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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 125 (Clarkesworld Magazine, #125)

Neil Clarke (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Jack Skillingstead (Goodreads Author) (Contributor)

Burt Courtier (Contributor)

Nin Harris (Goodreads Author) (Contributor)

Simone Heller (Contributor)

Chi Hui (Contributor)

Andy Dudak (Translator)

Cecelia Holland (Contributor)

, more…

3.51 · Rating details · 55 ratings · 12 reviews

FICTION
"Assassins" by Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier
"Prosthetic Daughter" by Nin Harris
"How Bees Fly" by Simone Heller
"Rain Ship" by Chi Hui, translated by Andy Dudak
"Dragon's Deep" by Cecelia Holland
"The Dragonslayer of Merebarton" by K.J. Parker

NON-FICTION
"Frodo Is Dead: Worldbuilding and The Science of Magic" by Christopher Mahon
"Organic Tech and Healing Clay: A ...more

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ebook, 148 pages

Published February 2nd 2017 by Wyrm Publishing (first published February 2017)

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Feb 20, 2017 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, the-shorts, here-there-be-dragons

More dragons! Reviews for the following fantasy short stories first posted on Fantasy Literature:

4 stars for “The Dragonslayer of Merebarton” by K.J. Parker, online here at Clarkesworld: Dodinas le Cure Hardy, a 56 year old knight, was a moderately successful knight in his day (“three second places in ranking tournaments, two thirds, usually in the top twenty out of an average field of forty or so”), but now he has retired to his rather dilapidated estate. He’s attempting to mend his own More dragons! Reviews for the following fantasy short stories first posted on Fantasy Literature:

4 stars for “The Dragonslayer of Merebarton” by K.J. Parker, online here at Clarkesworld: Dodinas le Cure Hardy, a 56 year old knight, was a moderately successful knight in his day (“three second places in ranking tournaments, two thirds, usually in the top twenty out of an average field of forty or so”), but now he has retired to his rather dilapidated estate. He’s attempting to mend his own chamber pot when he’s informed of a dragon and asked to kill it. Dodinas is extremely reluctant to go ― he’s too old, and his wife is angrily worried that he’ll be killed ― but he’s the knight, and in the end he feels responsible for dealing with the dragon problem.

… in all those old tales of gallantry and errantry, when the poet sings of the knight wandering in a dark wood and encountering the evil to be fought, the wrong to be put right, “knight” in that context is just shorthand for a knight and his squire and his armor-bearer and his three men-at-arms and the boy who leads the spare horses. The others aren’t mentioned by name, they’re subsumed in him, he gets the glory or the blame but everyone knows, if they stop to think about it, that the rest of them were there too; or who lugged around the spare lances, to replace the ones that got broken? And who got the poor bugger in and out of his full plate harness every morning and evening?

So dragon-fighting is a group effort, for good or ill, and in the end it will take the efforts of many, and exact a high price. Dodinas is somewhat an anti-hero, fully aware of his shortcomings, but he has a core of honor that motivates him. He tells this story with weary humor, clearly wishing he could be doing anything but dragon-fighting, for which he and his men are poorly equipped. But he’s compelled by his sense of responsibility to take action.

It’s a somewhat farcical but gritty tale. I appreciated Dodinas’ wry voice and the realistic spin on the responsibilities of knighthood and the vagaries of dragon-hunting.

3.5 stars for "Dragon's Deep" by Cecelia Holland, online here at Clarkesworld: Perla’s small fishing village is visited one day by the Duke and fifty of his knights, who inform the villagers that because they are the best fishermen in the country, their taxes will now be doubled. The knights then pillage the village, raping Perla’s sister. In desperate need, the villagers mount a late season fishing expedition, heading north to Dragon’s Deep, where the fishing will be better, instead of south to their normal (now fished out) area. They pay for their temerity: a dragon attacks, killing the men and capturing Perla. She ends up trapped in his lair, fed by the dragon in exchange for telling him stories, but desperate to escape if she can.

“Dragon’s Deep” is a moralistic tale, where good and evil collide, but are not always found where you expect them to be. Greed and cruelty, which seem to be personified by the dragon, are found not only in the Duke and his men, but also in Perla’s village, in people Perla thought she could trust. I was intrigued by how often, in several different contexts, the word “deep” is used here, reminding me of the dark depths that are in the waters, in the dragon’s lair, and in men’s hearts.

I've also read the cyberpunk short story "Prosthetic Daughter" by Nin Harris, set in a future where humans' brains are all connected to technology, with memories that can be downloaded and augmented. Our main character makes the mistake of challenging a hostile woman's ability to jack into her and her family's notes and erase their memories. An interesting if not really original idea, but too fragmented and superficial to have any impact on me. Maybe someone who's really into computers will get more out of this story than I did. 2.5 stars. ...more

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Feb 14, 2017 Leo Robertson rated it liked it

Excellent stories as always and featuring some intimidatingly accomplished writers!

Prosthetic Daughter by Nin Harris is the clear winner for me this month.

Loads of fantasy this time though, and again, until the existence of dragons is confirmed, I don't get it.

Anyways this mag is totally free to read online, so I ain't complaining :)

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Dec 27, 2017 Caitlin rated it liked it

Shelves: fic-fantasy, format-short-stories

The Dragonslayer of Merebarton is a short story about an older knight who is forced to deal with the unwanted presence of a dragon on his lands. Having long since abandoned the tournaments of his younger days, Dodinas le Cure Hardy would much rather manage his estate as best he can. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men and so on.

I'm a bit torn on this one. On the one hand, it was amusing and was a delightfully cynical look at the heroic knight and dragonslaying. On the other hand, ...more

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Jan 29, 2017 Igrowastreesgrow rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017

This story had an unexpected ending. May have been a bit morbid. It's hard to tell with the language and the false statements about what he is saying. So, I'm not sure how to take this story. I liked it. However, I can't figure out if he meant what he meant or was it really the other thing he's been talking about for the whole second half of the story. I read it twice and couldn't figure it out.

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Jun 20, 2019 Eric Mesa rated it really liked it

Shelves: magazines

"Assassins" - At it's most basic level, this is a story about people forming emotional attachments with virtual characters. What I think makes this short story so compelling is that this is already the case with much less fidelity than a Star Trek holodeck or even convincing virtual reality. People form emotional bonds with video game characters - the previous book I read (A Mind Forever Voyaging) - documents this happening back in the text adventure days. It still happens today. And it happens "Assassins" - At it's most basic level, this is a story about people forming emotional attachments with virtual characters. What I think makes this short story so compelling is that this is already the case with much less fidelity than a Star Trek holodeck or even convincing virtual reality. People form emotional bonds with video game characters - the previous book I read (A Mind Forever Voyaging) - documents this happening back in the text adventure days. It still happens today. And it happens with book characters, anime characters, characters on TV shows... So it doesn't take a huge leap of faith to understand the emotional attachments in the more VR-capable world of the short story. Additionally, the main character has her own emotional issues and perhaps some neuro-atypical things going on. As a short story it's masterfully told, but I think it would also be fun to explore this world some more in another short story or in a longer story.

"Prosthetic Daughter" - The story has a pretty cool philsophical setup: if our memories make us who we are and, due to cybernetic implants, they can be erased, what does that mean for our identity? Unfortunately, it has the (seemingly) uncessisary addition of a time travel element which I can't quite figure out if it was used .Also, the narrative starts off a little vague and does little to correct the vagueness. So I'm left thinking it's a great premise that doesn't quite pay off for me.

"How Bees Fly" - A beautiful story with a pretty great twist halfway through. It definitely left me wanting more from that universe, even if this is the perfect length to keep from seeing the seams in the plot.

"Rain Ship" - This story does what the best mixed genre SF does. It is first and foremost a great thriller mystery. Our main character is a mercenary hired into a scenario she doesn't fully understand. But getting on top of the situation is key to her survival on this mission. Then, layered on top of that is the SF. The mercenary is part of a species who evolved from rats and the way that affects their society is layered over this story. I was glued to my nook the whole time I was reading this story.

"Dragon's Deep" - A combination of 1000 Nights and One and some more traditional western fairy tales, this was a well-told story with some pretty good turns that kept it slightly fresher than it might otherwise had been. Very enjoyable.

"The Dragonslayer of Merebarton" - Great first line: "I was mending my chamber pot when they came to tell me about the dragon" A few [Nook] pages pages in, and I LOVE the tone of the prose. I need need to make note of the author when I get to the end of the short story.THey actually explain what a scorpion is (in terms of a seige engine). I wish Game of Thrones had explained it so we wouldn't have been confused. Also loved this bit "Marhouse was the only one of us in Outremer who ever volunteered for anything, and never got picked, for that exact reason. Another good one, one I never though about before: "...in all those old tales of gallantry and errantry, when the poet sings of the knight wandering in a dark wood and encourntering the evil to be fought, the wrong to be put right, "knight" in that context is just shorthand for a knight and shis squire and his armor=beraer and his three men-at-arms and the boy who leads the spare horses. The others aren't mentioned by name...but everyone knows, if they stop to think about it, that the rest of them were there too; or who lugged around the spare lances , to replace the ones that got broken? And who got the poor bugger in and out of his full plate harness everymorning and evening?" This is now my favorite story in this magazine; love the ending.

"Frodo is Dead: Worldbuilding and The Science of Magic" - To me, the following quote makes audiobooks definitely "reading": "Reading is not the author telling the reader a story - reading is a game in which the author makes implications and the reader uses their interpretive toolbox to create their own interpretation of the story". This is clearly something that can happen whether using your ears or eyes to experience a story. I am not sure I completely agree with the premise of the essay, but it did give me a lot to think about vis-a-vie how designing scientific magic systems informs the stories. Also, pretty awesome that they reference Brandon Sanderson's magic systems.

"Organic Tech and Healing Clay: A Conversatoin wiht Nnedi Okorafor" - A neat view into the mind of Nnedi Okorafor, the author of the Binti novellas. Shows how differently the greats think (like when she she mentioned as a kid thinking of what grasshoppers think and whether ants had built time machines). Very well conducted interview that made me want to read her Binti novellas.

"Another Word: A Doom of One's Own" - the author compares what's happening in the world to dystopia novels and, in particular, Only Lovers Left Alive.

"Editor's Desk: The Next Chapter Begins: - It's funny, I think the first (or one of the first) issues I supported was the one where Neil Clarke was able (thanks to subscribers) become a full-time editor. ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Sameena Jehanzeb rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: diversity, science-fiction

Here comes an anthology with dystopian futures, cyborgs and intelligent rats in it! There was one story I couldn't connect with but I decided to give it 5 stars anyway, since the other three storys were quite amazing.

Assassins – Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier (****)
Sonia is a coder. working for the editors who create characters for the virtual world Labyrinthian. Spectators visit this world through their special glasses and experience friendships and relationships with fictional Here comes an anthology with dystopian futures, cyborgs and intelligent rats in it! There was one story I couldn't connect with but I decided to give it 5 stars anyway, since the other three storys were quite amazing.

Assassins – Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier (****)
Sonia is a coder. working for the editors who create characters for the virtual world Labyrinthian. Spectators visit this world through their special glasses and experience friendships and relationships with fictional characters. But since the editors have "deleted" Sonia's favorite character, she is no longer the same. In the role of her avatars "Simone The Slayer" she takes revenge on the editors by murdering the most popular characters of the virtual world.
The boundaries between reality and virtual environment are fluid in this story. Humans have a strong affection in fictional figures and sometimes they become such great fans of them that they match their appearance to these figures in the real world. What is exciting is that the emotional impact of the death of a virtual figure is nevertheless very real and painful for the people who lose a beloved friend.
An interesting story. As a bookworm I can very much relate with the people in this tory, since I am constantly falling in love with fictional characters or lamenting their death.

Prosthetic Daughter – Nin Harris (**)
Sadly I had great difficulties with this one. Presthetic Daughter is about identity theft, one that actually has any memories of one's own ego removed. It is possible because all people seem to be cyborgs and thus have a kind of chip in their brain. Memorys are stored purely digital and if those get stolen, you know absolutely nothing about yourself anymore, not even your family will remember you. So far so good. What I did not understand is the repeated mention of time travel, whereby that is never really happening. But the story jumps to different moments of the protagonist, memories actually, though her memories should be extinguished. The whole plot raises more questions than answers are offered. What is the ominous order that is occasionally mentioned? What, then, was the savage trap into which the identity thief was apparently mocked? What exactly is the time travel thing in this story? I had the impression that I was given a lot of ideas compressed into too little room. It all felt like broken pieces to me. A pity, because the basic idea was actually quite exciting. Maybe this story might have done better as a novel instead of a short story.

How Bees Fly – Simone Heller (*****)
As a fan of this author and of post-apocalyptic scenarios, "How Bees Fly" caught me with its somewhat gloomy and dystopian mood. The story is told from the perspective of non-human Salpe, whose fears and prejudices against the "demons" are tested when she finally meets two of those creatures face to face. Salpe who is severly hurt would be a light victim for the demons, but they turn out to be very different from what she had learned in all the ols stories. While they are nurturing Salpe, helping her heal, she watches how affectionately the two demons deal with each other. Salpe gets doubts about what has been taught to her all these years.
I found this story to be up todate with current events around the globe. It is about looking at your own biased knowledge and about handling propaganda carefully. In How Bees Fly we are reminded that things are often different from what we are supposed to know, and that we should look closely at our fears and "enemys" before we blindly trust in some random slogan. Often there is just a myth behind the things we are taught.
As a bonus there is also lost knowledge about technical gimmicks, such as bees, which charge their energy cells by sunlight. A well written and emotionally touching piece of SF which I enjoyed a lot.

Rain Ship – Chi Hui (****)
In a distant future humanity has disappeared and a race of intelligent rats is now exploring the archaeological relics of mankind. As a huge human ship is found, with its technology still working, relic haunters and archaeologist meet in a deadly conflict.
This is an imaginative and fast paced story if it wouldn't be for the footnotes. Since the story is easily understood without constantly looking up footnotes I recommend reading them once before you start reading "Rain Ship". It is interesting to have these informations in the back of your head but not necessary really. Overall an entertaining and clever space adventure with a slightly different heroine. ...more

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Mar 21, 2017 Michael Whiteman rated it liked it

Assassins - Jack Skillingstead & Burt Courtier ***
A woman whose character in an online game/reality TV "experience" was deleted for lack of popularity begins killing off the most popular characters. Nice take on the real-world impact of celebrity.

Prosthetic Daughter - Nin Harris ***
Time-hopping identity theft when all memories are cloud-based. Thoughtful and considered on memory and identity when both can be removed and replaced.

How Bees Fly - Simone Heller ***
Post-technology creatures ...more

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Jan 05, 2018 Donald Shepherd rated it really liked it

Amusingly cynical but not gripping, or alternatively realistic enough to reduce the attraction of reading it.

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Jan 11, 2018 Hillary Major rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-sff-discussion, sff-2018

Read this for "The Dragonslayer of Merebaton," typically great KJ Parker black humor; entire issue is solid or better; Chi Hui's "Rain Ship" is a highlight

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Mar 11, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-challenge-books, fantasy, sciencefiction, short-format, physical-books, most-recommended

4.5 *s
I think the standout story in this was Rain Ships. I loved that one. I also super enjoyed the essay Frodo is Dead which looks at the super scientific way people are writing a lot of magic systems currently. I like magic that has a system but it does loose the actual... magic of a magic system sometimes and it kind of breaks that down and why. Good stuff in this one. By far the best was Rain Ships for me though. Loved that one.

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Mar 06, 2017 Jakelene rated it liked it

Shelves: magazine, fantasy, i-own, lgbtqi, sci-fi, short-fiction, ebooks, dystopian, read-in-2017, nonfiction

I recently subscribed to Clarkesworld via their Patreon account. I've been itching to write more short fiction, but I'm also dying to produce more SFF-type work so a magazine subscription seemed to fit both goals. This was a great introduction - many hits and a couple misses for me, but overall a pleasant and enjoyable experience.

Fiction: 3.1/5
- "Assassins": 2/5
- "Prosthetic Daughter": 5/5
- "How Bees Fly": 3/5
- "Rain Ship": 1/5
- "Dragon's Deep": 4/5
- "The Dragonslayer of Merebaton": 4/5

...more

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Shelves: ebook, fantasy, science-fiction, sff-2017, sff-2017-shorts-challenge, periodical, webbed, sff-2018-discussion-challenge, sff-2018-shorts-challenge, sff-2018-reading-challenge

A pretty good issue where I actually enjoyed all the stories to one degree or another.

"Assassins" by Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier —
In a story translating a tale of player-killers in MMORGS into the augmented reality game world. ***

"Prosthetic Daughter" by Nin Harris —
A somber, far-future story of a far-flung humanity, all with cybernetic and bionic augmentations. It turns out, if you store your memories in the cloud, identity theft is somewhat more serious. ****

"How Bees Fly" by Simone ...more

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Rebekah rated it really liked it
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About Neil Clarke

Neil Clarke

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Neil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine. Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a seven-time finalist ...more