Greg Kurzawa. Dark Gardens. (Interzone #248, Sep-Oct 2013)
Chilling horror fiction – perhaps the biblical references moves it into the fantasy genre and justify its inclusion in an SFF magazine?
Martin McGrath. The First Dance. (Solaris Rising 2)
Salutary tale about the a potential future where copyright is king, and where, rather than issuing takedown notices for videos on YouTube, copyright owners are able to take our very memories..
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction July-Aug 2013
Altabef and Campion the pick of the issue for me.
Gregory Norman Bossert. Bloom. (Asimovs December 2013)
A long, dark night is spent on an alien planet, as three humans stumble onto a Yu Stigmergic Colony, a strange lifeform that, if it senses them, will react instantly and consume them.
Rus Wornom. In the Mountains of Frozen Fire…. (Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2013)
Wornom receives The First All-Best SF Annual Homage du Fromage Golden Trowel, for laying it on so very, very thick.
Tim Sullivan. The Nambu Egg. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/Aug 2013)
An SF story that failed to engage, on two counts your honour : firstly, it’s mostly dialogue, secondly the protagonist keeps way too much close to his chest.
Harry R. Campion. The Heartsmith’s Daughters. (Fantasy & Science Fiction July/Aug 2013)
Excellent dark fantasy tale of love. It’s a well-wrought, poetic story, with a feeling of an old English folk song.
William Preston. Vox Ex Machina. (Asimovs December 2013)
Much more than a story about a woman who finds an android head’….
Timons Esaias. The Fitter. (Asimovs December 2013)
A gently humorous story of an alien who finds a role for himself on Earth, in a lingerie shop.
James van Pelt. The Hareton K-12 County School and Adult Extension. (Interzone #248, Sep-Oct 2013)
van Pelt, a teacher himself, fondly relates the history of the Hareton school, from it’s early days as a small school on a hillside, through to a much larger building, extended and developed over many years.
Jay O’Connell. Dignity. (Asimovs December 2013).
When dad finds out that Melissa has befriended a child from very much the wrong side of the railway tracks, his instructions are clear..
Liz Williams. The Lighthouse. (Solaris Rising 2)
Great read from Williams – a solitary lighthouse on an uninhabited planet, and a child who has to come to terms with the death of her mother and her place in the much bigger scheme of things.
Harvey Jacobs. The Miracle Cure. (Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/Aug 2013)
Piles of cash are being made by aliens – the gall of it!
Ken Altabef. The Woman Who Married the Snow. (Fantasy & Science Fiction July/Aug 2013)
A very definite sense of place, character and depth, including Inuit shaman Ulruk, who features in a series of epic fantasy novels,
Norman Sprinrad. Far Distant Suns. (Solaris Rising 2)
A dispatch from a xeno-scientist, explaining his reason for ignoring the directive not to make planetfall on the first planet with intelligent life humanity discovers.
Asimovs. October/November 2013.
A bumper double-issue offering ‘a mix of terrifying chills and SF thrills’ : exactly what you want on a muggy mid-August evening. Gregory Frost and Igor Teper the pick of an otherwise average bunch for me..
Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Encounter on Starbase Kappa. (Asimovs October/November 2013)
Another in the prolific Rusch’s ‘Diving’ series, but it felt like something off a production line rather than an artisan, hand-crafted story of the kind Rusch can do.
Martin Sketchley. The Circle of Least Confusion. (Solaris Rising 2)
A young married couple on Earth get their hands on alien tech that gives them a chance to look at possible futures. But a story that lacks a bit of depth and subtlety.
Ian Creasey. Within These Well-Scrubbed Walls. (Asimovs Oct/Nov 2013)
Short mood-piece in which an adult son clearing his recently-deceased mother’s house has cause to reflect on his upbringing, constrained by her OCD cleanliness issues.
Mercurio D. Rivera. Manmade. (Solaris Rising 2)
What might happen should AIs be able to instantiate themselves into human form? Discuss.
Carole Johnstone. Ad Astra. (Interzone #248, Sep-Oct 2013)
A claustrophobic read that successfully builds tension throughout
Genevieve Valentine. A Bead of Jasper, Four Small Stones. (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Seven)
An elegant little gem from Valentine, set on the moon Europa, which is a waystation for a desperate humanity.