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Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2016
CONTENTS
Novelettes
"The Bewilderness of Lions" by Ted Kosmatka
"Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace
"I Married a Monster from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey
Short Stories
"The Ship Whisperer" by Julie Novakova
"A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time" by Sunil Patel
"Do Not Forget Me" by Ray Nayler
"A Little Bigotry" by R. Neube
"New Earth" by James Gunn
Poetry
"Cinderella 2300" by Ken Poyner
"Red Slippers (Hexagram 60)" by Mark C. Childs
"Nice Touch" by Jane Yolen
"Fabled Black Taj Mahal" by Vincent Miskell
"Typo" by Robert Borski
Departments
"Editorial: Age Diversity in Asimov's" by Sheila Williams
"Reflections: Writing Under the Influence" by Robert Silverberg
"On the Net: Seriously, Series" by James Patrick Kelly
"On Books" by Paul Di Filippo
"SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. Strauss
Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2016, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Whole No. 482)
Sheila Williams, editor
Cover art by Fred Gambino
Novelettes
"The Bewilderness of Lions" by Ted Kosmatka
"Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace
"I Married a Monster from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey
Short Stories
"The Ship Whisperer" by Julie Novakova
"A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time" by Sunil Patel
"Do Not Forget Me" by Ray Nayler
"A Little Bigotry" by R. Neube
"New Earth" by James Gunn
Poetry
"Cinderella 2300" by Ken Poyner
"Red Slippers (Hexagram 60)" by Mark C. Childs
"Nice Touch" by Jane Yolen
"Fabled Black Taj Mahal" by Vincent Miskell
"Typo" by Robert Borski
Departments
"Editorial: Age Diversity in Asimov's" by Sheila Williams
"Reflections: Writing Under the Influence" by Robert Silverberg
"On the Net: Seriously, Series" by James Patrick Kelly
"On Books" by Paul Di Filippo
"SF Conventional Calendar" by Erwin S. Strauss
Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2016, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Whole No. 482)
Sheila Williams, editor
Cover art by Fred Gambino
116 pages, ebook
First published February 19, 2016
23 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Williams
281 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 25, 2021
This single (not double) issue of Asimov's Science Fiction had eight stories and five unremarkable poems. Of the eight stories, two were worth reading: "The Bewilderness of Lions" by Ted Kosmatka, and the cover story, "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey.
"The Bewilderness of Lions" contains a really cool concept, an Asimovian distilliation of psychohistory, only applied at a less cosmic scale. This numbers science could be used to forecast the fortunes of individual politicians. I liked the realistic way the concept was treated. What politician would not want to know what adjustments could be made that would improve for certain his metrics after all? What happens when two statisticians working for two different politicians collide and end up having to use their science to go against one another? This promising premise was never properly fought out or brought to fully satisfying resolution, however. Three stars.
The outstanding story of the magazine was "I Married a Monster from Outer Space". It has the main thing I ask for in a great science fiction story, namely illumination of the human condition along with some profound insights. I love the bizarro twist of having an alien around looking very different but being treated as everyday. It was very funny in a low key way. The Wal-Mart checkout setting was perfect for establishing this premise. I also appreciate the subtle, sensitive, and realistic portrayal of the grief a young couple feels over the loss of their prematurely born baby girl. Finally, the insight offered regarding whether one is a wallflower or a wall, and what it means, was not something I'll ever forget. I am still too close to this story to know whether it rates four or five stars.
The rest of the stories in this issue were humdrum near misses. The editor, Sheila Williams, must not be getting much that's great to choose from. There were none that made me say, "Why would she pick that story? What could she have possibly seen in it?" With one exception: R. Neube's "A Little Bigotry." Too frivolous to bother reading, I ended up skimming it, and by the time I finsished couldn't even tell you what the story was about.
So, would I recommend this issue? Yes, for the Dale Bailey story alone. Just don't pay cover price ($4.99) for it.
"The Bewilderness of Lions" contains a really cool concept, an Asimovian distilliation of psychohistory, only applied at a less cosmic scale. This numbers science could be used to forecast the fortunes of individual politicians. I liked the realistic way the concept was treated. What politician would not want to know what adjustments could be made that would improve for certain his metrics after all? What happens when two statisticians working for two different politicians collide and end up having to use their science to go against one another? This promising premise was never properly fought out or brought to fully satisfying resolution, however. Three stars.
The outstanding story of the magazine was "I Married a Monster from Outer Space". It has the main thing I ask for in a great science fiction story, namely illumination of the human condition along with some profound insights. I love the bizarro twist of having an alien around looking very different but being treated as everyday. It was very funny in a low key way. The Wal-Mart checkout setting was perfect for establishing this premise. I also appreciate the subtle, sensitive, and realistic portrayal of the grief a young couple feels over the loss of their prematurely born baby girl. Finally, the insight offered regarding whether one is a wallflower or a wall, and what it means, was not something I'll ever forget. I am still too close to this story to know whether it rates four or five stars.
The rest of the stories in this issue were humdrum near misses. The editor, Sheila Williams, must not be getting much that's great to choose from. There were none that made me say, "Why would she pick that story? What could she have possibly seen in it?" With one exception: R. Neube's "A Little Bigotry." Too frivolous to bother reading, I ended up skimming it, and by the time I finsished couldn't even tell you what the story was about.
So, would I recommend this issue? Yes, for the Dale Bailey story alone. Just don't pay cover price ($4.99) for it.
July 5, 2016
An average issue with an interesting tale about predicting future events by Ted Kosmatka and a story with a different take about an alien who meets up with a woman by Dale Bailey.
- "The Bewilderness of Lions" by Ted Kosmatka: an unusual story about a data cruncher who can predict that certain kinds of events would happen in the future, making her useful for a political campaign. But things change when she encounters a person who is aware of her abilities and warns her not to submit a report about an upcoming calamity or calamity may befall her. But to her, calamity has already happened, as told in flashbacks in regrets she has about her autistic brother.
- "The Ship Whisperer" by Julie Novakova: in a future where a ship's quantum mind needs a human minder, an expedition finds a curious tool that could become a weapon, but only in operation with the quantum mind. Dare the minder let the weapon be used?
- "A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost over Time" by Sunil Patel: in a series of lists you get the glimpse of a mad scientists mind and his worries over an alternate reality that may hold his duplicate: or is it?
- "Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace: a fluff piece on a girl who attempts to fit into her new social circle away from home. Unknown to her, when she signed up to be sponsored by a social corporation, an AI-like entity was attached to her to monitor and provide social suggestions. Not being a social climber, I wasn't really able to relate to the girl or her AI-like mentor, whose viewpoint is told throughout the story.
- "Do Not Forget Me" by Ray Nayler: a story is told, as related from person to person, of the capture of an extraordinary man who tells the tale of his extraordinary life. But other than that, there doesn't seem to be a reason for the story to be told in this fashion; but I may be missing the point of the story.
- "A Little Bigotry" by R. Neube: a conversation between a soldier and her enemy alient counterpart over past wars shows that you sometimes need to understand the enemy's point of view to come to an understanding and to prevent future wars.
- "New Earth" by James Gunn: a new Earth is found but the first two settlers cannot decide on whether to wait or to colonise it. They wake up a third, philosophical member of the crew to help them break the deadlock. He does, but in an unexpected way that points the way forward for the rest of the colony.
- "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey: a more fantasy than SF tale but still an interesting read. A woman finds a wandering space alien and decides to take him(?) home. This event is greeted with little more than a shrug by her husband and townspeople. The alien communicates mainly by buzzing but she seems to be able to tell (or guess?) just what he is saying or asking. Over time, the alien's presence starts to have an affect on the woman's relationship with people, or perhaps it is just her own take on what she thinks the alien is telling her to do. At the end, when the husband somehow manages to repair the aliens flying saucer and the alien prepares to leave, she makes a decision that would affect her life; perhaps for the better.
- "The Bewilderness of Lions" by Ted Kosmatka: an unusual story about a data cruncher who can predict that certain kinds of events would happen in the future, making her useful for a political campaign. But things change when she encounters a person who is aware of her abilities and warns her not to submit a report about an upcoming calamity or calamity may befall her. But to her, calamity has already happened, as told in flashbacks in regrets she has about her autistic brother.
- "The Ship Whisperer" by Julie Novakova: in a future where a ship's quantum mind needs a human minder, an expedition finds a curious tool that could become a weapon, but only in operation with the quantum mind. Dare the minder let the weapon be used?
- "A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost over Time" by Sunil Patel: in a series of lists you get the glimpse of a mad scientists mind and his worries over an alternate reality that may hold his duplicate: or is it?
- "Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace: a fluff piece on a girl who attempts to fit into her new social circle away from home. Unknown to her, when she signed up to be sponsored by a social corporation, an AI-like entity was attached to her to monitor and provide social suggestions. Not being a social climber, I wasn't really able to relate to the girl or her AI-like mentor, whose viewpoint is told throughout the story.
- "Do Not Forget Me" by Ray Nayler: a story is told, as related from person to person, of the capture of an extraordinary man who tells the tale of his extraordinary life. But other than that, there doesn't seem to be a reason for the story to be told in this fashion; but I may be missing the point of the story.
- "A Little Bigotry" by R. Neube: a conversation between a soldier and her enemy alient counterpart over past wars shows that you sometimes need to understand the enemy's point of view to come to an understanding and to prevent future wars.
- "New Earth" by James Gunn: a new Earth is found but the first two settlers cannot decide on whether to wait or to colonise it. They wake up a third, philosophical member of the crew to help them break the deadlock. He does, but in an unexpected way that points the way forward for the rest of the colony.
- "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" by Dale Bailey: a more fantasy than SF tale but still an interesting read. A woman finds a wandering space alien and decides to take him(?) home. This event is greeted with little more than a shrug by her husband and townspeople. The alien communicates mainly by buzzing but she seems to be able to tell (or guess?) just what he is saying or asking. Over time, the alien's presence starts to have an affect on the woman's relationship with people, or perhaps it is just her own take on what she thinks the alien is telling her to do. At the end, when the husband somehow manages to repair the aliens flying saucer and the alien prepares to leave, she makes a decision that would affect her life; perhaps for the better.
June 2, 2017
Asimov' Science Fiction March 2016
Stars 3.2
The Ship Whisperer by Julie Novakova
4 Stars
The MC is a specially designed human who interfaces telepathically with space ship's AI. The mission has a military component and the Colonel in charge is basically a bigot who hates people like her. Plus, he conducts classified missions that physically harm her due to the connection to the AI.
A Partial Lists of Lists I Have Lost Over Time by Sunil Patel
1 Star
A mad scientist creates lists about everything. It's supposed to be humor, but it's just a list of lists. How did this get published?
Do Not Forget Me by Ray Nayler
3 Stars
Essentially there is a caravan out in an Arabian desert (at least that's what it feels like) that is set upon by a gang. They murder all but one, and this man's attempt to spare his life he tells the leader a tale of how he isn't immortal, but he's walked the Earth for a very, very long time. So long that he has battle scars from wars he cannot remember.
Here's the thing, in order to get to the 'Wanderer's Tale' you have to go through a series of other men telling the story of how they heard that story, and then you hear them talking about after hearing the story.
A Little Bigotry by R. Neube
4 Stars
A human and veteran of a war with an alien race visits another planet looking for work. The job offer she gets is to meet with one of the alien veterans of the same war. She ends up at a meal with his family and uses her as a sort of history teacher.
New Earth by James Gunn
4 Stars
A human colonization ship arrives at a planet. There are two crew members not in stasis: a biologist and an engineer. They've had mechs scanning the surface which have found no animal life but plenty of plant life. It appears safe and the engineer wants to set out and start colonizing. The biologist is concerned about bacteria that may be down there that hasn't yet been detected and bacteria that they might take down themselves. They decide to wake up a philosopher to help with the decision process. Didn't see the ending coming.
Stars 3.2
The Ship Whisperer by Julie Novakova
4 Stars
The MC is a specially designed human who interfaces telepathically with space ship's AI. The mission has a military component and the Colonel in charge is basically a bigot who hates people like her. Plus, he conducts classified missions that physically harm her due to the connection to the AI.
A Partial Lists of Lists I Have Lost Over Time by Sunil Patel
1 Star
A mad scientist creates lists about everything. It's supposed to be humor, but it's just a list of lists. How did this get published?
Do Not Forget Me by Ray Nayler
3 Stars
Essentially there is a caravan out in an Arabian desert (at least that's what it feels like) that is set upon by a gang. They murder all but one, and this man's attempt to spare his life he tells the leader a tale of how he isn't immortal, but he's walked the Earth for a very, very long time. So long that he has battle scars from wars he cannot remember.
Here's the thing, in order to get to the 'Wanderer's Tale' you have to go through a series of other men telling the story of how they heard that story, and then you hear them talking about after hearing the story.
A Little Bigotry by R. Neube
4 Stars
A human and veteran of a war with an alien race visits another planet looking for work. The job offer she gets is to meet with one of the alien veterans of the same war. She ends up at a meal with his family and uses her as a sort of history teacher.
New Earth by James Gunn
4 Stars
A human colonization ship arrives at a planet. There are two crew members not in stasis: a biologist and an engineer. They've had mechs scanning the surface which have found no animal life but plenty of plant life. It appears safe and the engineer wants to set out and start colonizing. The biologist is concerned about bacteria that may be down there that hasn't yet been detected and bacteria that they might take down themselves. They decide to wake up a philosopher to help with the decision process. Didn't see the ending coming.
April 1, 2023
Avg. Rating: 3.8
I am now getting into literary magazines because somehow it's much easier to get myself to read fiction when it's in this form, I couldn't tell you why.
I ordered a value pack of old Asimov's print copies online on an impulse, and this was first of them! There were some hits and some misses, but overall, I really enjoyed this volume and there were a lot of fascinating concepts explored.
Not gonna write a whole review, but here are my ratings for each story:
A Bewilderment of Lions: ☆☆☆☆.5
The Ship Whisperer ☆☆☆.5
A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time ☆☆☆☆
Project Empathy ☆☆☆☆☆
Do Not Forget Me ☆☆☆☆
A Little Bigotry ☆☆☆
New Earth ☆☆
I Married a Monster from Outer Space ☆☆☆☆.5
I am now getting into literary magazines because somehow it's much easier to get myself to read fiction when it's in this form, I couldn't tell you why.
I ordered a value pack of old Asimov's print copies online on an impulse, and this was first of them! There were some hits and some misses, but overall, I really enjoyed this volume and there were a lot of fascinating concepts explored.
Not gonna write a whole review, but here are my ratings for each story:
A Bewilderment of Lions: ☆☆☆☆.5
The Ship Whisperer ☆☆☆.5
A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time ☆☆☆☆
Project Empathy ☆☆☆☆☆
Do Not Forget Me ☆☆☆☆
A Little Bigotry ☆☆☆
New Earth ☆☆
I Married a Monster from Outer Space ☆☆☆☆.5
Want to read
January 21, 2017First, not all books (or magazines, in this case) fall in the categories of to read/currently reading/ read. I read one story here and I may read more in the future, but not right now, and I don´t want have this in my "currently reading " shelf forever. So I added the shelf "partially read".
The story I read is "Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace It seems to be the first in a series, although the first one I read was "Project Entropy" in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2016. This is an intriguing series about near future interaction of AI and social networks. The AIs are developed by companies catering to the social elite with curators and companions, even friends. AIs should help the human service providers with information about their clients. Then, you know, they have their own ideas.
Here´s a link to Dominica's website: http://www.dominicaphetteplace.com/ho...
Also read her story in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 2016.
The story I read is "Project Empathy" by Dominica Phetteplace It seems to be the first in a series, although the first one I read was "Project Entropy" in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2016. This is an intriguing series about near future interaction of AI and social networks. The AIs are developed by companies catering to the social elite with curators and companions, even friends. AIs should help the human service providers with information about their clients. Then, you know, they have their own ideas.
Here´s a link to Dominica's website: http://www.dominicaphetteplace.com/ho...
Also read her story in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 2016.
May 8, 2016
Most of the stories in this issue use their science fictional setting to explore the human condition. Okay, most science fiction does that. But these stories seemed to have the theme of loss and opening yourself up to another--human, AI, or alien--leaving yourself vulnerable. "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" was my favorite. The protagonist is working class, not very well-educated, who encounters an alien and learns something about being human.
"A Little Bigotry" explores what happens between erstwhile enemies when the war is over. "New Earth" discusses the morality of colonizing a new planet, something I hadn't seen considered in other colonization stories. "Do Not Forget Me" is a sad story about the tribulations of being immortal.
"Cinderella 2300" is a poetic riff on the classic fairy tale. "Fabled Black Taj Mahal" thinks about the shadow of the white one.
Overall, interesting stories and articles--what I've come to expect from Sheila Williams.
"A Little Bigotry" explores what happens between erstwhile enemies when the war is over. "New Earth" discusses the morality of colonizing a new planet, something I hadn't seen considered in other colonization stories. "Do Not Forget Me" is a sad story about the tribulations of being immortal.
"Cinderella 2300" is a poetic riff on the classic fairy tale. "Fabled Black Taj Mahal" thinks about the shadow of the white one.
Overall, interesting stories and articles--what I've come to expect from Sheila Williams.
May 19, 2016
Great theme to this series, taking a deep look at the human condition. Most of the stories were amazing, some I enjoyed a bit less-so.
The title story was interesting but ultimately I wasn't a huge fan. The author meant for it to be a tad campy, but overall I just had a bit of trouble relating.
Project Empathy was a VERY interesting read. I'm finding that I'm really starting to enjoy near-future tales a lot more because of how they can draw such great connections to modern life and show how not-very-far-off the often less-pleasant aspects can really be.
A Little Bigotry was also a good story, though the one complaint I have about that one is that for someone who hated the aliens as much as she did, she didn't seem to have much trouble conversing with them. Overall there were some great ethics and ideas represented there.
The title story was interesting but ultimately I wasn't a huge fan. The author meant for it to be a tad campy, but overall I just had a bit of trouble relating.
Project Empathy was a VERY interesting read. I'm finding that I'm really starting to enjoy near-future tales a lot more because of how they can draw such great connections to modern life and show how not-very-far-off the often less-pleasant aspects can really be.
A Little Bigotry was also a good story, though the one complaint I have about that one is that for someone who hated the aliens as much as she did, she didn't seem to have much trouble conversing with them. Overall there were some great ethics and ideas represented there.
March 4, 2016
Después de una pequeña subida de calidad en algunos números anteriores, la misma ha bajado hasta los ínfimos niveles habituales.
Yo no sé si es porque pagan poco, o porque el nivel cuentístico por allí anda de capa caída, pero los relatos son especialmente infumables ahora que parece que la revista se orienta un poco más al lado "hard".
Yo no sé si es porque pagan poco, o porque el nivel cuentístico por allí anda de capa caída, pero los relatos son especialmente infumables ahora que parece que la revista se orienta un poco más al lado "hard".
October 6, 2017
"Project Empathy" was the standout story for me. It created a unique world that I was itching to know more about.
I also really liked "A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost over Time" & "I Married a Monster from Outer Space".
The other stories were fine, nothing exceptional but fun nonetheless.
I also really liked "A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost over Time" & "I Married a Monster from Outer Space".
The other stories were fine, nothing exceptional but fun nonetheless.
September 14, 2020
These were good stories, but not really outstanding for me. I particularly liked the cover and cover story "I Married a Monster from Outer Space"by Dale Bailey, The Ship Wisperer (by Julie Novakova, a Czech author) and Cinderella 2300 (a great poem by Ken Poyner).
March 13, 2016
3.5 stars. Novelettes were great, short stories were just OK for me in this issue. Looking forward to the next one!
June 9, 2016
Great issue. "A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time" by Sunil Patel was very funny, and I'm really enjoying the "Project" stories by Dominica Phetteplace.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews