Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #74

Art by Stephanie Singleton

Fireside wins the award for having the last story out of the year from all the venues that I cover (at least, I’m pretty sure), with the final one dropping of New Years Eve. And it is another full month from the publication, with five stories and a poem to close out 2019. That said, it’s not quite my final review post covering 2019 material (which will drop on Monday), and so with this penultimate 2019 review post, I look at a wide range of SFF, from an ode to a YouTuber who inspires resistance and survival in a dystopian (or maybe just realistic) future to a ghost story about immigration and the pressures to make money. The works are deep and careful, powerful and resonating, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Anathema #5

Art by Maria Nguyen

Well I wasn’t really planning on reading or reviewing this issue of Anathema Magazine. I’ve known about it for some time and been excited about everything I’ve seen it do, but as my reviewing queue has been full, I’ve been hesitant to start. Well, thanks to a slow December I decided to just fucking do it. I cannot guarantee right now that I’ll be able to continue reading and reviewing the publication, but with a range of stories like this issue I really hope I do. The work here is challenging, often gutting, but shines with a beauty and a power that cannot be denied. These stories are sharp and focused and for me focus on magic and on change. On bodies and transformations. On betrayals and a hope for a better future. So yeah, a bit unexpected, but let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Glittership March 2017

I'm looking at two stories from this month's Glittership. There were three originally on the schedule (I think), but the third story (which doesn't seem out yet) they're running is a reprint of a story that I've already reviewed, R.B. Lemberg's "How to Remember to Forget to Remember the Old War." It is still amazing. If you want to check out my original review, it can be found here. That still leaves an original story and a different reprint to tackle, though, and they are delightful, filled with monsters and villains and humanity, food and taste and hunger. These are stories that offer nicely complex flavors that deepen the more you peel away their layers. They're fun and it's powerful and I should just review them already!