Pandora Hope. The Ferryman. (Interzone #256, Jan-Feb 2015)
Hope draws on Norse mythology for this story, although to the non-expert on Norse mythology, as there are no hammer-wielding blonde-tressed Vikings in the story, this is rather opaque.
Kathleen Bartholomew and Kage Baker. Pareidolia. (Asimovs March 2015)
As with many series, the law of diminishing returns meant that I stopped reading The Company stories some time ago.
Suzanne Palmer. Tuesdays. (Asimovs March 2015)
Twp cops have to try to find out just exactly what it was that came down from the sky, and what exactly it was, other than ‘big’
T.R. Napper. An Advanced Guide to Successful Price-Fixing in Extraterrestrial Betting Markets. (Interzone #256 Jan-Feb 2015)
Neat story from a new writer, as young Altair, who is a few steps more than most of us into the autistic spectrum, finds his brain, hard-wired into numbers and odds, is not just something for him to use in betting, but, as the title suggests, has an even more out-there relationship with the betting markets.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction November/December 2014
Stories by Rand B. Lee (the pick of the issue for me), Michael Libling, Paul Di Filippo, Albert E. Cowdrey, Tim Sullivan, Justin Barbeau, Scott Baker, KJ Kabza, David Gerrold. Cover by Mondolithic Studios.
Michael Libling. Hollywood North. (Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2014)
There are some dark secrets in the otherwise quiet town of Trenton, Ontario, which are gradually revealed in this lengthy story.
David Gerrold. The Old Science Fiction Writer. (Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2014)
A cautionary tale from an old SF writer, which looks at current trends and ponders just what chance there might be for old-fashioned storytelling in decades to come.
Asimovs. February 2015.
Stories by Nick Wolven, Eneasz Brodski, and Derek Kunsken the pick for me.
Nick Wolven. On the Night of the Robo-Bulls and Zombie Dancers. (Asimovs February 2015)
There’s a recurring theme of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth has murdered sleep’, and it’s a dark dystopian future but with some lighter, nicely sardonic touches thrown in.
Leah Cypess. Forgiveness. (Asimovs February 2015)
A story about which I have reservations.
Solaris Rising 3. (ed Ian Whates, Solaris 2014)
The anthology took me a while to get through, probably (looking at it in retrospect) that it didn’t have enough really top quality stories in it for me to be eagerly reaching for the volume with eager anticipation for the next story. Some good stories, but nothing really cojonal grabbing.
Rachel Swirsky. Endless. (Solaris Rising 3)
The anthology finishes with a look back at, a reliving, of deaths in a child labour factory on the subcontinent, as those who died, and will continue to die, furnish those that live on, digitally, with a view of death, an ending that will become increasingly rare.
Nina Allan. The Science of Chance. (Solaris Rising 3)
Are there strange forces at work, and/or is it simply a case of a little lost girl?
Ian R. MacLeod and Martin Sketchley. The Howl. (Solaris Rising 3)
The wreckage of a crashed Vulcan bomber, missing since the days of the Cold War, gives an opportunity to reflect on the ‘what ifs’ of that period, the nuclear payload being at once a Pandora’s Box into which Schrodinger’s cat is put.
Eneasz Brodski. Red Legacy. (Asimovs February 2015)
Brodski packs some detail and some depth of the type you rarely see in a first published story, which bodes weill for the future.
Elizabeth Bear. No Decent Patrimony. (Asimovs February 2015)
A short look at a future in which a super-rich elite have longevity/immortality, leaving others on Earth to manage the economic and social consequences, and climate change.
Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam. Nostalgia. (Interzone #256 Jan-Feb 2015)
Not much by way of a speculative element, so whilst a nice enough character study, and using non-mainstream sexuality/gender, it’s missing that little bit extra I look to SF to deliver.
KJ Kabza. The Bomb-Thing. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nov/Dec 2014)
Chan Davis makes his second appearance this issue, by way of being the name of a research department in a university where some leading-edge research in underway.
Derek Kunsken. Ghost Colors. (Asimovs February 2015)
An interesting read, particularly in this age when geneological databases, family history research, and even Facebook can keep you closely attached to the past in a way that wasn’t the case pre-Internet.
Michael Bishop. Rattlesnakes and Men. (Asimovs February 2015)
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read anything by Michael Bishop, and was quite looking forward to it, having seen his name on the cover.