Quick Sips - Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World that Wouldn't Die (Neon Hemlock) [part3]

Art by Grace Fong

I’m back for part three of my review of Glitter + Ashes, a so-far wonderful anthology of queer post-apocalyptic short SFF from Neon Hemlock, edited by dave ring. The first two parts (representing just over half of the works) have managed to keep spirits fairly high despite the theme of the post-apocalypse. With this section, though, things get a bit more dire. And the stories dip a bit more heavily into the violent and tragic elements that so often go along with the sub-genre. Not that the works ever forget hope, though. After all, these are stories of a world that wouldn’t die, and that refusal to give in still shines despite the muck and blood and smog. Let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Uncanny #35 [August stuff]

Art by Kirbi Fagan

It’s a fairly big month from Uncanny Magazine in terms of words, with two short stories and one novelette that’s almost a novella. Plus two poems! The works trace ideas of various courts--pre-Revolutionary France, the courts of angels, and the courts of seasons and their rulers. Amidst these structures, characters deal with the rules, the personalities, and the dangers of those spaces. There’s a sense of wealth, of power...and of loss, as the characters also must face those courts crumbling or breaking in some ways. And it’s a wonderful bunch of works that I’ll get right to reviewing!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #122

Art by Galen Dara

I’m starting my July reviews with a look at the latest Lightspeed Magazine, which lands with four short stories (the lack of novelettes is cut by the fact that three of the four stories are over 6000 words, though, so there’s still a lot of original fiction). The works themselves show a wide range of speculative visions, from a very interesting kind of alien visitation to new takes on Baba Yaga and the Peter Pan story. The works recontextualize all these things through the lens of now, reshaping science fiction and fantasy alike by challenging the tropes and traditions of the genres. The result is often delightful, occasionally devastating, and very much worth checking out. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lackington's #21 [Cocktails]

Art by P. Emerson Williams

There’s a new issue of Lackington’s out and the theme is just my thing--cocktails! There are seven stories that explore the different ways people can mix drinks and mix drugs and mix all kinds of things, up to and including people. The stories are strange and moving, complicated and a wee bit haunting (and okay, sometimes more than a wee bit), so it’s an issue well in keeping with the reputation Lackington’s has earned for itself over the years. These are pieces that delight and confound, that beckon and tease, and that ultimately deliver sever different great takes on the themes. There’s a nice mix of genres, from fantasy to science fiction to horror, and lots of worlds to see and tastes to enjoy. To sit back and let this issue mix you up something memorable. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Mithila Review #13 [part 3]

Art by John Glover

I’m back to finish off my look at the latest issue of Mithila Review. And the works are a mix of strange and devastating, haunting and interesting. The works look at damage, and the need for people to take control of their lives, their stories. The need for people to craft their own present, their own future. whether that means embracing the past or, more likely, rejecting it in order to do something fully new. There are two stories and three poems, and I definitely suggest people check out the reprint as well (which I have already reviewed on this blog), plus all the nonfiction. It’s a wonderful issue, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Diabolical Plots #59

Art by Joey Jordan

2020 starts with an extra story at Diabolical Plots, bringing the month's total to three and ranging from horror (where childhood fear and trauma get a twist) to portal fantasy (but not how you might expect) to a contemporary piece, well, featuring a talking gorilla Wall Street tycoon. So it's an eclectic mix, not only in subject but in mood and impact. But the stories are all powerful, all challenging, and all reviewed by me! Right now!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 12/02/2019 & 12/09/2019

Art by Arturo Lauria

Two issues of Strange Horizons bring two short stories and two poems to kick off December's content. Tonally, the issues cover a lot of ground, from a slow, wrenching examination of oppression and expression, family and safety, to a more action-oriented adventure in deep space featuring twisted gods. The poetry adds to the diversity of the works and the moods, painting pictures both creepy and resilient. All in all, it's a wonderful look at just how different short SFF can be, building fascinating new worlds peppered with classic touches. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Nightmare #79

Art by Chainat / Fotolio

It’s springtime in horrorland with two new stories from Nightmare Magazine that examine tropes and truisms. The stories revolve around ideas, the first around the genre of gothic horror, celebrating it without defending the parts of its history that have been riddled with Issues. Meanwhile the second looks at a saying about hearts and wolves, making literal something that might have otherwise been purely figurative. And in both stories the focus is on escaping the gravity of oppressive and prejudiced violence. It finds characters seeking to pull free from the expectation or requirement that they suffer, that they die, that they become consumed to support the dominant narratives. Subversion rules the day in these stories, which I will get right on reviewing!

Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #59

The four stories from Fireside Magazine this month deal with violation and consent, with connections and deceit and fate. There’s a good mix of fun and serious, fantasy and science fiction. There are alien sharks and magic curses, spirits trying to reach out and friends trying to keep each other safe. It’s hard to pin down a possible unifying theme, but I think they all come together in how they reveal the societal pressures at work that try and leave people open to harm. That try to keep people from banding together, from helping each other. And how individuals can push back against that, though often don’t, or often still fall against the pressure to conform, to accept the values and taboos and corruptions of the way things are. So let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Michelle Wong

Quick Sips - Uncanny #23 [August stuff[

The second half of the special Dinosaur issue of Uncanny Magazine brings even MOAR dinosaurs, with five new stories and three new poems. Two of the poems aren’t really dinosaur-centric, but the issue as a whole offers up a great diversity in styles and ways of incorporating the source material and expanding the shared space of the issue. Here we are treated to more stories of dinosaurs displaced in time, landing on the Oregon Trail, or in a strange fairy tale, or in the middle of a small town. There’s not quite the same focus on communication and understanding as before, though. Instead, these pieces look a bit more at violence, and hunger, and corruption. They don’t flinch away from showing some dinosaurs getting their feed on, as well as getting their freak on. It’s a strange, rather wonderful collection of short SFF, so let’s get to the reviews!

Art by Galen Dara

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #91

December finds Lightspeed Magazine wondering about what ifs. Because the four original stories all seem to circle around the idea of what if? The characters feel the pull to embrace something that is in some ways against the very core of their beings. A cyborg chef, a religious woman tempted with a dark cure, a young woman trying to break her (literal) programming, and a person faced with doors into other words. For some, they can embrace this pull, can travel boldly into other worlds or find the obsessive joys of cooking meat. For others, they define themselves by how they resist, how they refuse to take the easy road, even if I seems the entire reason they exist. For all of them, though, the stories unfold as they confront their roles and seek to find ways to retain who they are in the face of a world, or worlds, that want to change them. Some are more successful than others, but all make for great reading. To the reviews!

Art by Christopher Park

Quick Sips - Fireside Fiction July 2017

The July stories from Fireside Fiction keep things rather short and sharp, with three flash pieces and a short story. The fiction is moving and rather violent, showing characters faced with difficult or even impossible situations—the betrayal of a sibling, the dangers of unknown worlds, the end of human life on Earth. The stories all take a rather measured look at people who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and asking if they really have to. In some of the stories, the answer is a resounding yes, reported with a gun's firing. In some, the answer is no, as people can decide to step back from the brink, to change their role from active to support. And in some, the answer is more nebulous, less certain. But in all of them the characters must look within and ask how far they will go for their cause. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that the new BlackSpecFic report is up for 2016 and the numbers are…less than ideal. In any event, very much go read the report by Cecily Kane and then all the commentary by a slew of contributors. Do it!!!

Art by Galen Dara

Quick Sips - Mithila Review #7

After a bit of a break, Mithila Review is back! There's four short stories, one very long novelette, and a novel excerpt as far as fiction goes, and because of time constraints I'm only going to be looking at the short stories. There's five pieces of poetry that I'm checking out, too, and there's a literal ton of nonfiction to enjoy, but I'll leave you to browse that on your own. Needless to say the issue is packed with amazing works. The fiction takes things from magic schools to deserts in Arizona and Mars. There's action aplenty with Luchador battles and desperate violence. There's also a nice amount of humor, with biting satire and laugh-out-loud characters. There's also heart, and family, and a rich tapestry of emotions. The poetry weaves together nicely, looking at nature and stories and hope, and the entire issue is another strong example of why you should be reading Mithila Review. Review time! 

Art by Archan Nair

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 12/19/2016

Well, I really thought that there was going to be an issue of Strange Horizons this week, but it makes sense what with the holiday weekends to take the time off. It means, however, that I'm only looking at one story, one poem, and one nonfiction work to close out Strange Horizons' 2016 content. Luckily these are some very provocative and innovative pieces that speak to how stories are told, whether directly (in the case of the nonfiction), by showing the possibilities of storytelling (as the poem does), or by challenging conventional storytelling techniques (like the fiction). All told, these are SFF works that really push the boundaries of storytelling, crafting tales that shift as you move them in the light, each new angle a new layer to be explored, a new world to be discovered. Strange Horizons always does a great job of making me think, and these pieces certainly keep that tradition going strong. To the reviews! 

 

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #72

So the May issue of Lightspeed Magazine is out and, well, rather dense. Four stories, as usual, but all of them over 5k this month means you get a little more bang for your buck than normal, perhaps to get people ready for the looming special issues that will start coming out soon. For now, though, the fiction shows a nice mix of stories that move, that bring moments of action and moments of tenderness and moments of violence that shock and sink. There is a meeting in most of these stories. Between ideologies and between people, where people get the chance to learn from each other, to reach out across a divide of distance and loss and make connections they weren't expecting to. And I should really get to those reviews!

Art by Goñi Montes

Quick Sips - Unlikely Story's CLOWNS: The Unlikely Coulrophobia Remix

So, full disclosure, I'm in this special print anthology of Unlikely Story's Clowns: The Unlikely Coulrophobia Remix. As such, I will not be reviewing my story, "Pushpin and Pullpin." As Unlikely Story is on my list of regularly reviewed publications, though, I will be looking at the rest of the original short stories. I've already read the five that originally appeared for free online in the Journal of Unlikely Coulrophobia, and those can be found here. There's tons of original flash in this print anthology, though, and I'm in superb company in the ToC. There are clowns for every preference, of every taste and shape (though I do not recommend tasting the clowns). And the anthology as a whole plots a rather deep descent into the dark possibilities of clowning. It's difficult in ways that one might not expect from a clown flash fiction anthology, but it is incredibly good. So without further ado, to some reviews! 

Art by Linda Saboe

Quick Sips - Uncanny #7 (November Stuff)

November continues right along with a pair each of stories, poems, and nonfiction pieces from Uncanny Magazine. The Fiction is a bit on the long side but quite good, exploring faith and age and balancing self-care with doing the right thing. The poetry is dark and tinged with fairy tale, with a feeling of decay and loss and devastation. And the nonfiction shows off a nice range with one article on cover art in SFF (and seriously, Julie Dillon is everywhere this month, which is great!) and one critical essay on some sad Whelkfins. All in all, a fine month. To the reviews!

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Lackington's #7 - Skins

Seven stories make the latest issue of Lackington's a rather weighty experience, especially with how each challenges and provokes, providing visions tinged with equal parts darkness and hope. Which, of course, means that I quite enjoyed myself while reading, exploring some of the depths the stories had to offer. The theme this issue was Skins, and I think most of the stories do make good use of the idea, the theme. Many feature changing skins, changing form, and it's a powerful metaphor and image. So let's get to the reviews!

Art by Kat Weaver

Quick Sips - Apex #73

So another issue of Apex Magazine is up and once again the stories are dark and the poetry shines. I actually found this issue a bit funnier than the average issue, not without exception, but the poetry had me kind of nodding along, walking the edge between humor and disturbing. Which is just how I like it. The fiction moves about a bit, all of the stories this issue more science fictional than not. Not real fantasy pieces, which perhaps explains why I felt a little unbalanced reading through it all. But still, a solid issue. Onto the reviews!

Art by Tori K. Roman

Quick Sips - Uncanny #2 (January Stuff)

For Uncanny #2 I'm going to be breaking things up into the January and February stuff because I want to review after things are up for free to the public. This isn't to discourage people from buying the issue. Really, if you can afford it, buy the whole issue. It's well worth it. If you can't, tell everyone  you can that the issue is great! Or, you know, just read it and like it and that's good too. Also, more good non-fiction means no rest for me. Really, non-fiction has been on a roll recently. 

Art by Julie Dillon

Stories:

"Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu (15805 words)

A long translation but a very interesting one that delves into ideas of class division, employment, economics, and desperation. The main character of the story, Lao Dao, needs money to send his daughter to a decent kindergarden and so takes on a rather dangerous mission to earn it. He braves sneaking into the riches of the three Spaces of his folding, mechanical city in order to deliver a message. Along the way he encounters a whole different world and set of issues. He discovers that the arrangement of the city, and the situation with poor and rich, is somewhat manufactured. It's fascinating stuff, and Lao Dao is not a very typical main character. Older and more run down, he concentrates on his daughter, on his need to do right by her, as he faces obstacle after obstacle. The visuals of the story, the folding city itself, are awesome, and the suspense was good, the sort of hopelessness that Lao Dao has to fight against. He never gives up, and in the end the story felt rather uplifting, rather hopeful rather than wallowing in the depressing truths that he learns on his journey. Complex and hefty, the story moves nicely to the very end, leaving me about as tired as Lao Dao after finishing it.

"The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History" by Sam J. Miller (5581 words)

Man, this story makes me feel both like a part of something and also completely alone. It's a good story, one that puts a supernatural twist on the Stonewall Riots, an important event in the gay rights movement. It's a great story, conjuring up the fire of oppression, the anger and the violence that bubbled over. It brings together a great variety of voices, captures a moment in time, in frustration, very well. And it makes me a bit ashamed that I don't know more about gay rights, about the history of it. Like I'm on a little island that is fairly safe from harm but that is also so isolated from a culture and a place where I would actually feel welcomed and like I belong and this is becoming something not at all about this story. Back on track. The story is great, with all sorts of feels, and examines not only the people in the incident but the journalist who is collecting these voices, and her struggle to make up for what she had done. An amazing story.

Poetry:

"After the Moon Princess Leaves" by Isabel Yap

A poem conjuring up old myths and legends, this one is a blocky sort of poem, with longer, more prosaic lines. In that it's a bit easier to get more literal meaning about what going on. The form fits with the meaning in that the sentences (if they can be called that) are typically broken in the middle, leaving a disjointed feeling that mirrors the sadness and loss that the couple feels. The lines are elegant and tell the story nicely, but are also enough to leave the emptiness mentioned at the beginning of the poem. Who is missing? The princess herself, missing even in the memory as she is an absence in the poem, a question of what happened and why. Only at the ending is there a small shift, a small hope, and even that is tinged with grief.

"After the Dance" by Mari Ness

A haunting poem, short lines and deep implications. Steeped a bit in fairy tales, the poem hints with dark implications about what happens after the story closes, or perhaps offers a different glimpse into what might have been. I like poems that play with the ideas of fairy tales, that twist them, because that seems to be what they were intended to do in the first place, before their Disney adaptations made them tools to spoon-feed people gender roles and terrible expectations. So this poem has some power, though holds itself back, concentrating on the silence. The short lines imply longer meanings, more that is left purposefully out because of the silence. It's a neat tool and works well here.

Non-fiction:

"Age of the Geek, Baby" by Michi Trota

Why must there be so many good non-fiction pieces? Makes my reading pile so huge. But I would be in error to overlook the stuff here, as Michi Trota makes some excellent points about how culture has changed and how Geeks are not really what people think of them as. I love how she cuts through the notion that Geeks are still persecuted for their interests when their interests are guiding so many huge things. But it is straight white male geekdom that gets attention. It is the stuff from Big Bang Theory cliches that people want to believe when reality has shifted. And pretending that it hasn't, that Geeks are still the victims when really there is an awful lot of privilege to being the white guys in BBT is harmful to all the other people who are just looking to be accepting, looking to have a voice and be listened to and all of that. A very good piece and worth a look.

"The Politics of Comfort" by Jim C. Hines

And there's more? Glob! I love how this piece makes it perfectly clear that every choice for a writer is a political one. To write or not write diversity. That there is no normal, no neutral, that what is meant by that is not challenging the existing norms. And as writers I think there is some responsibility to do that, to question and kick and yell. I think that we should be conscious of our politics, not willfully ignorant of what we do and who we hurt. Existing, and especially writing, should be done with open eyes. It's a fascinating article. Don't ignore the non-fiction!