Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #274

Art by Vicky J. Bawangun

It’s been a while since I could say I made a little less work for myself, but I’m only reviewing half of the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Why? Well, the other half happens to be written by me, and it’s my policy to not review my own work. If you want to go read it, awesome (you can listen to the amazing podcast, too). But I will be focusing on the other story, a novelette that reveals a very grim world and a character who has faced violation and pain and now stands on the precipice of something else—power. It’s a difficult read but a powerful one, full of damage and hope and destruction, and I’ll get right to my review!

Quick Sips - Tor dot com March 2019

Art by Armando Veve

Coming off a full February, Tor's March lineup relaxes a bit with just one short story and one novelette (so far, at least, assuming nothing new slips in before the end of the month). The two pieces take on some very interesting settings, though, where the world has been changed by some rather huge events. In one, some animals have become Knowledgeable, uplifted to "human levels," though the true implications of the world are much more complex than that. In the other, we return to the Wild Cards universe, where a virus makes certain people develop power, turning them into Aces...or Jokers. The stories look at people trying to get by and maybe do the right thing, though in very different ways and tones. Before I give too much away, though, let's get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #65

Art by Bernard Lee

March brings a four short stories and a poem to Fireside Magazine, each of them full of darkness and light in warring measures. In each piece, people grow up hoping to find a place to belong. A world that matches the hope and brightness of their dreams and the stories they are told. But as they grow they find other fates waiting for them, trying to claim them. Trying to make them victims of the hunger darkness around them. Without the protection of a just system, these shadows do try to take many of the characters. But not all of them fall into the dark. Some of them are able to rise up, to join with others to fight back and seek to build a space to be true to themselves. It’s a defiant, inspiring issue of fiction and poetry that acts as a sort of extended hand to the weary, urging them up and forward to further the fight. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 03/18/2019 & Samovar 03/25/2019

Late March brings new issues of Strange Horizons and Samovar, as well as editorial changes. There are two new poems, a short story, and a novelette to check out, as well as extra nonfiction and a reprint story that I won’t be covering here but that are always worth checking out. And the stories deal with some very heavy and potentially disturbing subjects. Lies in the face of global destruction. Family abuse and sexual assault. The zombie apocalypse. The works are all careful with their content, though, working hard to paint pictures that challenge and bring the reader to confront some difficult topics in nuanced and compassionate ways. That ask hard questions that need to be asked, and that don’t shy away from the often harsh realities that some people live with. These are stories to provoke and upset, but also uplift and inspire as well. Plus Strange Horizons has announced that editors Kate Dollarhyde and Jane Crowley have stepped down, replaced by new editor Vanessa Rose Phin. I want to just say how much I’ve appreciated the exiting editors’ work in making Strange Horizons my favorite publication in 2018 and just all the incredible SFF they’ve helped to publish. All luck to them and to the new staff! To the reviews!

LIVER BEWARE! You're in for a Drunk Reviews of Goosebumps #17: WHY I'M AFRAID OF BEES

Readers, I’m not entirely sure what to tell you about this book. I feel like we’ve left normalcy so far behind that the concept of normal has lost all usefulness or meaning when talking about this series. To compensate, I’m drinking the appropriately-paired Imperial IPA with Wild Honey from 3 Sheeps Brewing, which is just about strong enough to make reading this book tolerable. Not by much, but if you have to subject yourself to something like this, best to bring some help. Some liquid help. So booze in hand, let’s get to it!

Quick Sips - Diabolical Plots #49

Art by Joey Jordan

Two new stories featuring religion and the afterlife round out the March fiction from Diabolical Plots. The stories are heavy with their implications and with the feeling of change and fear. The characters are caught between the status quo they have known and the future they’ve been working toward. And now that that future is at hand, the reality isn’t what they thought it would be. For some, it gives them pause in the face of what could be their greatest adventure. For others, there are things to overcome first more than doubt. For both, though, the situation calls for faith. Not necessarily in a higher power, but in other people, in compassion and hope. So let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Nightmare #78

Art by Yupachingping / Fotolia

March brings a pair of rather chilling tales to Nightmare Magazine even as spring arrives to the Northern Hemisphere. The stories look at broken systems, broken worlds, that push people into places where they can only participate. Where they can only choose how much they want to be victims or perpetrators. Where opting out isn’t really possible. This might take the form of a legacy and a world that bring about drastic and violent changes, or a criminal justice system where the justice part has been shattered entirely. The stories provoke and challenge, putting the characters in impossible and horrifying situations and forcing the readers to sit there with them, experiencing those no-win scenarios first had. It’s effectively done, and before I give too much away, let’s get to the reviews!