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Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 103, December 2018
LIGHTSPEED is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF--and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.
This month, our cover art comes from Marcel Mercado, illustrating the first story in a new series of fantasy shorts by Ashok K. Banker—“A Love Story Written on Water.” Plus, we have a mouth-watering new short fantasy piece by Shaenon K. Garrity (“Grandma Novak’s Famous Nut Roll”), and fantasy reprints by Adam-Troy Castro (“Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs”) and Karen Lord (“The Counsellor Crow”). For science fiction, we have original shorts by Lizz Huerta (“Mouths”) and Seanan McGuire (“Under the Sea of Stars”). We’re also featuring SF reprints by Kim Stanley Robinson (“Remaking History”) and Maurice Broaddus (“Vade Retro Satana”). All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns. For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive novella reprint—“All the Flavors” by Ken Liu—and an excerpt from Mirah Bolender’s debut novel, City of Broken Magic.
This month, our cover art comes from Marcel Mercado, illustrating the first story in a new series of fantasy shorts by Ashok K. Banker—“A Love Story Written on Water.” Plus, we have a mouth-watering new short fantasy piece by Shaenon K. Garrity (“Grandma Novak’s Famous Nut Roll”), and fantasy reprints by Adam-Troy Castro (“Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs”) and Karen Lord (“The Counsellor Crow”). For science fiction, we have original shorts by Lizz Huerta (“Mouths”) and Seanan McGuire (“Under the Sea of Stars”). We’re also featuring SF reprints by Kim Stanley Robinson (“Remaking History”) and Maurice Broaddus (“Vade Retro Satana”). All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns. For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive novella reprint—“All the Flavors” by Ken Liu—and an excerpt from Mirah Bolender’s debut novel, City of Broken Magic.
- GenresFantasyScience Fiction
279 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2018
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
John Joseph Adams
370 books980 followersJohn Joseph Adams is the series editor of BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. He is also the bestselling editor of many other anthologies, such as ROBOT UPRISINGS, DEAD MAN'S HAND, BRAVE NEW WORLDS,WASTELANDS, and THE LIVING DEAD. Recent and forthcoming books include WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, OPERATION ARCANA, PRESS START TO PLAY, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, and THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH (consisting of THE END IS NIGH, THE END IS NOW, and THE END HAS COME). Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award (for which he has been nominated nine times), is a seven-time World Fantasy Award finalist, and served as a judge for the 2015 National Book Award. John is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is a producer for Wired's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. You can find him online at www.johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 24, 2020
Remaking History - Kim Stanley Robinson ***
A Love Story Written On Water - Ashok K Banker **
Mouths - Lizz Huerta ****
Of A Sweet Slow Dance In The Wake Of Temporary Dogs - Adam-Troy Castro ****
Vade Retro Satana - Maurice Broaddus **
Grandma Novak's Famous Nut Roll - Shaenon K Garrity **
Under The Sea Of Stars - Seanan McGuire ***
The Counsellor Crow - Karen Lord ***
A Love Story Written On Water - Ashok K Banker **
Mouths - Lizz Huerta ****
Of A Sweet Slow Dance In The Wake Of Temporary Dogs - Adam-Troy Castro ****
Vade Retro Satana - Maurice Broaddus **
Grandma Novak's Famous Nut Roll - Shaenon K Garrity **
Under The Sea Of Stars - Seanan McGuire ***
The Counsellor Crow - Karen Lord ***
April 9, 2023
This was an awesome issue of Lightspeed magazine where I really enjoyed every story. I was especially happy to find out that I started out my Lightspeed magazine subscription with this issue because for the next 5 issues they had stories by Ashok K Banker that all take place in the same universe and I loved the story in this issue. Here are my reviews per story:
Remaking History (Kim Stanley Robinson): this has a real feel of a golden age science fiction short story: a bunch of characters mostly having a philosophical discussion with a minimum of action or plot. Not a problem for me, I'm a huge fan of those old stories like what Asimov used to write.
Mouths (Liz Huerta): this story is a very interesting take on the climate dystopia. It's almost entirely about the people involved. It's not interested in the why or the details of the collapse; refreshing.
Vade Retro Satana (Maurice Broaddus): Broaddus gives us a SF classic in that this story is using the future to teach us our past. At first I thought it was odd that the aliens had what seemed to be African names. As things went on, it seemed this was merely human colonization on a galactic scale.
Under the Sea of Stars (Seanan McGuire): This story is another example of McGuire's fascination with portal fantasies. I wasn't sure where it was going to go until just about the end.
A love story written on water (Ashok K Banker): A really awesome, intricate story involving Southern Asian mythology.
Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs (Adam Troy-Castro): I realized what the twist would be just right before it happened. I have no idea what choice I would make in those circumstances. It's an incredibly well-told story that left me stunned. Given that it came out in 2003 (it's a reprint), it's interesting that it shares some themes with the HBO adaptation of West World.
Grandma Novak’s Famous Nut Roll (Shaenon K. Garrity): that was really neat! Since it started off so mundane, I was looking for the twist. It was fun. I'm not well versed in fantasy and European mythology, so I may have missed what the clues mean (eg the foot print thing), but still very enjoyable.
The Counsellor Crow (Karen Lord): Another great plot twist as one wonders how this is going to become a fantasy.
All The Flavors: A Tale of Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War, in America (Ken Liu): a moving story about a sad part of American history. The cool part is that the footnotes at the end reveal that it's actually historical fiction. I like Ken Liu's style and look forward to eventually reading his silk punk trilogy.
Then an excerpt, book reviews, media reviews, and author interviews.
Remaking History (Kim Stanley Robinson): this has a real feel of a golden age science fiction short story: a bunch of characters mostly having a philosophical discussion with a minimum of action or plot. Not a problem for me, I'm a huge fan of those old stories like what Asimov used to write.
Mouths (Liz Huerta): this story is a very interesting take on the climate dystopia. It's almost entirely about the people involved. It's not interested in the why or the details of the collapse; refreshing.
Vade Retro Satana (Maurice Broaddus): Broaddus gives us a SF classic in that this story is using the future to teach us our past. At first I thought it was odd that the aliens had what seemed to be African names. As things went on, it seemed this was merely human colonization on a galactic scale.
Under the Sea of Stars (Seanan McGuire): This story is another example of McGuire's fascination with portal fantasies. I wasn't sure where it was going to go until just about the end.
A love story written on water (Ashok K Banker): A really awesome, intricate story involving Southern Asian mythology.
Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs (Adam Troy-Castro): I realized what the twist would be just right before it happened. I have no idea what choice I would make in those circumstances. It's an incredibly well-told story that left me stunned. Given that it came out in 2003 (it's a reprint), it's interesting that it shares some themes with the HBO adaptation of West World.
Grandma Novak’s Famous Nut Roll (Shaenon K. Garrity): that was really neat! Since it started off so mundane, I was looking for the twist. It was fun. I'm not well versed in fantasy and European mythology, so I may have missed what the clues mean (eg the foot print thing), but still very enjoyable.
The Counsellor Crow (Karen Lord): Another great plot twist as one wonders how this is going to become a fantasy.
All The Flavors: A Tale of Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War, in America (Ken Liu): a moving story about a sad part of American history. The cool part is that the footnotes at the end reveal that it's actually historical fiction. I like Ken Liu's style and look forward to eventually reading his silk punk trilogy.
Then an excerpt, book reviews, media reviews, and author interviews.
November 26, 2022
Best story overall: Seanan McGuire - Under the sea of stars - 4 stars
Biggest surprise: Karen Lord - The Counsellor Crow - 3.5 stars
Most relatable: Maurice Broaddus - Vade Retro Satana- 3 stars
Still enjoyable/Okay: Mouths - Lizz Huerta; Grandma Novak's Famous Nut Roll - Shaenon K. Garrity - both 3 stars
DNF: Adam Troy Castro (hell no) and Kim Stanley Robinson (seemed fun, but not for me)
Didn't bother because it's romance: Ashok K. Banker
Overall: 3 stars
Biggest surprise: Karen Lord - The Counsellor Crow - 3.5 stars
Most relatable: Maurice Broaddus - Vade Retro Satana- 3 stars
Still enjoyable/Okay: Mouths - Lizz Huerta; Grandma Novak's Famous Nut Roll - Shaenon K. Garrity - both 3 stars
DNF: Adam Troy Castro (hell no) and Kim Stanley Robinson (seemed fun, but not for me)
Didn't bother because it's romance: Ashok K. Banker
Overall: 3 stars
August 23, 2019
I read Ken Liu's All The Tastes from this collection. It's a fascinating look at a friendship between a Father & Daughter in an American town who befriend a group of Chinese miners who come to town in the 1800's . An interesting look at the coming together of two cultures , the power of storytelling and prejudice.
Coyer Novella Readathon 1 pt
Coyer Novella Readathon 1 pt
September 22, 2022
I read Mouths by Lizz Huerta, and oh man it was AMAZING.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews