Uncanny Magazine Issue 66: September/October2025

Uncanny Magazine #66

by Michael Damian Thomas, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, M. M. Olivas

The September/October 2025 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring all-new short fiction by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, M. M. Olivas, AnaMaria Curtis, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Juliet Kahn, Tim Pratt, and Hannah Yang; essays by Senaa Ahmad, LaShawn M. Wanak, Del Sandeen, and Theo Kane; poetry by Angela Liu, Dr. Taylor Byas, Jasmine Leng, and Susan L. Lin; interviews with Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Juliet Kahn by Caroline M. Yoachim; Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe’s Listen To Me And I’ll Tell You A Story as the cover; and an editorial by Michael Damian Thomas.

Genres: Fantasy

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2025

About the author

Michael Damian Thomas is the two-time Hugo and Parsec Award-winning co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of Uncanny Magazine with his wife, Lynne M. Thomas. In this role, he has also been a finalist twice for the World Fantasy Award and a finalist for a Locus Award. Michael was a two-time Hugo Award finalist as the former Managing Editor of Apex Magazine (2012-2013), co-edited the Hugo Award finalist essay anthology Queers Dig Time Lords (Mad Norwegian Press, 2013) with Sigrid Ellis, and co-edited the anthology Glitter & Mayhem (Apex Publications, 2013) with John Klima and Lynne M. Thomas. He has also worked as an Associate Editor on numerous books at Mad Norwegian Press, including the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords (edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea, 2010) and Hugo Award finalist Chicks Dig Comics (edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Sigrid Ellis, 2012). Michael was additionally a contributor to the SF Squeecast podcast (with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente) and was a contributor to the Down and Safe- Blake’s 7 podcast (with Amal El-Mohtar, Scott Lynch, and L.M. Myles).

Michael lives in DeKalb, IL, with his wife Lynne, their daughter Caitlin, and a cat named Marie. Caitlin has a rare congenital disorder called Aicardi syndrome, and Michael works as her primary caregiver.

Reviews

[Heni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whale Fall of Yours by M. M. Olivas
Always fascinated with long distance relationship where the distance is time dilation. Regrets, regrets, regrets. Imagine spending months on your own, while your lover waits for years. 4 ⭐

The Caravan by AnaMaria Curtis
Love! The world building is unique, a secluded area under a bridge, let's say. And the theme, about fear of loss and resentment toward something bigger than you. The writing is also crisp. 5 ⭐

The Lure of Stone by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Mesoamerican setting, with the usual corrupt cult and newfound idol. Also I like the double conflict in this story: personal and more external. 4 ⭐

Brooklyn Beijing by Hannah Yang
Surreal story when Beijing suddenly appears right across Brooklyn. I think it's more like a homesickness. 3 ⭐

Seven Minutes in Heaven with the Electric Seraphim by Juliet Kahn
Why do we always need a reason to preserve consciousness of the deads with this kind of story? let the dead stay where they are. 1 ⭐

Wend-Way-Go by Tim Pratt
such a cute and heartwarming story, about a man who griefs for his dog, and his cousin who comes by bringing a device to teleport him. Macam pas lagi sedih, sodara lo dateng untuk ngajak vacation gitu. the ending is also sweet. 5 ⭐

The Shadow on the Nest by Alaya Dawn Johnson
I love the idea of "recalling memories from the past lives". Are you yourself now or you were in the past? Tapi endingnya, ngapain anda capek2 kalok ujungnya gak ngapa2in juga mbak? 3 ⭐

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven Minutes in Heaven with the Electric Seraphim by Juliet Kahn was the absolute standout here, was a fantastic story. Highly recommend. I also really liked The Shadow on the Nest by Alaya Dawn Johnson.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I backed this on Kickstarter, so I received the issue in advance of publication as part of the campaign.

All of the stories are worth reading, but I particularly enjoyed "The Lure of Stone" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, "The Shadow on the Nest" by Alaya Dawn Johnson, and "Wend-Way-Go" by Tim Pratt.