The pair of stories that anchor this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies are rather steeped in blood. Both follow the paths of a killer, one a professional assassin, one a trained duelist. Both find themselves drawn into a difficult situation, and both have a lot of dead bodies to create in their quest to get what they want. The stories pair well, though they fall a bit heavily toward the masculine-uberkiller tropes. The stories are more action-oriented, stripping the plots down for easy consumption. So let's get to reviewing!
Oops. Turns out I had expected something to come out on the 28th and no such luck, but it's still a pretty full review for the latest from Strange Horizons. Perhaps because everything looks interesting, one story, one poem, and two pieces of nonfiction. Definitely enough to keep me busy for this review as the end of the year draws near. A very eclectic collection of things, but quite good and quite a lot to think on. So let's get to those reviews!
It is only slightly odd when none of the fiction published at Terraform turn out to be flash fiction. Though the publication normally keeps things pretty short, it is rather notorious at breaking its own rules. Regularly stories stretch long, and here again we have no story under two thousand words and one that nearly makes it to six. Not that I'm really complaining. There's even a graphic story this month, which I think might be a first for the publication. All in all, lots to see and lots to review. So let's go!
So December sees the third and final installment of the Spindle City Mysteries from The Book Smugglers (for now, at least) and manages to bring to a satisfying conclusion a series that I have absolutely loved. With all three-part stories, there is some question as to how things are going to go. Will the story bring the characters through the storm of pain and problems that have been plaguing them throughout, or will there be a more tragic end in store for Jimmy and the gang? With a whole lot of happily ever after baggage to unpack, this series continues to impress, and I will just get to reviewing it already!
Though it comes at a bit of an inconvenient time to review quickly, the new Fantasy Scroll is out and it is a mostly enjoyable experience. As always, there's a nice mix of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. The fantasy here is perhaps a bit revenge-focused, but the science fiction and horror both shine here, and as always there is a great graphic story to get a new chapter of. Overall, it's still a great source of stories, putting out nine original fiction pieces and a graphic serial. To some reviews!
For the December issue of Urban Fantasy Magazine, the theme seems to be moving on. Moving on from abuse and trauma. Moving on from the safe world of childhood magic. The stories take very different tracks, but both features moments of chaotic violence nestled into stories that are slower, that show the unraveling of something that seemed to take up the whole world and are revealed to be only a beginning, a jumping-off point. An opportunity to make a fresh start. So make a fresh start with some reviews!
Well I was reassured by Tor.com that their fiction releases are just on a holiday schedule and not suddenly disappearing. The schedule suits me (as it gives plenty of room for the holidays), though it's a bit sad to have less to read, because the stories this month are fairly strong. We have a new installment of the Mongolian Wizard series, which I hope is on its way to really complicating itself, as well as a few rather short short stories taking on the roll of the Supreme Court and...goblins. All in all, a good month of fiction, and things will probably return more to normal (read: more releases) in the new years. So to the reviews!
Mans, Nightmare Magazine is reminding me why it's consistently one of my favorite reads. Two stories, as always, that explore the darkness that lurks at the edge of our vision, at the periphery of our world. Not necessarily just monsters waiting in the dark but the darkness of human abuse and pain, neglect and dependence. The stories here explore monsters of various sorts, but mostly how evil perpetuates itself, how it abuses and twists the mind of those it touches. These are stories of victims and escape, standing up and giving in. And both are quite good.
The first Beneath Ceaseless Skies of the month features two new stories, both of which focus on women haunted by their paths. In the first, a woman is running from a lost love and a banishment that has left her raw and chasing death. In the second, a woman with a special gift is both trying to escape and desperately trying to hold onto the loss of her family. Both explore what it means to lose, and what is left afterward. Powerful tales of magic and betrayal, they introduce worlds rich with potential. So I should just get some reviewing done!
It's another rather full four weeks of material from Strange Horizons. Two stories, three poems, and three pieces of nonfiction. Now, there would be a fourth poem, but as it is by me I will not be reviewing it. What remains is a pretty great collection of things to read, including some incredibly interesting nonfiction. I know I don't always review nonfiction, but I do think that it's an often-overlooked medium that more people should check out. The fiction and the poetry are great as always, and really show why Strange Horizons is a must read each and every week. To the reviews!
The final Shimmer stories of the year certainly show off a nice depth and a strong darkness. From a story about a girl who can find anything lost to a story about historical erasure and discovery, these stories thrive on balancing moments of subtle art with moments where message takes center stage, unavoidably and unwilling to disappear. Both feature characters striving to regain something. Their place in history, the people they have lost, the things that gave their lives meaning. What results are stories that creepy like frost, sinking into the bones of the reader, slow but with a weight that sits on the chest like a twenty pound cat napping. And now, to the reviews!
It's December and this year it means the results from the Apex Magazine Christmas Invasion microfiction contest. As well as, you know, an issue of fiction that is incredibly dark and rather disturbing. The stories are mostly dealing with the line between the perceived and the real, the line between how people are interpreted and how they interpret themselves. It makes for a very strong issue, one that is quite difficult to read at times. Trigger warnings abound in this issue, so that should tell you something. For me it means that these are stories that might require more than one sitting to take in. But they are very good. Now to the reviews!
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| Art by Irek Konior |
2016 has been the year for Queers Destroying, with Queers Destroy Science Fiction! dropping in June, Queers Destroy Horror! in October, and now December seeing Queers Destroy Fantasy! There are four original stories, and they range widely, from stories about wars in the dining halls to battles between heroes and monsters where love is a weapon. Women swap heads and young men banish ghosts, both for a price. These are stories of longing and love, violence and tenderness. They are not about queerness so much as they let their queerness subvert and, yes, destroy. These are stories that some might say are common enough now, no big deal. But fuck that, really, because what that argument does is erase those who have worked and are working to change things. These stories are still vital because, as seen in the Bowes story, though things have gotten better, they are not equal. So more of these projects, please. More destruction. But first, reviews!
With the end of the year looming, things are getting...weird with the stories coming out, and Lightspeed Magazine keeps that trend going with four original stories steeped in the strange. Mad Hatters stand beside visions of humans among the stars so odd they're barely recognizable, and grief and loss and guilt become a tangible thing following the loss of a parent. From epic revenge tales to the dissolution of relationships, the stories this month are not the cheeriest of adventures, but most offer a bit of hope through it all, and a healthy spoonful of weird. To the reviews!
For it's December issue, Clarkesworld's gift to you and me is a month of great fiction. Four stories anchor the issue, all of them science fictional in nature. This issue manages to mostly stick to hope, most of the stories finding a way forward despite ugliness, despite despair, despite adversity. And all of them tell some fine tales about the edges of space, about the edges of human achievement. About people surviving and thriving in environments that could easily kill them. It's a full issue of fiction, plus an interesting nonfiction piece dealing with a topic I have OPINIONS(!) on, the Classics. So let's get to it!
This is it, folks, the last issue of Crossed Genres. I will admit that I will miss this publication. The theme this issue is pronouns, and the stories do indeed challenge linguistic ideas of pronouns, showing how they are used and how they can be tools to prop up some antiquated (and shitty) systems and ideas. But also about how they can free. These stories are provocative and a fitting way to send Crossed Genres Magazine out in style. Review time!
So Uncanny Magazine is closing out it's first full year of publication, and what a year it has been. It definitely produces a very bright and shiny issue every two months, and free content spread over each and every month, and it's definitely something I look forward to whenever it comes around. This month sees three stories, a single poem, and two pieces of nonfiction out, and while it might not be the most holiday-themed, it does a nice job of giving a wide tour of SFF, from devils to sentient spaceships to vast conspiracies involving dead writers, this issue is bound to have something for everyone. To the reviews!
This month's Flash Fiction Online is all about the holidays. Well, mostly all about the holidays. Three stories anchor the issue, two of them rather explicitly holiday themed and all of them offering a mix of darkness and hope. In each there are hard truths that are cut by slivers of hope. Elves are exploited and risk death to escape their master, the world stands on the brink of a new mass extinction, and two girls are trapped in a Christmas that never ends. But through all that there is some light, the light breaking through the glass, the light of human kindness and human invention. That all is not lost. That this winter might not be our last. A fine issue that I'm going to get to reviewing!
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| Art by Dario Bijelac |
