Quick Sips - Uncanny #27 [April stuff]

Art by Christopher Jones

April brings three short stories and three poems to Uncanny Magazine, most of them dealing with romantic relationships. About both the ways that people can find ways to help and affirm each other and the ways that people can hurt each other. Relationships are moments of vulnerability, and some of the characters understand and respect that, working to try and make something beautiful and resilient. Others, though, can only imagine relationships in terms of dominance and superiority, of being able to control and own their partner. It’s a month that has plenty of uncomfortable moments, but also a lot of beauty. Let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Nightmare #60

Nightmare Magazine’s September issue features a nicely paired duo of original stories that explore faith and sacrifice, bargains and power. For both characters, they come face to face with a place of power, with a kind of temple, and have to make some decisions. Do they listen to the voice speaking to them, nudging their feet toward a desired outcome? Do they resist in the face of pain and violence and the prospect of losing everything they have? What does faith really mean to them, and what are distant gods in the face of those that are present, immediate, and loud? These are two stories that take a dark look at gods and power, and it’s time to review them!

Art by Foldyart1980 / Fotolia

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 Links 01/18/2015

So, as promised, here are the reviews that I've done (not including those on this site) that have come out over the past week.

Tales of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Jim Larson (GoodReads, my score 3/5) - got this as a gift and read it. It was pretty good for someone who is vaguely nostalgic about TMNT

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (Goodreads, my score 5/5) - oh my glob read this read this now it is amazing!

A Taste of Ice by Hanna Martine (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - an all right paranormal romance with some problems I could not really get over. I mostly enjoyed myself, and the world is interesting, but it gets a bit messy at times.

Alistair Grim's Odditorium by Gregory Funaro (Kidsreads) - not a huge fan of it, despite some potential. A long book, but a very quick read at the very least...

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, my score 9/10) - A great, great read. Both this and The Summer Prince had me in tears. I swear that doesn't happen very often. Go pre-order this one!

So there you go. Enjoy and thanks for stopping in!