Quick Sips 06/18/2021

And like always, there’s a lot to get to this week. Most of it is regular monthly/weekly stuff, though there’s a new issue of Hexagon as well as a new Driesch story that I had missed from earlier. The week is almost entirely short stories, too, which isn’t incredibly odd but two poems (and only 2 novelettes) means that short stories are far and away the majority of what I’m covering. Taken over the year so far things are a little more balanced, with 554 short stories, 49 novelettes, 8 novellas, and 174 poems. I have a few more novellas to read (mostly from Neon Hemlock) coming up, but otherwise I think the mix is about right. Honestly I think it would be difficult to really increase novelettes and novellas without taking on more of the digests, and at this point I’m not in a place to do that. I don’t have flash fiction marked out, either, though I’m sure that’s pretty well represented as well, given trends. Indeed!

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 06/11/2021

Well May was certainly a month. I thought I was only going to have a few things to finish up, and then EVERYTHING RELEASED. So there’s still a whole lot of May content here, from Mermaids Monthly and Fusion Fragment (which I was expecting) to Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, and Cast of Wonders (who I should have suspected). I do manage to get into June, though, with looks at the trifecta of Lightspeed, Nightmare, and Fantasy. And I did it all around the Memorial Day weekend and my birthday. Weeeee! Of course, that means I’m behind in my X Marks the Story work (because I like to wait to read the entire month before finalizing things). So it goes? In other other news, June’s Flash Fiction Online is entirely reprints, so I won’t specifically be covering those, though I do recommend checking out the issue, which is very good. So yeah, 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!

Quick Sips 06/04/2021

So May just won’t end, it seems. Though at least this week I’m looking at one June release, and just in time for Pride, as it’s a queer horror anthology with sixteen(!!!) new original stories. Aside from that, I’m getting to the May Anathema (which has been missed since the last original issue back in August 2020), Clarkesworld (which I thought I had already reviewed but nope!), and Lackington’s (which last published in November 2020), as well as another short week of Strange Horizons content. Still quite a bit to get to for the Month, but I’m doing what I can, and looking forward to what June has in store! In other news, June 3 is my birthday, and if you’re looking to get me something, I’d love if you could take a minute to fill out this quick survey about Quick Sip Reviews. Thanks!

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 05/28/2021

Today I’m continuing my May coverage with looks at nine different publications. Most of the Escape Artists pods have new work out, as well as regular releases from Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Diabolical Plots. I add The Deadlands to my rotation, and am very excited about the project and what it will be putting out, and relatively new khōréō magazine is back with a second wonderful issue. I’m taking a bit of a risk trying to review Tor before the end of the month (I’m writing this before the 26th), but if there’s another release I’ll just cover that next week. So yeah, lots to get to!

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 05/21/2021

Welcome to my continued May coverage! This week I sweep up the last of my advance copies and move into some new territory (again). The new publication is Shoreline of Infinity, who reached out to offer a review copy. I don’t even want to know how many publications that means I’m actually covering at this point. A lot. Which, I mean, is the goal, is the point. And so far I’m doing my best to stay on top of it all. Hopefully that lasts. There’s also the new Uncanny (a reminder that I review the whole issue now rather than breaking it up into what’s out for free each month), Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (a somewhat slim issue for them), Fireside Magazine (guest edited by Danny Lore), and Strange Horizons. So while it’s not the busiest week of reviews ever, it’s no slouch, either.

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 05/14/2021

Welcome to May proper, at least here at QSR. Yes, the month is about half over, but with all that came out in April I might be a little behind. Eep! Anyway, Not too much incredibly new about today’s post, as I’m covering venues that I’ve covered previously, and most of the ones I take care of first every month. Most of these are monthly, though Apex is bimonthly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies is biweekly, and Strange Horizons is weekly. There’s a lot to get to, though, including a lot of short stories, a few poems, and a decent amount of novelettes. The works skew rather grim for a lot of these, too, though I feel that Apex in a bit of a twist has a few really hopeful stories that were fun. Anyway, 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!

Quick Sips 05/07/2021

More new things! Yes, I know, that’s a recurring theme with me, but I just can’t help it (more like I just can’t say no when there’s an opportunity to review something and I feel like I have time). So I’m adding Reckoning to my rotation. The thing with that is the publication only comes out once a year, so…I’m already done with 2021 there. This week I’m also covering a new The Future Fire and the return of Samovar after a bit of a wait. Plus the latest Mermaids Monthly, Tor, and various Escape Artists podcasts. This will hopefully close out April releases (unless I’ve missed something), so next week I’ll be fully into May. After more novelettes and novellas last week, though, this week it’s almost entirely short stories and poetry. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially when it’s a lot of wonderful works!

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!