Quick Sips 01/14/2022

After a slow number of weeks, I do pick things up a bit here, upping my total works covered and putting me within striking distance of closing out my 2021 regular reviews. That said, I’ll still be doing review posts through January. Here I managed to make it through December’s special Palestinian issue of Fiyah, plus December’s Clarkesworld, Tor, Anathema, and Fireside. So plenty of ground covered across many genres, with some real gems. Onward!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 10/15/2021

A new week brings me desperately trying to get ahead on reviews ahead of a planned vacation (of sorts). Taking time off has always been somewhat challenging for me not just because I couldn't afford to for a long time, but because short fiction never stops, and taking a whole week off of reviewing can mean the pile of work to catch up on is...intense. Given that I'm already behind on novellas and anthologies, I'm hoping that taking the time won't leave me absolutely buried. But we'll see. What I can say is that I got to a decent amount this week, finishing up September's work with the latest Mermaids Monthly. After that it's solidly October releases, and some large ones. Kaleidotrope had 14 works, and Fusion Fragment had 8. Fiyah had 7. The special Apex had 6. The only smaller release I'm looking at this week is Flash Fiction Online. And even with all that, October looks like it will be a doozy. But I will celebrate the work I did get done, even as I'll need to do at least as well next week to be in good shape for the month. Onward.

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 07/16/2021

So no new publications this week. I swear I’m trying to reign myself in. We’ll see how well it goes. There’s still a lot to get to, and Flash Fiction Online is back on original fiction after taking June to focus on reprints. Uncanny and Apex both have their bimonthly issues, and Fiyah their quarterly (and themed this time!) issue. Which leaves The Dark as the other monthly publication I’m covering. I’m taking a quick break from weekly publications and will likely double up my Strange Horizons coverage next week and catch up on what I might have missed from the Escape Artists podcasts. We’ll see, though. Still a punch of issues to check out, including July’s Baffling Magazine, The Future Fire, and Kaleidotrope, and regular content from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Diabolical Plots, Mermaids Monthly, the Deadlands, and more. Also kinda expecting Translunar Travelers Lounge to drop a new issue. And catching up on Decoded Pride and ahhhhhhhh. Whoops, gotta bottle that back up. Anyway, I am determined! Next week will probably be a big one if life can stop getting in the way!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 04/16/2021

Well I’m now into entirely April publications, and looking a lot of interesting works this week. I think I can start to pin down some trends, though, for the year. And I mean keep in mind that I’m not reading everything, that I’m not seeing all works being put out, but I have been noticing a big return of stories focused on the act of survival and the different ways that people can resist, and the ways that can be effective, and the ways that sometimes there’s no win, no real way to fight back except in personal, often self-destructive acts. And I feel that it’s probably reflecting a lot but especially the pandemic and the lingering effects that authoritarian movements have made a bad situation so much worse globally, where almost every authoritarian/conservative government has fucked up their response and let their people die. And just…the weight of that. Mixed in to how some governments are going further right, using this as a chance to consolidate power, to the further detriment of their people. Though through a speculative lens, I am noticing that there are a lot of really heavy stories dealing with corrupt regimes, the desire to push back, and the enormous toll that takes on a person.

But anyway, that’s just one thing. I’m sure I’ll notice other things as the year moves on even more. For now, I’ll just keep my eyes open.

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 01/15/2021

So here’s how this is going to go. First, I’ll do a little intro. As in, hi all! 2021 is certainly off to…a start. National and international politics aside, though, I’m here to reflect more on short SFF and so I’ve been seeking out whatever I can to read. I have queries in a few places about review copy but haven’t heard back. Otherwise, I’ve been mostly sticking to venues that I have already covered and that I could get my hands on full issues of. This week I’ll briefly touch on 8 publications, which will probably be more than normal but I quasi-skipped this update last week because I was still catching up so much on late 2020 reads.

Now, to be fully transparent, a number of those late reviews I did are also technically 2021 releases (the last Beneath Ceaseless Skies I reviewed and the last three months of Baffling Magazine reviews). And a bunch of stuff that I expect out into 2020 from Fireside I technically already covered because it was released in the Quarterly in 2020. Apologies if that’s all kinds of vague. Anyway, the year is off to…well, a bit of a grim start. Part of that is because of the return of Apex Magazine, which is focused on dark SFF. There’s also a big anniversary Nightmare Issue. But perhaps because of the tenseness of the rest of the world at large, the general fiction even from other publications seems a bit grim as well. So it goes?

Quick Sips - Breathe Fiyah

Art by Eli Minaya

A collaboration between Tor and Fiyah Magazine, this special Breathe Fiyah issue features eight short stories (entirely flash fiction) by Black writers exploring race, oppression, resistance, and revolution through a speculative lens. The stories are largely (though not completely) contemporary, both fantasy and science fiction (with some horror elements thrown in as well at times), and they create a framework, one that ends up resembling perhaps a structure of kindling. Each piece a small addition that, when put together and struck, sets off a blaze. The stories are about resisting, about surviving a world that is actively trying to erase, exploit, and exterminate you. And the works do indeed spark and smolder, ending with a bang that, hopefully, will shake things up, weakening the racist and white supremacist structures that marginalize Black writers. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah #16 [Joy]

Art by Odera Igbokwe

The theme for the latest issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine is Joy. Which, I mean, is needed right about now. The five stories and three poems do not disappoint, weaving together genres and visions that bring the reader to a great many joys. Some tinged with heartache, some won only through bitter pain. But the joys on display are beautiful, transcendent, transforming. They are healing, and they imagine futures where there is hope, where there is relief, where the hardships that seem so insurmountable are memories. And it’s just a wonderful issue that shines with care, compassion, and yes, joy. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #15

Art by Cyan Daly

Fiyah is back with a new issue and four original stories and three new poems! It’s also the third non-themed issue in a row, and gathers up stories that feature science fiction, fantasy, and touches of horror. And there are some things that run throughout the works, most prominent to me the theme of memory. The stories tie into memory and history, showing the weight that the characters carry because of their pasts, because of the systems that have been built over time, that carry with them memories codified into traditions and rituals. Some of the characters are running from those memories, some trying their best to hold onto them. Whatever the case, though, the works explore what it means to remember, what it means to engage with a world that itself can seem alive and not always concerned about the lives of the people living inside it. It’s a wonderful issue, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #14

Art by Dominique Ramsey

I count every month that kicks off with a new issue of Fiyah as one that’s off to a great start. And this latest issue turns things up a bit with four stories and two poems, all of which bring wonderful and often wrenching visions of speculative fiction. There’s no theme to this issues works, but if I had to connect the dots I’d say that each of them revolves around revelations. Seeing something or learning something that completely changes the context of the world. That might be a secret that suddenly makes the world very different. Or it might be a single conversation that shifts a character’s perspective from the verge of committing violence to sacrificing themself to save people. It might be the dissolution of a relationship that leaves a character suddenly adrift and thrashing, trying to stay above water, or it might be the twisting and perversion of a professional relationship into something much more toxic. But all of the pieces find characters who see their lives going in one direction only for them to find a completely different outlook. So yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #13

Art by Steffi Walthall

It’s a new year and a brand new issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine meets the new year with a bang! The issues doesn’t have an official theme, but I find that a lot of the works seem to circle around water. Rain, floods, seas, potions, rivers, tearsÑthe stories feature people with connections to water. Who have been transformed by it, who seek to protect it, and who in turn are protected and embraced by it. Like islands in a wide sea, the stories wait for readers to risk the waves and currents to sail from one to the next, drawn by the resilience, the need reflected in the stories and poem to live your truths, to fight for them, and to revel in the wonder and beauty of them. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #12 (Chains)

Art by Sophia Zarders

There’s a new issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine out now! Rejoice! The issue featuers three short stories, one novelette, and one poem that all revolve around the theme of chains. Chains that bind. Chains that chafe. In most of the pieces the chains are there to be broken, to be shattered. But that’s perhaps a simplistic way of really looking at it. Because not all the chains are broken. Not all are evil. Not all limitations are corrupt. Some are mutually agreed upon. Some chains are used for support, for anchoring, for something constructive instead of oppressive. But it’s the complex and multifaceted nature of chains that become clear in these works, and it’s a stunning issue very much worth considering. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah #11

Art by Seth Brown

Four stories and two poems breath life into a rare unthemed issue of Fiyah Magazine. Despite the lack of theme going in, though, a theme might just develop after the fact. For me, at least, most of the pieces deal with traditions, with storytelling. Most of them are about facing a future, whether it’s a future of conflict or movement or rebirth. And they circle around questions of how to honor the past while pushing for something new. Something better, perhaps. But one that builds on the foundations of the past and present. One that takes strength and resilience and integrity. And it’s another beautiful issue from a publication that’s once again having a magnificent year. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #10: Hair

Art by Olivia Stephens

A new issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine brings out four new stories and three new poems, all exploring the theme of Hair. It’s a complicated theme, one that grows out of the ways that black hair has been politicized and policed. But like all hair it’s also a source of identity, expression, and pride. The works explore how hair brings people together, through magic and through care, through defiance and through rebellion. How people suffer when they are dehumanized by those who want to control their hair, restrict and legislate their hair. The works run from contemporary fantasy to second world heroics, and feature characters very much battling against systems of oppression trying to define what beauty, value, and power should be when it comes to hair. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #9

Art by Dustin Bolton

A new year means a new issue from Fiyah Literary Magazine. Which comes with some news. Namely, that co-executive editor Justina Ireland is stepping down and leaving the publication and DaVaun Sanders is stepping up into that role. The issue also steps back from the tradition of centering around a specific theme, though that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few that sneak in. Namely, a lot of the works look at infection, disease, and affliction. They map the devastation that pandemics create, whether the plagues are medical, magical, or moral. And they find characters who are faced with the sicknesses draining their worlds and have to decide what to do about it. Fight back? Seek a cure? Flee? Or weather the storm as much as possible? It’s an issue full of defiance and strength, though it recognizes that sometimes even that isn’t enough. There’s four short stories, one novelette, and two poems to get to, so let’s dive right into the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #8 [Pilgrimage]

October brings a new issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine, and with it four new stories and two new poems exploring the theme of “Pilgrimage.” For the fiction, the theme tends to move around action and movement, flight and escape. From astronauts fleeing destruction and death to young women navigating a post-apocalypse, the characters find themselves cast adrift, unmoored what they expected their lives to be. What their lives could have been if not for the violence that chases them, the corruption and injustice that hounds them. If not for their own dreams and hopes, reaching toward a future where they can be powerful and free. These stories feature characters dealing with isolation, trying to make connections, even if it’s with themselves. And the poetry takes the theme is a bit of a different direction, showing a pilgrimage not just of moving through space but through narrative itself. The pair of poems explore being cut off not from a place but a literary and narrative tradition that keeps the narrators out or else pushes them to conform to the way things are. It’s a deep and complex issue, so let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Edge

Quick Sips - Fiyah Magazine #7: MUSIC

It’s an especially big issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine this go, with five stories and three poems, and focused on the theme of Music. Now Fiyah has featured a number of stories that have celebrated and complicated music during its run, but here the lights are on and focused on the stage, on performance. Each of the stories deal with people not only embracing music, but having to navigate the different stages they live with. From the literal stages of jazz clubs and private concerts to the much more metaphorical stages of magic prisons, family roles, and dark nights full of terrors—these character know that they have to wear different masks for different occasions, whether it’s to blend in among “polite” society or break free from the restraints of injustice. It’s a vivid and wonderful assortment of stories, leaning heavily toward fantasy this go around, at least where the fiction is concerned, but spanning many styles, genres, and time periods. So let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Mariama Alizor

Quick Sips - Fiyah #6 [Big Mama Earth]

Entering into the meaty part of their second year of publication, Fiyah Magazine focuses on the theme of “Big Mama Nature,” exploring the natural world through the lens of black speculative fiction and poetry. There are four stories and one poem in the issue, and the genres range from eco-horror to science fiction to contemporary fantasy. They look at nature in many of its forms, as victim and as perpetrator of violence—as source of great power and home of great cruelty. In some of the pieces, the world is a living thing with a definite will, and in others it is a cold witness to the troubling events taking place on its skin. These are stories that reveal deep hurts—in people and in the planet—and don’t always offer pathways to healing. Through it all, though, I feel like hope hangs on, battered and bruised at times, but refusing to back down, and finding strength in community, family, and resilience. To the reviews!

Art by Jessica McCottrell

Quick Sips - Fiyah #5 (Ahistorical Blackness)

The first 2018 issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine is themed around "Ahistorical Blackness." In this case, the theme seems to aim the issue toward historical fantasy and more contemporary looks back at history and tradition. Given the history of blackness in America and beyond, it's probably no surprise that the stories all have an edge of violence to them. Whether the actual blood of revolution and rebellion or the legacy of violence in the form of inheritance and family history, the stories don't erase the pain or torture that have been the foundation for a great many nations and powers in the West. Instead, they reveal where this violence has led and where it might have led, challenging the dominant narratives about freedom, democracy, and civilization. These aren't easy reads, by and large, but they provide some excellent visions into what was and what might have been. To the reviews!

Art by Trevor Fraley

Quick Sips - Fiyah #4: Roots

Fiyah has reached a full year of releases with this issue and it’s time to celebrate! In this case, it means getting back to roots, the theme of the issue. It’s a theme very well captured by the stories and poetry, which find characters approaching the past, reaching back into it, finding strength from it, and in some instances having to kill it. The issue opens with the sound of a gun’s report, with a touch of brutality and loss, but slowly brings things out of the shadows and into a place more open and hopeful. These are stories about people coming into their power, and mostly about people overcoming the looming specters and fears plaguing them in order to find a bit of healing and relief. It’s about the power of community and the horror that can happen when that community is lost and isolation reigns. And it’s just an amazing collection of short SFF that you should read and I should get to reviewing!

Art by Geneva Benton

Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #3: Sundown Towns

The third issue of Fiyah Literary Magazine has arrived and the theme this time is Sundown Towns, the practice where black people had to leave certain cities before sundown or face the prospect of arrest or mob justice. It’s a heavy theme and it shows in many of the stories and poems. These are pieces that look very closely at place, at the idea of home, that complicate how people can feel belonging when they are not truly safe, when they are never really in control of their spaces. Many of the stories deal with protagonists working in nearly-hopeless situations—being exploited and legislated against, being constantly in danger from forces mundane and supernatural. But the pieces all show what community and hope can do, how resistance and beauty still flower in the harshest of realities. The stories are at turns tragic and inspiring, and the issue as a whole is another phenomenal experience. So let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Geneva Benton