The May issue of Lightspeed Magazine brings its share of strange journeys, showing characters transported from their familiar surroundings to...someplace else. People find themselves in the past, or in a painting, or in a different body, or in Heaven. These stories also very much deal with violence and consent. Most of them directly tackle themes that ooze violation, that show characters either taking people against their will or characters taken against their will and put somewhere they don't really want to be (though they might start off okay with that). The issue as a whole is a dark one, without an awful lot of hope (save for one story). By and large they map injustice, expose it some, but do not try to tear it down (again, save for the one story). It's a somewhat conflicting month of stories for me, too, so let's get to the reviews.
The two original stories from May’s The Dark Magazine are rather slow explorations of death and termination. Of something rotten that seems to be spreading. Of a realization that things aren’t quite so normal and good as they seem. These stories both focus in many ways on people moving around an elephant in the room (though not actual elephants), where the main characters don’t see or don’t want to see what’s happening around them. They want to just continue on as if everything was fine. But it’s not. And they don’t long get to put off their confrontation with reality and darkness. So yeah, let’s get to the reviews!
I'm dipping back into the Rupert Wong pool today with a look at this new novella from Abaddon Books. Like with the previous installment, things get messy quickly, which is all in a day's work for a cannibal chef. As followers of my reviews might know, I'm a sucker for SFF stories that bring in interesting takes on food and this is definitely a unique example. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, though, and it does require wading through an impressive amount of bloody carnage. Before I give too much away, though, let's get to the review!
The last April issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies provides looks into worlds alive with shadows. With talking animals and talking vegetables. Both stories feature characters seeking to overcome things. For one, it’s an injury he suffered that requires him to change how he operates. For the other, it’s a pair of deaths that leave her completely alone. Where the first is able to make bargains with magical beings in order to help his situation, though, the second faces entirely different prospects. The stories are about protection and judgement, about trades that don’t necessarily go as expected. They are rich in fantasy and deep in characters, and I should really just get to the reviews!
It's another fairly full month from Tor dot com, but still nowhere near as busy as last month. There are five stories to explore, one novelette and four shorts, and the pieces all center science and study. These are pieces that look at the role that humans can play in researching other species as well as humanity itself. They look at how medical science can be used to ease burdens and to create them, how studying and interacting with other species can teach us more about ourselves and more about the universe. These are stories about pain and disease and exploration, and people coming to terms with a universe that is vast and sometimes very cruel. And they are at turns beautiful and ugly, affirming and devastating. So let's get to the reviews!
It's another rather full month from Fireside Fiction with four original short stories. Most of them weigh in as flash fiction, but that doesn't mean that they aren't dense and complex. What strikes me most about the stories, though, is their sense of fun (well, for most of the pieces). With one exception, the stories hold a flare for the mischievous, for the sly, for the sarcastic. The characters are wise in their own ways and certainly wiseasses, by and large, but also endearing and sincere in their ways. And the stories feature a range of setting and situations, from corporate time travel to magic schools and resurrections. There's a touch of tragedy to many of the stories as well, but a breath of hope and resilience in the face of destruction. To the reviews!
It’s a new issue of Omenana! The first of 2017, it boasts six original stories that show stunning and often horrifying visions of SFF. These are pieces that largely lean toward speculative horror, toward the way that people can hurt each other and deceive each other and prey upon each other. The ways that humans can be made into vessels for their own destruction. The way that people seem to circle abuse and injustice like courting a mate. It’s not an entirely bleak issue, though many of the pieces are quite grim. There’s also a sense of hope to some of the pieces, that maybe we can find a better way, that maybe we can fly instead of impacting on the rocks of destruction. And before I give any more away here, let’s just dive into the reviews!
