Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 178

by Lightspeed Magazine, John Joseph Adams

LIGHTSPEED is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF-and from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.

Welcome to issue 178 of LIGHTSPEED! We're kicking off the issue with an original SF short by Cadwell "Dekar Druid and the Infinite Library." Who is Dekar Druid? Why is he trapped inside an infinite library? And how does he move inside the pages of all those books? You'll have to read it to find out. Adam-Troy Castro brings us an epistolary story of linguistic breakdown in his short, "Message in a Babel." Our flash pieces are both about space exploration and its terrible "Those Who Seek to Embrace The Sun" from Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe and "Instructions for Good Boys on the Interplanetary Expedition" by Rachael K. Jones. Our first original fantasy short-"Memories of Temperance" by Anya Ow-takes us into the underworld, as two unhappy spirits wander the afterlife on their own mysterious mission. "The Lexicon of Lethe" by Sunwoo Jeong is about a neighborhood struggling as words begin to vanish off of signs, menus . . . and out of people's minds. We also have a flash story in the form of a dark fairy tale from Jake Kerr ("Pure of Heart"). Nina Kiriki Hoffman brings us our final piece of fantasy "The Shift."

Genres: Fantasy

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2025

Reviews

[Pontus Doverstav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag for me.

Instructions for Good Boys on the Interplanetary Expedition was my favourite, but Pure of Heart was pretty good.

I found Those Who Embrace the Sun to have some promise, but I thought it would lean a bit more into the horror aspect that I felt when the ships where watching the humans, instead it took a more hopeful/brighter turn, which I found a bit dissapointing. Dekar Druid and the Infinite Library also had a strong start, but as it went on the story didn't really catch me.

I also thought that Message in a Babel had an interesting style and premise, but in the end I didn't really get the message.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing in this issue is of a high standard, as usual, but only a few of the stories really captured my imagination:
- "Those Who Seek to Embrace the Sun" by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe is told from the point of a sentient starship and how it deals with future humans desperate for help with their own survival.
- "The Lexicon of Lethe" by Sunwoo Jeong is a perceptive story which, once it gets going, relates how a community of people centered around a small restaurant deal with a mysterious monster which is consuming many of their words. We see how "holes" in their world and in their communication affects them deeply.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - (For Nina Kiriki Hoffman's 'The Shift')

[Heni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cadwell "Dekar Druid and the Infinite Library."
I love the world building here: infinite library, scary lake and forest outside, and the fact that Dekar can step into the book's world. 4 ⭐

Adam-Troy Castro "Message in a Babel."
So....just vibe no plot? exchanging secret letters? what is going on? 1 ⭐

"Those Who Seek to Embrace The Sun" from Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe
So what's the point? 2 ⭐

"Instructions for Good Boys on the Interplanetary Expedition" by Rachael K. Jones
Shit y'all better be coming back for Spotnik 😭 5 ⭐

"Memories of Temperance" by Anya Ow
A bit difficult to enter fantasy with heavily Chinese folk influence since it's unfamiliar. but it's good to see something new. 4 ⭐

"The Lexicon of Lethe" by Sunwoo Jeong
I like the idea of stealing words from humanity. Maybe before,there's a word stronger than love, and it's already got stolen. 4 ⭐

Jake Kerr ("Pure of Heart")
So does she exact her revenge or not? 2⭐

Nina Kiriki Hoffman "The Shift."
The usual. 1 ⭐