Uncanny Magazine Issue 14: January/February 2017

Uncanny Magazine #14

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Sam J. Miller, A. Merc Rustad

The January/February 2017 issue of Uncanny Magazine.

Featuring new fiction by Sam J. Miller, A. Merc Rustad, Cassandra Khaw, Maria Dahvana Headley, Theodora Goss, and Tansy Rayner Roberts, reprinted fiction by Ann Leckie, essays by Mark Oshiro, Natalie Luhrs, Delilah S. Dawson, and Angel Cruz, poetry by Carlos Hernandez, Nin Harris, and Nicasio Andres Reed, interviews with A. Merc Rustad and Maria Dahvana Headley by Julia Rios, a cover by John Picacio, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Horror, Poetry, Romance

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2017

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.

here is a link to the first story in last year's project,

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.

enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!

DECEMBER 20

i read Goddess, Worm by cassandra khaw

Three lies:

One: Silence is permission; quiescence, acceptance; yes is yes means always yes.

Two: This is the way of gods and beasts, a tradition of power. The men take, the woman is taken, her boundaries malleable, her desire negligible. This is cultural, universal, axiomatic fact. Mythology is unkind, deification teeth–marked by sacrifice. If there is hurt, if there are screams buried in spools of silk, if there is grief, it is purely accidental.

Three: It is her pleasure too, this communion of flesh, this loan of agency, this borrowed might. After all, without men, what is a woman? She is only mud, only the sickle–grin curve of a rib, only an afterthought, a diversion, a vessel, empty until filled.

i liked this one, just not as much as others of hers i have read. part of it is the foolhardy commitment to reading a story a day in the middle of holiday mania, when my brain is easily distracted by all the things i still need to do in order to make things merry merry for others, so i am not always able to give a story the attention and respect it is due because my brain will be all, "i hope you are enjoying relaxing with your short story but did you remember to buy wrapping paper?" it's a super-purple story, and i love me some purple prose, i do, but sometimes it takes a bit of unpacking to get to what's going on, and i had some confusion. her descriptions are delicious:

The goddesses sit opposite, gowned in white, faces impassive. Around them, all the rest: celestial maidens and demigods; cats that would be men and men condemned to being cats; dragons halfway into transcendence, still finned and wet from the ocean; fox–women, insolently splendid; thousand–year pottery, freshly incarnated as nubile girls with countenances of clay.

but it does occasionally get a bit obscured by layers of description and abstractions too thick for my stretched-thin brain and attention span. i will read it again, when things have calmed. for now - wrapping paper!

read it for yourself here:

http://uncannymagazine.com/article/go...

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[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like with every issue I begin my review with--Another strong issue--but here it is again: another strong issue. The story that stands out the most is Maria Dahvana Headley's novelette The Thule Stowaway, a chronicle of the last days of Edgar Allen Poe as told by Mrs. McFarlane, who has a creature trapped in her body. It's very atmospheric, and there's also a fantastic interview with the author. The essays also stand out as being quite good, with my favorite being an analysis of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

FICTION

Bodies Stacked Like Firewood by Sam J. Miller: A story of suicide, the LGBT community, and a subversive read of The Great Gatsby as a Holocaust narrative. I may actually enjoy reading TGG more if I try to make these connections! It's a sad story, but also a good one. 4/5

Monster Girls Don’t Cry by A. Merc Rustad: 2 sisters were born monsters--one with a mouthful of sharp teeth and claws, the other with horns and wings. The winged girl can cut her wings, file down her horns, and attempt a 'normal' life. But her sister cannot. Another good story, that inspired me to write my own short story with monsters this morning. 4/5

Goddess, Worm by Cassandra Khaw: A woman victimized into creating silk demands justice from an unfair mythological tribunal. I feel like this is based on a mythos I'm unfamiliar with, though still enjoyed it. 3/5

The Thule Stowaway by Maria Dahvana Headley: Novelette. Mrs. MacFarlane--or Lenore, or Virginia, or Annabel-has a creature from Thule trapped in her body. Love this Edgar Allan Poe story. Very atmospheric, as it should be! 4.5/5

To Budapest, with Love by Theodora Goss: A hybrid, creative nonfiction piece about immigration and alienation. 3.5/5

Some Cupids Kill With Arrows by Tansy Rayner Roberts: Ever gone speed dating with Greek Gods? This probably would've been a better story if its tone fit the rest of the collection, but the other stories have been quite dark and moody, and this one is light-hearted and funny. 2.5/5

The Unknown God by Ann Leckie: Aworo, God of horses, mopes after he accidentally cursed the love of his life. Thinking she's dead, he decides to walk the earth as a human and find a way to atone for his sins. But when he discovers she's still alive, he now has to find a way to reverse the curse. 4/5

POETRY

In Lieu of the Stories My Santera Abuela Should Have Told Me Herself, This Poem by Carlos Hernandez: 4/5

Jean–Luc, Future Ghost by Nin Harris: 3/5

Except Thou Bless Me by Nicasio Andres Reed: 3/5

ESSAYS

Inferior Beasts by Mark Oshiro: A review of the film Fantastic Bests and Where to Find Them that examines the child abuse stereotypes in the film. I watched this with someone who had also experienced child abuse, who had the exact same issues as Oshiro. I'm ashamed to say I didn't notice them until he pointed them out to me. This is a great essay for doing exactly that. 5/5

Why You Should Read Romance by Natalie Luhrs: I read romances as a preteen and teen to learn about sex, similar to Luhrs, but I never continued reading them once, hmm, I didn't need them anymore, haha. But this kind of made me want to pick them back up. 4/5

I Have Never Not Been an Object by Delilah S. Dawson: An essay about how the author has been sexually victimized throughout her life, and how she implements these horrific experiences into her fiction. Having read some of her short stories before, I know how difficult it is to read them. Lots of sad and horrified faces. 4.5/5

Blood of the Revolution: On Filipina Writers and Aswang by Angel Cruz: On how the folklore of the aswang and mananangga--vampires from Filipino mythology--affected the author's writing and identity as a Filipino-American. 4/5

INTERVIEWS

Interview: A. Merc Rustad by Julia Rios: 4/5

Interview: Maria Dahvana Headley by Julia Rios: Perfect interview. I hope I get to meet Headley some day. 5/5

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

„The Unknown God“ by Ann Leckie

Set in the same fantasy world of the Nalendar, as the other god stories by Ann Leckie. Aworo, Lord of the Horses, comes to Kalub to right a wrong he did. Maybe. And he is genuine about it, which is a new one for a god. He‘s having a bit of a philosophical crisis.

The lightest and fluffiest of Leckie‘s god stories so far. It was ok.

Can be found here:
Http://uncannymagazine.com/article/th...

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating take on the Chinese pantheon by a very intriguing writer. Khaw's writing is both lushly evocative and quite close to the bone - I might have trouble with this in novel-length but it works gorgeously in a short story.

Thanks to Alex for finding this.

Read for free at Uncanny Magazine: Goddess, Worm

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite stories:
"Monster Girls Don't Cry" by A. Merc Rustad: 4 stars - Two monster sisters. One sister doesn't hide her monstress abilities and looks while the other cuts her horns and wings to try to pass as a normal human. A story about accepting yourself for who you are. LGBT+ and feminist ideas included

"The Thule Stowaway" by Marie Dahvana Headley: 4 stars - A ghost is inside a woman and the entire story is connected to Edgar Allan Poe. Really well written.

other good stories:
"Bodies Stacked Like Firewood" by Sam J. Miller - 3 stars LGBT+ characters
"Some Cupids Kill With Arrows" by Tansy Rayner Roberts - 3 stars

I disliked the Anne Leckie and Cassandra Khaw stories.

Favorite essays:
"Why You Should Read Romance" by Natalie Luhrs - Made me realize I should try some really well-written romance sometime.
"I Have Never Not Been an Object" by Delilah S. Dawson - Dawson defends having rape scenes in her books because of the ordeal she went through herself.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a strong issue! And for once, I read nearly the whole thing, even if it took me ages. I would like to note up front my abiding affection for Carlos Hernandez' poem, In Lieu of the Stories My Santera Abuela Should Have Told Me Herself, This Poem.

Miller's Bodies Stacked Like Firewood was both a gut punch and a fascinating meander through a take on The Great Gatsby I'd never have considered. I enjoyed the ferocity in Khaw's Goddess, Worm and the poetic imagery and language of Headley's Poe homage in The Thule Stowaway and the quiet thoughtfulness in Leckie's The Unknown God, which is set in the world of The Raven Tower. And Theodora Goss' reflection (not quite a story or an essay, as she observes, but something in-between, which is in keeping with the theme) on being a third-culture kid in her piece To Budapest With Love spoke to me.

An excerpt from that last one... it feels so self-evident, a moment after reading it, but man, the truth of the observation set me back on my heels:

"But today the future feels as though it’s turning into something by William Gibson. Neuromancer, maybe. Except that novel’s most famous metaphor is already out of date. Most of my students can’t imagine a sky like a television tuned to a dead channel. They’ve never seen a dead channel."

[Cat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

cw: aftermath of suicide.

I read “Bodies Stacked Like Firewood” by Sam J. Miller and I feel exposed and stripped bare. I described another of his stories as “darkly queer and unflinchingly honest” and that very much fits here as well.

This is the same universe as his Stonewall story which appeared in another issue of Uncanny, but it uses the same metaphorical language to very different effect. Here we get queerness and connection and the different ways we kill ourselves. And fire. So much fire. Because fire is life.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 - 'The Unknown God' by Ann Leckie
4 - 'Bodies Stacked Like Firewood' by Sam J. Miller
4 - 'Monster Girls Don’t Cry' by A. Merc Rustad

3 - 'From Budapest with Love' by Theodora Goss
3 - 'Some Cupids Kill with Arrows' by Tansy Rayner Roberts

2 - 'Goddess, Worm' by Cassandra Khaw
2 - 'The Thule Stowaway' by Maria Dahvana Headley

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story, The Unknown God by Ann Leckie, takes place in the same world as The Nalendar and Beloved of the Sun, and can be read online at this location. The Nalendar is mentioned a few times, being a very important god, having much influence; hence the link with the other two stories.

It's about gods taking on human form to walk among humans, to try to find out what it's like being human. Aworo, Lord of Horses, god of the Western plains, tries to look if there's something more, some sort of higher truth. Part of his quest involves spending some time with atheists.

While it was nicely written, I have to admit I had a hard time understanding the story. Some things just happened or were described, but I failed to grasp the meaning. But maybe that was the point, as Aworo himself doesn't really understand why humans do what they do, or even humans don't always know why they act the way they act. You could, like Marco wrote in his review, see this as a theological reflection on life.

I found the aforementioned stories better, though. ;-)

[Quantum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Khaw's evocative prose slams into your gut like a tsunami. Read it. Meet, ever so briefly, the Jade Emperor and his retinue of celestial gods. This short inspired me to read Monkey: The Journey to the West.

Merged review:

Insightful essay on vampire-like Filipino monsters, aswang and manananggal, as Filipina empowerment, "Blood of the Revolution: On Filipina Writers and Aswang".

Khaw's evocative prose slams into your gut like a tsunami. Read it, "Goddess, Worm". Meet, ever so briefly, the Jade Emperor and his retinue of celestial gods. This short inspired me to read Monkey: The Journey to the West.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction highlights: "Monster Girls Don't Cry", "Goddess, Worm"

Nonfiction highlights: "Inferior Beasts", "I Have Never Not Been an Object"

This was my first month after subscribing; it's definitely worth it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goddess, Worm by Cassandra Khaw - Based on a Chinese legend of the silkworm goddess, this is a story of how she takes back her power on her own terms. Very poetic and powerful.

Monster Girls Don't Cry by A. Merc Rustad - Told in the second person, you are a monster girl who can pass as normal by filing down your horns and clipping your wings. Your sister, on the other hand, embraces her monstrosities, but remains cut off from society. I loved the premise of learning to revel in your unique aspects even if some might find them unacceptable. However, I felt that this tipped a bit too far from feminist almost into all-men-are-evil territory. The ending also felt a bit easy and rushed.

Bodies Stacked Like Firewood by Sam J. Miller - Two people meet at a memorial for their mutual friend who has committed suicide. They learn more about their friend as they help each other to process their guilt and grief. Well-written and moving, but the only slightly speculative content comes from snippets of an academic paper the friend was writing about some existential theory involving visionary time travel and The Great Gatsby.

Some Cupids Kill With Arrows by Tansy Rayner Roberts - Greek gods meet the modern dating scene. Hilarity ensues!

The Thule Stowaway by Maria Dahvana Headley - A very clever weaving of Edgar Allan Poe's work and life into a tale of its own. I'm sure I would have gotten more out of it if I were more familiar with his writing and background.

To Budapest, with Love by Theodora Goss - A memoir musing about how her experience as a Hungarian-American immigrant relates to SFF.

[Bridget Mckinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read Uncanny Magazine sporadically since they started publishing, but I finally decided to back their Kickstarter and subscribe for Year Three. I’d definitely rate that among my best decisions of 2016, not least of all because it means that I’ve gotten to start off 2017 with a brand new issue that is jam-packed full of the usual sorts of excellent stories, poetry and essays that have been characteristic of the publication since the beginning.

Sam J. Miller’s “Bodies Stacked Up Like Firewood” centers around a trans man’s suicide, and is the first story to make me cry in 2017. Miller deftly and sensitively explores the grief of his characters, utilizing a slight speculative element for a haunting effect that left me perfectly primed for reading the second story that has made me cry this year, A. Merc Rustad’s “Monster Girls Don’t Cry.” I just recently read Rustad’s lovely “This is Not a Wardrobe Door” in Fireside, so I was excited to find a second of their stories so soon and thrilled to find that this one is even better than the first. I’m a huge fan of stories where outsiders come to own their identities, and I love a literal metaphor, so “Monster Girls Don’t Cry” is right up my alley. I fully expect it to be one of my favorites of the year.

Read the full review at SF Bluestocking.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Leckie's Imperial Radch space opera, and I was eager to read more from who I consider one of my favorite authors. This story was very different from what I read before: it is not a science fiction piece, debating identity and colonialism. The Unknown God is a fantasy piece, set in a world of many Gods, where they can decide to walk among man. Aworo, Lord of Horses, god of the Western plains, decides to take human form, to try to understand why humans often do the unexpected... An almost theological reflection of life, that I really enjoyed, but for the ending, that was a little too unclear to me.

[Sara Habein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I appreciate what this mag is trying to do in terms of prioritizing different voices in fantasy writing, unfortunately it doesn't bring much that I enjoyed. I liked a few things in here well enough (the Santería poem the most, maybe), but groaned at a LOT of the stories. Overcooked prose, badly in need of trimming, bangs out a thesaurus' most "whimsical" adjectives when a simpler approach would do. One interview was better than the other.

Just not for me, but at least it wasn't all bad. And it was short. I'm sure other issues are better, but I'm not in a hurry to find out.

[Mook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three facts:

One: The system is unjust.

Two: The system is rigged.

Three: The system is broken, but you are not.

A story about taking back power, and fighting to right wrongs, even if no one will do the same for you.

*Find the story here:
http://uncannymagazine.com/article/go...

[Elaysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found all the writing worthwhile; particularly liked the Headley and Roberts stories and the interview with Headley.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story set in the world of "The Nalendar". Available to read here.

[MollyK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bodies Stacked Like Firewood by Sam J. Miller *
Monster Girls Don’t Cry by A. Merc Rustad **
The Thule Stowaway by Maria Dahvana Headley *

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The unknown god.

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good selection of stories and other stuff.
It was good but not as good as issue 13.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

****Goddess, Worm by Cassandra Khaw

****Monster Girls Don't Cry by A. Merc Rustad

****Bodies Stacked Like Firewood by Sam J. Miller

***Some Cupids Kill With Arrows by Tansy Rayner Roberts

****The Unknown God by Ann Leckie

*****The Thule Stowaway by Maria Dahvana Headley

***To Budapest, with Love by Theodora Goss

[feux d'artifice · Rating 4 out of 5]

awww I love it when monstrous bi girls get to destroy their douchey exes

Merged review:

I'm sure this would be vaguely interesting to someone who was rly into Greek mythology. unfortunately not for me

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light and funny short story that was a joy to read

[Michael Whiteman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goddess, Worm - Cassandra Khaw ***

Monster Girls Don't Cry - A Merc Rustad ***

Bodies Stacked Like Firewood - Sam J Miller ***

Some Cupids Kill With Arrows - Tansy Rayner Roberts *

The Unknown God - Ann Leckie ***

The Thule Stowaway - Maria Dahvana Headley ***

To Budapest, With Love - Theodora Goss **

[Shel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent issue.

Stand out stories:

"Monster Girls Don’t Cry" by A. Merc Rustad
"Bodies Stacked Like Firewood" by Sam J. Miller
"To Budapest, with Love" by Theodora Goss

Quotable:

"Our job as readers is to find the scientific formulae for survival, to glean from art that life has meaning, that suffering has purpose, that we are more than our bodies, that we can learn from the past, that we as individuals and as a human family, can become Better." — "Bodies Stacked Like Firewood" by Sam J. Miller

"ART HAS NEVER MATTERED MORE. Art changes the world. It isn’t instant or magic, but art gives people voices and ideas. Art protests. Art builds. Art gives access to different points of view. Art provides escapes. Art gives hope.

There’s a reason why fascists come for your books.

....THESE UNICORNS FIGHT FASCISTS." — The Uncanny Valley, Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damien Thomas

[Sidsel Pedersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark story of monster girls hiding who they are. Of hating their body, about others hating their body. About finding love and self love. About family


Merged review:

Did Tansy write a story just for me, just for today?
I am still having the flu, so a fun and fluffy romantic story involving the Greek gods (in person) was totally what I wanted and needed. It is snarky and sweet.
As I said, just for me, just for tonight.

Merged review:

This one was almost like reading poetry as it was lyrical and hard to follow - I might just have been too tired or a little dense but it took me long to figure out what was going on.

Merged review:

I am not really into non-genre fiction and this right on the edge of that. However it is a powerful story and it isn't the stories fault that it isn't quite sf/f-y for my taste. It is a very emotional story and quite weird.

The title reminded me of Gengis Kan, so the story turned out to be a LOT less horrific than I thought it would be. Really it has no real horror elements which is always nice.

It is a very timely story by the author's intent.

If you like Uncanny's stories I think you will like it as well

[erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There is room in the world for girls of all kinds. Monster girls and the girls who love them and all the others who’ve ever lived."