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Asimov's Science Fiction, Vol. 49, Issue #11 & #12, November/December 2025
NOVELLAS
Spare Parts for the Mind by Greg Egan
NOVELETTES
Because It’s There by Susan Shwartz
Lagrange Point 5 by Sean McMullen
Solemnity by Mark D. Jacobsen
Miiracle by Tegan Moore
Mudfoots by Eric Del Carlo
The Recovery of Lemuria 7 by Allen M. Steele
SHORT STORIES
Within God by Garrett Ashley
Can You Outrun a T-Rex? by Sean Monaghan
Catch a Tiger in the Snow by Ray Nayler
POETRY
Good Dogs by Leslie J. Anderson
Inheritance Haiku by Bruce Boston
My Flintstones Thermos, 1962 by Rob Loughran
Field Note from an Outlier Physicist by Robert Frazier
What We Learn from Quantum Mechanics by Fred D. White
Almost Immortal by Bruce Boston
The Paper Swift by Ciarán Parkes
DEPARTMENTS
Editorial: 39th Annual Readers’ Awards’ Results by Sheila Williams
Reflections: Science Fiction Predicts the Future by Robert Silverberg
On the Net: Coverage by James Patrick Kelly
On Books by Peter Heck
Spare Parts for the Mind by Greg Egan
NOVELETTES
Because It’s There by Susan Shwartz
Lagrange Point 5 by Sean McMullen
Solemnity by Mark D. Jacobsen
Miiracle by Tegan Moore
Mudfoots by Eric Del Carlo
The Recovery of Lemuria 7 by Allen M. Steele
SHORT STORIES
Within God by Garrett Ashley
Can You Outrun a T-Rex? by Sean Monaghan
Catch a Tiger in the Snow by Ray Nayler
POETRY
Good Dogs by Leslie J. Anderson
Inheritance Haiku by Bruce Boston
My Flintstones Thermos, 1962 by Rob Loughran
Field Note from an Outlier Physicist by Robert Frazier
What We Learn from Quantum Mechanics by Fred D. White
Almost Immortal by Bruce Boston
The Paper Swift by Ciarán Parkes
DEPARTMENTS
Editorial: 39th Annual Readers’ Awards’ Results by Sheila Williams
Reflections: Science Fiction Predicts the Future by Robert Silverberg
On the Net: Coverage by James Patrick Kelly
On Books by Peter Heck
502 pages, ebook
Published November 8, 2025
5 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Williams
277 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 21, 2025
The weather is turning colder. What better time to get cozy under the covers and enjoy some stories. Here are short reviews of my favorite stories in the Nov/Dec 2025 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction.
Spare Parts for the Mind by Greg Egan
In geriatrics, one must remember that quality of life is paramount and that treatments come with consequences. Trying to piece together new toys…and one’s brain.
Because It’s There by Susan Shwartz
Why climb the highest mountain in the known galaxy? For science, survival…and because it is there.
Colony ship survivors help off-worlders search the peak for vital—and perhaps deadly—information.
Lagrange Point 5 by Sean McMullen
Roadside Picnic seven light minutes from Earth. Cutting edge space exploration in the age of social media when getting the audience’s attention is paramount.
Solemnity by Mark D. Jacobsen
Unraveling the mysteries of an alien civilization that suddenly died off three millennium ago leads to a crisis of faith—and non-faith—for the humans investigating.
Miracle by Tegan Moore
The prewedding stay at a health spa doesn’t go quite the way bridezilla planned, and ends up being a horrifying path of self-discovery for one of her bridesmaids.
The Recovery of Lemuria 7 by Allen M. Steele
The conclusion to "Where in the World is Lemuria 7?" whose tale is told and done…mostly.
Within God by Garrett Ashley
Humans work to repair a dying leviathan that is orbiting the Earth. Pairs well with the anime/manga "Cells at Work!, Vol. 1" and the book/film "Fantastic Voyage"
Can You Outrun a T-Rex? by Sean Monaghan
Problematic testing pathway for time travel: loaf of bread -> lab rat -> graduate student. What could go wrong? Grad students are a dime a dozen anyway.
Catch a Tiger in the Snow by Ray Nayler
Some may say “unreliable narrator,” but what if editing our memories better fits our psyche?
Spare Parts for the Mind by Greg Egan
In geriatrics, one must remember that quality of life is paramount and that treatments come with consequences. Trying to piece together new toys…and one’s brain.
Because It’s There by Susan Shwartz
Why climb the highest mountain in the known galaxy? For science, survival…and because it is there.
Colony ship survivors help off-worlders search the peak for vital—and perhaps deadly—information.
Lagrange Point 5 by Sean McMullen
Roadside Picnic seven light minutes from Earth. Cutting edge space exploration in the age of social media when getting the audience’s attention is paramount.
Solemnity by Mark D. Jacobsen
Unraveling the mysteries of an alien civilization that suddenly died off three millennium ago leads to a crisis of faith—and non-faith—for the humans investigating.
Miracle by Tegan Moore
The prewedding stay at a health spa doesn’t go quite the way bridezilla planned, and ends up being a horrifying path of self-discovery for one of her bridesmaids.
The Recovery of Lemuria 7 by Allen M. Steele
The conclusion to "Where in the World is Lemuria 7?" whose tale is told and done…mostly.
Within God by Garrett Ashley
Humans work to repair a dying leviathan that is orbiting the Earth. Pairs well with the anime/manga "Cells at Work!, Vol. 1" and the book/film "Fantastic Voyage"
Can You Outrun a T-Rex? by Sean Monaghan
Problematic testing pathway for time travel: loaf of bread -> lab rat -> graduate student. What could go wrong? Grad students are a dime a dozen anyway.
Catch a Tiger in the Snow by Ray Nayler
Some may say “unreliable narrator,” but what if editing our memories better fits our psyche?
November 26, 2025
A combined team of humans and locals must try to reach the summit of Kangrinboge, an 80km high mountain on a world smaller than Earth. At temperatures of just 40K and hardly any atmosphere, they seek a crashed ship and the information about a deadly plague on a corpse in “Because It’s There” by Susan Schwartz. A mission to “Lagrange Point 5” in Mars orbit finds a small double asteroid, one of which seems to be generating a field which dampens electrical equipment. Unfortunately their glory-hog captain has plans of his own in Sean McMullen’s tale. Prisoners sentenced to leviathan spend their time cleaning and keeping the enormous organism (worshipped as a deity by the indigenes below it) healthy from inside it. But humans have a propensity to wilfulness and “Within God” some inmates plot an escape in Garrett Ashley’s short story. Mark D. Jacobsen takes us to the planet “Solemnity”, where evidence shows the natives died out five thousand years earlier, apparently due to the death of their god. Whatever the assumed deity was, it hasn’t gone completely, as the investigators find out in this thought-provoking tale. Sean Monaghan takes us back to the Cretaceous and asks “Can You Outrun A T-Rex?”, while Tegan Moore takes us to a tropical retreat where Mari, suffering the cruel jibes of her bridezilla companion Anneke, finds a way to achieve true enlightenment in “Miiracle”. When the Lemuria 7 vanished from the lunar farside the alien Lurkers were suspected. One survivor was found in China with her memory missing. Now the ship has been found around the large asteroid Vesta. What it contains will astonish in “The Recovery Of Lemuria 7” by Allen M. Steele. On a human-settled alien planet a man answers the call of the “Mudfoots”, a group he spent his youth with, and who he feels he owes in Eric Del Carlo’s short story. Memory is the subject of the last two tales. When memories can be removed at will a man seeks a black market memory implanted in him in “Catch A Tiger In The Snow” by Ray Nayler, while Greg Egan explores the possibility of implants to control the progression of Alzheimer’s in the memorable “Spare Parts For The Mind”. Ignorance and fear are powerful forces. Recommended issue.
December 16, 2025
"Within God" was a haunting tale of a prison colony gone all Body Wars. I enjoyed the real gritty humanity of it.
"Lagrange Point 5" was an interesting take on the mysterious object formula.
"Can You Outrun a T-Rex" was funny and endearing, probably my favorite in this issue. It reminded me Kaiju Preservation Society
"Miiracle" was dark and creepy in the end, a morality tale for finding a modern solution to an age old problem.
I liked the satisfying conclusion of "The Recovery of Lemuria 7"
"Catch a Tiger in the Snow" had me teary eyed!
"Lagrange Point 5" was an interesting take on the mysterious object formula.
"Can You Outrun a T-Rex" was funny and endearing, probably my favorite in this issue. It reminded me Kaiju Preservation Society
"Miiracle" was dark and creepy in the end, a morality tale for finding a modern solution to an age old problem.
I liked the satisfying conclusion of "The Recovery of Lemuria 7"
"Catch a Tiger in the Snow" had me teary eyed!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews