Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 11/23/2015. 11/30/2015, 12/07/2015, 12/14/2015

It's another rather full four weeks of material from Strange Horizons. Two stories, three poems, and three pieces of nonfiction. Now, there would be a fourth poem, but as it is by me I will not be reviewing it. What remains is a pretty great collection of things to read, including some incredibly interesting nonfiction. I know I don't always review nonfiction, but I do think that it's an often-overlooked medium that more people should check out. The fiction and the poetry are great as always, and really show why Strange Horizons is a must read each and every week. To the reviews!

Art by Jonathan Apilado

Quick Sips - Tor.com November 2015

I'm not really sure what's happening over at Tor.com right now. I mean, perhaps the novella push their doing has diverted some attention away from original fiction. Perhaps there is some sort of massive push in store for December. All I really know is that there are only two stories out this month. Not a problem, exactly (less to review I guess?), but Tor normally puts out some very good stories so I'm slightly bummed to see the smaller output. Probably I'd just be complaining if there were a lot of stories, though. What's here are two tales dealing with children, and how children fit into their worlds. Some strong stuff about aging and displacement. To the reviews!

Art by Keith Negley

Quick Sips - Terraform November 2015

I'm actually rather surprised at Terraform this month, because for once it actually mostly stuck to its guidelines and all the stories are at least under 3K. The stories are quite different this month, ranging from a humorous string of inter-office emails detailing a crisis with a microwave to a very serious examination of art over time and the rise of AI and immortality. Most of the stories are fun, though, even as they examine future that it's probably best to avoid. And mixing the commentary with humor makes them a little easier to swallow. All in all, it's a fine collection of very short stories, which I will get to reviewing now!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #187

Beneath Ceaseless Skies must really care about my sanity, because they came out with their latest issue a whole two days early (at least, I think they normally drop on Thursday and this was out on Tuesday) so that I could get ahead on reviewing before Thanksgiving. I'm sure that was the reason. Yeah. Anyway, this issue features two stories, one featuring a returning storyline and one all new. They are quite different. The first features a more traditional fantasy plot, breaking into a prison to commit a crime. The other looks at the nature of history and conflict. The stories scratch two very different itches, but both are interesting and well written, and while my personal tastes run a bit more toward the later, I enjoyed myself throughout. So to the reviews!

Art by Feliks Grzesiczek

Quick Sips - The Book Smugglers November 2015

This month The Books Smugglers offer up a double-helping of fairy tales mixed with noir mysteries. And the stories are delightful! I'm not incredibly into noir stories most of the time because they tend to be rather full of some...not-that-great tropes and cliches, but these stories subvert in the best of ways while providing fast action and excellent world-building. 

Art by Melanie Cook

 

Quick Sips - Mothership Zeta #1

Amid some more somber news of publications closing, there are still some rays of sunshine, and Mothership Zeta is certainly one. Coming in as an ezine, the Mothership is the home for fun. Mostly, at least. The stories do have a flare of the fun, voices that roll from the tongue, a wry sense of humor and healthy amount of sarcasm. But stuck in here too are stories that slow things down. That break the humor in favor of topics that are much more serious. The issue manages to balance itself quite well, starting and ending with flash and moving between those two points from humor to sweet to dark and back again. There's also nonfiction and a reprint to enjoy that I will not be talking about here, but below are reviews of all eight of the original fiction stories. Here we go!

Art by Frank Wu

Quick Sips - Urban Fantasy Magazine V2, #1

Two pieces of fiction round out the November issue of Urban Fantasy Magazine, though sadly only one of them is original. In order to make more of a review of this issue, I'm looking at both stories, and I don't think you could really ask for more different tales, though at their heart I see two stories about a deep dissatisfaction with "the way things are." In both stories there are characters faced with reality and their own unhappiness, and in both those characters chose to make a change, chose to drop the security of their own misery and try something new. It's an interesting contrast to look at them together, but worth doing. Time to do just that!

Quick Sips - Nightmare #38

This is perhaps my favorite issue of Nightmare Magazine so far this year. Two stories, as always, but two stories that really bring the dark. These stories reveal damaged characters, characters haunted by their pasts, by the hurt they caused others. By their mistakes and by their inability to really change what they've done. Stories about reaching out and about being selfish and about pain and pain and pain. Really this is an amazing pair of stories that you should read immediately. Time to review them!

Art by Bruno Wagner

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #186

This issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies features a pair of stories that show just how unjust the world can be to those that lack power and favor, either from the Divine or from the more terrestrial powers that be. First is a return to an Italy in danger of being overrun by creatures of the night, followed by a story of a pair of sculptors trying to make good on a promise to a volatile Empress. Both tales highlight ways that those with power act, and learn, at the expense of those that live beneath them. In the first, the relationship is parasitic, a group literally sucking the blood of those lower. In the second, the relationship is much more subtle, and yet much more devastating. So to the reviews!

Art by Feliks Grzesiczek

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 10/26/2015, 11/02/2015, 11/09/2015, and 11/16/2015

Well this was certainly another full few weeks of Strange Horizons, though I suppose that's more my fault for letting four weeks go by without checking in. In that time there have been three short stories, four poems, and three nonfiction pieces (at least, three nonfiction pieces I'm looking at). But Strange Horizons shows just how strong it can be with stories that show loss and hope and rebellion, poems that unsettle and shadow the dark corners of the world, and nonfiction dealing with everyone's favorite topic: sex. It's a full four weeks to get through, but very rewarding and enjoyable, even when it is uncomfortable and challenging. To the reviews!

Art by Stephen Hamilton

Quick Sips - Fantastic Stories of the Imagination #231

The longest name in short SFF is back this month and Fantastic Stories of the Imagination offers up a pair of stories, one about as long as they publish and the other about as short. The two tales are quite different in tone, in message, but both do present science fictional looks at space travel and both are, admittedly, quite good. There is a feeling in both of feelings just below the surface, of characters facing situations they didn't exactly expect when venturing into space. Both in some ways also explore the idea of people who leave Earth behind still being connected to it, and in that it's a rather thematically tight issue of the publication, at least where original work is concerned. But enough of my ramblings. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Shimmer #28 (November Stuff)

It's November, which means autumn is already in the decline here, and yet Shimmer is keeping the fall alive with two stories that take us into the woods where the wild things live. Where magic is possible, but only at a cost. The pair of stories offered this month are powerful and dark and focus on choice, on family, and on leaving people behind. Both feature characters who have to give something up in order to be faithful to themselves, in order to honor those they care about, even if it means they can't see those people in the same way again. They are stories full of the feel of dead leaves and long dusks, and it is my pleasure to review them today. 

Art by Sandro Castelli

Quick Sips - The Dark #10

This latest issue of The Dark Magazine certainly doesn't shy away from tackling some very dark and disturbing themes. Trigger warnings include: sexual assault of a minor, incest, murder, rape culture, murder, cats, and murder. And while at times the extreme content of the issue can seem a bit much, I believe that most of the stories do a very good job of justifying the use of such heavy tools to do their work. The stories are shocking as well as moving, questioning the institutional ways in which women are targeted for violence. There's a lot to cringe at, yes, but also a lot to think about. So let's get to reviewing!

Art by NKMandic

Quick Sips - Apex #78

Did you know that today is the last day to participate in the Apex Magazine subscription drive? Probably get on that, because Apex continues to bring some amazing content of both fiction and poetry (and also nonfiction, though I'm not looking at it this month). This month alone are three stories that I could go on raving about for some time, including one that is definitely one of my favorites of the year. The stories are complex, layered, and worth diving into. The poetry is dark, creepy, and fun, and everything just works so well. And before I gush too much more, time to review!

Art by James Lincke

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #66

This month's Lightspeed Magazine is all about subverting tropes. From a time travel story about love and determination to a sentient ship bursting with faith in greater powers to dragons literally erasing diversity in Medieval Europe, the stories take some common ideas and twist them just so. Everything old is new again and the stories manage to range from subtle to more blatant, but all of them are subversive, all of them worth sinking your teeth into. Which I should get started on!

Art by John Brosio

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 - Crossed Genres #35 - Anticipation

With this issue of Crossed Genres comes the very sad news that the magazine will be ending publication at the end of the year. Which is a shame, because it is a consistent source of quality short fiction that explicitly looks to promote new writers. Seriously, I don't think there is another SFWA-qualifying venue that guarantees a third of it's content is by a new writer. The only good news is that the publication is still here for a short while, and is still putting out good stories. The theme this month is anticipation, and the stories here take some interesting routes to explore the theme. To the reviews

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #110

The November issue of Clarkesworld offers up a slew of stories that could be described as apocalyptic. At the very least most are concerned with disasters, with destruction on a large scale, though often these huge extinctions are viewed in the most personal of ways. As posts on a cooking blog. As reports from a woman to her father. As the recollections of one person about the last human. As an unlikely banding together of very different people. Plus a slow and subtle translated piece that makes for a layered and rather meta read. It's a deep issue, and one I should just get to reviewing! 

Art by Julie Dillon

Quick Sips - Flash Fiction Online November 2015

This issue of Flash Fiction Online is all about throwing curveballs. Each one of these stories surprised me. With their depth, with their twists, with their layers of humanity. Each one can seem simple at first, predictable. But there's a lot more going on than what is immediately apparent. There are subtle ways the stories defy expectations (and some not-so-subtle ways). They take on loss and death, privilege and harm. So I'm just going to get to the reviews!

Art by Dario Bijelac