"Songdogs" by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
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This is one of Ian McHugh's better works with his reworking of Australian myth.  Agnieska is hauling Carrick across the outback to turn him in for the reward.  She's motivated in part by a dearly departed fiancé, Olly.  While she has a tongue clamp on him and lead mittens to keep him from working magic, a powerful witch (his girlfriend) is on their trail.  That's not to mention the hungry songdogs tailing them. Agnieska doesn't want to waste bullets on the songdogs as it will give their position away.  But does she have much choice?

Although this feels like a novel excerpt, it's still recommended.  Well realized world.

The Wishwriter's Wife by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Daily SF.

The Wishwriter simply writes wishes that people could write themselves if they took the time to think it through.  He makes a comfortable living doing this, but as his body goes, and his mind follows, his wife becomes less satisfied.  There is nothing she can do, however, because the Wishwriter wished that she remain faithful.  So she must.  But when she has a choice between a wish to aid his health or not, what should she decide.  A gentle piece.

"The Greatest Adventure of All" by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Coyote Wild.
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As the story alludes, this traverses Flatliners territory:

"Of course, the rest of us were fear junkies too, otherwise we wouldn’t be sneaking around the labs after hours like the cast of Flatliners."

A cabal of young experimenters try to see what death is like, what lies beyond on the veil. When they get back, some do not buy the results that other cabal members say about the afterlife.  Animals, however, do not return quite as shaken up.  The cabal keeps pushing the boundary.

"The Alchemical Automaton Blues" by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Andromeda Spaceways.
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An early story--not as strong but, nonetheless, moving.  A golem is lonely and moans, annoying neighbors, so the narrator agrees to have something done about it.  But they simply take its voice away.  Sad, but no resolution.  It's unclear why this character is narrating.

"Once a month, on a Sunday" by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Andromeda Spaceways.
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I could be wrong, but I think Ian McHugh's going places.  His works have an uncommon potency and vibrancy.  This one revisits aboriginal mythology--that of the bunyip.  The family has a beloved friend, Baba, who advises them and appears to be a Muslim of his own branding, including wards and other spells to help protect the family.  The young narrator offers mice to the bunyip in exchange for a pale of water.  But happens if the lid is loose and the mice escape?

The melancholy low-horror tale seems to suggest that sadly Baba doesn't know everything he needs to know.

"Requiem in D-minor (for prions, whale and burning bush)" by Ian McHugh

First appeared in Hub #24.
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A failed PhD candidate links whale songs to prions and these prions to aliens, trying to communicate--to someone or something other than humans, since humans die.  An alien artifact is found on the moon and the candidate is called on to communicate with these aliens.  Its shape is in the form of a burning bush, but its attempts to communicate kill humans.  It is unconcerned with human affairs--in fact, it actively hampers them.

Clever use of multiple conceits.  Well-written with a pleasant suspense.  Albeit, the ending was familiar.

Bitter Dreams by Ian McHugh

Writers of the Future XXIV

Constable Bowley receives a body--tongue, eyes, genitals and shadow removed. Bowley is the sole representative of the law this deep in the Outback, and the town doesn’t even have a runesmith. A bitter dream or a dreaming has taken the man. Maise, his longtime girlfriend, wants to check out if her relatives are okay, but Bowley says they should telegraph instead. Shadows of animals misbehave and the animals chase after their shadows trying to flee.

Enter a cowl-hooded spook, the Dappled Man--dappled because shadows he’s taken (stolen or rescued?) writhe across his body. He will help the constable and the newly deputized locals chase down the dreaming, old things that decay away deep in caves but possess a man’s body when touched. But not every man will live to tell about their battles with the dream-taken: shadows stolen and five-foot war boomerangs protruding from their chests.

On a sentence/prose level, this is the best-written story I’ve seen in the WOTF anthologies for some time. While not as focused as it might be, the imagination is sharpened to a keen edge. A must read.