Quick Sips - Tor dot com July 2016

Four stories anchor Tor dot com’s SFF short fiction offerings this month, and if I had to find a commonality between them I think I would choose a sort of wandering feeling. Or maybe wandering with a purpose. All four tales are a bit on the slower side, pacing-wise, making for some cerebral and rather philosophical stories. About loneliness and desperation. About purpose and meaning and the direction of life. About finding something to be happy with and something to struggle against. The stories all excel at place, at revealing a strange world. The inside of Abraham Lincoln’s head. An abyss that might be an alien portal. A distant world and a town by a haunted city. A busy hotel next to one of the world’s busiest airports. And in these worlds the readers are invited to learn something, to see something, and to take something with them when they go. So to the reviews! 

Art by Chris Buzelli

Quick Sips - Apex #85

If ever you forget that Apex Magazine is a market for dark fiction and horror, just pick up this issue and be reminded. Because the stories and poetry this issue are pretty fucking intensely dark. The stories especially look at violence and fear and cycles of abuse and hate and...well, they aren't exactly happy strolls in the park. But they are compelling, gritty, and good. Though violent and at times bleak, they do reach for hope, and they end in ways that maybe...well, just read them to find out. The poetry adds a nice layer as well, from a creepy series of journal entries to a piece I want put to jazz to a slice of something serene...and inhuman. So without further ado, the reviews!
 

Art by Joe Badon