What do you think?
Sci Phi Journal, Issue 8, November 2015
Sci Phi is an online science fiction and philosophy magazine. In each issue you will find stories that explore questions of life, the universe and everything and articles that delve into the deep philosophical waters of science fiction universes. Flash Fiction I Clink, Therefore I am by Edward M. Lerner The Trade’s On by J’nae Rae Spano Be Careful When You Wish For by L.P. Melling Stories reBirth by Katharine Gripp The Pondering Pacifist by John Kaniecki Walk by Gunnar De Winter They Shall Be As Gods by John Rovito Articles A Requiem for the Two Perspectives on Time, and a Celebration of Kairos, in Three Stories by Harlan Ellison by Michael Spence Riding a White Manliness and Liberation in Roger Zelazny’s “The Lord of Light” by Patrick S. Baker The Problem with the Problem of Susan by Anthony Marchetta The Mote in God's The Temptation of Samuel Vimes by G. Scott Huggins Serial Beyond the Mist by Ben Zwycky continues with our protagonist pushing ever onward. Places Where the Roads Don’t Go by Michael F. Flynn brings to us a new serial that explores the nature of the mind and whether hard A.I is possible. And a book review by Mike Phelps
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
May 1, 2016
Honestly, I bought and read this journal because of one of the authors featured within its pages. I know J’nae Rae Spano personally and wanted to read a sample of her work.
I don't think I would have bought the journal otherwise. I tend to like my science fiction with more commercial cover art, something with a more slick and modern feel to it or something a little more old school and cohesive, and with journals especially, I like the title logo to be more iconic and consistent with each volume. Those sorts of things lend some credibility and gravitas, and subconsciously they communicate to me that because the publisher invested in the art and design of the publication, the publisher has also likely invested in the writing and editing.
So I was mildly surprised at the quality of the work inside. I had been expecting something more amateurish and cut-and-paste, but it was actually reminiscent of some of the old school fantasy and science fiction journals I've read in my early teens. It's been a while since I've read those, but this one wasn't bad at all!
The stories are all properly thought-provoking and intellectual, and the essays and book review are amazingly well thought out, almost cerebral and academic.
I should have reviewed the journal soon after reading it, as my impressions of it, almost three months later, are pretty hazy. There are, however, two stories that have stuck with me.
Naturally, I remember J'nae Rae Spano's story, "The Trade's On." It's about a young woman about to be married to someone — she doesn't know to whom, yet — and the marriage is essentially part of a business deal designed to help her people. SPOILER ALERT — skip to the next paragraph if you'd rather not know the ending — her groom turns out to be someone she knows and cares about, so the story, while heavy with anxiety in the beginning, ends well for the heroine.
Anyway, it reminded me of a short story I read in a textbook while in junior high and never forgot. I don't remember the title or the author name, but for some reason that story stuck with me ALL THESE YEARS. It was almost like a fairy tale or fantasy — the heroine is a princess, but rather plain looking, and everyone around her kept bemoaning that fact because she might never get to marry well despite her status. But the kingdom schemed to marry her off unseen so she could be properly married to a prince, and on the day of her marriage, she meets someone before the wedding who thinks she's beautiful, and then as the day progresses she becomes strangely beautiful to everyone else, including herself, and when her veil is lifted at the wedding ceremony, she IS beautiful, and the prince groom turns out to be the person who first thought she was beautiful; he had disguised himself as a commoner, just as she did, so they could try to figure out who they were to marry. He had been considered pretty plain, too, but to each other, they were very good looking, and so everyone finally saw their true beauty.
It wasn't really all that similar to J'nae Rae Spano's story except for the fact that the heroine was going to be married to a surprise groom, and the surprise turns out not to be a bad one. But still...
The other story in the journal that stuck with me is one where some connected but indifferent businessman in the future gets bio-hacked, and he is made to switch bodies with someone significantly less privileged — the sort of fantasy every common man has, to switch places with someone who is wealthy but takes that wealth for granted, just for the purpose of spreading that wealth around to others. Nicely done story!
The rest, I'm afraid, is kind of a blur for me. But I know it was a good read altogether.
I don't think I would have bought the journal otherwise. I tend to like my science fiction with more commercial cover art, something with a more slick and modern feel to it or something a little more old school and cohesive, and with journals especially, I like the title logo to be more iconic and consistent with each volume. Those sorts of things lend some credibility and gravitas, and subconsciously they communicate to me that because the publisher invested in the art and design of the publication, the publisher has also likely invested in the writing and editing.
So I was mildly surprised at the quality of the work inside. I had been expecting something more amateurish and cut-and-paste, but it was actually reminiscent of some of the old school fantasy and science fiction journals I've read in my early teens. It's been a while since I've read those, but this one wasn't bad at all!
The stories are all properly thought-provoking and intellectual, and the essays and book review are amazingly well thought out, almost cerebral and academic.
I should have reviewed the journal soon after reading it, as my impressions of it, almost three months later, are pretty hazy. There are, however, two stories that have stuck with me.
Naturally, I remember J'nae Rae Spano's story, "The Trade's On." It's about a young woman about to be married to someone — she doesn't know to whom, yet — and the marriage is essentially part of a business deal designed to help her people. SPOILER ALERT — skip to the next paragraph if you'd rather not know the ending — her groom turns out to be someone she knows and cares about, so the story, while heavy with anxiety in the beginning, ends well for the heroine.
Anyway, it reminded me of a short story I read in a textbook while in junior high and never forgot. I don't remember the title or the author name, but for some reason that story stuck with me ALL THESE YEARS. It was almost like a fairy tale or fantasy — the heroine is a princess, but rather plain looking, and everyone around her kept bemoaning that fact because she might never get to marry well despite her status. But the kingdom schemed to marry her off unseen so she could be properly married to a prince, and on the day of her marriage, she meets someone before the wedding who thinks she's beautiful, and then as the day progresses she becomes strangely beautiful to everyone else, including herself, and when her veil is lifted at the wedding ceremony, she IS beautiful, and the prince groom turns out to be the person who first thought she was beautiful; he had disguised himself as a commoner, just as she did, so they could try to figure out who they were to marry. He had been considered pretty plain, too, but to each other, they were very good looking, and so everyone finally saw their true beauty.
It wasn't really all that similar to J'nae Rae Spano's story except for the fact that the heroine was going to be married to a surprise groom, and the surprise turns out not to be a bad one. But still...
The other story in the journal that stuck with me is one where some connected but indifferent businessman in the future gets bio-hacked, and he is made to switch bodies with someone significantly less privileged — the sort of fantasy every common man has, to switch places with someone who is wealthy but takes that wealth for granted, just for the purpose of spreading that wealth around to others. Nicely done story!
The rest, I'm afraid, is kind of a blur for me. But I know it was a good read altogether.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review