Quick Sips Beneath Ceaseless Skies #287 [part 2]

Art by Ferdinand Dumago Ladera

The latest special anniversary issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies continues, and this second part opens my October reviews. The stories take on a rather different feel, with one story a retelling of an epic of religion/mythology through the lens of one of the slightly less traditionally prominent and the other looking at a pair of sisters separated in some rather tragic ways. The stories deal with life and rebirth, with finding meaning and finding the will and determination to push for something that seems impossible. In both, characters deal with the whims of the gods, pushed to sacrifice themselves in order to fight injustices and right wrongs that cannot be defeated otherwise. It's a fascinating way to close out this issue, and I'll get right to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #107

Art by Reiko Murakami

Lightspeed Magazine brings four new stories out this April (three short stories & one novelette) that space from near-past science fiction to mythological fantasy, moving from a Mars where humanity has suffered a great loss to a village where the injustices are a bit more nuanced. The issue also includes a conclusion to the Banker cycle that’s been recurring in recent months, though I dare say it’s probably not the last readers will see of the characters or setting. And all told there are a lot of characters bound by their promises, having to navigate situations where what they said they were going to do might be more ruinous than breaking their word. So yeah, to the reviews!