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Asimov's Science Fiction September/October 2021
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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About the author
Sheila Williams
279 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 26, 2022
This is the September/October 2021 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. several nice stories with a tinge of horror for the Halloween issue. Contents:
Monstrous [Asimov's Editorials] essay by Sheila Williams about how in her youth SF was usually associated with horror movies (after all this is a spooky Halloween issue) 2*
Roc of Ages [Reflections] essay by Robert Silverberg about a giant bird, from Marco Polo to Sindbad to Tolkien’s Eagles and their possible real life not now extinct bird Aepyornis maximus, of which the first reliable report was published in 1658 by Etienne de Flacourt, governor of Madagascar under the French. 3*
Dismal [On the Net] essay by James Patrick Kelly about economics in SF and that it is often overlooked, from Star Trek economics to the fact that the estimate cost of the original Death Star was $193 quintillion and asserts that destroying it would have caused a galactic depression that would have made our Great Depression a mere blip. 4*
Sleep and the Soul novella by Greg Egan starts with a road worker Jesse Sloss becomes unconscious after an accident and is buried as dead. He wakes up and manages to escape his grave but his parents think he is possessed by a demon. As story develops we find out that it is an alt-history 1850s USA, and there people do not sleep, and any form of unconsciousness is considered to be equivalent to death. Moreover, the fact that in African culture people still sleep, it allows to defend slavery saying that they lack souls. As a mind experiment it is interesting but I cannot believe in the possibility of such a world. 3*
The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards short story by Jason Sanford this author was nominated for Nebula in 2021 for his another story and I guess the magazine tries to promote him, this issue’s cover is about this story. This story is about a woman, Tessa, living is a weird timelessness bubble with a 100 feet radius. Anything that gets into the radius - freezes in time, and after leaving (she can move remaining the centre of the bubble) turns into a billion years old dust. She is a survivor of a dimension-travel experiment from several decades ago. As a kid she lived with her controlling grandma and liked Japanese giant monsters moviwe. Now someone from her past appears in the bubble and she Godzilla-like goes to meet her past. 3.5*
June Lockhart's Recurring Nightmare poem by David C. Kopaska-Merkel 2*
Singular Days short story by James E. Gunn a last story by the author, who died on December 23, 2020. The protagonist is a woman Alice Milliken, who wakes up in a strange room. She finds out that a strange malady put people across the globe in coma-like sleep and now robots/AI rule the world and want to understand humans behavior (possibly before finishing them). 3*
Breakfast with Jim essay by Kij Johnson memories about James E. Gunn
Shooting at Warner's Bar short story by Michèle Laframboise a film crew comes to a faraway tropic island the shot a B-movie horror. The narrator is actress Beth, who plays supporting character, only to find out that maybe real monster live there. Her witty narration includes unwelcome advances of the movie’s star and mocking own role, where she mostly cries in horror. 3*
In the Library Annex poem by Bruce Boston parallel earth travelers gather in a library. 3.5*
Filaments short story by Mercurio D. Rivera reminiscent of Solaris, a divorced couple visit a planet, where their child died and just before the all sights of presence of humans is destroyed there because it was found out that there is an ocean-wide life-form feeding from human emotions. 2.5*
Billie the Kid novella by Rick Wilber an alt-history about a girl Billie "The Kid" Davis in the 40s, who plays baseball (on which my knowledge is nil) and helps stopping Japanese submarine to deliver a nuclear bomb to LA. On a plus side, I found out about real Japanese uboat plane carriers, like I-401, but the planes they had could lift off with total mass (plane, fuel, bombs, pilot) below 5 tins, while both bombs dropped on Japan were about 5 tons, so this turned me off from an otherwise good story. 3*
Ikaria poem by Joel Richards Ikarus died but lives in legend. 3.5*
An Arc of Electric Skin short story by Wole Talabi a superhero story that start with him shot down by execution squad. Then his backstory follows. He was Akachi Nwosu, a volunteer for increasing skin conductivity for better healthcare items, but his true reason is to revenge the injustice of the Nigerian government. 4*
The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat short story by Peter Wood it is the mid-1970s and a piece of North Carolina where the protagonist resides, became cut off by an invisible barrier from the rest of the world. She is Sandra, the mechanic and a person, who tries to survive and help others, who local thugs formed a militia and are trying to dominate others. They seek for what was the reason of the barrier. 3.5*
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red short story by S. Qiouyi Lu there is a content warning at the start and the story is a version of a werewolf, who wants to contain his beastly urges and a human (?) who helps with them by using bondage, there is no overt sex, but a lot of BDSM. It was well-done, but not my cup of tea. 2*
The Bahnhof Drive-In short story by James Van Pelt a couple of high schoolers arrive at the drive-in at the middle of nowhere to find out that both staff and visitors and their cars are “out of this world”. A common spooky piece, nothing spectacular but well-paced easy read. 3*
Matriphagy short story by Naomi Kanakia] a short piece about a couple waiting for a baby. A couple of spiders and ‘kids’ should eat a way out of their mother. A great piece. 4.5*
Helen Taussig (1898-1986) poem by Jessy Randall an ode to an American cardiologist, who founded the field of pediatric cardiology. 3*
A Blessing of Unicorns [Sub-Inspector Ferron Mysteries 2] novella by Elizabeth Bear a mystery set in a late 21st century Bangalore (India). There is an internet diva missing, with her flat full of small bio-printed unicorns. Our protagonist is Police Sub-Inspector Ferron who investigates the case at the same time having a conflict with her elderly mother, who is passive-aggressive after Ferron limited her funds spend on detailed media of the past. 3.5*
On Books: The Future of the Future [On Books] essay by Norman Spinrad a very nice overview not only of books and writers (of who I plan to check works by Brandon Q. Morris) but what SF means, how it differs from fantasy, how if an earlier possible future gets denied by our present (like the assassination of JFK when you, as the author had, had his alive in your book written just before) it turns from SF to alt-history. 5*
Monstrous [Asimov's Editorials] essay by Sheila Williams about how in her youth SF was usually associated with horror movies (after all this is a spooky Halloween issue) 2*
Roc of Ages [Reflections] essay by Robert Silverberg about a giant bird, from Marco Polo to Sindbad to Tolkien’s Eagles and their possible real life not now extinct bird Aepyornis maximus, of which the first reliable report was published in 1658 by Etienne de Flacourt, governor of Madagascar under the French. 3*
Dismal [On the Net] essay by James Patrick Kelly about economics in SF and that it is often overlooked, from Star Trek economics to the fact that the estimate cost of the original Death Star was $193 quintillion and asserts that destroying it would have caused a galactic depression that would have made our Great Depression a mere blip. 4*
Sleep and the Soul novella by Greg Egan starts with a road worker Jesse Sloss becomes unconscious after an accident and is buried as dead. He wakes up and manages to escape his grave but his parents think he is possessed by a demon. As story develops we find out that it is an alt-history 1850s USA, and there people do not sleep, and any form of unconsciousness is considered to be equivalent to death. Moreover, the fact that in African culture people still sleep, it allows to defend slavery saying that they lack souls. As a mind experiment it is interesting but I cannot believe in the possibility of such a world. 3*
The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards short story by Jason Sanford this author was nominated for Nebula in 2021 for his another story and I guess the magazine tries to promote him, this issue’s cover is about this story. This story is about a woman, Tessa, living is a weird timelessness bubble with a 100 feet radius. Anything that gets into the radius - freezes in time, and after leaving (she can move remaining the centre of the bubble) turns into a billion years old dust. She is a survivor of a dimension-travel experiment from several decades ago. As a kid she lived with her controlling grandma and liked Japanese giant monsters moviwe. Now someone from her past appears in the bubble and she Godzilla-like goes to meet her past. 3.5*
June Lockhart's Recurring Nightmare poem by David C. Kopaska-Merkel 2*
Singular Days short story by James E. Gunn a last story by the author, who died on December 23, 2020. The protagonist is a woman Alice Milliken, who wakes up in a strange room. She finds out that a strange malady put people across the globe in coma-like sleep and now robots/AI rule the world and want to understand humans behavior (possibly before finishing them). 3*
Breakfast with Jim essay by Kij Johnson memories about James E. Gunn
Shooting at Warner's Bar short story by Michèle Laframboise a film crew comes to a faraway tropic island the shot a B-movie horror. The narrator is actress Beth, who plays supporting character, only to find out that maybe real monster live there. Her witty narration includes unwelcome advances of the movie’s star and mocking own role, where she mostly cries in horror. 3*
In the Library Annex poem by Bruce Boston parallel earth travelers gather in a library. 3.5*
Filaments short story by Mercurio D. Rivera reminiscent of Solaris, a divorced couple visit a planet, where their child died and just before the all sights of presence of humans is destroyed there because it was found out that there is an ocean-wide life-form feeding from human emotions. 2.5*
Billie the Kid novella by Rick Wilber an alt-history about a girl Billie "The Kid" Davis in the 40s, who plays baseball (on which my knowledge is nil) and helps stopping Japanese submarine to deliver a nuclear bomb to LA. On a plus side, I found out about real Japanese uboat plane carriers, like I-401, but the planes they had could lift off with total mass (plane, fuel, bombs, pilot) below 5 tins, while both bombs dropped on Japan were about 5 tons, so this turned me off from an otherwise good story. 3*
Ikaria poem by Joel Richards Ikarus died but lives in legend. 3.5*
An Arc of Electric Skin short story by Wole Talabi a superhero story that start with him shot down by execution squad. Then his backstory follows. He was Akachi Nwosu, a volunteer for increasing skin conductivity for better healthcare items, but his true reason is to revenge the injustice of the Nigerian government. 4*
The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat short story by Peter Wood it is the mid-1970s and a piece of North Carolina where the protagonist resides, became cut off by an invisible barrier from the rest of the world. She is Sandra, the mechanic and a person, who tries to survive and help others, who local thugs formed a militia and are trying to dominate others. They seek for what was the reason of the barrier. 3.5*
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red short story by S. Qiouyi Lu there is a content warning at the start and the story is a version of a werewolf, who wants to contain his beastly urges and a human (?) who helps with them by using bondage, there is no overt sex, but a lot of BDSM. It was well-done, but not my cup of tea. 2*
The Bahnhof Drive-In short story by James Van Pelt a couple of high schoolers arrive at the drive-in at the middle of nowhere to find out that both staff and visitors and their cars are “out of this world”. A common spooky piece, nothing spectacular but well-paced easy read. 3*
Matriphagy short story by Naomi Kanakia] a short piece about a couple waiting for a baby. A couple of spiders and ‘kids’ should eat a way out of their mother. A great piece. 4.5*
Helen Taussig (1898-1986) poem by Jessy Randall an ode to an American cardiologist, who founded the field of pediatric cardiology. 3*
A Blessing of Unicorns [Sub-Inspector Ferron Mysteries 2] novella by Elizabeth Bear a mystery set in a late 21st century Bangalore (India). There is an internet diva missing, with her flat full of small bio-printed unicorns. Our protagonist is Police Sub-Inspector Ferron who investigates the case at the same time having a conflict with her elderly mother, who is passive-aggressive after Ferron limited her funds spend on detailed media of the past. 3.5*
On Books: The Future of the Future [On Books] essay by Norman Spinrad a very nice overview not only of books and writers (of who I plan to check works by Brandon Q. Morris) but what SF means, how it differs from fantasy, how if an earlier possible future gets denied by our present (like the assassination of JFK when you, as the author had, had his alive in your book written just before) it turns from SF to alt-history. 5*
September 5, 2021
I think this was an above average issue of Asimov's. But before I commit to that I should go down the list and obsessive-compulsively rank them.
TL;DR: "Filaments" and "" are the best. "Shooting at Warner Bay," "An Arc of Electric Skin," and "Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red" are the worst.
-"Sleep and the Soul" by Greg Egan - this alternate history on a world without sleep is not what I expected from Egan, but it was decent enough. The characters weren't very memorable and the conclusion wasn't remarkable, but the story was decently enjoyable 6.5/10.
-"The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards" by Jason Sanford - this one was interesting enough. A woman has a 27-meter or so bubble around her where everything dies, and some things turn to dust. But why? It's nothing stunning, but the answers are good enough to warrant a 7/10.
-"Singular Days" by James Gunn - this author's last story and the first one I've ever read. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it too much. A woman wakes up to a system of AIs keeping her alive in space after Earth has been decimated by a pandemic. A bit on the nose, James... just when I got really engaged the story ended, so I have to give this 6/10.
-"Shooting at Warner's Bay" by Michele Laframboise may be the magazine's biggest disappointment. The idea of cool monsters showing up on set of a monster movie is a good concept, but the cool monsters are never explored and the story can be reduced down to "girl power." I'll give it a generous 5/10.
-"Filaments" by Mercurio D. Rivera, on the other hand, is the biggest surprise of the issue. It's a great story about a divorced couple on a planet with crazy sci-fi crap going down. At first the ending ticked me off, but now I realize it's great. It deserves a 9/10.
-"Billie the Kid" by Rick Wilber is next - it was a decent story told by an old woman in the nursing home. It ropes in baseball, spies, and most importantly, time travel. But that wasn't explored nearly enough, so I'll throw it 7/10.
-"An Arc of Electric Skin" by Wole Talabi narrowly beats "Shooting at Warner's Bay" - even two or three days later, it's pretty unremarkable. But I kinda liked it, so it gets 5/10.
-"The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Woods - It was fine look at the post-apocalyptic world. I don't mean fine as high praise. I mean fine as in 6/10.
-"Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red" by S. Qiouyi Lu - I don't read this for bondage. Nuff said. 4/10.
-"The Bahnhof Drive-In" by Peter Woods is YA - I think. Aliens visit the drive-through to show us that people - even teenagers - are the same all over the universe, regardless of race. Eh. 6.5/10
-"Matriphagy" by Naomi Kanakia may be the best story here - I won't even spoil anything. It's only two pages long but it feels like the most fleshed out world in the entire magazine, and it even does a moral/political allegory pretty well. It's a definite 9/10.
-"A Blessing of Unicorns" by Elizabeth Bear wraps it up - it's a novella that didn't really grab me. It's this kind of cyberpunky detective story with lots of family drama and a missing influencer (social media star)... it was offensive or anything, just only 6/10.
Wow, I've spent too much time on this. I think I'm gonna go read an actual book now... I hope you all have found this helpful.
TL;DR: "Filaments" and "" are the best. "Shooting at Warner Bay," "An Arc of Electric Skin," and "Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red" are the worst.
-"Sleep and the Soul" by Greg Egan - this alternate history on a world without sleep is not what I expected from Egan, but it was decent enough. The characters weren't very memorable and the conclusion wasn't remarkable, but the story was decently enjoyable 6.5/10.
-"The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards" by Jason Sanford - this one was interesting enough. A woman has a 27-meter or so bubble around her where everything dies, and some things turn to dust. But why? It's nothing stunning, but the answers are good enough to warrant a 7/10.
-"Singular Days" by James Gunn - this author's last story and the first one I've ever read. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it too much. A woman wakes up to a system of AIs keeping her alive in space after Earth has been decimated by a pandemic. A bit on the nose, James... just when I got really engaged the story ended, so I have to give this 6/10.
-"Shooting at Warner's Bay" by Michele Laframboise may be the magazine's biggest disappointment. The idea of cool monsters showing up on set of a monster movie is a good concept, but the cool monsters are never explored and the story can be reduced down to "girl power." I'll give it a generous 5/10.
-"Filaments" by Mercurio D. Rivera, on the other hand, is the biggest surprise of the issue. It's a great story about a divorced couple on a planet with crazy sci-fi crap going down. At first the ending ticked me off, but now I realize it's great. It deserves a 9/10.
-"Billie the Kid" by Rick Wilber is next - it was a decent story told by an old woman in the nursing home. It ropes in baseball, spies, and most importantly, time travel. But that wasn't explored nearly enough, so I'll throw it 7/10.
-"An Arc of Electric Skin" by Wole Talabi narrowly beats "Shooting at Warner's Bay" - even two or three days later, it's pretty unremarkable. But I kinda liked it, so it gets 5/10.
-"The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Woods - It was fine look at the post-apocalyptic world. I don't mean fine as high praise. I mean fine as in 6/10.
-"Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red" by S. Qiouyi Lu - I don't read this for bondage. Nuff said. 4/10.
-"The Bahnhof Drive-In" by Peter Woods is YA - I think. Aliens visit the drive-through to show us that people - even teenagers - are the same all over the universe, regardless of race. Eh. 6.5/10
-"Matriphagy" by Naomi Kanakia may be the best story here - I won't even spoil anything. It's only two pages long but it feels like the most fleshed out world in the entire magazine, and it even does a moral/political allegory pretty well. It's a definite 9/10.
-"A Blessing of Unicorns" by Elizabeth Bear wraps it up - it's a novella that didn't really grab me. It's this kind of cyberpunky detective story with lots of family drama and a missing influencer (social media star)... it was offensive or anything, just only 6/10.
Wow, I've spent too much time on this. I think I'm gonna go read an actual book now... I hope you all have found this helpful.
August 19, 2021
I liked “Sleep and the Soul” by Greg Egan and “A Blessing of Unicorns” by Elizabeth Bear
September 17, 2021
Excellent issue. I loved the Elizabeth Bear novella, and the Rick Wilber novelette in his Moe Berg baseball/WWII/time-travel setting. And James Gunn's last story ever. And most of the others. And how could one not like a story named "The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards" (by Jason Sanford) even though said lizards were not in evidence in the story? But I am perplexed about why Norman Spinrad (reviewing books) didn't simply Google the author he thought was so mysterious; yes, his name is a pseudonym, but his identity is readily available. (Or was getting me to do it the point?)
February 22, 2023
I subscribed to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in the 1980s and 1990s, and I still remember Asimov’s last column, written from his hospital bed. While I no longer read enough short SF enough to subscribe to a regular magazine, I still pick up an occasional issue just to see how it’s doing. Editor Sheila Williams seems to be doing a fine job for the past 20 years.
The regular columns in this issue consist of an editorial on the influence of film SF on written SF by Sheila Williams, reflections on ancient birds by Robert Silverberg, a net-referenced review of worldbuilding and economics by James Patrick Kelly, and book reviews by Norman Spinrad. My comments on the fictional contents are below. (Note that I skip the poetry.) One common thread I saw is that these stories are careful in revealing interesting aspects of their compelling world-building, in parallel with the arc of their plots. This is something I like quite a bit.
Sleep and the Soul, by Greg Egan. A pseudo-19th-century-America story set in an alternate universe, where loss of continuous awareness is a mysterious concept that threatens the established society that treats such as death. I enjoyed the exploration of human sleep as if it were a speculative concept, with possible humanitarian applications. (4/5)
The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards, by Jason Sanford. The first human to enter a parallel universe is expelled with bizarre consequences. Time perception effects, but without gravitational effects, surround her after her return. Interesting character and story, but not really a justifiable concept. (4/5)
Singular Days, by James Gunn. After a pandemic, a woman wakes up isolated, in a world of robots and AI. What has happened to the world, and why is she there? This was James Gunn’s last story before his death in 2020, and it was published posthumously. (3/5)
Shooting at Warner’s Bay, by Michèle Laframboise. An aspiring actress gets her big break as the sassy expendable girlfriend of the heroine, in a horror movie. The trouble is that the moviemaking itself is a horror story. (4/5)
Filaments, by Mercurio D. Rivera. Returning to a former residence on a now-proscribed colony world, a couple rehash the cause of their breakup, and the role the world played in that. The planetary system of filaments responds to their moods and emotions. (5/5)
Billie the Kid, by Rick Wilber. An alternate World War 2 where some agents are attempting to change history. It is drenched in baseball nostalgia which I have little knowledge of, and locales of St. Louis and Los Angeles. It would have been better if the revised timeline was appreciably improved over the starting one, but I guess it all might relate to some horrific situation from the late 21st century, which is not described in this story. It is possible that the eventual fix-up novel will hang together, but this story does not. (2/5)
An Arc of Electric Skin, by Wole Talabi. The narrator has fallen in love with a man who channels lightning to take down a corrupt regime in Nigeria, and now must die. The single speculative concept in this very short story seems too magical. (3/5)
The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat, by Peter Wood. Two young women live in a post-apocalyptic world that consists of a rural county in North Carolina. They seem to take all kinds of bizarre effects in stride, as the actual cause of the situation is revealed. (3/5)
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red, by S. Qiouyi Lu. I don’t think I have ever read a story before that combined the werewolf myth with sexual bondage. Did not enjoy it. (1/5)
The Bahnhof Drive-In, by James van Pelt. A young couple in the early stages of their “congenial exploration” encounter teen-aged aliens at the drive-in. (3/5)
Matriphagy, by Naomi Kanakia. How do spider mothers actually feel about being eaten by their offspring? Kanakia anthropomorphizes spiders in a birthing class. (3/5)
A Blessing of Unicorns, by Elizabeth Bear. Police Sub-Inspector Ferron investigates the disappearance of a young AR personality Beli Handi in late 21st century Bangaloru. Never married, living with her mother and extended family, Ferron struggles to relate to the life of Beli Handi, in order to understand what has happened to her. There is a lot of off-plot world building, but it is a fascinating world. This novella could easily grow into a series of connected stories. (5/5)
The regular columns in this issue consist of an editorial on the influence of film SF on written SF by Sheila Williams, reflections on ancient birds by Robert Silverberg, a net-referenced review of worldbuilding and economics by James Patrick Kelly, and book reviews by Norman Spinrad. My comments on the fictional contents are below. (Note that I skip the poetry.) One common thread I saw is that these stories are careful in revealing interesting aspects of their compelling world-building, in parallel with the arc of their plots. This is something I like quite a bit.
Sleep and the Soul, by Greg Egan. A pseudo-19th-century-America story set in an alternate universe, where loss of continuous awareness is a mysterious concept that threatens the established society that treats such as death. I enjoyed the exploration of human sleep as if it were a speculative concept, with possible humanitarian applications. (4/5)
The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards, by Jason Sanford. The first human to enter a parallel universe is expelled with bizarre consequences. Time perception effects, but without gravitational effects, surround her after her return. Interesting character and story, but not really a justifiable concept. (4/5)
Singular Days, by James Gunn. After a pandemic, a woman wakes up isolated, in a world of robots and AI. What has happened to the world, and why is she there? This was James Gunn’s last story before his death in 2020, and it was published posthumously. (3/5)
Shooting at Warner’s Bay, by Michèle Laframboise. An aspiring actress gets her big break as the sassy expendable girlfriend of the heroine, in a horror movie. The trouble is that the moviemaking itself is a horror story. (4/5)
Filaments, by Mercurio D. Rivera. Returning to a former residence on a now-proscribed colony world, a couple rehash the cause of their breakup, and the role the world played in that. The planetary system of filaments responds to their moods and emotions. (5/5)
Billie the Kid, by Rick Wilber. An alternate World War 2 where some agents are attempting to change history. It is drenched in baseball nostalgia which I have little knowledge of, and locales of St. Louis and Los Angeles. It would have been better if the revised timeline was appreciably improved over the starting one, but I guess it all might relate to some horrific situation from the late 21st century, which is not described in this story. It is possible that the eventual fix-up novel will hang together, but this story does not. (2/5)
An Arc of Electric Skin, by Wole Talabi. The narrator has fallen in love with a man who channels lightning to take down a corrupt regime in Nigeria, and now must die. The single speculative concept in this very short story seems too magical. (3/5)
The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat, by Peter Wood. Two young women live in a post-apocalyptic world that consists of a rural county in North Carolina. They seem to take all kinds of bizarre effects in stride, as the actual cause of the situation is revealed. (3/5)
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red, by S. Qiouyi Lu. I don’t think I have ever read a story before that combined the werewolf myth with sexual bondage. Did not enjoy it. (1/5)
The Bahnhof Drive-In, by James van Pelt. A young couple in the early stages of their “congenial exploration” encounter teen-aged aliens at the drive-in. (3/5)
Matriphagy, by Naomi Kanakia. How do spider mothers actually feel about being eaten by their offspring? Kanakia anthropomorphizes spiders in a birthing class. (3/5)
A Blessing of Unicorns, by Elizabeth Bear. Police Sub-Inspector Ferron investigates the disappearance of a young AR personality Beli Handi in late 21st century Bangaloru. Never married, living with her mother and extended family, Ferron struggles to relate to the life of Beli Handi, in order to understand what has happened to her. There is a lot of off-plot world building, but it is a fascinating world. This novella could easily grow into a series of connected stories. (5/5)
October 28, 2021
When Jesse gets struck on the head and loses consciousness he wakes to find himself boxed and underground. In the mid-1800s a coma might as well be death, but Jesse digs his way out and is immediately accused of being possessed. Fleeing to New York City he finds himself sought after by P. T. Barnum for his circus (which he declines) and reviled by devout Christians. Eventually he takes to the lecture circuit to try to make some sense of his new life in Greg Egan’s thought-provoking “Sleep And The Soul”, (and coincidentally kickstarts a new phase in medicine). Tessa is a NASA voyager who was selected to be the first cross-dimensional traveller. The trip lasted 38 seconds and returned her in a time bubble, the exiting of which ages everything a billion years. Jason Sanford’s “The Dust Of Giant Radioactive Lizards” is a very different first contact story. Marcelo and Annie have returned to Escondido briefly to get mementoes of their dead son Javy, each blaming the other for his death, drowned in “Filaments” in the ocean. The planet is being abandoned because of the native life but only Marcelo and Annie know just how terrifying it is in Mercurio D. Rivera’s tale. Rick Wilber’s “Billie The Kid” Davis is one of the best young female ball players in America in the 1940s when she is recruited by the baseball-playing spy Moe Berg into a wartime conspiracy. Together with the beautiful time-travelling Eddie, they must change the timeline by destroying a Japanese sub and help win the war. Thoroughly entertaining stuff with a cast of greats! Police Inspector Ferron is called upon to investigate the disappearance of an online influencer and when another influencer arrives seeking protection after death threats they suspect a link. The second influencer also promptly disappears leaving just some bioprinted unicorns in her apartment. Elizabeth Bear gives us “A Blessing Of Unicorns” and a novel way of disposing of bodies (which I used myself in a tale in AntipodeanSF #269). A solid issue.
September 20, 2021
Alternate history seems to be the minor theme for this issue. Some good stories in between.
The opening novella "Sleep and the Soul" is a bit of an unusual story by Greg Egan. Alternate history set in the 19th century, but the element of historic change is not immediately apparent right away. The story starts with a mining accident and a miner is presumed death and buried, but he awakes and climbs himself out of his grave. His family is not overly pleased to see him though. In this alternate history, Jesus didn't die on the cross but stayed awake for three days, so society are generally very suspicious of sleeping and unconscious people. The miner has to flee to another city because of this and try to start a new life, but the rumours about him is easily shaken off. Egan is a good storyteller as usual and I liked the gist of this story, but it is not among Egans best work.
Jason Sanford presents a very unique premise in "The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards" with a woman who has a mysterious sort of field in a large radius around her that make time go extremely fast. Everything within her sphere turns to dust instantly. This happened after she walked through an interdimensional portal put up by aliens on Earth. She now has to live in the desert to avoid killing more people, but she is monitored and has some contact with some sort of government agency. Of course events change the status quo and some things are explained as the story unfolds. Enjoyed this one a lot.
"The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Wood is another alternate history. This is set in the 1970s where a city is blocked inside a force field and all communication to the outside world has been blocked. Not surprisingly the story revolves around solving this mystery and getting back in contact with the outside world. It doesn't break new grounds with ideas, but otherwise a solid story.
"Matriphagy" by Naomi Kanakia is a very short story but with a whole lot of interesting concepts and world building hinted at. It is a story about a pregnant spider with humanlike intelligence. They have to make some interesting choices about their offspring. I rarely find that flash fiction stories work, but this manages to impress.
The last novella "A Blessing of Unicorns" by Elizabeth Bear is a pretty standard science fiction detective story. Starts with a missing person mystery or perhaps a murder. The story paints an interesting future with many fancy ideas for technology and developments of society. The story felt a bit longer than it actually needed. Took a while for the actual mystery plot to get properly going. The story has previously been released as an exclusive audiobook and maybe it works better in that format.
The opening novella "Sleep and the Soul" is a bit of an unusual story by Greg Egan. Alternate history set in the 19th century, but the element of historic change is not immediately apparent right away. The story starts with a mining accident and a miner is presumed death and buried, but he awakes and climbs himself out of his grave. His family is not overly pleased to see him though. In this alternate history, Jesus didn't die on the cross but stayed awake for three days, so society are generally very suspicious of sleeping and unconscious people. The miner has to flee to another city because of this and try to start a new life, but the rumours about him is easily shaken off. Egan is a good storyteller as usual and I liked the gist of this story, but it is not among Egans best work.
Jason Sanford presents a very unique premise in "The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards" with a woman who has a mysterious sort of field in a large radius around her that make time go extremely fast. Everything within her sphere turns to dust instantly. This happened after she walked through an interdimensional portal put up by aliens on Earth. She now has to live in the desert to avoid killing more people, but she is monitored and has some contact with some sort of government agency. Of course events change the status quo and some things are explained as the story unfolds. Enjoyed this one a lot.
"The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Wood is another alternate history. This is set in the 1970s where a city is blocked inside a force field and all communication to the outside world has been blocked. Not surprisingly the story revolves around solving this mystery and getting back in contact with the outside world. It doesn't break new grounds with ideas, but otherwise a solid story.
"Matriphagy" by Naomi Kanakia is a very short story but with a whole lot of interesting concepts and world building hinted at. It is a story about a pregnant spider with humanlike intelligence. They have to make some interesting choices about their offspring. I rarely find that flash fiction stories work, but this manages to impress.
The last novella "A Blessing of Unicorns" by Elizabeth Bear is a pretty standard science fiction detective story. Starts with a missing person mystery or perhaps a murder. The story paints an interesting future with many fancy ideas for technology and developments of society. The story felt a bit longer than it actually needed. Took a while for the actual mystery plot to get properly going. The story has previously been released as an exclusive audiobook and maybe it works better in that format.
September 27, 2021
A good issue with a nice variety of style and sub-genre. James Gunn's last story (sad sigh).
Here are my favorite stories:
- Sleep and the Soul by Greg Egan
In an alternate timeline, an unconscious, comatose and unarousable person is considered dead--premature burial indeed! The tale of someone who clawed their way through 6 feet of dirt.
- A Blessing of Unicorns by Elizabeth Bear
A story operating on three different levels: a futuristic police procedural, the glamorous, ephemeral, lonely lives of social media stars, and a cop dealing with family issues.
- Billie the Kid by Rick Wilber
Moe Berg and Co. to the rescue! In an alternate timeline, this story was made into a movie directed by Ida Lupino starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Hedy Lamarr and Carole Lombard.
- The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards by Jason Sanford
The Amazing Colossal Woman makes Contact. Will the circle be unbroken before she goes full kaiju? An excellent slow-reveal story, so stick with it.
- Singular Days by James Gunn
A Sleeper awakens and the robot caretakers aren’t saying much. Gunn’s last story is a good one and left me wanting to know more. So sad that it won’t come to pass.
- Shooting At Warner’s Bay by Michèle Laframboise
Creepy Wyndham-ish aliens crash a monster movie shooting locale. With a clueless director, groper male lead and gutsy, heroic supporting actress. Much meta gonzo fun.
- Filaments by Mercurio D. Rivera
An estranged couple come together to dispose of the artifacts of their moribund relationship while a planet-wide organism awakens…and it feeds on strong emotions. Nice homage to Stanislaw Lem.
- The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat by Peter Wood
Those Outer Banks no-see-ums get into EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Who turned the lights out?
- The Bahnhof Drive-In by James Van Pelt
It’s no surprise that teens from everywhere flock to one of the the few drive-in movie theaters left in America. What better place to watch a campy film and make-out…among other things.
- Matriphagy by Naomi Kanakia
We all want to do the best things for our newborns, but what if we are physically unable to do so? An allegory for moms-to-be and their partners.
Here are my favorite stories:
- Sleep and the Soul by Greg Egan
In an alternate timeline, an unconscious, comatose and unarousable person is considered dead--premature burial indeed! The tale of someone who clawed their way through 6 feet of dirt.
- A Blessing of Unicorns by Elizabeth Bear
A story operating on three different levels: a futuristic police procedural, the glamorous, ephemeral, lonely lives of social media stars, and a cop dealing with family issues.
- Billie the Kid by Rick Wilber
Moe Berg and Co. to the rescue! In an alternate timeline, this story was made into a movie directed by Ida Lupino starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Hedy Lamarr and Carole Lombard.
- The Dust of Giant Radioactive Lizards by Jason Sanford
The Amazing Colossal Woman makes Contact. Will the circle be unbroken before she goes full kaiju? An excellent slow-reveal story, so stick with it.
- Singular Days by James Gunn
A Sleeper awakens and the robot caretakers aren’t saying much. Gunn’s last story is a good one and left me wanting to know more. So sad that it won’t come to pass.
- Shooting At Warner’s Bay by Michèle Laframboise
Creepy Wyndham-ish aliens crash a monster movie shooting locale. With a clueless director, groper male lead and gutsy, heroic supporting actress. Much meta gonzo fun.
- Filaments by Mercurio D. Rivera
An estranged couple come together to dispose of the artifacts of their moribund relationship while a planet-wide organism awakens…and it feeds on strong emotions. Nice homage to Stanislaw Lem.
- The Apocalypse and the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat by Peter Wood
Those Outer Banks no-see-ums get into EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Who turned the lights out?
- The Bahnhof Drive-In by James Van Pelt
It’s no surprise that teens from everywhere flock to one of the the few drive-in movie theaters left in America. What better place to watch a campy film and make-out…among other things.
- Matriphagy by Naomi Kanakia
We all want to do the best things for our newborns, but what if we are physically unable to do so? An allegory for moms-to-be and their partners.
December 31, 2021
An eclectic collection of stories, although missing the traditional "spooky" stories for Hallowe'en!
Memorable stories include "Singular Days" is the last story by James Gunn, who submitted it eleven days before he died last December. At the end of the story is a wonderful tribute by Kij Johnson. The story is a modern take on Rip Van Winkel, with the main character trying to outwit an A.I.
I admit I have a fondness for alternate histories. "Billie the Kid," by Rick Wilbur, is an alternate history of WWII. Moe Berg, philosopher, baseball manager-player, and spy, has a cameo as does the Mysterious Woman, whose name in this story is Eddie Bennett. Billie is a baseball phenom who ends up playing an important role in WWII.
"The Apocalypse and the Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Woods gets a shout-out for mentioning Earth Abides by George R. Stewart and for being a post-apocolyptic novel where there are still book clubs and folks are living, not just surviving.
"A Blessing of Unicorns," by Elizabeth Bear is really a "Whodunit." The world of Police Sub-Inspector Ferron is well-drawn, but I found the ending a bit rushed. I hope this story may lead to a novel and Ferron (and her partner's) further adventures in crime solving.
Memorable stories include "Singular Days" is the last story by James Gunn, who submitted it eleven days before he died last December. At the end of the story is a wonderful tribute by Kij Johnson. The story is a modern take on Rip Van Winkel, with the main character trying to outwit an A.I.
I admit I have a fondness for alternate histories. "Billie the Kid," by Rick Wilbur, is an alternate history of WWII. Moe Berg, philosopher, baseball manager-player, and spy, has a cameo as does the Mysterious Woman, whose name in this story is Eddie Bennett. Billie is a baseball phenom who ends up playing an important role in WWII.
"The Apocalypse and the Mattamuskeet Gnat" by Peter Woods gets a shout-out for mentioning Earth Abides by George R. Stewart and for being a post-apocolyptic novel where there are still book clubs and folks are living, not just surviving.
"A Blessing of Unicorns," by Elizabeth Bear is really a "Whodunit." The world of Police Sub-Inspector Ferron is well-drawn, but I found the ending a bit rushed. I hope this story may lead to a novel and Ferron (and her partner's) further adventures in crime solving.
September 23, 2021
B (very good):
Sleep and the Soul by Greg Egan
The Dust of Radioactive Lizards by Jason Sanford
Singular Days by James Gunn
The Apocalpyse & the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat by Peter Wood
C (average):
Filaments by Mercurio D. Rivera
D (poor):
A Blessing of Unicorns by Elizabeth Bear
Billie the Kid by Rick Wilber
Shooting at Warner's Bay by Michele Laframboise
An Anc of Electric Skin by Wole Talabi
The Bahnhof Drive-In by James Van Pelt
F (awful):
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red by S. Qioui Lu
Matriphagy by Naomi Kanakia
Sleep and the Soul by Greg Egan
The Dust of Radioactive Lizards by Jason Sanford
Singular Days by James Gunn
The Apocalpyse & the Lake Mattamuskeet Gnat by Peter Wood
C (average):
Filaments by Mercurio D. Rivera
D (poor):
A Blessing of Unicorns by Elizabeth Bear
Billie the Kid by Rick Wilber
Shooting at Warner's Bay by Michele Laframboise
An Anc of Electric Skin by Wole Talabi
The Bahnhof Drive-In by James Van Pelt
F (awful):
Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red by S. Qioui Lu
Matriphagy by Naomi Kanakia
December 23, 2021
I haven't bought an SF magazine for years, and this reminded me why. Only about half of it is worth reading. The Greg Egan, Elizabeth Bear, and James Gunn stories are good. The Rivera, Wood, and Qiouyi Lu are OK. the other 6 stories are simply bad. And the poetry is pathetic.
March 2, 2022
Blessing of Unicorns (Inspector Ferron novella #2) by Elizabeth Bear. Internet celebrities disappear. Locus nominee. 4*
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