Quick Sips 09/24/2021

I think I can I think I can I…hmm, have I done that gimmick before? If so, apologies. I’m still at it though, toiling away in the old reviewing mines. I’m a bit above average with number of reviews this week, and cover a fair amount of full issues. There’s the weekly Strange Horizons and biweekly Beneath Ceaseless Skies, then there’s Hexagon, Future Science Fiction Digest, Apex, Shoreline of Infinity, and Fireside Magazine. So…a lot. It does mean that I’m doing all right getting through September, but just don’t think about September kinda sorta being over before my next review post goes public. Eep!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 09/17/2021

I swear I will catch up someday! Okay that’s probably not true, but at the very least I will make it through this year hopefully only a bit behind schedule. So I’m at least fully into September work this week, looking mostly at some monthly issues plus I managed to squeeze in the first Strange Horizons of the month. In full issues, I look at Lightspeed and Nightmare, which completes the triumvirate I started with Fantasy two weeks ago. I also look at Flash Fiction Online, The Dark, and the latest Uncanny Magazine, which features the single novella that was promised as part of last year’s funding campaign. So yeah, lots to get to!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 09/10/2021

In some ways this week is a disappointment, because I don’t really get into more September content like I wanted. But I do finish off (I think) the regularly scheduled August stuff, which was the primary goal anyway. This includes stuff I was expecting, like the Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Tor, the stuff I kinda sorta forgot I hadn’t gotten to like GigaNotoSaurus, and the stuff I was bracing for that still ended up being more than I had prepared for like Strange Horizons and Mermaids Monthly. Plus some work from the Escape Artists that I’m always vaguely on the lookout for but still manages to sneak up on me. All told, it’s not a small week by any means, heavy on the poetry, but full and full of some great short SFF!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 09/03/2021

So August is over but that doesn’t mean that I’m through all of its short SFF. I am getting to a number of August releases this week, and even getting to some September issues, but I am still a bit underwater when it comes to getting to things, so apologies that anthologies and novellas are something I’m really struggling to get to at the moment. Phew. Anyway, there’s a new Fusion Fragment out, which is cool, as well as a new khōréō magazine and Strange Horizons for me to look at from August. In September stuff, I’m looking at Fantasy and F&SF. I thought about doing Lightspeed and Nightmare instead of F&SF, but given the weirdness with dates for that publication, I opted to just get to that this week. So yeah, it’s roughly average in terms of number of works covered (slightly above where I’ve been at for the last few weeks, yay), so let’s rock.

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!