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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 206, November 2023
Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction, articles, interviews and art. Our November 2023 issue (#206) fiction by Bo Balder ("Eddies are the Worst"), Hannah Yang ("Bird-Girl Builds a Machine"), James Van Pelt ("The Long Mural"), Louise Hughes ("The Parts That Make Me"), Thomas Ha ("The Mub"), Thoraiya Dyer ("Eight or Die (Part 1)"), Kemi Ashing-Giwa ("Thin Ice"), and Tia Tashiro ("To Carry You Inside You").Non-fiction includes an article by Priya Sridhar, interviews with David D. Levine and Cory Doctorow, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2023
5 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Neil Clarke
400 books399 followersNeil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning
Clarkesworld Magazine.
Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a ten-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form (winning once in 2022), three-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. In the fifteen years since Clarkesworld Magazine launched, numerous stories that he has published have been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, BSFA, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
partially-read
June 15, 2025So far I only read To Carry You Inside You by Tia Tashiro, her first published story (I think!) though the second story of hers I read - a theme in common in both, characters with important roles have had Hollywood careers. A kind of near future, a former child actress with an implant serves as a cybernetic conduit for dead personalities. It is good, maybe very good, though it left me somewhat "cold" about it, somehow.
Incidentally, can we please declare a moratorium on second person narratives for sf/fantasy short stories (well, actually it seems to be mostly sf). It is edgelord stupid almost all of the time. It can be done right, if it fits plot frame, but hardly ever is, and here it might have worked but it did not quite.
Incidentally, can we please declare a moratorium on second person narratives for sf/fantasy short stories (well, actually it seems to be mostly sf). It is edgelord stupid almost all of the time. It can be done right, if it fits plot frame, but hardly ever is, and here it might have worked but it did not quite.
January 18, 2024
- "To Carry You Inside of You" by Tia Tashiro ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Read
January 9, 2024Tia Tashiro's story in this issue was one of my daily recommendations:
https://buttondown.email/bogiperson/a...
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Source of the book: Bought with my own money
https://buttondown.email/bogiperson/a...
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Source of the book: Bought with my own money
February 13, 2024
I very much enjoyed the following stories:
Eddies are the Worst by Bo Balder
Bird-Girl Builds a Machine by Hannah Yang
The Long Mural by James Van Pelt
The Mub by Thomas Ha and the novella by Thoraiya Dyer, Either or Die was great in the Nov and Dec issues.
Eddies are the Worst by Bo Balder
Bird-Girl Builds a Machine by Hannah Yang
The Long Mural by James Van Pelt
The Mub by Thomas Ha and the novella by Thoraiya Dyer, Either or Die was great in the Nov and Dec issues.
November 17, 2023
A standout issue. The stories by James van Pelt, Hannah Yang, and Thomas Ha were particularly good.
November 11, 2023
A better than average issue, with interesting stories by Bo Balder, Hannah Yang and Tia Tashiro. I reserve judgement on Thoraiya Dyer's story until I've re\
ad the second half.
- "Eddies are the Worst" by Bo Balder: in a future with fewer people having babies, the only way to get a workforce is to hire cheap clones of people who've sold their genetic maps. But what happens when the clones working for you is from the last person you expect to have been cloned?
- "Bird-Girl Builds a Machine" by Hannah Yang: a child grows up watching, and later helping, her mother put together an unknown machine. But it is only after the machine is put to use at the end does the child realize the various clues her mother said about her future in the story.
- "The Long Mural" by James Van Pelt: On a generational spaceship heading to a new world, one person works on a mural with others. But he is a stowaway, and forever fearful that people will discover what he is. But the stress of hiding and the fear of discovery may finally drive him to admit his crime, but the results would be unexpected.
- "The Parts That Make Me" by Louise Hughes: a robot reminisces about its ancient body parts, especially one that had to be removed, but may yet be returned.
- "The Mub" by Thomas Ha: a 'mub' latches on and follows an artist as he journeys towards a city. But what the mub wants from him may end up costing his creativity.
- "Eight or Die (Part 1)" by Thoraiya Dyer: part one of a story involving a miner who is rescued from a mining incident by aliens who are after another alien that may be planning a crime. The aliens need the miner as he resembles the aliens on the planet the criminal is hiding out on. But their journey there, and their relationship with each other, will not be easy. This part ends when the miner arrives at the planet, trying to fit in and find the criminal, who is hiding out in a mine.
- "Thin Ice" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: a man attempts to escape a sentient 'stealer of art' but is forced to tell it the stories of his home for it to steal and return to its masters.
- "To Carry You Inside You" by Tia Tashiro: a fascinating story of a former child actress, who gets fitted with a 'port' that feeds her her lines and emotions for her roles. She grows up, the roles dry up, and she now has another job: acting as a host for dead people who are now fitted into her port. But her latest job turns out to be more than expected, when the dead person she hosts wants more than just being allowed to act out his life for a brief moment in her.
ad the second half.
- "Eddies are the Worst" by Bo Balder: in a future with fewer people having babies, the only way to get a workforce is to hire cheap clones of people who've sold their genetic maps. But what happens when the clones working for you is from the last person you expect to have been cloned?
- "Bird-Girl Builds a Machine" by Hannah Yang: a child grows up watching, and later helping, her mother put together an unknown machine. But it is only after the machine is put to use at the end does the child realize the various clues her mother said about her future in the story.
- "The Long Mural" by James Van Pelt: On a generational spaceship heading to a new world, one person works on a mural with others. But he is a stowaway, and forever fearful that people will discover what he is. But the stress of hiding and the fear of discovery may finally drive him to admit his crime, but the results would be unexpected.
- "The Parts That Make Me" by Louise Hughes: a robot reminisces about its ancient body parts, especially one that had to be removed, but may yet be returned.
- "The Mub" by Thomas Ha: a 'mub' latches on and follows an artist as he journeys towards a city. But what the mub wants from him may end up costing his creativity.
- "Eight or Die (Part 1)" by Thoraiya Dyer: part one of a story involving a miner who is rescued from a mining incident by aliens who are after another alien that may be planning a crime. The aliens need the miner as he resembles the aliens on the planet the criminal is hiding out on. But their journey there, and their relationship with each other, will not be easy. This part ends when the miner arrives at the planet, trying to fit in and find the criminal, who is hiding out in a mine.
- "Thin Ice" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: a man attempts to escape a sentient 'stealer of art' but is forced to tell it the stories of his home for it to steal and return to its masters.
- "To Carry You Inside You" by Tia Tashiro: a fascinating story of a former child actress, who gets fitted with a 'port' that feeds her her lines and emotions for her roles. She grows up, the roles dry up, and she now has another job: acting as a host for dead people who are now fitted into her port. But her latest job turns out to be more than expected, when the dead person she hosts wants more than just being allowed to act out his life for a brief moment in her.
January 1, 2024
This was definitely one of the better issues of Clarkesworld this year. The highlights:
"To Carry You Inside You," Tia Tashiro, is incredibly the author's first published story. This is the tale of a former child actor who ages out of her former profession and becomes a surrogate for dead people (via memories uploaded into a port in her neck, allowing the dead person's digital ghost to take possession of her body and visit former families). Of course, one of her dead "clients" figures out how to take over her body, and a titanic struggle follows. This story is told in second person present tense, which is a damn difficult thing to pull off. That this is Tashiro's first story augers well for her future.
"The Parts That Make Me," Louise Hughes, is only three pages, 1120 words, but this short-short story packs quite the punch. It's a "ship of Theseus" tale, of a freebot who loses pieces of itself and the engineer on board its current ship who brings one important part back. The themes of identity and memory, what makes up the most important parts of our lives and what we wish to hang on to, are all touched on in this thought-provoking story.
"Eddies Are the Worst," Bo Balder, is the somewhat grim tale of a future of plummeting birthrates and labor shortages, and a brother and sister who are trying to save up enough money to pay for a clone baby.
"Bird-Girl Builds a Machine," Hannah Yang, is a closed-loop time travel story about a mother and daughter, and the machine the mother is building.
"Thin Ice," Kemi Ashing-Giwa, is to me an hard science fiction retelling of The Thousand and One Nights, with its narrator (and this is another second person viewpoint story) the last survivor of their clan, on a dying planet with a cyborg invader who steals their clan's culture and stories to transmit to its superiors.
As always, please go to Clarkesworld's website and subscribe if you can. I subscribe to the print edition. This magazine, like many others, has been hit hard by Amazon's idiotic decision to end its Kindle subscription program, and they could use the help.
"To Carry You Inside You," Tia Tashiro, is incredibly the author's first published story. This is the tale of a former child actor who ages out of her former profession and becomes a surrogate for dead people (via memories uploaded into a port in her neck, allowing the dead person's digital ghost to take possession of her body and visit former families). Of course, one of her dead "clients" figures out how to take over her body, and a titanic struggle follows. This story is told in second person present tense, which is a damn difficult thing to pull off. That this is Tashiro's first story augers well for her future.
"The Parts That Make Me," Louise Hughes, is only three pages, 1120 words, but this short-short story packs quite the punch. It's a "ship of Theseus" tale, of a freebot who loses pieces of itself and the engineer on board its current ship who brings one important part back. The themes of identity and memory, what makes up the most important parts of our lives and what we wish to hang on to, are all touched on in this thought-provoking story.
"Eddies Are the Worst," Bo Balder, is the somewhat grim tale of a future of plummeting birthrates and labor shortages, and a brother and sister who are trying to save up enough money to pay for a clone baby.
"Bird-Girl Builds a Machine," Hannah Yang, is a closed-loop time travel story about a mother and daughter, and the machine the mother is building.
"Thin Ice," Kemi Ashing-Giwa, is to me an hard science fiction retelling of The Thousand and One Nights, with its narrator (and this is another second person viewpoint story) the last survivor of their clan, on a dying planet with a cyborg invader who steals their clan's culture and stories to transmit to its superiors.
As always, please go to Clarkesworld's website and subscribe if you can. I subscribe to the print edition. This magazine, like many others, has been hit hard by Amazon's idiotic decision to end its Kindle subscription program, and they could use the help.
February 14, 2024
An excellent issue! I liked all of the stories, and most of them were very good.
“Eddies are the Worst” by Bo Balder - a world with aging population, low birth rates, labour shortages and clones. People make do, it’s a human thing. 4.2 stars.
“Bird-Girl Builds a Machine” by Hannah Young - your mother builds a mysterious machine for you… Great writing; I liked the twist at the end. 4.2 stars.
“The Long Mural” by James van Pelt - People on a generation ship are painting a long, long mural. Some of them are not who they seem. Wonderful in every way. 4.7 stars.
“The Parts That Make Me" by Louise Hughes - a cyborg on a spaceship crew wakes up after repairs and reminisces. Very nice - and too short, I wanted to spend more time with it. 4.3 stars.
”The Mub” by Thomas Ha - strange creatures are everywhere, the world is dystopian. More horror than sci-fi, but I found it interesting. 3.5 stars.
”Eight or Die” (Part One) by Thoraiya Dyer - alien abductions, missions on distant planets and lots of great weirdness. This is a novella, to be continued. It’s pretty amazing, too. 4.9 stars.
“Thin Ice” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa - AIs as conquerors; but the story is really about colonialism and robbing peoples of their culture. I prefer less heavy-handed messaging, but it’s a good story. 3.8 stars.
“To Carry You Inside You” by Tia Tashiro - of neuroimplants and their many uses… This is the author’s first published story? This is excellent! 4.4 stars.
“Eddies are the Worst” by Bo Balder - a world with aging population, low birth rates, labour shortages and clones. People make do, it’s a human thing. 4.2 stars.
“Bird-Girl Builds a Machine” by Hannah Young - your mother builds a mysterious machine for you… Great writing; I liked the twist at the end. 4.2 stars.
“The Long Mural” by James van Pelt - People on a generation ship are painting a long, long mural. Some of them are not who they seem. Wonderful in every way. 4.7 stars.
“The Parts That Make Me" by Louise Hughes - a cyborg on a spaceship crew wakes up after repairs and reminisces. Very nice - and too short, I wanted to spend more time with it. 4.3 stars.
”The Mub” by Thomas Ha - strange creatures are everywhere, the world is dystopian. More horror than sci-fi, but I found it interesting. 3.5 stars.
”Eight or Die” (Part One) by Thoraiya Dyer - alien abductions, missions on distant planets and lots of great weirdness. This is a novella, to be continued. It’s pretty amazing, too. 4.9 stars.
“Thin Ice” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa - AIs as conquerors; but the story is really about colonialism and robbing peoples of their culture. I prefer less heavy-handed messaging, but it’s a good story. 3.8 stars.
“To Carry You Inside You” by Tia Tashiro - of neuroimplants and their many uses… This is the author’s first published story? This is excellent! 4.4 stars.
November 20, 2023
It's weird to write a review for a magazine since it's not like you'd even expect to like all the stories, or even necessarily finish every single one.
Hilights:
- Eddies are the Worst by Boy Balder: Imaginative setup illuminates our current world in an emotionally realistic plot that leaves you thinking holy shit and now what? I thought it was a perfectly structured short story
- Eight or Die (Part 1) by Thoraiya Dyer: That Andre Norton/E.R. Burroughs science fiction fantasy vibe I love (so, so much happens!) with a healthy post-colonial twist and labor consciousness. That's understelling it, though. It's really part 1, so I guess I'll get the next issue
- The Long Mural by James Van Pelt: I don't want to say too much because even telling you the mood is a spoiler. This story could have gone one of two ways, I thought, and it didn't surprise me about that but it was satisfying.
Hilights:
- Eddies are the Worst by Boy Balder: Imaginative setup illuminates our current world in an emotionally realistic plot that leaves you thinking holy shit and now what? I thought it was a perfectly structured short story
- Eight or Die (Part 1) by Thoraiya Dyer: That Andre Norton/E.R. Burroughs science fiction fantasy vibe I love (so, so much happens!) with a healthy post-colonial twist and labor consciousness. That's understelling it, though. It's really part 1, so I guess I'll get the next issue
- The Long Mural by James Van Pelt: I don't want to say too much because even telling you the mood is a spoiler. This story could have gone one of two ways, I thought, and it didn't surprise me about that but it was satisfying.
January 15, 2024
Clarkesworld Magazine issue #206 (November, 2023). You can read the stories online or listen to the podcast, hosted and narrated by the lovely Kate Baker https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/prio...
Consider supporting them on Patreon.
Onwards with more high quality sci-fi offerings:
Eddies are the Worst by Bo Balder
Bird-Girl Builds a Machine by Hannah Yang
The Long Mural by James Van Pelt
The Parts That Make Me by Louise Hughes
The Mub by Thomas Ha
Eight or Die (Part 1) by Thoraiya Dyer
Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
and To Carry You Inside You by Tia Tashiro
All stories were exceptional and very diverse, I really liked all of the stories in this issue so I’m not going to pick any favorite.
(I didn’t read the three non-fiction offerings).
Themes: sci-fi, fantasy, space opera, dystopian, AI, aliens.
4 Stars
Consider supporting them on Patreon.
Onwards with more high quality sci-fi offerings:
Eddies are the Worst by Bo Balder
Bird-Girl Builds a Machine by Hannah Yang
The Long Mural by James Van Pelt
The Parts That Make Me by Louise Hughes
The Mub by Thomas Ha
Eight or Die (Part 1) by Thoraiya Dyer
Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
and To Carry You Inside You by Tia Tashiro
All stories were exceptional and very diverse, I really liked all of the stories in this issue so I’m not going to pick any favorite.
(I didn’t read the three non-fiction offerings).
Themes: sci-fi, fantasy, space opera, dystopian, AI, aliens.
4 Stars
November 9, 2023
the interview with Cory Doctorow was really something, normally I just skim those but I now have a few more books on my endless list to read.
I also haven't read a "to be continued" story in Clarkesworld before, I was really anxious as how the long sweeping "Eight or Die" story was going to tie itself up as a short story.
I also haven't read a "to be continued" story in Clarkesworld before, I was really anxious as how the long sweeping "Eight or Die" story was going to tie itself up as a short story.
November 19, 2023
Better than average issue. Note that there is a long piece which is continued in the next issue.
December 17, 2023
All good stories
November 14, 2024
For Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa, heard on the Clarkesworld Magazine podcast.
Want to read
April 7, 2025Want to read
To Carry You Inside You
by Tia Tashiro
May 4, 2025
As noted in review for 207: a like for “Eight or Die” by Thoraiya Dyer
August 26, 2025
Strong issue. I was particularly impressed by the contributions from Bo Balder and Hannah Yang.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews