Uncanny Magazine, Issue 1, November/December 2014

Uncanny Magazine #1

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Michael Damian Thomas (Editor), Neil Gaiman (Contributor)

Uncanny Magazine is a bimonthly Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, bringing you new fiction, poetry, articles, and interviews.

Our inaugural November/December 2014 issue features new fiction by Maria Dahvana Headley, Kat Howard, Max Gladstone, Amelia Beamer, Ken Liu, and Christopher Barzak, classic fiction by Jay Lake, essays by Sarah Kuhn, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Christopher J Garcia, plus a Worldcon Roundtable featuring Emma England, Michael Lee, Helen Montgomery, Steven H Silver, and Pablo Vazquez, poetry by Neil Gaiman, Amal El-Mohtar, and Sonya Taaffe, interviews with Maria Dahvana Headley, Deborah Stanish, Beth Meacham on Jay Lake, and Christopher Barzak, and a cover by Galen Dara.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Ebooks, Poetry

149 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[Alia · Rating 4 out of 5]

- If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley ⭐⭐⭐ (A bit in the category: huh?! I was not very on board, but it had some funny stuff)

- Presence by Ken Liu ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (tough subject and complex emotions, strong delivery)

- Late Nights at the Cape and Cane by Max Gladstone ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (What can I say? Love Max Gladstone to pieces, this was fun and bonkers)

- Celia and the Conservation of Entropy by Amelia Beamer ⭐⭐ (Ok, I guess. Interesting idea, but I didn't care at all about the story)

- Migration by Kat Howard ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Beautiful and transient)

- The Boy Who Grew Up by Christopher Barzak ⭐⭐ (Ok story)

- Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors by Jay Lake ⭐⭐⭐ (Nice story, although I am not very fond of the mysterious-secret-handshake-fae trope)

- Does Sex Make Science Fiction “Soft?” by Tansy Rayner Roberts ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Nice piece, current and hoping for a wider world)

- Kissing song by Neil Gaiman 💩💩💩💩💩 (Kidding, not reading that guy anymore)

[Rebecca Crunden]

In every life I can remember, which is not all of them, not any more, I have longed to fly.

Migration by Kat Howard was absolutely beautiful. A tale of birds and eternity. Read here.

[Libby Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Stories
Presence - Ken Liu: 2.5
If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White - Maria Dahvana Headley: 3.5
Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors - Jay Lake: dnf
Late Nights at the Cape and Cane - Max Gladstone: 3.5
Migration - Kat Howard: dnf
Celia and the Conservation of Entropy - Amelia Beamer: 4
The Boy Who Grew Up - Christopher Barzak: 4

Poetry
The New Ways - Amal El-Mohtar: 3
Kissing song - Neil Gaiman: 3.5
The Whalemaid, Singing - Sonya Taaffe: 3

Non-Fiction
Does Sex Make Science Fiction "Soft?" - Tansy Rayner Roberts: 4

[Felicia]

Favorites:

If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White (Maria Dahvana Headley)

[John Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent first issue

This first issue of the kickstarted magazine Uncanny Magazine is a worthy addition to the genre. As with any collection, certain pieces resonated with me more than others.

I especially liked Ken Liu's "Presense" which explored how we deal with guilt, loss, and family and Gladstone's take on the superhero trope in "Late Nights at the Cape and Cane."

The other fictional pieces were all extremely well written but not really my cup of tea. Tastes differ.

The non-fiction pieces were informative and the Worldcon Roundtable discussion was very interesting.

[Jim Brucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right out of the gate, this is an amazing collection. I was expecting some of the lush stories, such as the Ken Liu piece, work that I've seen in Apex, Clarkesworld, and other current science fiction magazines. What I wasn't expecting was the humor and optimism, stories that were joyous and refreshing. There are few "difficult reads" in this issue, and I'm thankful for that. Some current science fiction can be so dense and emotional that I find it overwhelming (even as it is exquisitely written). The writing in these stories is solid, clear. I'm on board.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another demonstration of authors who are doing great things with the short story format. I'll definitely be buying other issues. As usual for magazines and anthologies, a collection of my status updates.

"The Uncanny Valley" - An intro and the the mission statement of the magazine.

"If You Were .... White" - About Jungleland and a premise not unlike Roger Rabbit (the movie, not the book) where all the animal actors in movies were sentient.

"Presence" - Sad tale about caring for a parent in hospice care via a robot

"Late Nights at the Cape and Cane" - A perfect use of the short story form to tell the story of some super villains at a super villain bar.

"Celia and the Conservation of Entropy" - A precocious high school girl goes back in time to visit her grandfather. The story is fun as written, especially Celia's mindset. But it all comes together in the final page (as is often the case with mysterious short stories)

"Migration" - About a world in which birds carry souls.

"The Boy Who Grew Up" - A teenager meets Peter Pan (who's now also a teenager) and gains some perspective on his situation. It was sad, but perhaps a bit hopeful at the end.

"Her Fingers like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors" - what I find annoying about many stories of the fey is that they seem cryptic to a fault. You never quite know WTF is happening and that's annoying. It's not a trope I enjoy. That said, the story overall was good and was successful in conveying the emotions it wanted to.

"Mars..Attacks!" - This article, like other similar ones, made me both happy and sad at once. And, considering it was written 3 years ago, almost sunk me into depression. It's about how geek women are constantly attacked, especially online. (Something I just learned about in the past 2-3 years) It's also about hope with all the female geek cultures. But to see where we are in 2017....ooh boy.

"Worldcon Roundtable" - a roundtable panel conducted via email about Worldcon. Made me more interested in trying to attend a WorldCon. There's a lot of drama around it and that was even present in the roundtable. But fan comes from fanatic, so I'm not surprised people are extremely passionate about it. The important thing is everyone remaining respectful and polite.

"Does Sex...Soft?" - Shout out to God's War,which I read last year! I have a hard time understanding the mindset of the people she's criticizing. Sex, love, & romance are a part of the human condition.While I understand if a story ignores it because it takes away from the narrative (books don't mention every character's bathroom use), don't think any story is poorer for including.

I skipped over the shorts article.

"Kissing Song" - a poem

"The New Ways" - a poem

"The Whalemaid, Singing" - a poem

"Interview: Headley" - So much of the tiger story is based in reality, it blows my mind. Also great to see her thought process.

"Interview: Beth Meacham" - Neat talk about how she worked with Jay

"Interview: Christopher Barzak" - A discussion about his short story in the magazine as well as his career.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Presence by Ken Liu

**If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley

***Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors by Jay Lake

****Late Nights at the Cap and Cane by Max Gladstone

*****Migration by Kat Howard

***Celia and the Conservation of Entropy by Amelia Beamer

***The Boy Who Grew Up by Christopher Barzak

[Stephanie Linnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first issue of Uncanny. I have wanted to read it for a while as I really have enjoyed reading sci-fi/fantasy short stories as of late and this had some really good stories in it. I particularly enjoyed "If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White" by Maria Dahvana Headley. I gave this 4.25/5 stars and I plan on continuing to read issues of this magazine!

[Justin Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White - 3/5

Presence - 4/5

Late Nights at the Cape and Cane - 3.5/5

Celia and the Conservation of Entropy - 3.5/5

Migration - 3/5

The Boy Who Grew Up - 5/5

Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors - 4/5

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tor.com has this story in an article, "Seven very short sci-fi stories that can be read in seven minutes or less" Presence by Ken Liu.

Your mother is dying half way around the world but you visit her each night through a remote controlled robot.

[Aryanna Tunstall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Presence by Ken Liu was more heart wrenching than I thought it was going to be. Imagine wanting to be there for a sick family member but being wholly unable to.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

read: intro, skimmed "If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White" by Maria Dahvana Headley, "Late Nights at the Cape & Cane" by Max Gladstone - really liked, "Celia & the Conservation of Entropy" by Amelia Beamer - really enjoyed, "Migration" by Kat Howard, "Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors" by Jay Lake (really liked), "Mars (& Moon & Mercury & Jupiter & Venus) Attacks!" by Sarah Kuhn (essay), "Does Sex Make Science Fiction 'Soft?'" by Tansy Rayner Roberts (essay), "Kissing Son" by Neil Gaiman (poetry), "The New Ways" by Amal El-Mohtar (poetry), "The Whalemaid, Singing" by Sonya Taaffe (poetry), Interview: Beth Meacham on Jay Lake by Lynne M. Thomas

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted at : http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...

Note I only reviewed the short story of max gladstone. Late night at the cap4 and cane. Do note though that if this is a hallmark for the rest of the magazine it is sure on q good track!!


So yes another Max Gladstone short story, that is two in a row already. Last week I reviewed A Kiss With Teeth from Max Gladstone which was pretty cool. Last Tuesday night I found out that a new magazine was release, Uncanny, that feature a story of Max Gladstone as well. And being a big fan there was only one possibility left. Review the story.
There isn't a given synopsis of the story but if I would have to describe it Max Gladstone takes you to an alternate urban fantasy realm where you can't always win...

Late Night at the Cape and Cane is a short story that has approx 3k words and having read several of his stories this is once again a story in a different direction but perhaps the closest linked to his Craft Sequence. As I already said the setting of the story is really in the lines of Urban Fantasy and Max Gladstone isn't afraid to show some of the magic associated with this theme. In the story of Late Night at the Cape and Cane, you follow the story of Doc Sinister and his adventures in the cafe/bar named the Cape and Cane, well just to say the back drop of this story combined with the early mention of magic and Super-League did already inspire a lot of promise for the remainder of the story. Also an early reference marks Doc Sinister as a sloppy drunk, scared and monologuing, now soon the narrator tells that the former and latter are normal for Doc but the middle one, being scared is something of concern. Already my mind was on overdrive thinking about the direction of the story. Soon after this Max Gladstone delves deeper in the why Doc is scared and by this introduces several other characters like Stella the narrator (perspective that you follow) and Skeleton Gwynne I presume that she is a female walking skeleton? All of these characters have something weird of their own and this really make them stand out of the story.

Now there isn't a full focus on urban fantasy epic magic sorcery battles but it does feel like a very pressured atmosphere. WIth the mentioning of all the magical powers that some of these character posses it is a bit like that after every sentence a "bomb" might go of escalating the events. In end it there is nice confrontation that really has a tense atmosphere but luckily it went down quiet. I really liked one of the ending sentences of the story "I didn’t smile back. I went inside to see how Doctor J’s hat would fare. Us losers have to stick together, after all". This given over the whole story and the whole atmosphere gives a very nice description.

One thing that readily stands out and which is in direct relation to the characters is the world that Max Gladstone has managed to build. It is very science fictiony with lines in the Urban Fantasy direction but whereas some others need several pages to build a world, the one that is shown in Late Night at the Cape and Cane is build within just a few sentences and the whole remainder of the story is just so pretty darn awesome to read about. Max Gladstone introduces some very cool concepts that readily ask to be built in more episodes or a full story. I really must urge you to read this story!

You can find the full story following this link
4 magazine it is

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first discovered this magazine, I listened to its podcast and enjoyed it (and I don't normally listen to podcasts). What I appreciate about the podcast is how each one is an "edition" rather than simply isolated stories. Each one has a story, a poem and an interview as well as editorial comments along the way.

But I don't like reading online and I didn't choose to buy the magazine at the time. Now, I have and I'm glad I did. I liked the stories and the non-fiction. I don't generally read poetry so I skipped past that.

I read it in the mobi version and there weren't any formatting issues - which I have encountered lately in some other magazines. The length is good. I like to be able to read a magazine in one to two sittings so I can appreciate the editorial choices and also because I love short fiction and I don't want one publication to dominate my reading.

"If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White" by Maria Dahvana Headley
[listened to in the podcast]

A story set in a Hollywood where the heyday of movie animals has passed. Beautiful story with immersive details. I also very much enjoyed the interview in the podcast where the author explained how the story twines history and fantasy together.

"Presence" by Ken Liu

A mother dying in China, a son living in America and the technology that connects them. I loved how this story dwelt with so much real emotion even against its science-fiction premise. Always love this author's stories.

"Late Nights at the Cape and Cane" by Max Gladstone

Even super-villains - maybe especially super-villains - need a place to drink and let off steam. I liked how this story managed to be fun and poignant at the same time.

"Celia and the Conservation of Entropy" by Amelia Beamer
[listened to in the podcast]

In the course of a school science project, a teenager discovers a time machine. I listened to this a while ago and don't remember it well, but I remember enjoying it at the time.

"Migration" by Kat Howard

This was the first of a series of stories with bird motifs. Flight and death are all intermingled. The writing is good and I enjoyed the imagery, but this one didn't really "talk" to me.

"The Boy Who Grew Up" by Christopher Barzak

A teenage boy visits a park and gets stuck with Peter Pan. But this is a Peter Pan from the earlier, darker stories. I enjoyed the emotional resonance in this and the interview with the author shed interesting light on the process. Another story of birds and wings, death and life. And faeries.

"Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors" by Jay Lake

A girl sick with cancer follows the directions of her peculiar grandfather to a mysterious door. Also faeries and death. Reasonable read, but again it didn't "talk" to me particularly. The follow-up interview about the author was interesting.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space unicorns, they did it! Uncanny was Kickstarted earlier this year.

The opening story is by Maria Dahvana Headley - "If You were a Tiger, I'd have to Wear White" - and I thought it was weird and clever and, indeed, uncanny while reading it and then I discovered just how much of it is true. It's a reporter going to Jungleland (real) to interview the MGM lion (who really lived there, but probably not in a smoking jacket) and who ends up talking to Mabel Stark, the tiger tamer (real). Love and loss and memory; commercialism, culture and the crass.

Ken Liu's "Presence" is sad and sweet and uncomfortable-making. One of those lovely sf pieces that brings together awesome tech with very real human stories.

"Late Nights at the Cape and Cane," from Max Gladstone, isn't really my thing. Nor was "Celia and the Conservation of Entropy" by Amelia Beamer.

Kat Howard's "Migration" takes a quirky look at the idea of death and rebirth, while Christopher Barzak takes a Peter Pan story I had never heard of and updates it somewhat in "The Boy Who Grew Up." And the fiction is rounded out by a reprint of a Jay Lake story, "Her Fingers like Whips, her Eyes like Razors" which also does interesting things with death - this time, challenging it, which I can't help but imagine was inspired by Lake's own cancer.

There are three poems included - from Neil Gaiman, Amal El-Mohtar, and Sonya Taaffe. I am not a connoisseur of poetry.

Then there's the non-fiction. I have to say that my one disappointment with this first issue of the magazine is that there wasn't more non-fiction, which I thought was going to be a bit of a Thing. Anyway, Sarah Kuhn talks by way of cosplaying as Sailor Mars about the reception of geeky women in fan spaces over the last few years, which felt like a round-up of some of the issues for people who haven't been following it all closely. I did enjoy the discussion of becoming more and more involved in the Sailor fandom. Tansy Rayner Roberts' "Does Sex mark Science Fiction 'Soft'?" never answers its own question but does discuss the ways in which some in the sf scene have tried to banish stories with Too Much Sex/Kissing/Whatever out of sf... although they wouldn't be accepted by romance immediately anyway. And Christopher J Garcia's "The Ten Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Shorts on the Web" is a really great sort of article to include in a magazine like this and indeed makes its online nature an absolute positive. So too does the fact that the interview with Headley (there are interviews with Barzak and about Lake too) contains links to pictures of Stark.

Overall this is a positive start to the magazine and I look forward to more.

[Ben Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid first issue although not one which leaves me with a clear impression of exactly what Uncanny Magazine is or why it exists. For the non-fiction it was all entertaining enough other than a dull roundtable only of interest to people interested in running conventions however it all felt either just as unneccisary as that except for the Tansy article which felt far to undercooked to be worth reading (hadn't read or thought enough about the issue to say anything very interesting). Still I was entertained and would read the rest of the non-fiction in any future issue of Uncanny I buy. The best article was one about some good free SF films which you can see online but this very short article was really more of a blog article and would work better read as such where you can click and save on links for anything interesting.

As for the poetry - I just dont get why SF poetry is published in SF magazines. I like poetry and I like SF and I sometimes like SF in my poetry but I have yet to read any poetry published in SF sources that I have felt was any good. And when you see how little people get paid for SF poetry I can see why. It is a labour of love but it is just like if someone spend ages renovating a model train set - its love for which i am at best mildly curious and a love I dont share. None of the poetry in this collection left a lasting impression on me.

As for the fiction there was nothing bad here but nothing that I loved. The tone was all lightish and the each story was very readable. The Beamer was a pleasant surprise and was very good, Time travel done in a fresh and fun way and the Liu felt a little like Tongtongs summer which he translated for Upgraded but was efficiently told and well written.

[Richard Leis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I backed Uncanny on Kickstarter with glee and am just now trying to get caught up on the first four issues. Issue 1 is full of short stories, poetry, interviews, and commentary; I particularly liked being able to read particular short stories followed by interviews of their authors.

Some of the highlights for me: "If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White" by Maria Dahvana Headley (the interview with her provided incredible real-life context to the fictional story), "Presence" by Ken Liu, and "The Boy Who Grew Up" by Christopher Barzak (another one of the interviewed authors.) I'm new to science fiction and fantasy poetry, and I found the poems in this issue a little opaque, but really lovely and demanding rereads, especially "The New Ways" by Amal El-Mohtar.

Much of the commentary stands as strong rebukes to recent misogyny and other forms of discrimination in fandom. I'm so glad these responses are occurring, but I'm also saddened that it is necessary in a day and age when discrimination should be long gone. The "Worldcon Roundtable" was enlightening, especially given the recent insanitity related to the Hugo Awards.

A strong first issue! I'm looking forward to starting the next one.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★☆ - 'If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White' by Maria Dahvana Headley
★★★★☆ - 'Presence' by Ken Liu
★★★★☆ - 'Late Nights at the Cape and Cane' by Max Gladstone
★★★★☆ - 'The Boy Who Grew Up' by Christopher Barzak

★★★☆☆ - 'Celia and the Conservation of Entropy' by Amelia Beamer
★★★☆☆ - 'Migration' by Kat Howard

★★☆☆☆ - 'Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors' by Jay Lake

[Alexandria (DaysPass) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read all aspects of this issue and have instead given small reviews to the pieces that interested me and I managed to finish.

Presence by Ken Liu

This was a beautiful short about the importance of human contact and my first toe-dip into the genre of Sci-Fi. I found that Liu had a good voice and invoked great compassion for his characters. I would totally recommend giving this a try, there's no real action or great excitement but a quick injection of feeling.

Migration by Kat Howard

Now I gotta say straight off the bat, I have no clue what was going on in this short. I do love me some mythical beings though, and with the mention of a phoenix I was down. Similarly, to the Liu piece, there are some more difficult themes addressed in this short. But the use of language that Howard brings is utterly amazing. I'm not one for flowery writing most of the time but it was just so good, I found myself glued from start to finish.

[Sidsel Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

my review of the fiction: http://www.mackat.dk/book/2014/12/unc...

Merged review:

Once again I find it interesting that the first issue of this magazine have so many themes of death and endings. This story is about a woman who do not want to be reborn, she is tried of the endless cycle of life – now that I write that it sound very Budish, but that is not the vibe I got from the story. She is dying in the story and searching for a phoenix to carry her soul. It is a beautifully written story but it didn't really touch me. But I don't think I have the right experiences to connect to the story.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space unicorns united via Kickstarter to help give birth to this new eZine of SF/Fantasy/Horror genres and this first issue really packs in a decent range of quality stories as well as some poems, nonfiction, and interviews. There isn't a bad piece in this one as far as I'm concerned, and there's a reprint of a Jay Lake emotional juggernaut, reminding all that he will be missed. If you read short fiction but haven't checked this magazine out yet, go and start at this issue. I hope they'll be able to keep continuing.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s here, and it’s bloody marvellous!

I don’t normally go Kickstarter crazy thanks to that irksome little thing called available funds, but when I got wind of this one back when, I had a good feeling it would be something special if I could get my hands on it. Lo and behold, I was right.


The goods, man. They be quality.


Full review here: overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/2014/11/re...

[Zach Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stong start

This is an impressive first issue for a genre magazine. I especially liked Max Gladstone's story about where super villains go to drink after a day of fighting super heroes.

[Michael Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Podcast #001 of Uncanny Magazine. "If You Were a Tiger, I'd Have to Wear White" is an excellent story. Old Hollywood secrets meets fantastical talking animals in a bittersweet memoir, as told to an expose journalist.

[Lynne]

I'm one of the editors.

[Boutayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite thing from this anthology : Ken Liu's short story