Cirsova #9: Heroic Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine

by P. Alexander (Editor), Xavier Lastra, Michael Tierney

Novelettes

All That Glitters, by Paul Lucas
The Orb of Xarkax, by Xavier Lastra


Short Stories

The Faerie Pool, by Edward McDermott
Our Lords, the Swine, by N.A. Roberts
The Bejeweled Chest, by S.K. Inkslinger
Jack's Basement, by Michael Tierney
Antares, by PC Bushi
Cirque des Etoiles, by Bo Balder
Hot Water in Wormtown, by Robert Lang
Littermates (Part 2 of 2), by J.D. Brink

108 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2018

Reviews

[S.K. Inkslinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing collection. These stories took you into fantastical worlds of magic and technologies and left you stranded there, with only the book as a guide. I do not usually read science fantasy works myself, but most of the tales in this collection managed to spark my interest in the genre.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are quite a few nuggets in here, especially the ones in a simpler style but with polished execution, particularly "The Faerie Pool" and "Our Lords, The Swine".

"All That Glitters" leads with the protagonist entering a crowd while attempting to conceal the fact that his knives are bickering with one another. As a starting paragraph, I'm not sure it can be topped. And then the story goes on with a complicated plan, an ignorant protagonist, and weird rules pertaining to psychotic magic items.

"Hot Water in Wormtown" was a bit Gunslinger with its weird world and an 'unwelcome stranger comes to town' plot, and an acidic ending that will stick with you. I hope there's more to say about this world and its characters.