THE SIPPY AWARDS 2016! The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

Welcome to 2017! Quick Sip Reviews is officially two years old! And what better way to celebrate than by kicking off the SECOND ANNUAL SIPPY AWARDS!!!

For those who might be new to QSR or missed last year's awards, the Sippys exist primarily because I wanted to give some special love to my favorite SFF. Wait, though, don't I already do that? YES I DO! But where The Monthly Round is my monthly recommendation column, I really wanted to do something annually. And wait, don't I sort-of already to that, too? YES I DO! But not here, on Quick Sip Reviews, and so I wanted to make something EXTRA SPECIAL. Enter THE SIPPY AWARDS, the SFF awards that no one asked for or really cares about!

These aren't just my favorite stories of 2016, though. The Sippys have categories, five in all, celebrating different aspects of SFF. From stories that made me afraid to go to sleep or left me a ball of tears and feelings huddled in the corner, I want to look at the different ways that SFF can be effective. And my categories might seem a little…odd, but that's just part of the fun. Each category has five picks, four Sippy Award winners and one Big Sip Award winner. So yes, without further ramblings on my part, let's kick things off with…

The "I'd Ship That" Sippy 

for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF

Quick Sips - Apex #84

At first glance the May issue of Apex Magazine could be accused of playing it safe. Time travel? Monsters? The issue is packed with classic SFF tropes, and yet there's nothing about this issue that I would accuse of being cliche or tired. No, these are stories that take those classic elements and twist them until they howl, until their screams become something that rings through the halls of night and off the page and into the brains of the reader. This is one of the shorter issues of the year but it more than makes up for it with stories that grip and don't let go. That, just when you think you have a handle on them, dip down again into someplace deeper, darker, calling you to follow. So follow if you dare, dear readers, it's time to review!
 

Art by Robert Carter

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #61 QUEERS DESTROY SCIENCE FICTION (part 1: the Flash!)

So there is a slight conflict of interest with my review of the latest Lightspeed Magazine, which is the special Queers Destroy Science Fiction Issue. Namely, I'm in it. My story, "Rubbing is Racing," is one of the flash stories. Which I will (obviously) not be reviewing today. And there was a little voice in my head that said that maybe I shouldn't review the rest of the issue either (but probably because the issue is HUGE and will take a lot of time and not because it is anything other than awesome). But I think I will have satisfied objectivity simply by not reviewing my own story and leave it at that. As I said, this issue is HUGE. It's as big or bigger even than most anthologies. As such, there is no way that I could read it in the same space I normally read just four short stories. There are ten short stories and (including mine) twelve flash fiction stories to read. Which means, unfortunately, that I'm not going to be reviewing the nonfiction. You should really read it, though. Nonfiction is great, but I don't have the space this month. That said, and from the title of the post, you might have figured out that I am splitting my review of this issue into two parts. The first part is the flash fiction. The second part, to come later in the month, will be the full length fiction. So watch for that. Reviews this month for Lightspeed might also be a little shorter than my normal just because there are so many. I apologize for that. Hopefully they are still useful. So onto the reviews!

Art by Elizabeth Leggett