Instar

by Karen Heuler

Searching for her daughter, a woman confronts the man she believes stole the child...and the strange truth behind local legends.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 7, 2024

About the author

Karen Heuler’s stories have appeared in over 100 literary and speculative journals and anthologies, such as F&SF and Asimov's and Conjunctions. She has won an O. Henry award, been nominated for Pushcart and Best American Short Story awards, and was a finalist for the Bellwether Award and the Shirley Jackson Award. The New York Times called her first collection, "The Other Door," “haunting and quirky.” Her short-story collection, "The Inner City," was listed as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2013. Her novels include "Glorious Plague," about a beautiful apocalypse. Her last book, "The Splendid City," from Angry Robot Books, exiles a novice witch and the man she illegally turned into a cat to Liberty (formerly known as Texas), where constant parades and missing water make life interesting. Her newest collection, "A Slice of the Dark," messes up reality a bit--just a bit--maybe a little more than a bit--with strange tales that might explain a lot.

Reviews

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://reactormag.com/instar-karen-h...

[Chuck Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was marked as a fantasy read, but was 100% a science fiction short story. The premise of first contact & mistaken identity is not new, but the way they were addressed in this story were impressive and this story was well-paced & intriguing from start to finish. Really enjoyed this one!

[S.A Reidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

You crossed right through the line from okay to not okay - You don't say.

Holy shit the opening paragraph was actual whiplash and I sat right up, gotta be honest I opened this at 1:44am and not an ounce of sleep in me. And then the whole debacle unfolded.

What a whirlwind. Standoff between a desperate mom and a maybe predator and then bam, CDC style contamination suits. And the... Surprise Pikachu face - Ginny and Hugo are ...married? I mean it figures, Belinda/Sandy/Sweetiewas acting strange with that weird smile.

That Character:  All of them so many good lines
That scene:  Belinda/Sandy/Sweetie caught between two adults claiming to be her parents. One brandishing a gun and one who was making a fire.
Favorite /Unique Quotes:
🖤  She’d never been pretty, luckily, since the pretty ones get locked into believing they had to be pleasing. Ginny didn’t value being pleasing (Reminiscent of Dietlandia)
🖤So she kept an open mind. She’d like to meet an alien; she was curious. Also, she was pretty disgusted with the human race. (Girl, same)
Curious/Unique Concepts:
■ Alien Hormonal Hypnosis
■ Burrowing treelike entities
Cover Cause I'm a Bird: didn't notice. The word Instar drew me right in.
Re-readability: yes as soon as I get a minute
GR Rating: 4⭐
CAWPILE: 8.5
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT A SHORT STORY ! OMG. This was so good ?! such good storytelling, with aliens (or are they ?), and twists and turns, and questions unanswered! This was perfect. Short and efficient. Loved it

[Beth N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I nearly DNFed this two pages in due to a seeming lack of coherence. If you're in the same boat, read on - the lack of coherence is part of its 'thing' and will eventually make sense.

To avoid the risk of spoilers I will not go into depth on the story's content. Suffice it to say that it plays with psychology in interesting and unsettling ways.

Everything felt a little too rushed for me to give this a higher rating but the concept was strong and the hints creepingly subtle. I don't know that I would read more of this author's work but I'm confident it will have its audience.

[rebekka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ginny wasn't the only one who felt confused here. What is confusing was fuzzy and ever-changing objects that create doubtful thoughts.
It would be a great short movie though.
I kind of expected those white suits to be aliens and the main leads to run for freedom.
That disintegration (?) scene was bloody crazy.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this twist on the traditional alien invasion/first contact story. Great ideas and excellent implementation.

[Heni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting idea on the alien invasion. I thought this would be some kind of crazy thriller but no no, it's something else and very refreshing.

[Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invasion of the Endocrinomorps.
Loved it.

[Shiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aliens are coming to earth and in their first contact they release gases that make people see them as their children and hence care for them and protect them. That is until they put root down on our earth. This is the story of a couple and how far they would go to protect what they each believe is their child.

3 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story initially starts off as a woman looking for her child, which she believes was kidnapped by a man. It then becomes a confusing confrontation between the woman and man over the child. But it is only with the appearance of agents in biohazard suits that the true nature of the kidnapped child becomes evident to the reader, if not to the people involved.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would be a decent mind control story, except there's clearly no point to the mind control. The aliens don't need human surrogate parents. They just go with the flow, for no more than a couple hours, and then suddenly go off and do their own thing, carelessly breaking their own mind control. Why bother? Ultimately, all it does it draw hostile attention to them.

[Anna Avian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the subtle and beautifully deceptive nature of this story. It cleverly toys with familiar themes, giving you the impression that you understand its direction, only to completely veer off in a surprising way that leaves you pleasantly disoriented.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helps if you know an instar is a stage before the final adult molt.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A peculiar story, a bit unsettling