Quick Sips - Uncanny #36 [October stuff]

Art by Christopher Jones

October doesn’t really bring a great deal of spooky material to Uncanny Magazine, but it does bring some stories that are very aware of isolation, of oppression, and of transformation. Of characters caught under the weight of their trauma, their wounds, their fears and hurts. Seeking ways to escape, to slip free, to get out from under the crush of historical abuses and more contemporary and intimate ones. Finding the power of moving in unexpected ways, of reaching for affirmation and comfort in the midst of conflict, war, and strife. It’s a difficult month of fiction and poetry, but it’s also a lovely selection of works that flow wonderfully together. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction June 2020

From mothers to children, this issue of Flash Fiction Online shifts the spotlight to young people. Young people who are dealing with Some Shit. From parental strife to a sibling with a terminal illness to having to take care of a parent, the stories here all focus on children who have had a lot put on their plate, and who are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Who indeed are coping like champs, though that takes a lot of forms. And who, even when things are hard, still manage to reach out a bit with kindness. Mostly, at least. It’s a great collection of stories around a pretty solid theme, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Shimmer #42 [April stuff]

April brings an amazing one-two punch to Shimmer Magazine, with a pair of stories that at turns devastate and heal. The month begins with a heavy darkness and a sound like angels crying. It focuses on loss and love and injustice and the weight of all those on a child, on a young adult. But just as all hope seems crushed and the tears are flowing, the issue offers a reprieve, a fun little story about the avoiding injustice, about defying expectations, and about finding something truly wonderful. These are two very different pieces but they go together so well. So well. So yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Sandro Castelli

Quick Sips - The Dark #28

The September issue of The Dark Magazine brings with it two original stories that examine what it means to believe in a system that rules the universe. Whether it’s based on logic and science or magic and religion, these systems guide the way people view the world. And they also give shape to the ways that people are hurt by it. For some, it means living with the knowledge that every reality is a sort of cage, every action just a forking in a path that might lead nowhere. And for others it means being a part of a metaphor that strips them of every comfort, that isolates and sacrifices them. In both stories the characters must decide whether to accept these rules, these beliefs, or to try and stand against them and the weight of their implications. To the reviews!

Art by breakermaximus

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 08/21/2017 & 08/28/2017

Well, we’ve made it to the Strange Horizons annual fund drive! If you haven’t chipped, I strongly encourage you to. Strange Horizons is a non-profit publication and it does some very incredibly work, lifting up voices in SFF while keeping an eye out for awesome poetry and providing a nice assortment of nonfiction. Strange Horizons is one of my very favorite publications, and today I’m looking at a short story and a whole lot of poetry. Because of the nature of the fund drive, bonus content is being released on a rolling basis as they reach funding goals, so I will try to keep up with what’s been released there as well, but please forgive me if I miss a little bit. Anyway, there’s quite a bit of awesome to look at, so I’ll just jump right into those reviews!

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online June 2017

The three stories of Flash Fiction Online’s June issue present visions very close to the reality of our world. With women made of water and dragons that feed on guilt, perhaps, but still very wrapped up in the here and now, in the minds and traumas of people just trying to get by, trying to deal with what the world throws at them. These are pieces that show the value of community, of touch, of the possibility of healing. These are stories that center loss and violence but still, by and large, leave room for hope. And before I spoil them all too much, let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Dario Bijelac

Quick Sips - Shimmer #33 (September Stuff)

The two stories in this month's Shimmer content explore the boundaries between ideas that seem distinct but, upon closer examination, become a bit fuzzy. The space between human and plant, waking and dreaming, shadow and body, male and female. The stories dive into the ways that categories sometimes fail, that treating things with scientific distance sometimes means losing the real point. They are moving and complex stories of magic budding into our world and so I'm going to jump right into reviewing them! 

Art by Sandro Castelli

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online July 2016

Dishing up a rather dark and disturbing and beautiful trio of stories about parents and children, the July issue of Flash Fiction Online is probably the most intense I've seen from the publication. Trigger Warnings abound [mostly loss of a child, so be warned]. These are stories that dare the reader to watch, to experience, to feel what it is to suffer and to lose and to grieve. These stories hit and they don't stop hitting, their power coming from the well of sadness and tragedy that human life can be. A reminder that there are things that so alter the world that there is no real going back. No erasing certain pains or wounds. So before I lose my nerve, it's time to review! 

Art by Dario Bijelac

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 06/06/2016, 06/13/2016, & 06/20/2016

Today I'm looking at three weeks of content from Strange Horizons, and there is certainly a lot to see. Three original stories, three poems, and two nonfiction pieces anchor what has been a very strong, and very wide-ranging array of pieces. The fiction, though, is pretty heavily contemporary fantasy, stories that mix magic with very different life experiences. Characters of different classes, races, genders, and sexualities all confront magic in their own ways, from ghosts to art to traditions. The poems take readers to far off worlds and plunge into the heart of myths. And the nonfiction looks at history and awards and place. There's a lot to enjoy, so I'm just going to get to the reviews! 

Art by Sandro Castelli