The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2017
Stories this issue from : Richard Chwedyk, Robert Grossbach, Matthew Hughes, Albert E. Cowdrey, Arundhati Hazra, Cat Hellisen, James Sallis, Eleanor Arnason.
Reviewing short SF since 2000
Stories this issue from : Richard Chwedyk, Robert Grossbach, Matthew Hughes, Albert E. Cowdrey, Arundhati Hazra, Cat Hellisen, James Sallis, Eleanor Arnason.
Stories this issue from : Rachel Pollack, Nina Kirika Hoffman, Rick Norwood, Robert Reed, Rich Larson, Wole Talabi, Gregor Hartmann, Debbie Urbanski, Monica Byrne, Marc Laidlaw.
Stories from Esther M. Friesner, Albert E. Cowdrey, Lilliam Rivera, Matthew Hughes, Gardner Dozois, Minsoo Kang, Kurt Fawver, Charlotte Ashley, Robert Reed, James Beamon, Sandra McDonald.
Special David Gerrold issue, with a couple of stories from him, and stories from others including Sarah Pinsker, Peter S. Beagle, Leah Cypess, Ian Creasey, Geoff Ryman.
Stories from Lavie Tidhar, David Prill, David Gerrold, Gregor Hartmann, Dominica Phetteplace, Oliver Buckram, K.B. Rylander, Bruce McAllister, Betsy Phillips. Reviews underway.
Fiction this issue from Pat MacEwen, Charlotte Ashley, Brian Trent, Albert E. Cowdrey, William Leadbetter, Ted Kosmatka, Rich Larson, Allora & Calzadilla and Ted Chiang, Joseph Tomares, Susan Palwick, Yukimi Ogawa. Reviews underway.
Stories by John P. Murphy, Marc Laidlaw, Cat Rambo, Juliette Wade and Sheila Finch, Sarina Dorie, Nancy Kress, Justin Barbeau, Chris De Vito, N.J. Schrock, James L. Cambias. Nothing in the issue really grabbed me.
Three SF stories set on Mars start the issue, other good SF, and Raffalon and Jimmie and Morrie return to grace the F&SF pages.
Scholz, Kritzer, and Birnbach the pick of the issue for me.
Some excellent stories within – a strong issue.
Muir, Van Aaron Hughes, and Chwedyk the pick of the ish for me.
Some strong stories in the issue, with David Gerrold the pick of the bunch.
An especially strong issues with Bao Shu a particular standout.
Dale Bailey and Eric Schwitzgabel the pick of the bunch for me.
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.
Slightly more lighter stories than the norm, making the issue a gentle read. The Reed story was OK, but not up there with his Great Ship stories, and the one SF story didn’t really gr
Guest Editor C.C. Finlay, and stories from Charlie Jane Anders, Paul M. Berger, David Erik Nelson, Sarina Dorie, Dinesh Rao, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Annalee Flower Horne, Sandra McDonald, Cat Hellisen, Ian Tregillis.
Boyer’s Bartleby the Scavenger a strong story that kept me engrossed, but the rest of the issue much less so.
Clearly something is wrong with the time-space continuum as there’s way too much content to fit into even 250-odd pages, and it must be something to do with superdense dark matter that has meant I’ve been reading the issue since April. And there’s some excellent stories in the issue.
Cover by way of tribute to the late Ed Valigursky. Pick of the stories this month from Andy Stewart, C.C. Finlay, Seth Chambers, Alex Irvine.
Striking cover by ‘Modolithic Studios’ and strongest stories in a strong issue from Michael Blumlein and M.K. Hobson.
Not an issue with a standout story for this reader, but entertaining enough.
Altabef and Campion the pick of the issue for me.
Excellent value for money!
Wowza, an issue bulging with 10 stories, with pretty much something for everyone. Van Aaron Hughes and Albert E. Cowdrey being my picks.
Stories by Alex Irvine, Matthew Hughes, Desmond Warzel, Judith Moffett, David Gerrold, Ken Liu, Dale Bailey, Albert E. Cowdrey, Robert Reed. From bovine to canine, and issue that spans the genres.
A mighty fine issue, and, as usual, excellent value for money.
A particulary strong issue with only a couple of the eleven stories not quite doing it for me.
A good spread of fantasy and a touch of the horror, but not a huge amount for those of us primarily looking for SF.
Some good stories in the issue, with a bit more SF than is often the case.
An issue that didn’t really grab me…
A ridiculously strong collection, with stories by Felicity Shoulders, Ron Goulart, John G. McDaid, K.D. Wentworth, Albert E. Cowdrey, Ted Kosmatka, Alexander Jablokov, Ken Liu, Naomi Kritzer, Michael Alexander, Lewis Shiner.
Cambias and Gilman provide some strong SF.
Outstanding volume – both in quantity and quality : it felt like reading a Year’s Best SF/F/Horror volume!
An excellent issue, with several top-notch stories, well-balanced across the SFFH spectrum.
Stories by Alexandra Duncan, Albert E. Cowdrey, Kate Wilhelm, Chet Williamson, Robert Reed, Steven Popkes, Don Webb, Carter Scholz, Scott Bradfield, S.L. Gilbow, Ken Liu, Robert Reed (again!) – and a strong collection it is.
Stories by Sheila Finch, Albert E. Cowdrey, Francis Marion Soty, Paul Di Filippo, Ken Liu, Walter C. DeBill Jr et al, James Patrick Kelly, Karl Bunker, Kali Wallace, Dixon Wragg, James Stoddard.
Stories by Pat MacEwen, Kate Wilhelm, Albert E. Cowdrey, Matthew Corradi, Rick Norwood, Chris Lawson, James Stoddard, Jim Young, Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg, Richard A. Lupoff, Alan Dean Foster.
An issue with an outrageous number of quality writers appearing therein.
Excellent issue with Dale Bailey, Ken Liu, Rick Wilber and Nick DiChario, and Terry Bisson being the picks for me.
John Langan, Richard Bowes, Ian R. MacLeod, and Sean McMullen the pick of an extremely strong issue.
Libling, Schulz and Irvine the pick of the issue for me.
Something for everyone … pervs included. Duncan, Reaves and Bowes my favourites, giving the first half of the chunky, value for money, volume more grist to my reviewing mill.
Excellent issue, with Paul Park the standout, and others from Robert Reed, Charles Oberndorf, Dean Whitlock, John Langan, Robin Aurelian, Marc Laidlaw, Steven Popkes, Kate Wilhelm.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction finishes 2009 with an issue of their now
Elizabeth Hand. The Far Shore. A middle-aged man, ballet dancer initially, ballet teacher after an
Sean McMullen. The Art of the Dragon. Dryly satirical tale in which a gigantic dragon
Reed, Wightman and O’Driscoll are the cream of the crop, with Kessel’s new story, Bisson and Cowdrey not quite up to their (well-established) best.
The first of the now double-size but bi-monthly F&SF. The disappointment of now to be
Daniel Abraham. The Curandero and the Swede : a Tale from the 1001 American Nights.
Fred Chappel. Shadow of the Valley. When protagonist Falco previously appeared in F&SF in ‘Dance
Charles Coleman Finlay. The Minutemen’s Witch. Adventure set against the American Revolution, with added witchcraft.
Wayne Wightman. A Foreign Country. Quentin A. Denmore is standing for President of the USA,
Albert E. Cowdrey. Inside Story. Retired Detective Sergeant Alphonse Fournet finds the lure of work,
Paolo Bacigalupi. Pump Six. The lead-out story in Bacigalupi’s collection ‘Pump Six and Other Stories’.
Marc Laidlaw. Childrun. Wandering bard Gorlen Vizenfirthe makes a re-appearance in F&SF after a ten
Matthew Hughes. Fullbrim’s Findings. Good news for fans of Hengis Hapthorne, of whom there are
Ted Kosmatka. The Art of Alchemy. Excellent SF/science thriller. It has a sense of place
Robert Reed. Reunion. F&SF regular Reed hit top form with the previous issue’s ‘Five Thrillers’,
James Stoddard. The First Editions. Fantasy, in which a bibliophile falls afoul of a fellow
Alexander Jablokov. The Boarder. Another in the ‘historical space race’ faction milieu, as a Russian
James L. Cambias. Balancing Accounts. A strong SF story to open the issue, and one
Sean McMullen. The Twilight Year. A historical tale with the merest whiff of the fantastical.
David Marusek. Osama Phone Home. Published earlier in MIT’s Technology Magazine, and it reads like
Robert Silverberg. Against the Current. A car salesman leaves work early after a sudden but
Dangnabbit, GvG has put the Ted Chiang story last of all. Can I resist a
Esther M. Friesner. At These Prices. Lightweight, very lightweight humour, involving a particularly unappealing hotel
Lawrence C. Connolly. Daughters of Prime. I’m not a big fan of xenolinguistic/xenothropological fiction. Ursula
Matthew Hughes. Sweet Trap. Further adventures of Hengis Hapthorne, in a story previously in the
Ian R. MacLeod. The Master Miller’s Tale.. Based in the alternate setting of his novel
Gene Wolfe. Memorare. This special Gene Wolfe issue leads off with an SF story which
Not having bothered with the lengthy Hughes story, as is my wont, there wasn’t a huge amount to get to grips with, with Reed, Rickert and Goulart all providing stories of the ilk that they regularly provide for F&SF ie well written and OK for what they are, but none of them a humdinger.
Alexander Jablokov. Brain Raid. Jablokov wrote some strong short stories in the 80s/90s, being one
Jeremy Minton. The Darkness Between. Subterranean horrors, as group of men, part of a Klondike-type
Matthew Hughes. Bye the Rules. Another of Guth Bandar’s regular appearances in F&SF. M.Rickert. The
Albert E. Cowdrey. Revelation. The bucolic pair, Dr. Dorshin, psychiatrist, and Professor (Dr.) Drea(d) both
Tananarive Due. Senora Suerte. This issue featurs a trio of stories by authors who have
Chris Willrich. Penultima Thule. Gaunt and Bone return for more cod-fantasy fun, the story being
R. Garcia y Robertson. Kansas, She Says, Is the Name of the Star. Garcia y
Albert E. Cowdrey. Animal Magnetism. Another of F&SF regular Cowdrey’s well observed, well drawn humorous