Quick Sips - Urban Fantasy #8

Two stories anchor another fine issue of Urban Fantasy Magazine this month. These stories do a great job of capturing the feel of Urban Fantasy, the magical intruding into the mundane world. Of course, they handle those intrusions very differently. In the first, the intrusion is forced, the protagonist not prepared for what she is confronted by. In the second, the protagonist seeks out the magic, is more or less prepared for what she finds, though she still has much to learn. Both make good use of the magical elements, and are worth checking out. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Omenana #3

Hey, the newest issue of Omenana is out! Always an exciting day, namely because Omenana is new and so far has never been disappointing. There are always stories that surprise me, stories that enchant me. This issue is once more a mix of science fiction and fantasy, and for those who think publications shouldn't cross genre lines, I'd say "Shut up" but also "Look at Omenana and try to tell me it isn't incredibly successful at capturing a coherent feel." The issue does an excellent job working as a whole, the stories all adding to a larger thematic narrative of growth and seeking, seeking connection or forgiveness and perhaps not quite finding it, but giving the feel that there's time yet, hope yet. It's a very good read. So let's get to it!

Quick Thoughts - Be the Change

It's creeping up on my six month anniversary for Quick Sip Reviews, and as such I will have some stat-posts at some point to geek out about numbers and such. For now, though, looking forward to that, I want to take a moment and think through some things. Namely, hurrah, I've made it to six months (almost). I have reviewed a lot of things and grown traffic to the site month after month (not hugely, but it has increased). So that's good. But also, why the hell I'm doing this.

I think I started this because of a Twitter conversation that I had seen where some writers were speaking of the need for more short fiction reviews. The only place that really reviews whole issues of stories is Tangent, they said, and Tangent is…not always what it could be. Not that it's all bad, but Tangent is normally (in my mind) a little too focused on plot and genre. I, personally, kind of hate talking about genre unless it is to speak to how a story might subvert genre expectations. I've written about genre here before, though, so I won't go more into that now. Just so that it's clear that I had some frustrations about what I could find in short fiction reviewing with places that review whole issues.

Now, there is a lot of great short fiction reviewing going on. There are tons of incredibly talented people out there writing about short speculative fiction. I agree, though, that the reviews can be a little tilted toward a few stories a month, the ones that get the most attention. These are the "best of" columns (and hey, I do one, too, so I can't complain about them). They are amazing resources, but it does hurt a bit to be left off those lists. To know that your story was passed up in favor of another, perhaps one in the same publication. Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily, but I can understand the frustration that writers feel when you get something out (finally, after much work) only to have your story be ignored. Or, worse, for the only review you see to be a line or two long.

[ASIDE: As a writer I find that this happens and that it is SO frustrating! I want to know what people think of my story, what to know that people might be engaging with a story. To finally get a story out and have someone saw "Only an okay story" and that's it is rather…well, it doesn't feel good. I never want to be that person that is supposed to be taking time to think about a story and only have "well, it was a story" to say about that. In my opinion, that is failing as a reviewer. Sometimes I can forgive someone who is reviewing an awful lot of stuff, because I understand how much time it takes, but I've had reviews of my stories where the main thrust of the review is talking about the genre and how my story wasn't really horror and…again, I hope I am never guilty of that. Which informs how I review. I review as I want to be reviewed. Not always positively, but with an attempt at honest engagement. END ASIDE]

So, in the vein of "Be the change you want to see in the world" I decided to start doing more reviews. And…well, I've had to adjust down a little what I can get to, but I still manage to do about 18-20 publications a month and I think that's pretty good. Of course, I feel like I'm barely keeping up even with the rather limited number of places I review, and I apologize that I can't review more, but I do what I can. I wish there was a me that got paid to do this, in which case I would review, like, everything. But alas, this is a labor of love (and also craft, because it probably doesn't hurt my writing that I read so much), and as such it is limited by the resources I have to give. I try. Please know that I try. But I will never be able to get to everything I want.

So why am I doing this? Because I like to. I genuinely do like reading and engaging with stories. It helps that there are so many very talented writers out there. I also do this because I feel like I can and so I should. Like with writing, there's probably some amount of arrogance involved, that belief that I can do good by telling stories, by reviewing stories. But it's what I hope. I wish everyone would review everything that they read. That they would think critically about everything that they read. I think the world would be a better world if everyone did that and I want to live in that world. So that's what I try to do. Indeed. Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Charles Payseur

Quick Sips - Book Smugglers June 2015

The new Book Smugglers story is up and saves me from having to really scramble to find something to review today. More than that, it takes a trope (alien lawyer SF) and makes it something that I want to read, that I want to read more about. Boasting a great sense of humor and very realized characters, the story manages to do something I wasn't expecting and keep me smiling throughout. To the review!

Art by Melanie Cook

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 06/15/2015 and 06/22/2015

And today I'm looking at two weeks of Strange Horizons. Just one short story, but two poems and two nonfiction pieces that I just had to dive into, making this one of the more varied reviews I've had for a while. The story is well done, a bit sad but lovely, the poems dealing with robotics and humanity and all points in between, the nonfiction covering space and also identity and the power of dressing up. There's just so much to enjoy, so much to think about. I guessing (hoping?) that this represents the last updates for June, but if not I'll just pick the rest up next month. In any event, to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fantasy Scroll #7

So the new issue of Fantasy Scroll Magazine is out. And, if the news that they will be upping their output means they can continue to put out this level of quality, I am quite pleased. Back by popular demand (including mine) is the graphic continuation of Shamrock, and overall the issue has some gems. Stories about freedom and escape and confinement. Stories of Hell and dragons and futures where author's lives are boiled down to their vices. Not as many flash fiction stories as most issues, but still a mix of shorter and longer works, and nothing too too long, so things move quickly and the issue is definitely a satisfying one. So let's get to the reviews!

Art by Andreas Rocha

Quick Sips - Apex #73

So another issue of Apex Magazine is up and once again the stories are dark and the poetry shines. I actually found this issue a bit funnier than the average issue, not without exception, but the poetry had me kind of nodding along, walking the edge between humor and disturbing. Which is just how I like it. The fiction moves about a bit, all of the stories this issue more science fictional than not. Not real fantasy pieces, which perhaps explains why I felt a little unbalanced reading through it all. But still, a solid issue. Onto the reviews!

Art by Tori K. Roman