Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 5000

Magazine Monday: Subterranean, Spring 2013

The spring issue of Subterranean is exceptionally strong, even for a publication known for its excellent fiction. The six long pieces in this issue seem to be somewhat thematically linked, most of them having taken some form of art as their theme.

In “Painted Birds and Shivered Bones” by Kat Howard, an artist named Maeve has gone for a walk, seeking both fresh air and perspective, when she sees a naked man crouched beside a cathedral. She reaches into her purse for her phone, but when she looks up again,

Magazine Monday: Nightmare, Issue 7

The latest issue of Nightmare Magazine opens with Angela Slatter’s chilling tale, “The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter.” Hepsibah Ballantyne is the titled daughter, the inheritor of her father’s business and haunted by his ghost. In this world, great care must be taken that the dead do not come back as ghosts; corpses must be tightly wrapped and mirrors covered. Coffins must be sturdy, with locks. Hepsibah is therefore an important part of the community, even if she is not well liked. But Lucette D’Aguilar will flirt with her, even indulge with her in a kiss or two,

Magazine Monday: Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, Inaugural Issue

Galaxy’s Edge Magazine is a new bimonthly publication appearing in both paper and electronic forms. The March 2013 issue is the first, and I purchased a copy of the electronic version as soon as it came to my attention. However, compared to Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and F&SF, among others, it is a mediocre collection of mostly reprints.

Galaxy’s Edge appears to be aimed toward those who miss the old pulps or want more hard SF that reads like the present Analog.

Magazine Monday: Asimov’s, April/May 2013

The April/May 2013 issue of Asimov’s leads off with a difficult but exciting novella by Neal Asher entitled “The Other Gun.” It portrays a complicated universe in which humanity has found itself at war with a race called the prador, which is ruthless, merciless and completely uninterested in compromise. It has already exterminated several species when it runs into humans, and a survivor of one of those wars, a member of a hive species, has allied itself with humans. The narrator of this tale is a parasitologist and bio-synthesist who was working on a biological weapon to be used against the prador when he was reassigned to work for the Client,

Magazine Monday: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issues 112 through 116

Issue 112 (January 10, 2013) of Beneath Ceaseless Skies begins with “Death Sent” by Christian K. Martinez. It’s a science fictional story, or at least steampunk, and depicts the end of the world — or at least the end of the works of the human race. As the story opens, a great star lens, the last of them, has fallen to the earth. It’s a moody piece that paints a picture of this world, but there is almost no plot.

The second story in this issue is better. In “The Stone Oaks” by Stephen Case,

March 4th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Magazine Monday: Apex Magazine, Issues 44 and 45

Issue 44 of Apex Magazine leads off with “Trixie and the Pandas of Dread” by Eugie Foster. It would take a hard heart to resist a story that starts like this: “Trixie got out of her cherry-red godmobile and waved away the flitting cherubim waiting to bear her to her sedan chair.” In the world Foster has created, one can become a god when the Karma Committee appears at her door bearing prizes akin to the Publishers Clearinghouse bonanza. Trixie uses her power to get rid of the jerks who write sexist,

Magazine Monday: Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February 2013

The latest issue of F&SF is stuffed with good reading. I can’t pick a favorite, as I often do; many of the stories hit that sweet spot. Robert Reed’s short story, “Among Us,” is a good example: it’s about the Neighbors, creatures who look exactly like humans but are not, though they may not know that themselves. The narrator studies the Neighbors in every way possible — almost. There comes a moment when he is not willing to let research take its course, and whether that proves something to him, to the researchers,

Magazine Monday: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet No. 28

An issue of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet always lands in my mail with accompanying hearts, unicorns, flowers, and an unearthly music that wafts through the air and draws my mind and spirit into its pages. Not a planned event, it’s published irregularly, but it’s always a treat. Somehow this issue just called for the unicorns and flowers iteration first, because it put me in such a good mood.

The last story in the issue, “The Book of Judgment” by Helen Marshall is my favorite, not just because Jane Austen is my favorite writer,

February 11th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Magazine Monday: Lore 2.2

Lore was originally published from 1995 through 2000, folding when the pressure of events and the emerging careers of the editors and publishers became too much. It has now been resurrected as a trade paperback-sized magazine containing some really decent stories.

The opening story, “Enshrined” by Bridget Coila, seems to be about the afterlife of a group of children and Sala, their adult leader. They have been climbing mountains for days, even as the children garner bruises and broken bones that do not appear to hurt them. At the top of the mountain is a shrine,

February 4th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

Magazine Monday: Subterranean Magazine, Fall 2012 and Winter 2013

Welcome news: Subterranean Magazine, a quarterly publication, has announced that it will be available for free download from here on out. The announcement was accompanied by the free editions of the Fall 2012 and the Winter 2013 issues, each of which contains a number of excellent novellas — a length for which Subterranean Press, as well as the magazine, are known. Many, including me, consider the novella to be the ideal length for science fiction, fantasy and horror: it provides the author with enough space for world building, but not more space than many stories need.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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