Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 07/29/2019

Well it turns out that Strange Horizons wasn't quite done with July despite already putting out five issues. This latest one contains what the publication is calling three poems, though the later two are graphic as well as text. Mixing art and poetry is always an interesting experience, and the two works on display (by the same author with different artists) do a fine job of showing how the two mediums can synergize, building off each other to be more than either of them would have been separate. It's a great way to close out the month and celebrate what Strange Horizons has managed to do with its Fund Drive, and what it always does with its mix of strange, speculative art. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Diabolical Plots #47

Art by Joey Jordan

It’s my pleasure to announce that starting today I’m adding a new publication to my reviewing list—Diabolical Plots! The venues tends to come out with two original stories a month, but kicks off 2019 with three short stories that present a mix of styles and structures. Indeed, the stories are linked perhaps by the novel ways they approach storytelling, with each taking a style that isn’t precisely new (a travelogue utopia/dystopia, a portrait of the mundane, and a list of words and definitions) but doing something different and delightful with them. There’s also a decent amount of darkness to even the brighter of these stories, and a humor to even the darkest of them. And they certainly don’t take the road most taken to reach their literary destinations. To yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 05/15/2017, 05/22/2017, & 05/29/2017

I'm taking things a bit easy with regards to the last three weeks of content from Strange Horizons. Meaning, I'm not looking at either of the reprints that appeared this week or the nonfiction that came out last week. I still very much to recommend you check them out, though. What remains is a single piece of original fiction and three different amazing poems. The works draw the reader into space, into the inky dark, and reveal glimpses of other worlds and possible fates for humanity. They revel in moments of crisis, in the quiet of important choices and the distance of dreams. Not all the works take the action far away from Earth, but there is a great mix of themes and experiences, flavors and styles. These are works to enjoy in the morning with coffee, surrounded by people but still, somehow, alone. So time to review!