Quick Sips - GigaNotoSaurus November 2020

November brings an interesting piece of historical fiction to GigaNotoSaurus. And I say historical fiction but it’s probably in the ways the story diverges from history that it meets its speculative element. Whatever the case, it finds a man sent to judge a situation, and to diffuse it. And those things aren’t always so close together, can’t always go hand in hand. Sometimes to keep the peace, the judgment has to sort of take a back seat, or at least has to fit itself to the moment. To the needs of a moment when there’s a lot more at stake than who might be paying a fine or going to prison. To the review!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #308

Art by Alexander Ostrowski

This issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies is all about stories and gods. About people making sense of the stories that are told about the divine. And finding that those stories, while they might seem simple at first, are definitely not. Because at some point the stories end, and life goes on, and people have to decide how they’re going to shape their lives and their futures. How they’re going to honor their beliefs while leaving room to recognize that the stories about the gods are rarely instruction manuals, and can’t really be applied literally to real-world situations. People have to make their own decisions, using their faith and their wisdom and sometimes their rage and defiance to steer a course through difficult times. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Escape Pod #722-725

It's another full month of original fiction at Escape Pod. And not gonna lie, it's a bit of a strange month of stories as well, with tales of artificial lives and discoveries on distant moons, augmented veterans looking to live in a world of peace and people who've become unstuck in reality. There's a general...trippiness(?) to these stories, to the situations they reveal. People building wings and flying over an alien landscape. People trying to change the laws that govern multiple realities. People fighting back against a violent oppressive state with more violence. People seeking enlightenment through the advancing technology. But there are no shortcuts to be found here. Perhaps that, more than anything, links them all. There's no getting around the difficult truths and choices out there. But there are ways through, for those willing to put in the time and effort. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #251

It’s a rather quick issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, with two stories linked in a way by their length (neither of them over 2500 words, which is unusual for the publication). But it lends both stories a sort of impact, and a feeling of anticipation. In the first, that means having to wait for the results of a very important test. In the second, that means having to wait for the results of a very important confrontation. In both, there are certain indications that might guide readers otwards guessing what happens next, but both times it’s left up in the air what _actually_ transpires after the final stories end. What it is certain is that both look at characters struggling to solve tricky problems, ones where they have been made culpable of a misstep and are desperate to find a way forward. So yeah, to the reviews!

Art by Jereme Peabody

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #228

It’s another expertly paired issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies with two pieces that look at the power of ideas and the immortality of stories. They do so in very different ways, in very different settings, and with very different themes, but at their cores they share a belief that there are ideas and stories that can live on as long as a trace of them remains, and they can be dangerous when unleashed. The first story looks at translation and song and imagination set against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, where stories are identity and identity is threatened by the destructive nature of violence. In the second, the setting is more oppressive and systematically corrupt, and ideas and stories become weapons in a battle for justice. In both, the main characters struggle with their role in stories, either in their preservation and recovery or in their erasure and destruction. And in both the stories are the things that linger long after the death and loss and grief have faded. So yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Jeff Brown

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #222

There’s not exactly the strongest of thematic links that I could tease out with the two stories in the latest Beneath Ceaseless Skies, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t excellent windows into fantastical worlds. The stories look at the weight of place, at long conflicts that seem unwinnable, and in how hope often comes with the newer generations. Both stories do feature people, parents, fighting for a better world for their children and at the same time needing their children to carry on the fight, and to bring the fight to a close. These are stories about sacrifices and bargains and difficult decisions, and the idea that only when everyone is free can anyone be free. So yeah, to the reviews!

Art by Ward Lindhout

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #208

The stories in this issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies carry with them a heavy dose of darkness. From madness on an isolated island to being hunted through the heart of a swamp, they're about pursuit, about pursuing and being pursued. They're also about stories, about narratives, and the power of knowledge and ignorance. Often, those who hold the narratives are those with power, and when the stories become lost, the dangers they were illuminating become active and aloof once more. It's an interesting issue and it's time to review! 

Art by Marek Hlavaty

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 10/26/2015, 11/02/2015, 11/09/2015, and 11/16/2015

Well this was certainly another full few weeks of Strange Horizons, though I suppose that's more my fault for letting four weeks go by without checking in. In that time there have been three short stories, four poems, and three nonfiction pieces (at least, three nonfiction pieces I'm looking at). But Strange Horizons shows just how strong it can be with stories that show loss and hope and rebellion, poems that unsettle and shadow the dark corners of the world, and nonfiction dealing with everyone's favorite topic: sex. It's a full four weeks to get through, but very rewarding and enjoyable, even when it is uncomfortable and challenging. To the reviews!

Art by Stephen Hamilton