarecrow"
Horror, published August 1st, 2016
On the morning of his funeral, you wake screaming from nightmares of Jonathan Chin, your mouth crammed full of feathers... ...
“Dog Food"
Horror, published July 1st, 2016
"Those dogs put food on your table, Mary Anne. Food on your table." John said it so often it was a... ...
“Every Action"
Science Fiction, published June 1st, 2016
Marcus had to explain the device to the buyers by what it wasn't. Because there really wasn't a name. ...
“The Şehrazatın Diyoraması Tour"
Steampunk, Science Fiction, Fantasy, published April 26, 2016
The Constantinople street is drenched in pure sunlight, saturating almost all color from the scene. The tall, alabaster stone building that zigzags and narrows the passage casts a Payne's grey shadow onto the ocher cobblestones. Despite its disparity in hue, the street is made interesting by the people who populate it. ...
“Behold: Skowt!"
Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, published April 6th, 2016
My eyes are dinosaur eggs. My tongue cracks like lightning. I been there, done that, drunk it, fucked it. I am the hole in the roof where the brains leak in. I eat jerks like you for sunfeast. ...