Quick Sips - Uncanny #37 [November stuff]

Art by Julie Dillon

The November Uncanny Magazine brings three short stories and three poems to make for a full issue full of advanced technology, ancient incest, and some monsters for good measure. The fiction leans heavily into science fiction, providing three tales of super science and the very quiet, mundane, intimate things that go into big, dramatic, shattering breakthroughs in physics and AI. These are wrenching stories of people struggling and sometimes failing to reach for what they know is right, and the aftermaths that come when the decisions have been made and people have to live with what comes next. It’s an emotional and wonderfully imagined set of stories and poems, and I’ll get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #100 [part 1 - science fiction]

Lightspeed Magazine has reached issue #100 and is celebrating with an issue stuffed to the gills with short fiction. And, well, because ten stories (many of them novelettes) would be a bit much to fit in a single review, I’ve decided to split the offerings up into two posts. The first will cover the science fiction (that’s this one) and the second (tomorrow’s) will cover the fantasy. Not that there isn’t a bit of a fantasy touch to some of the science fiction on display, with a few stories playing with history and at least one with a strangeness that could almost be magic. These stories are about how humans interact with the universe, though. How we make stories, how we form communities, how we accept and exclude from those groups. It’s an issue that really does get at some big ideas but never loses sight of the character who anchor the narratives. So yeah, there’s a lot to get to, so let’s tackle these reviews!

Art by Galen Dara

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #143

Three short stories (including one translation) and two novelettes round out Clarkesworld’s August, with a bit more fantasy that I was expecting. Or what would have been more fantasy than I was expecting, except that a number of the stories this month play with that in subtle ways, slowly revealing that what seems like magic is actually something different, something much more technological in nature. Not that the issue is completely sci fi, but I feel like the uniting thread is more that each story plays with expectations in interesting ways, and leading the reader through worlds where they must piece together the rules, only to occasionally find that the final piece of the puzzle is a leap of faith. It makes for an interesting bunch of stories, which I will review...now!

Art by Luis Carlos Barragán

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #140

May finds Clarkesworld back down to four original releases, though the word count still tops out around 40k of new work. Two short stories, a novelette, and a novella make for a weighty issue, which to me swirls around fate, injustice, time, and struggle. In each, characters push against the frustrations of a world that doesn’t really live up to their expectations. They are let down, hurt, perhaps even nearly destroyed, and in the face of that it might be easy to embrace bitterness, despair, and violence. And yet the characters here mostly just want to be happy, to find ways to survive and maybe work to fill the holes inside themselves. It’s a wrenching, often difficult issue, and I’m going to get right to the reviews!

Art by Arthur Haas

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #94

March brings four new stories to Lightspeed Magazine that all seem to be about age, growth, and endings. In each, the characters are dealing with growing up in some ways, whether that means physically coming of age, or growing out of immortality, or running into the end of the universe. There’s a sense of uncertainty in each, too, about what to do next. What happens when the next leg of the journey is unknown, and frightening, and full of potential annihilation? The stories find different answers to that question, different directions for the characters to move. Some are dark and pitch, while others shine with hope. Whatever the flavor, though, it makes for an interesting exploration of transformation and adventure perfect for the dawn of spring. To the reviews!

Art by Reiko Murakami

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #133

The October issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is a wonderful examination of isolation and change. In each of the stories, characters find themselves in situations that they didn’t really expect. Situations that push them away from people, into their own heads, their own regrets, and their own desires. Whether the setting is a world where squids have taken the oceans, or where a group of young people find themselves trapped beneath a sea, or a religious man and his ship of Greeks are stranded on a nomad planet, or a world where nanobots build endless cities of no one to inhabit—these are places defined by boundaries and decline. And the stories focus how, even in these settings, people find ways to connect to one another. Not always in the healthiest of ways, but in order to make sense of their lives and to try and find a way forward. For some, that forward isn’t possible, or is lost, or was a lie all along. They are not overly happy stories, but they possess a power and a beauty and I should really just get to the reviews!

Art by Marianna Stelmach

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #131

It's another full month of stories from Clarkesworld, though only the translation this time is a novelette. The stories are dense, though, and wonderfully strange, revealing the topography of meat, the tapestry of stars, the malleability of human flesh, and the tenacity of scientists working to protect data. There is a theme running through many of the stories of form and perseverance. People stand against the enormity of societal pressures to conform, to accept erasure or corruption or expectation. They follow what they know to be right even as it threatens to tear them apart. It makes for a nicely balance, emotionally impacting issue. To the reviews!

Art by Pascal Blanche

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #127

It’s another month of Clarkesworld Magazine that focuses (at least in the original fiction) entirely on science fiction. But more than that, this issue looks at what makes people human, and what makes people not human, and how all of that ties together into something shocking, beautiful, and complex. The stories focus on different people who either have drifted from humanity or never were human. For some, that not being human is a lack that they feel, and for some it is a source of strength and identity. For all the stories, though, there is a focus on how people can bridge the gap between where they are and humanity, and reach for something like justice, like compassion, like cooperation. These are some great stories, including a surprise novella and another interesting (and really weird) translated piece, so let’s get right to the reviews!

Art by Eddie Mendoza

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #126

It's a pretty standard month from Clarkesworld Magazine for March, with five original stories including a great novelette in translation. Indeed, the four short stories all come in within about 500 words of each other and all of them are science fiction pieces. More connective than length, though, these pieces are concerned with new forms of intelligence and with the end of the world. Or maybe just with the end of certain aspects of it. But at least two of the stories are more specifically apocalyptic, and many besides are about doubt and depression, anxiety and seclusion. These stories show people closing themselves off from the rest of the world—out of fear or hurt—and then having to decide whether to open up again. It's a wonderful issue and it's time to review!

Art by Sergei Sarichev

Quick Sips - Tor dot com August 2016

I want to concentrate on the ways that I like the stories from this month's Tor dot com offerings. There's a lot here, especially for fans of a certain kind of epic fantasy. For my money, though, the stories that shine are the ones that step back and witness the meetings between worlds. The ties that bind people together across species and across space. Stories that imagine humans seeing something completely different from themselves and not recoiling in terror. Or at least not entirely. This is something of a mixed month for me, personally, but I'm sure that there will be lots of people who find something valuable in each of the stories. So yeah, to the reviews! 

Art by Jaime Jones

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #117

Anchored by a novella in translation and populated by powerful stories, the June Clarkesworld takes a look at identity and self, harm and loss. The stories all crowd around moments of otherness and bridging otherness, of hurt and soothing hurt, of alien voices and learning to see the human in them. These stories are difficult and raw and imaginative and I almost can't believe that there's The Thing fanfiction but there is and I'm just going to jump into these reviews! 

Art by Vincent LAÏK

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #115

Well with just four original short stories one could almost think this was a light month for Clarkesworld, but with three of them tipping the scales at over ten thousand words, you'd be a bit premature. These are stories that have some legs and that take their time. Most of them are focused on journeys and distance. Most of them are also focused on people learning to empathize with people on the surface very different from themselves. And finding there a commonality. A bond. The stories show sweeping views of strange lands and sights. Virtual realities and alien worlds and the heart of America and the depths of space. There's a lot to see and as long as you don't mind taking a bit of time to get there, these stories will not disappoint. To the reviews! 

Art by Rudy Faber

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #114

Spring might be in the air, but at Clarkesworld this month things aren't quite jubilantly hopeful. Not that the stories are incredibly gloomy, but there is a certain loneliness to the stories this month. A longing and a loss and an isolation that is cut a bit by family and care, but often the losses in these stories are not ones that are recovered or recovered from. The characters in these stories are all alone and trying to figure out what to do with that, trying to figure out how to go on. Their answers are all different, all interesting, and all worth checking out. To the reviews!
 

Art by Waldemar Kazak

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #112

The first Clarkesworld issue of 2016 certainly doesn't pull it's punches. Weighing in at over 40k of original fiction, it's on the heavy side, both length-wise and message-wise. The stories are dense, rather subtle, and not overly cheery. But inside these entirely science fictional stories are examinations of inequality and value. Questions of what makes life worth living, and what humanity requires. Stories of love and challenge and pushing the boundaries of human experience while still grasping at what makes us human. So yeah, let the reviews begin!

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #108

This issue of Clarkesworld is pretty much all science fiction. Which is not a bad thing, especially with some of the stories this month, but it does strike me a little bit. The theme of the issue can definitely be seen as sorts of post disasters. The disasters take all forms, from a suicide to a global economic shift to a series of wars. There are some striking takes on this idea, and I think all the stories are worth checking out, even if I wasn't a fan of all of them. At the very least it provides a great many futures to see, to confront and struggle with. So to the reviews!

Art by J. Otto Szatmari

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #63

This month Lightspeed Magazine delivers an incredibly solid issue ripe with brilliance and emotion. Leaning a bit more toward the fantasy side of things, even the science fiction seems a bit touched by the fantastic, providing a stirring series of stories that move from nostalgic to biting. Two of the stories touch on the broken promises of the past, the broken ideals that people working hard are rewarded. Instead they look at how working hard is often exploited and even resented, and how to make a difference sometimes you have to break the agreements that have failed, have to forsake the bonds which time has rendered abusive. It's a strong issue, and I should just get to reviewing it.

Art by Reiko Murakami

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #107

Today I'm looking at the latest issue of Clarkesworld, which continues to be one of the most impressive publications month to month, especially with its commitment to translated stories. It also manages to have a fairly nice mix of stories and themes despite the original fiction being entirely science fiction. Due to some time constraints, I'm not reviewing the nonfiction, but still encourage everyone to go read, because it does provide a lot of food for thought. The fiction, though, is a nice mix of science fictional ideas and themes. Exploring virtual war crimes, collaborative AI, the nature of sentience, and the philosophy of security, the stories all show visions of the future through various lenses of intent and critique. All manage, though, to tell moving stories, fun stories, and provide a very nice picture when considered as a whole. So on to the reviews!

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #104

This is rather a loaded issue of Clarkesworld. With five original stories, two of them translations, it's a bit longer than a normal issue. Plus, the stories themselves aren't by and large short (two of them coming in over 7k). But it's also loaded in the sense that it packs quite the emotional kick. Rare is it that I'm confronted with so many touching stories all in the same issue. So a very good month for the publication, plus a piece of nonfiction that takes an interesting look at the craft of creative writing. Enough talk, though—to the reviews!

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #102

This month's Clarkesworld is a slightly bigger affair than normal because of a new translation. I must say that I've been quite pleased with the influx of translated works, and the one here is no exception. Otherwise, it also has the conclusion to the two-part story that began earlier, and it's definitely not one to miss. All in all, it's a quite good issue. So to the reviews!

Art by Peter Mohrbacher

Stories:

"Slowly Builds An Empire" by  Naim Kabir (6551 words)

In a world where everything is connected digitally, telepathically, and empathetically, Shinsuke is stuck in the analog age, unable to connect, isolated and desperate. When he starts to have visions of distant worlds, though, he is put into a group with other people like himself, something that is normally strictly forbidden. He doesn't care about the illegality of it, though, and soon joins one of his compatriots in a camp of even more people like himself, and discovers he's not the only one who sees different worlds. When he is asked to take part in a sort of revolution, then, he thinks nothing of it, glad to be a part of something. But he learns that he was being used, lied to. And he learns that he doesn't have to be a victim, that he can turn the tables, that he can build something. It's an interesting story, with Shinsuke a rather flawed mind, a bit warped by his experiences. I'm not entirely sure about the ending, which seems to imply that Shinsuke has decided to take over, that if he is to be connected he must rule, must reach out toward the planets he has visions of. He becomes a machine of war, quite the turn from what he was. Perhaps the story is making some hints that extreme social isolation leads to being kind of messed up and, like Shinsuke, engaging in some shady business. Maybe it's saying that living in a world without vocal or "in-person" interaction makes a population easily led and controlled. I'm not too sure. It's a neat story, with good action and memorable images, but I'm just not sure what to make of it.

"Cassandra" by Ken Liu (5462 words)

A sort of super villain is created in this story about a woman who discovers she has the ability to see the future. At first she doesn't know what to do with this knowledge. She tries to take it to the only superhero in town, a Superman analogy, but he doesn't believe in preventing crimes, not before they're being committed. But the new "villain" can't live with the visions, with the knowledge that if she does nothing then people will die. So she starts taking steps, preventing the things that she sees, that might happen. And the superhero tries to stop her because he doesn't believe in what she's doing. It's a nice argument piece, one that shows two sides of an argument. Because obviously the "villain" here is trying to save people and does seem to have a power, just like Showboat (the superhero). But he, being powerful, being someone who doesn't believe in punishing certain things, disapproves. It's a hard argument to make, that one should act based on a possible future, but in the end it's true that they're not too different. Both are concerned with punishing the wrongdoer. Neither really try to save the day without violence. Neither consider the problems at the root, though the "villain" seems closer to it. But it does show the hypocrisy of some superheroes, and indeed of the justice system in general, which seems to be what's being poked here. It's a nice story, and great for me because I have a soft spot for superhero/villain tales. Good times.

"The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild" (part 2) by Catherynne M. Valente (9523 words)

And now, the second part! The story continues on with the surreal mix of steam of conscious narration and dream logic. It maintains it's charm, and the strange coherence that it had in the first part keeps right along with Violet traveling toward Red Country. And everything comes together in this story. Traveling through the different lands, questioning everything, talking to the ordinary emperor. Everything is tight and works and yet is sort of wavy, sort of strange. It's a surreal experience, where everything is basically an extended metaphor and literal at the same time. The way love and sorrow change from place to place. The way each country answers Violet by basically telling her to forget her mission. Because it threatens them, because it threatens anyone who thinks it's not worth it to try. The emperor's origin story and his plan. The way that Violet makes it into Red Country. My brain hurts a little from reading this, because it's such a novel experience, and there is a part of me that wants to resist this story, because in some ways it could be too obvious, or too different for different's sake, but it won me over. And then some. Violet's story just seems so real, her hurt and her stubborn and her strange companions and while I might not have completely gotten every aspect of this story I can't help but feel a bit uplifted at the end. It won me over and I found myself smiling, felt a warmth inside that I hadn't expected and it just works and I'm sorry that this is a mess and sort of a review, but it can be both. Hopefully it's allowed.

"All Original Brightness" by Mike Buckley (4479 words)

This one's a military science fiction that focuses on a pair of marines who have been severely damaged by their service. Both now live in tanks, their bodies rather damaged from seeing action. Mitchum is a bit of a loser, kind of hopelessly in love with Gonzo, who's much more cocky, sure of herself. The pair have a friendly relationship and Mitchum doesn't really want to disrupt that only his tank is being taken away. He'll be kept alive, but he'll be unable to do anything else. No communication, no visuals. He thinks to kill himself, but instead something very different happens. It's a sweetly romantic story for being about death and disability and war and a bit about how we treat soldiers like items, like things and not people. A bit how we treat, or how society treats, everyone like that, as walking dollar signs. It's a rather nice story, though, emotionally powerful and with a setting that was stark but not wholly unbelievable. Another solid effort.

"Coming of the Light" by Chen Qiufan, translated by Ken Liu (8399 words)

Mixing technology and religion, this story focuses on Zhou Chongbo as he navigates a crisis involving (perhaps) the destruction of all things. At the very least, he has to deal with the fallout from an idea he has that goes viral and takes on a life of its own. Working in marketing for dot com start-ups, Zhou accidentally comes up with the idea to incorporate some Buddhist teachings into the marketing strategy and inadvertently causes the product he was trying to sell to become mired in problems that prevent it from seeing a wide release. Only later does he discover that his seemingly conscious decision was only part of the universe's own defense mechanism to protect itself. That he was an NPC being brought in to protect the big boss from threat. It's a fascinating idea, using some ideas like karma and fate and things I probably don't understand too well because I'm lacking some knowledge but that seem to imply that Zhou was just sort of letting himself be used, that he wasn't one of the heroes, just an NPC thinking he was making his own choices when really he was adrift. I love the use of video games to explain things, that mix of technology with grander things, with philosophy and religion. I'm really liking these translations that Clarkesworld has been putting out. The difference in perspective is great and there are stylistic choices that just seem to really work. Of course, the story succeeds in kind of making me feel stupid because I'm sure I'm missing things (took me a while to get the binary section numbers...but hey, I felt like I accomplished something when I figured it out), but I like it. It's funny and it's deep and it's definitely worth a read.