Quick Sips - Lightspeed #110

Art by Sam Schechter

Two short stories and two novelettes make for a fairly substantive issue of Lightspeed, with a return to some old friends and a focus on tricksters of various sorts. For some this means literal trickster gods part of a great diaspora. In others this means people just trying to get by with a little graft and gumption. For others still it means meeting a vast and strange universe with energy and a true neutral outlook on morality. Whatever the case, these feature characters trying to make it in environments maybe not designed for them, but where they can make a home for themselves all the same. And before I give too much away, let's get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #83

This issue of Lightspeed Magazine definitely skews a bit more science fiction than fantasy, even in the stories that appear in the fantasy section. Exploring the space where magic meets science, the stories show just how…energetic SFF can be, and just how subdued and ponderous. The stories are balanced well, from a piece that takes a screaming look at the possible end of the world on the eyeball of a giant god to a heartwarming story about the allure of time travel and the problem of being too caught on the question of "what if?" These are stories that look at people reaching back to try and find some way to fix things that might not be broken. That feature characters trying to find, amidst their own hesitation and fear and regret, some way forward. And before I give too much away, let's get to the reviews!

Art by Odera Igbokwe

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #79

Hey, it's one of my favorite moments this month at Lightspeed—I have made less work for myself by actually selling a story, so instead of the full slate of four pieces I'm only looking at those not written by me. It's not exactly a happy issue. The pieces all deal with a stifling darkness. With an oppressive violence and threat. With a situation that is bad and might just get worse, except for the power of people choosing to change. Or, at least, to change their actions. To change the story. To shift it away from being about war, about corruption, and about victimization. These stories all offer uncomfortable and striking looks into love and hate and the sea in between the two. So yeah, time to review! 

Art by Lovely Creatures Studio

Quick Sips - Lightspeed #59

All right, so now that the stories are out I can review the latest issue of Lightspeed. As always, two science fiction and two fantasy stories. Unlike some months, this issue is a bit lopsided. The sci fi stories are quite short, and the fantasy stories quite long. Which is all right, but a little jarring, especially when the longest fantasy story, the one released latest in the month, is so dark. Still, though, there's a lot to enjoy here, and while two of the stories seem to center on human failings, on loss and perhaps futility, there is some hope here as well, and some great humor. So yeah, let's get to it!

Art by Elena Bespalova