Quick Sips - Tor dot com January 2019

Art by Ashley Mackenzie

January sees a return to form for Tor.com, which took most of November and December off of fiction releases. They’re back, and with two short stories and two novelettes covering a lot of thematic ground. From living space ships to food magic, from jinni to wraiths. Most of the pieces deal with haunting, as well, in some form or another. And perhaps more specifically, with people haunting themselves. Holding themselves to the past in ways that are like chains, that offer them no hope or help to move forward. And the stories show how these characters seek to sever the ties with those pasts, with those dreams they have outgrown, so that they can put new ones in their place. The pieces lean dark and quiet, and it’s a wonderful collection of short SFF. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 01/21/2019 & 01/28/2019

Art by Rachel Quinlan

January keeps on going with two new issues from Strange Horizons featuring an original short story and two original poems. The works cover a lot of ground, thematically, dealing with memory and with place, with visions and perspective. The story takes an interesting look at fate and communication, while the poems bring a rather dark mood that flourishes in the sweeping stanzas of their forms. And mostly it shows the publication doing what it does, providing weekly SFF content that challenges and inspires. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Terraform January 2019

It’s a full month of short SF to kick off 2019 at Motherboard’s Terraform. As always, the pieces on display look at visions of the future, taking trends and projecting them out, wondering what if and guessing at the shape of things to come. Or, perhaps more accurately, guessing at the shape of things that should not come, as each of these stories is a warning against a future full of heightened oppression, fear, insecurity, and corruption. They look at the pressures to conform and the way that mob mentality infects and can drive institutions that shouldn’t be handled by popular demand. The stories skew a little long for the publication, though still very manageable, and they pack rather a strong emotional wallop. So hold onto your feels and get ready for some timely science fiction. To the reviews!

Liver Beware! You’re in for a Drunk Review of Goosebumps #15: YOU CAN’T SCARE ME!

The title exclamation mark is back, the first time it’s shown up since Let’s Get Invisible! back in #6. I’m beginning to get a feeling that these Exclamation! books are all linked, if not in precise continuity, then in spirit and general construction. There have been three so far from the main series, Say Cheese and Die!, Let’s Get Invisible!, and now You Can’t Scare Me! In each of the books, there is an extended core cast (made up of four kids of mixed genders), and the stories tend to involve the kids stumbling across something weird and having to figure out a way to get distance from it. This was a stronger connection between Say Cheese and Die! and Let’s Get Invisible!, but there’s also an element of it in You Can’t Scare Me! as well. There’s also a blending of magic and science that gives them a more resonating feel to them. Hmm. I wonder if this stylistic consistency will hold up throughout the rest of the series, but for now I find it interesting that here we have another exclamation mark in a title and more similarities with some of the older books.

Oh! But hey, I should talk about what I’m drinking. It’s a Smoked Bock from Lazy Monk Brewing, based right here in Eau Claire, WI. It comes in a 16oz. can and it’s delicious! Definitely something that goes nicely with a book that’s all about mood and scares. So let’s GO!

The Sippys Are Coming...

No reviews today, my darlings. Instead, I want to remind you all of what's coming up on the horizons. That's right, it's almost time for the short SFF award that no one asked for! THE SIPPY AWARDS!

Now, many of you will already be familiar with these awards, which look at short SFF of any length (so up to novellas) across five award categories. These categories are mostly thematic, looking at the different aspects of SFF that I love and seeking to celebrate short SFF that other awards, by separating categories by length only, don't really do. And though I do not have the funds to make actual awards to send to people, I do make up little graphics, especially for the top story in each category, which I call the Big Sip Award Winner.

But what are the categories? So glad you asked! As a refresher, the five categories are...

The "I'd Ship That" Sippy for Excellent Relationships in Short SFF
This looks at stories that feature amazing relationships. Those might be romantic, sexual, friend, enemy, family, or really any way that people relate to people. It doesn't have to be "healthy" relationships (whatever that even means) so long as they're compelling to me.

The "I'm Sleeping with the Lights On" Sippy for Excellent Horror in Short SFF
This isn't just about horror. This is about the intersection of horror and SFF, which is something that has whole publications devoted to it but often finds itself on the outside looking in when it comes to awards. So I want to look at what makes me afraid, and what freaks me right the fuck out.

The "There's Something in My Eye" Sippy for Excellent Making Me Ugly-Cry in Short SFF
Okay, so I'm something of an emotional reader, and sometimes I read a story that leaves me sobbing into my coffee (or stronger adult beverage). I want to honor the stories that do more than tug at the heartstrings--I want to celebrate those that rip those strings out and leave me an emotionally devastated mess.

The "Time to Run Some Red Lights" Sippy for Excellent Action in Short SFF
EXPLOSIONS! SWORD FIGHTS! MAGIC FERRETS! Okay, well, maybe not that last one. But I do want to look at short SFF that features pulse-pounding, jaw-dropping action in a way that only SFF can. Because who brings a gun to a mecha fight?

The "Where We're Going We Won't Need Categories" Sippy for Excellent I'm Not Sure What in Short SFF
And finally, this one is for those stories that just don't fit anywhere. That really experiment with what SFF can look like and how it can feel. These are the stories that are hard to pin down, and that's what makes them so special. Sometimes, when something doesn't fit into a box, the best way to celebrate it isn't to try and force it, but to throw away the idea of boxes (but still, you know, give an award...).

So there you are! The four runners-up as well as the Big Sips for each category will be announced together on consecutive days in February, so look forward to that! Also, this is the fourth year of these awards. If you want to find the previous years, you can check them all out here.

Cheers!

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Quick Sips - Diabolical Plots #47

Art by Joey Jordan

It’s my pleasure to announce that starting today I’m adding a new publication to my reviewing list—Diabolical Plots! The venues tends to come out with two original stories a month, but kicks off 2019 with three short stories that present a mix of styles and structures. Indeed, the stories are linked perhaps by the novel ways they approach storytelling, with each taking a style that isn’t precisely new (a travelogue utopia/dystopia, a portrait of the mundane, and a list of words and definitions) but doing something different and delightful with them. There’s also a decent amount of darkness to even the brighter of these stories, and a humor to even the darkest of them. And they certainly don’t take the road most taken to reach their literary destinations. To yeah, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #269

Art by Tyler Edlin

The latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has a lot to do with transformations, with the threat of revenge, and with the need for freedom. It finds characters who are caught in circumstances of waiting to be punished. To be found out. And trying to find a way free of the things hanging over them. Now, some of those things are no fault of their own and some of them...well, the characters aren't always quite so innocent. But the piece looks at freedom and who can hope for it, and what it might cost. The stories deal with the weight of revenge and the feelings that can come when that weight is lifted and set down. To the reviews!