Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #207

The two stories in the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies drive for mixing the magical with the mundane. Showing young characters reaching for some escape from rather oppressive situations and finding portals (of sorts) into different worlds. Whether the portal is mathematics or a hand-built raft, and whether the magic involves is fairy-related or steampowered, the stories show how the greater world is waiting for these characters, though it's not always what they imagined. And for some of them, it's not at all welcoming. But these tales bring a more classic feel to the issue, blending in styles that evoke the literary traditions of bygone years. And they're both rather fun to read. So to the reviews! 

Art by Marek Hlavaty

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #198

Anchored by a rather hefty nearly-14,000-word story this issue, Beneath Ceaseless Skies offers up a dense and rather complex look back at the growth of America and the exploitation that has gone hand in hand with the colony-turned-nation. Both stories look back at different times (and take place on opposite coasts), giving magically-infused visions of American history from the first colonies to discovery of crude oil. And whether it’s the witch hunts or the whale hunts, the stories dwell on the ways that people exploit. That they harm each other. That they destroy. These are not the happiest of tales, but then they probably shouldn’t be, given the subject matter. These are careful and deep stories about magic and cost and place. So to the reviews! 

Art by Geoffrey Icard

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #171

I'm reviewing the latest Beneath Ceaseless Skies today. Two stories, as always, and quite different in their themes and styles this time. Sometimes the stories in an issue have some clear links, but here I can't quite find any. One is a second-world fantasy with action and magic and the other is a historical weird fantasy with a much slower style and not as much overt magic. Still, for all their differences they are still both entertaining and the issue itself stands up pretty well. But you don't have to take my word for it—to the reviews!

Art by Christopher Balaskas