Quick Sips - Serial Box: Ninth Step Station [ep02.03 & 02.04]

So now that the second season is well under way, what surprises lurk in the latest two episodes/chapters of Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station? Well, there’s certainly murder aplenty, with the political situation in the city deteriorating as anti-Chinese sentiment clashes with Chinese resource superiority and propaganda. It’s driving a wedge into the heart of the city, setting neighbor against neighbor, and maybe even partner against partner. And after an extremely intense third episode, the fourth slows things down again with a trip to the countryside and a remote resort where Emma and Miyako have to wait out a storm...with a killer. I love this series for the mashup of mystery and science fiction, political thriller and buddy drama. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Fireside Magazine #78

Art by Erik Ly

It's always a joy when I can say that I'm not looking at a complete issue because I must recuse myself from my own work. On top of the three short stories that I am looking at from this month's Fireside Magazine, my own very short piece, "Foie Gras," is available to read as well. It features a holographic Napoleon and an...interesting way of thwarting his evil ambitions. The rest of the issue also brings a mix of fun and thoughtful SFF, making for a quick and fascinating collection of fiction, all under 1500 words. So yeah, to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 04/20/2020 & Samovar 04/27/2020

The back half of April brings not only a new story and poem from Strange Horizons, but a new issue of Samovar as well, with two stories and two poems in translation to enjoy. As always, neither publication disappoints, offering up worlds and characters that walk in shadows, that encroach upon the strange and the weird and haunting. That find characters wanting very much to break free of the constraints corruption and industrialization have shackled them with. And finding that maybe there is a way out. Maybe, through cooperation, through partnership, they can reach for freedom. Or maybe that too is a bit of an illusion, and what they're really reaching for is comfort to live with the injustices they can do nothing about. In any event, let's get to the reviews!

Quick Sips - Beneath Ceaseless Skies #302

Art by Flavio Bolla

Both the stories of the latest Beneath Ceaseless Skies feature characters who have lost their parents. who are left with an infrastructure that is largely patchwork and unsound. Who hope, by following the familiar paths, the rituals that have been left for them, they can have something like security, something like safety. While, really, there’s not much of either in their lives, and they are left struggling, scrambling for each scrap they can get, all stressed and lonely and hurting, wanting things they can barely give voice to, much less achieve. It’s a difficult issue but another well paired one, and I’ll get right to my reviews!

Quick Sips - Translunar Travelers Lounge #2 [Dessert Tray]

After the main courses in the second issue of Translunar Travelers Lounge, it’s time to get to dessert! The final four stories of the issue promise a bit of sweetness and they certainly don’t disappoint, with themes that linger on family, on magic, and on growing up. All of the stories feature characters who are still relatively young. Some are still in high school, while others have just or are just reaching some level of independence. And they all have to find ways to protect themselves and their hopes in situations that sometimes seem hopeless. But with a bit of luck, a bit of magic, and a little help from their friends, they just might find the courage to take a chance, to defy conventions, and to chart their courses forward. To the reviews!

Quick Sip Reviews Fanzine Hugo Voter Packet

Hello. My name is Charles Payseur and I'm the editor of Quick Sip Reviews. My content is fairly niche, aimed directly at covering as much short fiction and poetry as I can on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. The vast majority of what I do is reviews, which I know aren't exactly the most exciting content when it comes to genre coverage. I've compiled a comprehensive list of what I covered in 2019, which can be found here. The first piece in this packet is also something of an overview of what the site did in terms of numbers in 2019. After that, I've included what is the bread and butter of Quick Sip Reviews, with six different review posts covering a range of the projects that I follow and review. After that is a taste of some of the additional content that I try to include. Thank you for your consideration!

Intro

2019 Year-in-Review

Reviews
Quick Sips - Fiyah Literary Magazine #9

Quick Sips - GigaNotoSaurus December 2019

Quick Sips - Serial Box: The Vela [s01.09 & s01.10]

Quick Sips - Uncanny #28 [May stuff]

Regular Sip - The West and Everything Above (Neon Hemlock Press)

Quick Sips - Tor dot com July 2019

Other Content:

Liver Beware! You’re in for a Drunk Review of Goosebumps #15: YOU CAN’T SCARE ME!

The Sippys Are Coming...

4000 Reviews: An Introspective

Quick Conversations: Post-Apocalyptic SFF (with L.D. Lewis, Marianne Kirby, and Nibedita Sen)

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Quick Sips - Mithila Review #13 [part 2]

Art by John Glover

I return to the latest issue of Mithila Review to look at two short stories, a novelette, and three poems. The poems are actually all by a single author, though they cover a lot of thematic ground, from death and space to The Little Prince to Greek mythology. And the stories vary greatly too, though all of them have a touch of magic to them. One’s a second world fantasy, though, one a post-disaster sci-fantasy, and the other a contemporary fantasy. They deal with family and with conflict, war and illness. And they feature people a bit out of their depths trying to care for other people. Trying and not always getting it right. It’s a wonderful bunch of short SFF that I’ll get right to reviewing!