Quick Sips - Lightspeed #127

Art by Grandeduc / Adobe Stock Image

So this issue of Lightspeed Magazine begins my December coverage here at Quick Sip Reviews. As 2021 is bringing changes to the way I review, this is the final issue of Lightspeed that I will be reviewing with this amount of depth. I will still be reading the issues and engaging with the works, reflecting on them and my readings. But it’s still a somewhat emotional moment for me, after six years of continuous full coverage of the original stories, to reach this moment. Luckily, it’s a powerful issue to close on, looking at the nature of dreams and reality, stories and lies, and the truth in all of the above. The works are interesting and present a range of worlds where people are struggling against violence, corruption, and the threat of being consumed. These aren’t by and large happy stories, but they are provocative and rich in meaning and artistry. So, without further delay, my last (for now at least) full review of an issue of Lightspeed Magazine!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #301

Art by Flavio Bolla

Both stories in the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies deal with siblings, and a cycle of violence. In both, one sibling seems to be the perpetrator of violence, and yet in truth both are arrayed in conflict, both seeking to hurt. It’s a situation that creates a kind of power, a kind of fate that neither sibling seems keen to break. Because for some things the only way out is through, and the only way to be free is to bring everything crashing down into the water. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #119

It's a month of surprises at Clarkesworld this August, as there is an extra original story plus a story in translation from German instead of the usual Chinese translation. So there's definitely a lot to see with four short stories and two longer novelettes. The good news is that it's all weird. Seriously, these are stories that push at the boundaries of the imagination. That conjure up strange worlds and uncertain realities and the vastness and power of both space and violence. Stories that set aliens next to 50's greasers and mix time travel, tragedy, and immigration. And through it all there's a sense of yearning that pervades. For a brighter future, a peaceful cooperation, and the comfort of another presence. To the reviews! 

Art by Jaroslaw Marcinek

Quick Sips - The Dark #12

So things are a bit different in this issue of The Dark, as the publication moves from bi-monthly to monthly content. With the change comes a decrease in original stories per issue but also the addition of reprint content. So really there’s more magazine overall to enjoy and a bit less for me to review per issue, so win-win! And especially so with stories like this, glimpses as darkness and trauma, monstrosity and victimization. These stories grab on and don’t let go, unsettle and disturb in the way only great dark fiction can. From the distant past to present, they look at how sometimes it’s impossible to run from what’s stalking you, especially when it might be in your own mind. To the reviews! 

Art by Vincent Chong

Quick Sips - Shimmer #25 (May Stuff)

So Shimmer has been super kind to provide me a subscription to their lovely publication for review purposes. So I'm sort of debating how I want to deal with that at the moment because I still would rather handle the issue as two review (one for each month). But it's possible that I will come out with reviews before the stories are up for free online. This month just happens to work out really well for that, because this review drops the day the second story is out for free online. Definitely go give both stories a read, as they are moody and dark with the shadows of creatures only partly glimpsed. Oh, and I will probably handle this in a future Thoughts (not this week, but maybe next?) but I am also debating how to handle spoilers in these reviews. Normally I try not to, as here (especially the second story) but I'm not sure if I can quite discuss the story as much as I want without spoiling certain stories. But that will be left for another day. For now, to the stories!

Art by Sandro Castelli