Quick Sips 01/21/2022

Okay okay so I’m definitely back on my slow down as I try and hit some deadlines and focus on making sure I’m covering enough January and February content for Locus while also reaching back for some December stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. So the good news is that I’m covering the latest Zooscape and Mermaids Monthly here, each of which had some solid issues out in December (Mermaids Monthly was another last-day-of-the-year releases). The bad news is that’s all for now. Still, there’s a decent bit to get to and I’m getting to it, and there’s plenty of great content still to catch up on from 2021.

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 07/02/2021

Despite the tick over into July, I’m still very much on June publications, looking at six different issues today that cover over thirty SFF works. It’s only the second time I’m reading The Deadlands and Prismatica, and both deliver some powerful fiction and poetry. Mermaids Monthly also packs a punch, and is entirely queer authored and edited this month (though I mean the edited part is every month). Strange Horizons Diabolical Plots both put out strong issues as well. And once against I’m adding new things, this time with Zooscape. And…yeah, I mean, I’m probably already overbooked this month with things to read. I have Pride Decoded to get to now that I’ve ironed out actually accessing the stories, and I’m a little behind in general because of how much I choose to read and review. But.

I do care about trying to get to as much as I can in short SFF. And as wide a coverage as I can give. And that means stepping outside what most consider the “core” of short SFF in part of question what the core really is. Or, more likely, to try and destroy the idea that there is a core at all. Short SFF is vast, yes, and subject to far too many people trying to narrow it because they want to feel that it should be “manageable.” Which in some ways I understand. As someone with a collecting urge, there’s certainly a part of me that wants to be comprehensive. That wants to read Everything. And I know I can’t, so it might be tempting to say that something doesn’t count as a way to claim that actually I do read Everything. But that’s bullshit.

The short SFF I do not read or review still exists, and I’d likely enjoy a whole lot of it. It’s my loss that I don’t read it. But I do have limited time, and I have to decide what I read. There’s no real “fair” way to do it, but I try my best to be inclusive and eager. I’m not saying that the stories I don’t read aren’t worthy of my time or attention, just that I have to make the call what to cover, and I’ll own that. I’m adding Zooscape because I like furry media, and because I do think it often gets overlooked and pushed out of SFF because people are embarrassed about it. I’m excited that the publication is looking to raise its payrates to become an SFWA qualifying market, and I wish them all the best in that. And I’m happy to add them to my short SFF coverage. Onward!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!