Quick Sips - Nightmare #98

Art by Alexandra Petruk / Adobe Stock Images

The two original stories in November’s Nightmare Magazine present the horrors of school. Both the horrors of being around other students who might be terrible and abusive, and of being under the power of a teacher or professor who might be preying on students in some chilling ways. In both, the focus is on the ways the the students are made powerless in their situations, subject to the corrupt power of either a popular student or a teacher. For one, the horror stops with the things a teacher can do, the ways they can make their lesson stick in the most disturbing of ways. For the other, the horror doesn’t reach its peak until the student being abused and bullied finds she has nothing left to lose. In both, schools make powerful settings for the horror that unfolds, at least in part because the vast majority of people know exactly how school can be a horrifying place. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #123

Art by grandfailure / Adobe Stock

Lightspeed comes out swinging in August with there short stories and a novelette that, as usual, cover both science fiction and fantasy. More than that, though, the works move from quasi-religious science fiction to far future generation ship dystopian science fiction, from twisted mythic fantasy to historical fantasy that bleeds into horror. Through it all, the thematic link that binds them is storytelling itself, each piece in part looking at the power of narrative to shape perception and reality, to sway hearts and either reinforce corrupt systems, or bring them crashing down, opening the doors for healing and peace. It’s an interesting and varied issue, and I’ll get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #115

Art by Grandfailure / Fotolia

The last Lightspeed Magazine of the year is a rather challenging one for me, full of settings defined by exclusion, oppression, and conflict. These stories are grim, and unsettling, and for me personally mostly upsetting. Not that they don't have hope, or moments of beauty, or skill in wordcraft. But perhaps because I'm in the start of what already is a rather trying winter, I found it hard with some of the pieces to achieve the distance from some of the stories that would have been required to enjoy them more. Still, there are some definite bright spots in the issue, and I'll cover it all in the review.

Quick Sips - PodCastle #600 & #602

November was a month to be thankful for at PodCastle, which saw the release of the 2019 Flash Fiction Contest winners. The four flashes put the total stories out from the venue at five, which makes it the most original releases of the year. And the stories do certainly show what can be done in a very short space, most of them walking the careful line between hope and despair, humor and hurt. The works do a wonderful job of boiling fantasy down into bite-sized pieces, so it's perhaps extra appropriate that they deal with food and magic, stories and fire. Before I spoil your appetite for the amazing fiction, though, let's get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Augur #2.2 [part 2]

I finish up my look at the latest issue of Augur Magazine today, which includes another story, a graphic story, and two more poems. And because of the kind of weird way I organize things, the story (which appears first) was actually the last piece in the issue, while everything else ran in the order it’s listed. And it’s a rather wonderful collection of work, definitely dark and definitely playing with structure and form in some interesting ways. The story and graphic story also evoke fairy tales and resonate quite well together, and throughout there is just this emphasis I feel is put on twisting out of restrictive expectations and roles, and breaking restrictive narrative forms and tropes. These are careful and not always about an unqualified happily ever after, but still feature people freeing themselves from heavy burdens, if only imperfectly. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #105

Art by Grandfailure / Fotolia

The February issue of Lightspeed Magazine runs a little long with two novelettes and two short stories that look at confinement in a lot of different ways. That look at freedom and what happens when people’s freedoms are taken away, by an outside force, by nature, or by fate. Each piece finds people struggling with systems that limit them. That might mean man-made systems of criminal justice, or social convention, or something a bit more divine, like fate or death itself. The stories show how characters either try and fight back against these systems (where they are corrupt) or learn how to accept or embrace them (where they are just). It’s an interesting bunch of stories with a slower, more ponderous feel to the issue, and I’ll get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lackington's #18: Magics

Art by Carol Wellart

Lackington’s gets magical this issue with six new short stories circling the theme of magic. It’s not exactly wizard duels or hidden schools that populate the worlds the stories reveal, though. Rather, the magic is often much thornier, and more subtle. Concentrated into witches, or gods, or lovers trying to make the world a better place. And in good Lackington’s fashion, the pieces all have a rather heady style to them with an emphasis on language. The stories evoke tragedy and romance, comedy and philosophy. It starts off weird and really only gets weirder from there, flowing seamlessly from one experience to the next. Each one might take a little bit of care and deliberation, but these are some fantastic works to wade into, that come alive with resolve and tenacity and, yes, magic. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Apex #91

All of the fiction in this issue of Apex Magazine turns back the clock to reveal historical takes on horror. Most of them are fantasy, as well, and look at the magic that might have existed in the past, the magic that always pales in its darkness next to the actual history of the times visited. What is a monster next to the way that people with mental health issues and developmental disorders were treated in the past? What is the grainy pulp of a noir detective next to the loss of millions of lives? These stories build worlds that might have been but that also reveal very real horrors that were and are visited on people. The horrors of societies that don't value certain people, that allow them to become victims, that even push them along that path. It's an uncomfortable month, and a dark one, which means that the publication is doing something right. To the reviews! 

Art by Billy Nuñez

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 10/03/2016 & 10/10/2016

The Strange Horizons fund drive is nearly over, but that doesn't mean that the fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have slowed down. Indeed, I'm looking at two stories, four poems, and two nonfiction works today. The stories focus on change and history. On progress and what is lost and what is gained in the slow march of years and opinions. The poetry mixes resistance and loss, folktales and tenacity. And the nonfiction looks at gaming and communities. It's a very full two weeks of content and an amazing publication. If you haven't already, maybe considering contributing to the drive. And now, to the reviews!