Archive OB Stories

  Welcome to Orion’s Belt O rion’s Belt is a literary speculative fiction online magazine. We specialize in the strange and poignant and awe-inspiring, stories that have a cosmic scale and intimate personal stakes. Currently, we publish fiction only, one story per month. All stories must be twelve hundred words or less. Speculative fiction for us encompasses a wide range of fiction that includes non-realist elements. While we focus on science-fiction and fantasy, we’re open to slipstream, horror, magic realism, myth retellings, surrealism, superhero stories, and all other fantastical genres and subgenres. The “literary” qualifier simply means we like stories focusing on internal and interpersonal conflicts. Don’t give us people saving the world unless you can make us care about the people doing the saving. It also means we want stories that are sharply, intelligently written. We highly prize the craft of writing. This doesn’t mean you have to be Faulkner or Shakespeare, and it cert...

  Witch’s Brew T he magicians’ truck vanished into the cold twilight, leaving Alia alone at the edge of the world. A solemn black tower ascended into the clouds. She wondered what its inhabitant must be like. What would make someone hide away from civilization? This was her punishment. The daughter of her hamlet’s two most prestigious magicians, she entered magic-school with high expectations, the burden of which she could not bear. She argued with her teachers and brewed forbidden potions. According to the dean, her behavior was more befitting a witch than a proper magician. Thus, he decreed, her punishment must fit her crime: she must steal and destroy the witch’s brew. The front door would not open, and there were no ajar windows on the ground floor. Pacing through the yellow-gray knee-high grass surrounding the tower, she failed to find a crack in the stone or a hidden staircase. Hiding in a nearby bush, she watched the stars emerge into the darkening sky. The glow of starlight...

  The Truth About Woopy N abi is six years old and not the sort to fear his own shadow. “Dad, I don't always have a shadow.” “That's normal. When darkness –” “I don't think it's good to stay long without a shadow.” “Which is why I always tell you to turn off the computer and go out in the sun.” “But what about the nighttime? Dad, what is night?” “You see, when the Earth spins—” “I’ve read that night is the planet's shadow projected in the sky.” I agreed with him. “Anything else?” “Why doesn’t the sun have a shadow?” “Why should it? If you don’t need a shadow, why should the sun?” “What about sunspots?” “Sunspots?” That afternoon, my son kept after me like he was my shadow. “Nabi, shadows are normal. Every object, every person has its own shadow.” “Then how come when we were at the circus last week, a man made shadows that didn't belong to him with his hands? Shadows of mice and cats and dogs, shadows of butterflies, birds, and bats?” I think having two kids woul...

  Joanna West's Final Five Reviews on the Day of the Apocalypse 1. Coya's Books and Games - 4 Stars I' ve been a customer of Coya's for over 40 years, and it's always attracted a bit of an odd element. Heck, my husband and I turned a few heads, back in the day. I'm happy to listen to the woman who preaches about the healing power of essential oils in the self-help section, and I'm no stranger to the snickering, superior teens who perch in the café like a flock of ravens. But there has to be a limit, doesn't there? Today, when I went in for my usual coffee, biscotti, and paper, the teen crowd was replaced by a collection of glowing wraith-like figures, whose high-pitched keening was certainly a step down from teenage laughter. The costumes were impressive (I swear it was as if I could see right through them) but the so-called ‘music’ made me feel light-headed and oddly lonely. I appreciate that Coya's supports the arts. But I say, bring back the beard...