Ken Liu. The Countable. (Asimovs, December 2011)
An effective story, which gets into the head of a young autistic man, balancing the narrative with some very complicated pure mathematics…
Steve Rasnic Tem. Ephemera. (Asimovs, December 2011)
A short, cautionary tale, looking at an all-too-plausible (un/desirable?) future in which the whole wealth of human knowledge is at your fingertips/physical artefacts such as books and magazines are consigned to the dustbin of history.
Interzone #237, Nov-Dec 2011.
Hawkins’ story takes up a lot of real estate in the issue in a story that didn’t engage, but the Tidhar/Lain stories very much did so.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011.
Cambias and Gilman provide some strong SF.
Albert E. Cowdrey. How Peter Met Pan. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
Relatively routine horror from a master of the genre, set in the woods against a backdrop of climate change and rebuffed love.
Jim Hawkins. Digital Rites. (Interzone #237, Nov/Dec 2011).
Lengthy, staccato, fast-paced science thriller.
Tim McDaniel. The List. (Asimovs, December 2011)
A bit of festive fun across one and a half pages, with one of my favourite pieces of closing dialogue in some time.
Pamela Sargent. Strawberry Birdies. (Asimovs December 2012)
A story that zips along quickly, and doesn’t really go anywhere different than has been covered quite a lot.
Suzanne Palmer. Surf. (Asimovs, December 2011).
A thriller (up to a point) in deep space, that starts with an Analog-y feel to it. Bari, a junior crewmember on an academic research mission studying some intriguing, migrating space creatures.
James L. Cambias. Object Three. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
An 800-page Alastair Reynolds novel compressed into a couple of dozen (excellent) pages.
Michaela Roessner. The Klepsydra :.. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
Ancient Greek linguistics and archaelogy are combined to throw light on a creature otherwise lost in the mists of time..
Evangeline Walton. They That Have Wings. (Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2011)
Published some 15 years after her death, a suitably dark and brooding story
Tim Sullivan. Under Glass. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
Gentle and charming short, which starts off with the death from cancer of one of the main characters, but which nevertheless manages to be uplifting.
Gavin Salisbury. Junction 5. (Panverse Three)
A story which shows promise in places.
Margo Lanagan. The Miracle Aquilina. (The Years Best Science Fiction and Fantasy #5)
Another strong fantasy from Lanagan with strong female characters.
Carolyn Ives Gilman. The Ice Owl. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
Another excellent, complex piece of world-building from Gilman.
Matthew Hughes. Quarter and Triptych. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2011)
Matthew Hughes’ Luff Imbry makes a return to the pages of F&SF after some years’ absence.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2011.
Outstanding volume – both in quantity and quality : it felt like reading a Year’s Best SF/F/Horror volume!
Saurub Ramesh… The Man Inside Black Betty : .. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2011).
A black hole appears very close to Earth.
Geoff Ryman. What We Found. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2011)
Ryman takes us to Nigeria, gives us the texture and taste of that country, with a bit of intriguing science thrown in.
Caspian Gray. Insect Joy. (Interzone #237, Nov-Dec 2011)
Needs to go a bit further in one direction or another to be more satisfying.
Donald Mead. Spider Hill. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2011)
Dark magic in a rural setting, as a young girl in her mid-teens finds out more about herself, and the reasons for the nude dancing under the full moon in the pumpkin patch.
Jason Stoddard. Orion Rising. (Panverse Three).
An alternate history from Stoddard, which looks at what would happen should ‘Project Orion’ have taken precedence over the Apollo programme.
Alan Peter Ryan. Time and Tide. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2011)
The death of the younger son in a family, drowned on the beach whilst out swimming with his older brother, has an impact on his family.
Douglas Lain. Erasing the Concept of Sex from a Photobooth. (Interzone #237, Nov-Dec 2011)
Gritty, sensual contemporary speculative fiction – the spirit of JG Ballard lives on…