Quick Sips - Tor dot com June 2020

Art by Goñi Montes

Tor slows down only a little for June, putting out three stories that crack and sizzle, that sink and sprawl. From near-future science fiction to contemporary horror to quasi-historical fantasy…weirdness, the works all take different swings at revealing a world rife with dangers and corruptions but also community and possibility. The tones of the stories couldn’t really get more different, though each has its shadows and grimness. Some are hopeful and defiant, others gutting and haunting, still others ethereal and luminous. Yet through it all the works represent some stunning glimpses into humanity, and those who live parallel to human, in a world that is often harsh, but also often beautiful. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons Fund Drive Issue 2020

Welcome to my review of the Strange Horizons special Fund Drive Issue! The good news is that everything was unlocked, and Strange Horizons looks to be on its way to an amazing 2021. There’s still time, too, to back the project and get yourself something nice, so if you haven’t already, do check that out. Now, I’m told that the final fiction piece that was announced is being rescheduled, so I’m covering one original story and five(!) original poems, but there’s lots more for you to check out, including lots of nonfiction in the form of reviews, interviews, and Staff Stories that are just great. It’s no secret that Strange Horizons has been one of my favorite publications for the last few years, putting out brilliant works that I can’t stop gushing about. So I’m super happy and excited to get another year of wonderful fiction, poetry, and more. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 06/15/2020 & 06/22/2020

So in case you missed it, the Strange Horizons fund drive is still going on! I’ll be covering the special fund drive issue later, but for now there’s still regular issues to read and enjoy. And the latest are a mix of elements and themes, all with the signature strangeness of the publication, all heavy at times and hopeful at times and beautiful and haunting. The story and poems weave through themes of identity and presence and, perhaps above all that, a keen sense of setting. These are works that are acutely aware of place, and isolation, and that complicate feelings of home and belonging in interesting ways. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lackington's #21 [Cocktails]

Art by P. Emerson Williams

There’s a new issue of Lackington’s out and the theme is just my thing--cocktails! There are seven stories that explore the different ways people can mix drinks and mix drugs and mix all kinds of things, up to and including people. The stories are strange and moving, complicated and a wee bit haunting (and okay, sometimes more than a wee bit), so it’s an issue well in keeping with the reputation Lackington’s has earned for itself over the years. These are pieces that delight and confound, that beckon and tease, and that ultimately deliver sever different great takes on the themes. There’s a nice mix of genres, from fantasy to science fiction to horror, and lots of worlds to see and tastes to enjoy. To sit back and let this issue mix you up something memorable. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Serial Box: Knox [ep01.03 & 01.04]

I’m setting a faster pace with reading and reviewing Serial Box’s Knox in part because I’m still behind the release dates and want to catch up. But really, if I’m being honest, it’s because I reaaaaally want to know what happens next and have been having such a good time reading the series that I find myself cheating a bit to push it up on my schedule. It’s really is a tense and gripping read, a paranormal thriller with a robust queer cast and noir atmosphere that I just want to sink into...well, except for the horror elements that keep me on the edge of my seat. It’s good, people. And I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Diabolical Plots #64

Art by Joey Jordan

Though the release schedule got a little skewed this month, the latest issue of Diabolical Plots is all out now and includes two new stories that offer up some emotionally powerful situations. In one a lonely house has to try and figure out how to help a grieving family heal. In the other, a dance becomes something much more than that when a robotic ballerina decides to make a statement about how their body and autonomy has been politicized. The works carry some deep shadows, but retain some level of hope, or at least resilience. Before I give too much away, though, let's get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #306

Art by Anton Ninov

The two new stories in the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies bring pieces that deal with interesting takes on time and memory. In the first, a man loses his long term memory and has to piece together his mission based on instinct and training and a single directive to kill. In the second, an augur knows the future well enough to know he can’t fight it, but a new connection in his life makes him want to, even as he has to face his own advancing age. It’s a complex issue that mixes action and introspection, and I’ll get right to my reviews!