Quick Sips - Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World that Wouldn't Die (Neon Hemlock) [part 2]

Art by Grace Fong

It’s time for part two of my review of the Glitter + Ashes anthology, published by Neon Hemlock and edited by dave ring, with a look at another seven stories. The pieces range a bit longer in the meaty center of the book, and there are less very short works to break things up. That said, the anthology is really punching above its weight with every piece, with beautifully rendered and stunningly complex takes on queer life and love after and in the face of the end of the world. And the stories show that what people cling to when the world is falling apart says a lot. The stories find characters who have the option of acting selfishly, of saving only themselves, and who choose instead to help others, to try and retain art, and expression, and of course love. It’s a wonderful collection of pieces, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #80

Art by Shaina Lu

The latest issue of Fireside Magazine is all out now, featuring five new short stories and once again harmonizing the ebook releases of the issues with the content put out for free on the website (yay!). The works range in genre, but are linked by a kind of mood that marries some more whimsical or perceived innocent things, and complicating them and giving them an added weight. The love for a pet, a family business through the eyes of a child, a date to a new restaurant, a virtual environment with a mind of its own, and even instructions for building a fantasy creature—on their surface, the stories seem to promise a lot of fun. And it’s not that they aren’t fun, but these aren’t exactly beach reads, taking those premises and crafting some wrenching and challenging experiences that interrogate safety, magic, and family. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Escape Pod #696-697

Escape Pod has two original stories this month, and while they cover some very different ground both thematically and stylistically, they are united by perhaps a certain preoccupation with...death. Both stories approach the idea of death in very different ways, though, one of them looking at the lengths people will go to in order to try and revoke death, to overcome it, to erase the grief of loss and maybe pull something back from the abyss, while the other looks at the utility of death, the culture significance and the power of death as a driving force of human art and expression. The episodes are tightly written and at turns tragic and fun. So without further delay, to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #280

Art by Victoriya "Anda" Shamykina

The latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies features two stories (one novelette and one short story) that feature cities where unrest and conflict are starting to boil. In one, the greed and corruption of the elite have created a situation where the slightest spark might ignite a bloody revolution. While in the other, a city is built on the labor of a conquered people, only for a new status quo to arrive with a shattering impact. Both show characters having to decide how to use power in complex situations where people will die either way. And having to walk the line between doing what’s right and what’s easy. It’s a complex issue that I’ll get right to reviewing!

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #144

Clarkesworld keeps things a little light this month, maybe as a slight reprieve as convention season winds down, with two short stories and two novelettes. For me, the stories have a lot to with movement, with generations, and with harm. They find characters on the run because of the violence they were brought up to value, and having to decide to reject it or revel in its flavors. The pieces explore family and connections and hope, and the impulse to reach for the stars, be they celestial bodies or human celebrities. It’s a rather complex, moving, and sometimes hilarious issue, and I’ll get right to the reviews!

Art by Arthur Haas