Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 02/22/2016, 02/29/2016, & 03/07/2016

Wow, sometimes I forget just how much content Strange Horizons comes out with in a month. I'm only looking at three weeks, but there are two stories, four poems, and a few nonfiction pieces that are definitely all worth checking out. Both fiction pieces look firmly to the stars to tell their tales while the poetry brings things back home in very powerful ways, and the nonfiction looks at things from a truly global perspective. Lots to enjoy, lots to review!

Quick Sips - Terraform February 2016

Okay yes, wow, I will admit that the February Terraform stories are damn good. These are not always cheery views of the future, but they are complex ones and well constructed ones and, at times, freaky-as-fuck ones that are fascinating and rather startling and intensely satisfying. From stories about privacy to family to wasps out to transform humanity, there's a lot of different takes on what the future might look like. But whatever the vision, the stories are moving, funny at times and heartbreaking at others. So time for some reviews!

Quick Sips - Tor.com February 2016

The stories from Tor.com this month seem to be all about offering some fresh twists on old classics. From a zombie story that's unlike any I've seen before to a steam-powered take on Sherlock Holmes (though not in the way I expected), the stories take some time-honored tropes and proceed to stuff them in a stack and beat them with sticks. What pours out afterward is a slurry of interesting ideas, complex characterizations, and brilliant world-building. Now, time to review!
 

Art by Sung Choi

Quick Sips - Plasma Frequency Q1 2016 (Part 1)

I was rather bummed when Plasma Frequency announced that it would going on indefinite hiatus last year. Especially with how many projects had been shuttering, I feared that it was gone for good. But after a successful Kickstarter campaign the publication is back in a big way. And I do mean big! The first of the quarterly issues has a full thirteen stories in it, seven of which I will be looking at today. From fantasy worlds to distant stars, the stories range pretty far and wide, but there's a nice balance to everything, and I do appreciate Plasma Frequency's commitment to publishing new authors. I'll be back again either late March or sometime in April to close out this first issue, but for now I'm just going to get to the reviews!
 

Art by Tais Teng

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #193

There must have been some memo I missed about making the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies as violent and uncomfortable as possible. Valentine's Day is over, I can tell you that. It's a dark issue, circling around ideas of violence and religion, faith and punishment, sacrifice and salvation. And it is a rather shocking issue that requires quite a few trigger warnings. Otherwise it also features bad-tempered mounts, which really doesn't add much to the stories but is all I can think of to put a brighter spin on this pair of deeply disturbing works. To the reviews!

Art by Leon Tukker

Quick Sips - Orthogonal SF "The War at Home"

A new publications has appeared! Orthogonal SF is a new speculative fiction venue (despite the name, these are not all science fiction, which I like FWIW) formed a bit out of spite. And anger. And that does come through a bit in this first issue, which is fairly dark but also nicely balanced. The stories are moving and do have a strong vein of anger to them, as well as the claustrophobic feel of being trapped and trying to get out, with a bit about anonymity and archetypes thrown in for good measure. It's an interesting mix of stories, and I'm just going to get to the reviews, shall I?
 

Quick Sips - Fantasy Scroll #11

The February issue of Fantasy Scroll is out and it's a bit of a departure from what I'm used to from the publication. Not in a bad way, as this issue certainly brings the weird and revels in some strange visions of speculative fiction, from dragon bodies turned into houses to lost children living in a state of suspended bliss, the stories are often uncomfortable in a very effective way. The issue takes a lot of chances and, I think, they mostly pay off. There's a lot of stories full of the Valentine's spirit (and many more with a twist on the romantic impulse) as well as more than a few that feature some sort of revenge. All in all it's an eclectic issue that's unified by a feeling of unease and some fantastic stories. To the reviews!
 

Art by Jeremy Vickery

Quick Sips - Nightmare #41

The latest issue of Nightmare Magazine is out and features a nice pair of stories that focus on family and fear. Isolation and oppression. Both that which arrives from a place, from a situation, to that which arrives from something a bit closer to home. Both stories feature characters that are tired, that have been fighting for a long time. Against expectations and against difference and again a lack of options. The stories go to some pretty dark places, but the name of the publication is Nightmare, after all, so it rather fits. Time to review!

Art by Steven Stahlberg

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 02/01/2016, 02/08/2016, & 02/15/2016

February is here and at Strange Horizons that means an excellent mix of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Unfortunately I'm a bit short of time so I'm not reviewing the very good but very long nonfiction up this week, but I do want to point people in it's direction. Fascinating! Anyway, the fiction this month is urban fantasy flavored and the poetry ranges from mythic to fairy tales to lake monsters, and the nonfiction takes an interesting look at the changing face of science fiction. Lots to read, lots to like, lots to review!
 

Art by Rhiannon Rasmussen-Silverstein

Quick Sips - Apex #81

After an absolutely packed January issue, Apex Magazine is back down to its normal output. Three original stories this month and four poems. I debated reviewing the reprint (which I do recommend people go out and read) but as it's quite long and I'm a bit crunched for time (sorry!), I'm just looking at the original work this month, which is still amazingly good. The fiction hits just the right balance of dark and all hell and yet compelling and entertaining and fun, and the poetry mixes subversive elements with plain ol' weird. Everything works and captures the darkness that Apex is known for, while not really getting bogged down in grit or grim. Anyway, to the reviews!

Art by David Demaret

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #69

The February Lightspeed Magazine is here and it's quite an impressive array of stories. Four tales, as usual, two science fiction and two fantasy. The science fiction takes a look at visions of the possible future. Dystopic, some might say, but more about finding humanity in isolation. More and more people are little islands, and the science fiction explores that, in some literal and metaphoric ways. The fantasy is all magic realism this month, a pair of quasi-portal fantasies that touch on the need and the want to get away, to escape. Plus I get to rant a bit more on my ongoing thoughts concerning "Millennial fiction." So to the reviews!
 

Art by Elizabeth Leggett

Quick Sips - Shimmer #29 (February Stuff)

February might be considered the month of love by many people (and spec publications), but Shimmer is taking a rather...interesting approach to the idea with two stories about relationships that, well, aren't exactly romantic. From the complex web of love and hate and missed connections that fill an old apartment building to a relationship dashed by infidelity and lies, the stories look at the ways love can fall apart and the ways that love and longing can be twisted to hate. And, just maybe, how that hate can be harmonized back into something redemptive. So yeah, time to review!

Art by Sandro Castelli

Quick Sips - Uncanny #8 (February Stuff)

Well Uncanny Magazine is certain keeping its February interesting, and vaguely relationship-heavy with three very different short stories and two poem. Unfortunately I'm pressed for time so not looking at the nonfiction but I certainly encourage people not to overlook it. But the three fiction pieces showcase relationships and loves ranging from oppressive and doomed to hot and conflicting to distant and freeing. These are stories that look at relationships from many angles, not necessarily leaving us with a happy ending every time, indeed arguing that sometimes a happy ending isn't exactly possible. But it's a good issue with some solid work! To the reviews!

Art by Priscilla H. Kim

Quick Sips - GigaNotoSaurus February 2016

My second month of reading GigaNotoSaurus keeps things Earth-bound but, a bit like last month's piece, an Earth that is much different from the one we live in. Where steam technology is ascendant and humans are not necessarily alone as the most advanced beings on the planet. The story is compelling and fun and definitely makes me glad that I've started reading and reviewing the publication, which continues to be exceptional!
 

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #113

I think it might be stretching things a bit to say that the February Clarkesworld is Valentine's Day themed. However, there are a number of stories that do a fine job of being romantic at the same time they are action-packed and morally dense. Most of the stories here lean science fictional, but there is fantasy as well, and a 15k genre-bending story that makes the issue a rather heavy one. No new translations this month, but a fine mix of stories that challenge and provoke. About AI and about  dragons and about the humanity of everything. So let's get to those reviews!

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online February 2016

February at Flash Fiction Online means a focus on love. And loss. And redemption. All three stories are somewhat bittersweet, about knowing the value of something after it is gone. In some, it's not too late to do something, to fight against the tides of loss and darkness and doubt. But there is a sense of choice that runs strong and true throughout the stories, a great message for a holiday that can sometimes tout the often fraught concept of "true love." Here the love is true where it is given freely and without coercion, or it is lost because it is taken from granted. A fine way to get into the spirit of the month. Now to the reviews! 
 

Art by Dario Bijelac