The Monthly Round is up!!!

You know the drill! My monthly recommendations (and drink pairings) for April 2016 are up over at Nerds of a Feather.

This month my picks are:

Tasting Flight: April 2016

"The Sweetest Skill" by Tony Pi (Beneath Ceaseless Skies) 
"The Cedar Grid" by Sara Saab (Clarkesworld)
"Under Dead Marsh" by Julia August (Lackington's)
"Terminal" by Lavie Tidhar (Tor dot com)
"The Girl Who Escaped From Hell" by Rahul Kanakia (Nightmare)
"All the Red Apples Have Withered to Gray" by Gwendolyn Kiste (Shimmer)

Shots:

"Plantation | Springtime" by Lia Swope Mitchell (Terraform)
"Songbird" by Shveta Thakrar (Flash Fiction Online)
"The Artificial Bees" by Simon Guerrier (Uncanny)

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #198

Anchored by a rather hefty nearly-14,000-word story this issue, Beneath Ceaseless Skies offers up a dense and rather complex look back at the growth of America and the exploitation that has gone hand in hand with the colony-turned-nation. Both stories look back at different times (and take place on opposite coasts), giving magically-infused visions of American history from the first colonies to discovery of crude oil. And whether it’s the witch hunts or the whale hunts, the stories dwell on the ways that people exploit. That they harm each other. That they destroy. These are not the happiest of tales, but then they probably shouldn’t be, given the subject matter. These are careful and deep stories about magic and cost and place. So to the reviews! 

Art by Geoffrey Icard

Quick Sips - Lackington's #9 - Architecture

When I saw the theme of Lackington’s ninth issue, architecture, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Stories about buildings? About construction? About utility? What I ended up finding in these stories were, yes, those things, but so much more. Experiments with the architecture of fiction, for example, as each of these tales manages to innovate structure and storytelling. And also looks at the architecture of biology, of history, of physics, of relationships. There are structures all around us, as mysterious and wonderful and foreboding and complex as the most awe-inspiring cathedral or castle. These stories explore what architecture can be, and what it is, and how it matters to us. They are at turns startling and unsettling and inspiring stories, and I’m going to get to reviewing them! 

Art by Carrion House

Quick Sips - Tor dot com April 2016 Part 2

Woo, my constant passive aggressiveness must finally be paying off as the final story of Tor dot com's April was not the month's longest (*does little dance*). And okay, friendly jibes aside, the stories of the second half of the month...well, they move. Through darkness and through death and through change. These are stories about transformations. Some good and necessary and some...well, there are layers of consent and institutions of misogyny or oppression or both. And there is an attempt to tear them down or circumvent them or resist them. These stories are not happy, really, but they are hopeful. Reaching. And very good. To the reviews!

Art by Ashley Mackenzie

Quick Sips - Fantasy Scroll #12

A new issue of Fantasy Scroll has dropped and this issue seems to me to be all about frustrated simplicity. Thinking something will be simple, will be easy, only to find that when you start pulling it apart there's all this…mess. All these angles that weren't considered and situations that weren't foreseen. Things go from bad to worse in some, from bad to better-but-not-great in others, from bad to still-rather-bad, and even from not-all-that-bad to oh-fuck-no!!!! These stories (and graphic story) around about having something in your grasp and then finding there's no ground beneath your feet, and either learning to fall well or trying to fly. Lots to look at, too, so I'm going to jump right in! 

Art by Jonathan Gragg

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 04/18/2016 & 04/25/2016

April is nearly over and before May rears it's head I wanted to look at the latest offerings from Strange Horizons, which includes a story, two poems, and a piece of nonfiction. As always, there's more to explore in terms of nonfiction that I recommend everyone check out, but time being what it is I'm just looking at the one piece this time. It's a nicely balanced bunch of content, a story that is equal parts funny and poignant, poems that complicate and hit and refuse to go down quietly, and a nonfiction work that does what I always appreciate--points me in the direction of some great books. So let's get to those reviews!

Quick Sips - Terraform April 2016

Well after sort of missing the majority of March's Terraform content because of a tagging issue, I've been super cautious to make sure I don't miss out on any April stories. And good thing, because they are an interesting bunch, a mix of dystopian visions, each with their own particular flavor. From social media obsessed to decidedly punky to sci fi slavery and beyond, there's a little something for everyone. Politics, extinction, and technology merge in these stories. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Uncanny #9 (April Stuff)

Spring might be in the air but Uncanny Magazine is keeping things in April rather fucking dark. In the best of ways. These are stories that hit and hit hard. Some of them very hard, with characters that shine but situations that are a bit outside their control. Where tragedy seems like that rolling boulder in Indiana Jones and the characters are quite fast enough to...well, the stories and the poetry mix tragedy and happiness, love with loss. It's a challenging issue but also a very good one, with exciting worlds to explore and emotions to feel. So time to review!

Art by Katy Shuttleworth

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #197

Sometimes I just can't predict where Beneath Ceaseless Skies is going to go with its stories. There are issues that are steeped in blood and tears and darkness. That enjoy looking at the frayed, gray edges of morality and stare boldly into the abyss. And then there are issues like this one, which brings a breath of life and fun and joy into the air. That celebrate how entertaining SFF can be without being sad, without being tragic, without being hopeless. These are stories that are clever and funny, with characters that are plucky and who manage to win some rather unambiguous victories. Especially for people who have noticed the at-times gloom of tragic stories in SFF, this issue might offer a glimpse of some unashamed happiness. To the reviews! 

Art by Geoffrey Icard

Quick Sips - Tor dot com April 2016 Part 1

Okay well when I said last time that maybe Tor dot com was slowing down to normal levels of output (like one story a week), I wasn't aware just how wrong I was. The first week of April alone saw three stories release, so I'm splitting up the content again, looking at the first four stories released so far. Two of the stories are extensions of settings and series that have appeared elsewhere, which offer teases and glimpses into deep worlds while maintaining a light-hearted sense of adventure and fantasy. The remaining stories dive into darker waters, revealed different takes on our own world, one through a fantastical lens and another with an eye to the future. Both show people dealing with growing older, seeing the world with different eyes, and yearning for something undefined. It's a very powerful batch of stories, and I'll get to those reviews! 

Art by Richie Pope

Quick Sips - Apex #83

The April issue of Apex Magazine is out and with it come a number of stories and poem that, by and large, orbit around religion. Old gods and religious guilt and growing up with religion and really giving a lot of angles on a very interesting element of life and SFF. The two fiction pieces are incredibly well paired, looking at family and religion and space and loss. They're quite different, one a sci fi almost-Western and the other a contemporary weird fantasy, but they work hand in hand to examine how siblings are effected by religion, how they relate to each other through a faith (or are damaged by it). There's just so much to read and enjoy that I need to shut up and get to those reviews!

Art by Sarah Zar

Quick Sips - Nightmare #43

This month's Nightmare Magazine certainly knows the value of slowly building tension in speculative horror, with two stories that don't rush right to the climax. Instead the stories climb meticulously, deviously, taking the reader to a pinnacle of horror before giving them a shove and turning out the lights. These are stories that know when to drop the curtains, with endings that hit and linger. They're methodical and tightly built and quite good and so I'm going to get to reviewing!

Art by Yana Moskaluk

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 03/28/2016, 04/04/2016, & 04/11/2016

Today I'm catching up a bit with Strange Horizons, with three weeks of excellent fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. The fiction seems to be rather...familial in theme, exploring the relationships between mothers and children, especially, and challenging parental expectations and childhood autonomy. It's some complex reading, to be sure, paired with poetry that looks to the stars as well as inward, that speaks of creation and gives a few meta comments on poetry and art. Plus a piece of nonfiction that's very interesting, especially in light of the fiction that's featured here. But before I ruin everything, to the reviews!

Art by Galen Dara

Quick Sips - Mithila Review #2

The second issue of Mithila Review is out and it's even bigger than the first, with three stories and eight poems and a slew of nonfiction content (that I'm not reviewing here but recommend you check out). Like with the first issue much of these pieces are reprints but as I hadn't read any of them I decided to once again review all the fiction and poetry regardless. At some point I might drop down to just the original content but for now I'm quite enjoying the publication, it's position on the border of things, exploring visions of life at the border. It's an impressive collection of creative work, and I'm going to get to those reviews!

Art by Britney Schmidt And Dead Pixel Fx, University Of Texas At Austin

Quick Sips - GigaNotoSaurus April 2016

This month's GigaNotoSaurus features some genuinely strange visuals and a great style, and fits in with the spring, with the idea of rebirth and renewal. It's long but not too long, tightly plotted with enough exposition to give a sense of place and back story but not slave to that, able to weave an interesting and rather mysterious story where the veil is never fully lifted. And really, it's a good read that I'm going to review now!
 

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #115

Well with just four original short stories one could almost think this was a light month for Clarkesworld, but with three of them tipping the scales at over ten thousand words, you'd be a bit premature. These are stories that have some legs and that take their time. Most of them are focused on journeys and distance. Most of them are also focused on people learning to empathize with people on the surface very different from themselves. And finding there a commonality. A bond. The stories show sweeping views of strange lands and sights. Virtual realities and alien worlds and the heart of America and the depths of space. There's a lot to see and as long as you don't mind taking a bit of time to get there, these stories will not disappoint. To the reviews! 

Art by Rudy Faber

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #71

It's the first full month of spring and at Lightspeed Magazine it means a mix of superheroes and dragons, half-alien births and knobby giraffes. The issue is filled with new beginnings and happy endings, or at least the hope of happy endings. The stories have a fair amount of darkness but also a rising brightness, a sort of defiant laughter against the lingering feelings of winter. The results are a bit of a mixed bag for me personally, but there's still a lot here to like and certainly a lot of ambition in tackling some big issues and ideas. So get ready for some reviews! 

Art by Sam Schechter

Quick Sips - Shimmer #30 (April Stuff)

It's stories like those that appear in this issue of Shimmer Magazine that remind me why I love the publication. There's such a depth and a darkness, a weight to these tales, that make them linger like bruises. They impact. From the science fictional vision of the first story to the fairy tale stylings of the second, these stories are linked by an atmosphere of oppression and magic, exhaustion and hope. The characters are dealing with situations beyond their control, really, bound by circumstance, and yet both refuse to give up, to give in. Both find ways of fighting on and, in some ways, fighting back. Finding hope and pulling it screaming with them through the world. The stories are haunting and powerful and I should just get to those reviews. 

Art by Sandro Castelli

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online April 2016

The editorial in this month's Flash Fiction Online says that the issue is kind of about celebrations. Holidays. But I think that language might be a stronger element binding the stories together. And, more specifically, language that's not language. A language of taste and a language of song and a language of touch. Ways of communicating that not only step outside the bounds of traditional discourse but need to in order to be expressed, because they point at a central failing of traditional language, that for all that it brings people together it also is a tool of separation, and the stories all seek a more universal form of communication. A way to share meaning that goes beyond what might be found in a dictionary. It's a great common thread and one that will come up in my reviews. So let's get to it! 

Art by Dario Bijelac