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The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1993
NOVELLAS
The Siren Shoals - R. Garcia y Robertson
The Skeleton Key - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
SHORT STORIES
The Bone Woman - Charles de Lint
Chroncorp - Grania Davis
The Silent Treatment - Marina Fitch
Mom's Cooking - Ron Goulart
Vigil - Stephen Dedman
DEPARTMENTS
Books to Look For - Orson Scott Card
Films - Kathi Maio
Science - Bruce Sterling
The Siren Shoals - R. Garcia y Robertson
The Skeleton Key - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
SHORT STORIES
The Bone Woman - Charles de Lint
Chroncorp - Grania Davis
The Silent Treatment - Marina Fitch
Mom's Cooking - Ron Goulart
Vigil - Stephen Dedman
DEPARTMENTS
Books to Look For - Orson Scott Card
Films - Kathi Maio
Science - Bruce Sterling
160 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 1993
14 people want to read
About the author
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
1,382 books722 followersKristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 10, 2024
5 • The Siren Shoals • 28 pages by R. Garcia y Robertson
Very Good. Prince Eric escapes his home planet when it is overthrown. Now a wanted man he goes to the fringe of the galaxy off the plane thinking it would be uninhabited. It’s not. There is a religious zealot who has with a gang of pirates and a gang of slavers captured a colony ship and is preparing to use this system. The only reason Eric isn't dead is that he has locked the controls of his ship and they don’t want to waste a top notch ship.
48 • The Bone Woman • 11 pages by Charles de Lint
OK. Ellie is a homeless woman who is not quite all there. Geordie will often share a sandwich with her, though conversation is not really possible. One day he notices a woman talking with Ellie, and the vacant look is gone. He is interested in this new person, who turns out to be the bone woman.
59 • Chroncorp • 10 pages by Grania Davis
Fair/OK. Time tourists got stuck in the past. Ace troubleshooter Lefty is called in to rescue them. The time stream is finicky and she makes a few detours. Maybe it’s supposed to be funny.
69 • The Silent Treatment • 13 pages by Marina Fitch
OK/Fair. Sheryl sees ants in the house. Jake doesn’t allow poisons so she has to find an alternative. Now he isn’t even coming home. Well she’ll make do for a while.
88 • Mom's Cooking • 10 pages by Ron Goulart
Good/OK. Jeff loses his job, on the train home he sees a sandwich on the seat next to him. It appeared from nowhere. Days later he finds beef stew in his den, and a letter from his wife’s lover. He’s sure the it’s his [dead] mother doing it.
112 • Vigil • 10 pages by Stephen Dedman
OK. Jerry works at a bar. Most of the customers are dead as in ghosts. It’s not just there, all over the world the dead are appearing. Tiffany wants to move on while she still has her looks and before they start replacing living actors with dead ones.
122 • The Skeleton Key • 38 pages by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Very Good/Excellent. Tess is murdered by satanists, but instead of going to their god, she is met by Hermes. Ever since she was ten she and Sasha created the sisterhood and had rituals to him. Hermes is taking her to the afterlife, but she isn’t ready to go yet. She wants revenge on the beasts that savaged he
Very Good. Prince Eric escapes his home planet when it is overthrown. Now a wanted man he goes to the fringe of the galaxy off the plane thinking it would be uninhabited. It’s not. There is a religious zealot who has with a gang of pirates and a gang of slavers captured a colony ship and is preparing to use this system. The only reason Eric isn't dead is that he has locked the controls of his ship and they don’t want to waste a top notch ship.
48 • The Bone Woman • 11 pages by Charles de Lint
OK. Ellie is a homeless woman who is not quite all there. Geordie will often share a sandwich with her, though conversation is not really possible. One day he notices a woman talking with Ellie, and the vacant look is gone. He is interested in this new person, who turns out to be the bone woman.
59 • Chroncorp • 10 pages by Grania Davis
Fair/OK. Time tourists got stuck in the past. Ace troubleshooter Lefty is called in to rescue them. The time stream is finicky and she makes a few detours. Maybe it’s supposed to be funny.
69 • The Silent Treatment • 13 pages by Marina Fitch
OK/Fair. Sheryl sees ants in the house. Jake doesn’t allow poisons so she has to find an alternative. Now he isn’t even coming home. Well she’ll make do for a while.
88 • Mom's Cooking • 10 pages by Ron Goulart
Good/OK. Jeff loses his job, on the train home he sees a sandwich on the seat next to him. It appeared from nowhere. Days later he finds beef stew in his den, and a letter from his wife’s lover. He’s sure the it’s his [dead] mother doing it.
112 • Vigil • 10 pages by Stephen Dedman
OK. Jerry works at a bar. Most of the customers are dead as in ghosts. It’s not just there, all over the world the dead are appearing. Tiffany wants to move on while she still has her looks and before they start replacing living actors with dead ones.
122 • The Skeleton Key • 38 pages by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Very Good/Excellent. Tess is murdered by satanists, but instead of going to their god, she is met by Hermes. Ever since she was ten she and Sasha created the sisterhood and had rituals to him. Hermes is taking her to the afterlife, but she isn’t ready to go yet. She wants revenge on the beasts that savaged he
October 7, 2020
Charles de Lint gives us the tale of “The Bone Woman” who constructs sculptures of bone…but her power can change the fortunes of a poor street person using these same bones. A woman trapped in a psychologically abusive marriage must deal with her husband’s inability to communicate in “The Silent Treatment” by Marina Fitch, and Stephen Dedman shows us a world that must deal with the mostly benign escapees from the Afterlife in “Vigil”. Closing the issue is the emotional and heart-wrenching tale of a young woman who trusts a boyfriend too much and is kidnapped to be used as a human sacrifice by Satanists. Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s ghost story “The Skeleton Key” is one you will not soon forget.
January 1, 2025
The Siren Shoals is about a "bad boy" main character who fucks a hot chick and blows up some space pirates. And all his grandmas and great-grandmas etc. are uploaded into his brain watching him as he does it. It's weird and kinda trashy. 2 stars.
The Bone Woman is about a Native American legend or something, where a fat woman collects bones and resurrects their spirits and stuff, but isn't necessarily a bad gal. I didn't really get it. 2 stars.
Chroncorp is about time travel, where there are clueless time tourists who constantly get lost through time while trying to witness (non-historical) events like the Exodus. The main character has to go rescue them while dealing with malfunctioning technology and time terrorists who are trying to change the course of history. I guess zapping to many different snapshots in time was supposed to be entertaining? 1 star.
The Silent Treatment is about a woman whose house is infested with ants as she waits for her abusive husband to come home. His "silent treatment" lasts longer than usual, and she ends up discovering his crashed truck and deciding what to do about him and their relationship. Very good. 5 stars.
Mom's Cooking: Jeff's dead mother haunts him by offering him home-cooked food from the great beyond. When he tries to ignore it, she begins helping him in other, more extreme, ways. It's a funny piece. 4 stars.
Vigil: Ghosts start coming back and becoming visible. Society and the main character has to adjust to that new reality, and weird stuff happens. It's written in a sort of matter-of-fact journal tone, with not a ton of emotion. It's just kinda dreary, but not too realistic in its sociological analysis either. 1 star.
The Skeleton Key: A girl is kidnapped, tortured, and killed as a sacrifice to Satan, but her personal god Hermes intervenes and turns her into a shade who can communicate with the living as long as they retain faith in her presence. The rest of the story is about her establishing contact with her family, friends, and police in an attempt to patch things up and get herself closure. It all happens a little too easily. Story is alright, but not groundbreaking. 2 stars.
The Bone Woman is about a Native American legend or something, where a fat woman collects bones and resurrects their spirits and stuff, but isn't necessarily a bad gal. I didn't really get it. 2 stars.
Chroncorp is about time travel, where there are clueless time tourists who constantly get lost through time while trying to witness (non-historical) events like the Exodus. The main character has to go rescue them while dealing with malfunctioning technology and time terrorists who are trying to change the course of history. I guess zapping to many different snapshots in time was supposed to be entertaining? 1 star.
The Silent Treatment is about a woman whose house is infested with ants as she waits for her abusive husband to come home. His "silent treatment" lasts longer than usual, and she ends up discovering his crashed truck and deciding what to do about him and their relationship. Very good. 5 stars.
Mom's Cooking: Jeff's dead mother haunts him by offering him home-cooked food from the great beyond. When he tries to ignore it, she begins helping him in other, more extreme, ways. It's a funny piece. 4 stars.
Vigil: Ghosts start coming back and becoming visible. Society and the main character has to adjust to that new reality, and weird stuff happens. It's written in a sort of matter-of-fact journal tone, with not a ton of emotion. It's just kinda dreary, but not too realistic in its sociological analysis either. 1 star.
The Skeleton Key: A girl is kidnapped, tortured, and killed as a sacrifice to Satan, but her personal god Hermes intervenes and turns her into a shade who can communicate with the living as long as they retain faith in her presence. The rest of the story is about her establishing contact with her family, friends, and police in an attempt to patch things up and get herself closure. It all happens a little too easily. Story is alright, but not groundbreaking. 2 stars.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews