Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #156

Art by Beeple

September brings just five new stories to Clarkesworld Magazine, but given that none of them are under 6800 words, it’s not exactly a light issue. It’s not light in terms of themes, either, with a lean toward works that explore abuse and damage, with people struggling to find meaning and connection in environments and situations that have been built on misconceptions, corruption, and exploitation. The result is the issue has its share of grim moments, but I feel out of that springs a lot of hope, with characters finding ways to trust and believe in themselves and others, working for a future that can be better for everyone. Or, at least, for the people who are trying to make things better for everyone. And there’s a lot to cover, so I’ll get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - The Dark #48

Art by grandfailure

Both stories in the May issue of The Dark Magazine feature women and isolation. Women in isolation, pushed by expectations and roles to a place where they don’t know what to want or what to do. Until they are confronted by shades along the edge of the vision. A hint of movement. A promise that maybe the loneliness they feel will be lifted, their solitude broken. Only what they find in the dark isn’t exactly what it seems at first, and both have to make choices about how they will confront what lurks in the dark, waiting to be let in. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - The Dark #44

Art by grandfailure

January 2019 seems a great time to remind readers by The Dark Magazine is named, well, The Dark. Because it sets a course for visceral horror and does not waver as it sails directly for it. Through a quiet, almost somber tone, it takes readers on a descent, through the crust of the earth to the roiling innards and deeper, deeper, cutting through the societal niceties and norms and finding a raw and bleeding heart crying for change. The stories feature characters trapped in many ways by their roles, by their jobs, and by their responsibilities to their families. They take two very different paths, but both works explore what lurks beneath the surface, and what darknesses can come back up when people dip down and try to rise.

Quick Sips - Shimmer #42 [March stuff]

It’s…well, it’s a bit of a strange month of stories from Shimmer Magazine. From a train-riding competitive eater to a woman transforming into a deer, the stories are heavy on the odd and magical. In both stories, the main characters deal with a setting that forces them into a role that they resist. But that, ultimately, seems too strong to just shrug off. These are stories of family obligations and the weight of cultural norms. For me, at least, the stories use the strange to highlight how surreal the world can be at times for some people, how it’s logic shifts and twists to suit the wills of those with power. It makes for an interesting experience, and I’ll get right to the reviews!

Art by Sandro Castelli

THE SIPPY AWARDS 2017! The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

It’s 2018! Which means that I’m already behind on reviews! But it also means that it’s time for me to pay homage to all of 2017’s amazing short SFF with the THIRD ANNUAL SIPPY AWARDS!!! It’s truly the awards that no one asked for, but I’ve never really let that stop me. There are five categories in the Sippy Awards, bunched around themes rather than length. I’m kicking things off today with one of my favorites. It’s time for the 2017…

“I’d Ship That” Sippy Award for Excellent Relationships is Short SFF

I’m a bit of a sap at heart. I mean, I write ridiculous and super-queer superhero romances, so that might be obvious. But relationships go beyond just romance, beyond just romantic partnerships. Friendships, family, and more help to make relationships one of the most important aspects of storytelling, and short SFF is no exception to that. So today I’ll be highlighting stories from 2017 that I think did an exceptional job with regards to relationships of all sorts. So without further delay…

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 10/30/2017

It’s a special Arab SFF issue of Strange Horizons, thanks to the successful stretch goal from the fundraiser earlier this year. Two stories and four poems anchor an issue that is loud in its quiet, that keeps the speculative elements subtle and wrenching, and that focuses on frustration, fear, and corruption. These are works that show characters trying to live their lives and finding that other forces and factors are making that difficult where it’s not impossible. The works look at immigration and distance, voice and home and faith, and they all do a great job of showing why international SFF is important to experience, to find the visions of the world that we might not otherwise be exposed to. So let’s get to the reviews!

The Monthly Round - September 2017

The Monthly Round, which pairs my favorite short SFF with booze, tasting notes, and reviews, is now live at Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, covering my selections for September 2017. Please go check it out here.

For those just wanting a list and links, though, I've provided those below.

Tasting Flight - September 2017

“Pan-Humanism: Hope and Pragmatics” by Jess Barber and Sara Saab (Clarkesworld)
“The Last Spell of the Raven” by Morris Tanafon (Glittership)
“On The Other Side of the Sea” by Nerine Dorman (Omenana)
“Feeding Mr. Whiskers” by Dawn Bonanno (Fireside Fiction)
“They, We, Me” by Ryan Bloom (Terraform)
“Stories We Carry On The Back Of The Night” by Jasper Sanchez (Mithila Review)

Cheers!

---

Quick Sips - Clarkesworld #132

September brings an interesting mix of stories to Clarkesworld, exploring love and coupling, as well as space and time and sentience. The stories range from cerebral and strange to fun and witty to achingly hopeful and human. There are people who are birds, bots who are heroes, planets who are people, people who are machines, and just people being people, with all their flaws but also all the grace and power to save the world. It's never really a surprise to note that the stories are all science fiction, with perhaps a little hint at sci-fantasy but mostly these are stories that imagine a future where life can be different, and some futures where, for all life could be different, it hasn't really changed. So yeah, let's get to the reviews!

Art by Vladimir Manyukhin

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #220

Sometimes an issue comes along that really focuses on a central theme, and the first March issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies does an amazing job of exploring the devastation of war. Not just the costs in human life but in human conscience. Because the characters in these stories are war criminals, responsible for things that cross the line from murder into atrocity. And the stories dig into the minds of these characters not to sympathize with them (in my opinion) but to show what is left afterward. To show the empty guilt and shame and doubt. To show the lingering harm that has been done, that they have done, and show that there are some things you cannot heal from, should not be healed of. It’s a difficult and excellent pair of stories that I’m going to get right to reviewing!

Art by Ward Lindhout

Quick Sips - The Dark #20

2017 has officially begun and my first review of new content in the new year is of The Dark Magazine, which continues to put out a pair of original stories alongside a pair of reprints. FYI they also have planned to restart podcasts and have a Patreon now, so anyone interested in some excellent speculative horror and dark fantasy, definitely check that out. Anyway, the years starts off a bit slow in this issue, with two pieces that explore the space between childhood and adolescence, between adolescence and adulthood. Between generations and between genders and between spaces. These are stories not anchored by action but by the slow turn of emotions and time, pressures and expectations. It's a lovely, almost nostalgic way to kick off the new year, and I'm ready to get to reviewing!

Art by Alexandra Schastlivaya

Quick Sips - Lackington's #9 - Architecture

When I saw the theme of Lackington’s ninth issue, architecture, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Stories about buildings? About construction? About utility? What I ended up finding in these stories were, yes, those things, but so much more. Experiments with the architecture of fiction, for example, as each of these tales manages to innovate structure and storytelling. And also looks at the architecture of biology, of history, of physics, of relationships. There are structures all around us, as mysterious and wonderful and foreboding and complex as the most awe-inspiring cathedral or castle. These stories explore what architecture can be, and what it is, and how it matters to us. They are at turns startling and unsettling and inspiring stories, and I’m going to get to reviewing them! 

Art by Carrion House

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