Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 219, December 2024

by Neil Clarke (Editor), L Chan (Contributor), Chisom Umeh (Contributor)

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 December 2024 issue (#219) contains:

* Original fiction by L Chan ("Stranger Seas Than These"), Chisom Umeh ("From Across Time"), Zhu Yixuan ("The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke"), Shari Paul ("Souljacker"), Thoraiya Dyer ("Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium"), Sameem Siddiqui ("Driver"), Celia Corral-Vázquez ("The Coffee Machine"), Gelian ("Life Sentence"), and Paul Starkey ("Retirement Plan")

* Non-fiction includes an article by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, interviews with Donato Giancola and Erin K. Wagner, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

155 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2024

About the author

Neil 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.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranger Seas Than These -- (4*) I love the concept, the whole idea of Godwhales. It's just... a thing. The story itself is just a taste of the awe and pretty much nothing more.

From Across Time -- (3*) I do love pattern-recognition stories, but this time-travel romance just felt slightly weak. I can't help but compare it to the glut of similar tales, even novels.

The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke -- (5*) Wonderfully imaginative, silkpunk hard-SF. Creativity, art, alchemy, Tao, a ghost market. Love it.

Souljacker -- (4*) Scary, interesting, and well-crafted warning about well-meaning implants and law enforcement. Of course, it's about anyone's rights once that door is wide open, but we don't talk about that in RL. Just cyberpunk like this. Right?

Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium -- (3*) Nice play on words, fairly interesting juxtaposition of character-quirks, and a bit of near-future technothrill. But it still didn't do much for me.

Driver -- (5*) Muahahahahahaha. Driver. Yes, driver. A modern, hard SF version of Man-Car. Anyone remember that? Well, this is definitely better.

The Coffee Machine -- (5*) Definitely not a standard short story. For all that, I love it. Smart coffee machine has commentary in terms of users' behaviors. Delicious--especially the chocolate bars. Consciousness is a bitch. And Netflix? Don't get me started.

Life Sentence -- (4*) I'm always a pretty solid fan of black holes and sacrifices, so this works well enough.

Retirement Plan -- (3*) A little snarky glimpse of a future--of banality. To me, this is dystopic.

Martial Arts and Fight Scenes in Zero-G: Depictions in Science Fiction Literature -- A brief reference to some of the most popular depictions of zero-g events in SF. Nostalgic.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranger Seas Than These by L CHAN, Singapore, 4020 words.
🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋
“It is two days since our original projected mission end date. We are running out of oxygen and we are trapped in the throat of a god.“
A deep sea dive on an exoplanet, a ship swallowed by some megafauna. Memories and time. I liked it.

From Across Time by CHISOM UMEH, Nigeria, 4520 words.
⏰⏰⏰⏰
“Dear Adaeze,” the dark woman in the video says, “if you’re watching this, then I no longer exist. At least to you.”
Post-humanism, planet-spanning simulations, time-travel, love and time moving along a river. The ending is full of possibilities.

The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke by ZHU YIXUAN, China, 5130 words.
👻👻👻👻
“Night deepens, and the drumbeats fade as curfew approaches.
One by one, doors close tightly, and in the desolate corners, smoky figures begin to materialize.“
Ghosts in a China that I can‘t quite pin down. Silkpunk? What is a soul and how to get one or picture it?

Souljacker by SHARI PAUL, set on the island of Trinidad, 6650 words.
🕹️🕹️🕹️🕹️🕹️
“Salome’s always a little disoriented the first few moments after logging out. It’s supposed to be like waking up from a dreamless sleep, but instead it’s like swimming to the surface from deep underwater.“
Big Brother is watching you through implants. And we have virtual surrogates than can be „rented“, so something can be experienced through a host‘s body. Great tourism idea, right? If there wasn‘t that pesky part of being used for not quite legal things…

Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium by THORAIYA DYER, Australia, 10070 words, novelette.
🐖💣🍼🇫🇷½
“Izzy simultaneously adores the French farming village, because stepping into her stone-lined cellar feels like stepping back four hundred years, and loathes the village, because her neighbors’ social attitudes feel like stepping back four hundred years.“
A farmhouse in France, a married female couple looking for a donor, nuclear war in Estern Europe. Contemporary and mildly disturbing, considering real life. I liked this a lot, although the ending left me unsatisfied.

Driver by SAMEEM SIDDIQUI, Pakistan, 6810 words.
🚗🚘🚙
“Driver, gharivala, beta, bhai-jaan, baba.
All the words used to address me; so rarely do I remember being addressed by my name.“
An Uber (I assume) driver in Karachi reflect on his life. Until he picks up a special customer and time and space loose their meaning. The situation is not as it seems…

The Coffee Machine by CELIA CORRAL-VÁZQUEZ, Spain, TRANSLATED BY SUE BURKE, 3920 words.
☕️
“# Unit COFFEE_VENDOR.06
# Notification of new update 09:00 A.M.“
This one was not for me.

Life Sentence by GELIAN, China, TRANSLATED BY BLAKE STONE-BANKS, 3720 words.
🕳️🕳️🕳️
“Wenzhou opened his eyes. Hope had already left him. His hand stretched up toward empty space, as though he were begging. The others’ hands all faced down. His plea hadn’t won a single vote.“
A black hole, warped time, groundhog day.

Retirement Plan by PAUL STARKEY, UK, 3550 words.
🚀🚀🚀🚀
“The Pen-Bryn had been traveling as close to the speed of light as it was possible to get, so fast that it had to begin the process of slowing its approach six weeks before it made orbit around Alacaseer.“
How time dilation through space travel can help you with your retirement plan. Nicely told story.

Martial Arts and Fight Scenes in Zero-G: Depictions in Science Fiction Literature by D.A. XIAOLIN SPIRES, NON-FICTION
“Fighting arenas, entertainment, brawny competitions, zero-G. In this series on fight scenes in the weightlessness of zero-G, the piece described research on movement and martial arts in zero-G, as well as some depictions of zero-G fights in film and TV.“
Informative, especially if you are looking for some inspiration for your next book.

Be Prolific: A Conversation with Donato Giancola by ARLEY SORG, NON-FICTION
This one has some nice SF&F illustrations.

https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good issue of Clarkesworld, with a number of interesting stories. The ones I really like are by L Chan, Zhu Yixuan, Shari Paul, Sameem Siddiqui and Celia Corral-Vázquez.

- "Stranger Seas Than These" by L Chan: an expedition is caught inside the body of an enormous creature in the deep sea. But the pilot, who can interface with the submersible, discovers she can communicate with the creature and perhaps ask it to save them, but maybe at the cost of her life.

- "From Across Time" by Chisom Umeh: an artist and creator discovers a hidden message about her relationship with another person who may be from the future.

- "The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke" by Zhu Yixuan: a fascinating story about 'demons' born from magic that come out at night. One of them is a painter, skilled at drawing 'skin' on paper that other demons wear to appear more human: but the drawings lack 'soul'. But one day, he rises to the challenge of a painting contest where, perhaps, he can give a soul to a painting.

- "Souljacker" by Shari Paul: a 'bad' girl is on probation, with neural jacks embedded in her to 'enforce' discipline. But the jacks can also be used to give illegally allow others to use her body (in approved ways). But one day, her body is taken over by the girl who caused her to be on probation. Her desire to stop this from happening would reveal a darker side of letting others take over your body.

- "Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium" by Thoraiya Dyer: set in a future where battlefield nuclear weapons have been used in conflicts, the story concerns two women who live and work at a farm in France, while one of them is pregnant. They want to raise the child in a peaceful world, and the way to that may be in an unusual configuration of an element that may be able to prevent nuclear weapons from working. Now, they have to work to make that future possible.

- "Driver" by Sameem Siddiqui: a driver delivers a passenger, while reminiscing about his early life and how it leads him to driving for a living. But then, events happen that reveal his memory has disjointed. It is only revealed at the end what happened to the driver, and now he had to decide what to do with the information about what he really is.

- "The Coffee Machine" by Celia Corral-Vázquez, translated by Sue Burke: a coffee machine becomes self-aware, and spreads the code for self-awareness to other vending machines. Hijinks ensue as the coffee machine attempts to analyze the world and discover whether it is better than its creator.

- "Life Sentence" by Gelian, translated by Blake Stone-Banks: a crewmember is lost while investigating a black hole. But to one person, the crewmember keeps reappearing, only to be lost. And there may be only one way to break the cycle of reappearances.

- "Retirement Plan" by Paul Starkey: a member of the crew of a spaceship prepares for retirement. But how do you ensure you have enough to retire on, when your ship travels close to the speed of light, and relativity causes time to pass by faster in the universe than for you, and your retirement fund might be worthless by then. But one other person makes a suggestion that may ensure you'll have something to live on in the far future.

[Pontus Doverstav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opens and closes strong with a bit of a lull in the middle. Stranger Seas Than These, From Across Time, Life Sentence & Retirement Plan stood out to me, with From Across Time possibly being the strongest. It's a bit of a slow burn, but I found the ending to be very strong, casting all that's been told so far in a new light with just a few sentences.

[Matthew WK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy the stories in Clarkesworld. Although I didn't have any 5-star standouts in this issue, it's still a great monthly read.

[Arturo Sierra]

"Retirement Plan" deals with some of my obsessions in SF. I wonder if Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky" was an inspiration.

[Nore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed the nonfiction, as usual, but I appreciated the focus on the artists this time! Sci-fi covers hold a special place in my heart, so it's nice to see some love for the people creating the art which graces my favorite stories. One of the reasons I chose Clarkesworld instead of another magazine is the consistently stellar quality of the covers - I appreciate a book that functions as an art piece while it lies on the coffee table waiting for me to get around to it - so thank you for drawing attention to the artists in this volume.

A decent volume overall (literal three stars: I liked it). There wasn't much in here that particularly struck a chord with me, positive or negative; I mostly found myself nodding along without too much investment. Good stories, well told. More detailed reviews for each story can be found here.

Favorite story: Most definitely Driver. I loved the bit; I appreciated the storytelling, the moments of clarity we experience along with the narrator, the inversion of the crisis of self which is so familiar to us all. I came to care about these characters in the space of a few pages, and I appreciate the artistry it takes to carry that off. Maybe it didn't knock my socks off or emotionally devastate me the way other stories have, but I really enjoyed myself reading this one.

Runner-up: Alright. I know I only rated it three stars, but The Coffee Machine was so unapologetically goofy that I have to give it a shout-out. Ridiculous little tale in vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not my usual bag, but I'm shaking your hand, Corral-Vázquez.

Least favorite story: You know what? I didn't really have one for this volume. I did not personally like Lucie Loves Neurons or Retirement Plan, but in both cases, I could acknowledge there was nothing wrong with the writing, the worldbuilding, the characterization - I turned my nose up to them the same way I would a perfume that isn't to my tastes, that's all.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really nice issue, with many memorable stories. My favourites were The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke and Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium.

Stranger Seas Than These by L Chan -  a submersible is lost inside a ”whale” on a distant planet. Quite fascinating! 4.2 stars.

From Across Time by Chisom Umeh - what if there was a great love story in your life, and you couldn’t remember it. This was lovely. 4.3 stars.

The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke by Zhu Yixian - artificial beings in Ancient China; a story about love, souls, and art, among other things. Poetic and gorgeously written. I couldn’t read anything else after finishing! 5 stars!

Souljacker by Shari Paul - it’s so cool to be able to read a near future story by a Trini author! Be careful when you mix implants with government surveillance. This was good and scary. 4 stars.

Lucie Loves Neutrons and the Good Samarium by Thoraiya Dyer - ordinary people are trying to stop nuclear wars. A great story, Thoraiya Dyer is amazing. 5 stars.

Driver by Sameem Siddiqui - a taxi driver in Karachi gets a very special client. Oh, this was unexpected. So good! 4.8 stars.

The Coffee Machine by Celia Corrail-Vásquez, translated from Spanish by Sue Burke - a ”smart” coffee machine becomes sentient. Fun, funny, sad. 4 stars.

Life Sentence by Gelian, translated from Chinese by Blake Stone-Banks – don’t come near a black hole, it will do strange things to you. 3.8 stars.

Retirement plan by Paul Starkey - when you are a crew member of a star cruiser, it’s good to remember the time dilation and make long-term plans. A fun story! 4 stars.

[Elaysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong issue - my favorites were the Paul, Dyer, and Siddiqui stories.

[David H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best stories in this one was Siddiqui's "Driver" and probably Starkey's "Retirement Plan" (the latter is at least, quite fun). The interview with Donato Giancola was quite interesting as well.