The Cosmic Background only publishes one story per month, so reviews of their zine will only cover a single short story (the newest one).

“By the Spine” by Anya F. Bloom

A fun take on the theme that everyone has a story, but a little heavy-handed in that Bloom has taken the idea as literally as possible. It’s a lovely story that falls on the shorter side and has some intriguing worldbuilding. The protagonist is an everyman, which works in the context of the story. I’m not sure about the choice to make the antagonist an old woman. If the whole story is a metaphor, I am left wondering what the old lady is a metaphor for.