The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Issue 732, July/August 2017

by C.C. Finlay (Editor), William Ledbetter (Contributor), Auston Habershaw (Contributor)

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2017
- C. C. Finlay - Editor
Volume 133, Number 1&2, Whole Number 732
Contents:
William Ledbetter - In A Wide Sky, Hidden
Auston Habershaw - The Massochist's Assistant
Robin Furth - The Bride in Sea-Green Velvet
Charles de Lint - Books to Look For
Michelle West - Musing on Books
David Erik Nelson - There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House
Gardner Dozois - A Dog's Story
G. V. Anderson - I Am Not I
Nick Downes - Cartoon
Pat Murphy & Paul Doherty - Science: With the Best of Intentions
David J. Skal - Films: Ghoulies, Ghosties, Beasties
Justin C. Key - Afiya's Song
Sophie M. White - Northwest Cruise
Sean Adams - An Obstruction to Delivery
Marissa Lingen - An Unearned Death
Paul Di Filippo - Curiosities
Cover by Nicholosas Grunas for "There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House"

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Poetry

258 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2017

About the author

Former Editor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Author of The Prodigal Troll, the Traitor to the Crown Series, and Wild Things, plus dozens of short stories. World Fantasy Award Winner, and finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Sidewise, Sturgeon, and Locus Awards. Teacher at Clarion and elsewhere.

Married to novelist Rae Carson.

Reviews

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly strong issue, with the cover novella leading the pack. "There was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House" by David Erik Nelson not only has a wonderfully witty title, but it features a vivid depiction of downtown Detroit with a gruesome, eerie house with an affinity for designer shoes. Auston Habershaw's novelet "The Masochist's Assistant" is a fun peak into his books' setting with a unique take on a comedy in manners. My favorite short stories were "An Unearned Death" by Marissa Lingen and "In a Wide Sky, Hidden" by William Ledbetter. Really, though, there's not a bad tale in the bunch, and a few of these will be added to my awards consideration lists.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 • In a Wide Sky, Hidden • 14 pages by William Ledbetter
Good/VG. Regina is an artist, making magnificent creations on several worlds. She came home to visit several times a year. When her sister turned twenty Regina took her on her first soup kitchen ride to another planetary system where Regina had made kilometer wide kites that made an aurora type effect. The sister gave Regina a beautiful necklace, said she had lost interest in being an explorer and the got a note saying to come find me. Regina had disappeared. Years later the sister started visiting unexplored planets looking for Regina. Entertaining and a nice flow.

22 • The Masochist's Assistant • 21 pages by Auston Habershaw
Very Good/Excellent. Georges is snubbed from society because he works for the uncouth mage Hugarth. He finally gets so fed up that he quits, but finds that distancing himself from the mage makes no difference. Really neat(o) resolution.

43 • The Bride in Sea-Green Velvet • 24 pages by Robin Furth
OK. Sir Henry has a corpse, only bones now, dug up and brought to him so he can turn it into his bride. He's turning forty-nine and will have to make a sacrifice. This story is Frankenstein plus necrophilia, and a touch of magic/fantasy.

83 • There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House • 60 pages by David Erik Nelson
Excellent/VG. Fleischermann just bought a house. It was designed by a famous architect. [In Heinlein's '—And He Built a Crooked House—' Quintus Teal built a tesseract.] He sends Glenn Washington and Lennie to see the potential flip value. Added to the fourth dimensionality of Heinlein's story the house seems to be actively after the people that enter, Schnabel and Fleischermann are rivals in shady business dealings, a couple of cops seem kind of interested in the property, and Glenn meets Anja.

143 • A Dog's Story • 4 pages by Gardner Dozois
Good. An old dog checking out the neighborhood and then a little further finds a dead girl in an alley. This girl reminds him of a human that was dear to him and he sets out to find the killer.

147 • I Am Not I • 26 pages by G. V. Anderson
Good. Varians are evolved from human stock. It's rare but possible that a Varian could have a Sap offspring. Our protagonist is one. She was hidden until she was fifteen then had surgery to have wings and extra eyes added. It's been ten years and she needs touch up surgery, what she has is rapidly failing. She gets a job at a store that sells Sap parts as souvenirs. The business is failing, plenty of stock, but she needs to drum up sales. A lot happens at the end.

185 • Afiya's Song • 38 pages by Justin C. Key
OK+. Early 1800s, Afiya is a slave. She learned songs of the old country that allow her to heal. She was born a slave on the Hairston farm. After she had a baby with the son, he was sent to live with the uncle and the baby sold far away. When the old man dies Louis takes over. Continues with what is happening on the Hairston farm. A few interludes of freed slaves many years later saying Afiya was an inspiration to the slave rebellion.

223 • An Obstruction to Delivery • 22 pages by Sean Adams
Good/OK. Peter is such a zealous postal worker he make a nuisance of himself. The townsfolk don't want to see any mail carrier. As chance would have it, a network of tunnels has been discovered running directly below every house in town. The mail is now delivered up through mailboxes located in basements. All is well for a while until a set of bones are found.

245 • An Unearned Death • 11 pages by Marissa Lingen
OK/Good. Osrith is a messenger for the gods. She has a cloak that allows her to tell which god, if any, will come for a person's soul. She could distance herself from her job, but she doesn't like to see people who aren't chosen by any god and are destined for the bone yards.

[Desirae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a poor issue. The only real story of note for me was Afyia's story.

"In A Wide Sky, Hidden" by William Ledbetter; 2/5 stars

This might be a perfect example of a "not my cup of tea" read, in that there's nothing really wrong with the story, but I personally never connected with anything. The tale is structured around a wandering boy/man searching across the galaxies to find his free-spirit sister Regina. And when he finally does find her she's long dead. Honestly, the tone and structure of the piece reminded me of the film The Fountain, and the story itself lacked vision, it just felt like a bunch of moments cobbled together.

"The Massochist's Assistant" by Auston Habershaw; 3.5/5 stars

There were really strong elements in this, but also some not so strong elements. Firstly, I loved the tidbits of French culture - the names (Georges pronounced with that slushy "ggg" sound, delicious) powdered wigs, etc. all paired with the fantastical elements of a new world. Where I think the story struggled was with Hugarth (the massochist) because for me he was the most interesting character but the real backstory wasn't revealed until the very end. It didn't make sense to me to have "the massochist" a person primarily living for his own pleasure and gratification, be it sexual, or otherwise, to be working so closley with Georges for his own betterment. Ultimately I wished this angle had been explored in greater detail.

"The Bride in Sea-Green Velvet" by Robin Furth; 3.5/5 stars

Another story where the positives just about out weigh the negatives. On the one hand the concept is amazing, with lush atmospheric writing, including a whole lot of sexual sorcery. But on the other hand, I'm not really sure what the point of it all was for. Why was Sir Henry sacrificed? What was so important about this girl? And how and why does the magic work? I was left with too many questions... Also, I was oddly reminded of that moment from Game of Thrones when Melisandre (of the red hair) have birth to that shadow baby killer thing.

"There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House" by David Erik Nelson; 1/5 stars

Truthfully, it's taken me two weeks to get to the 30 page mark in a 90+ page story, and I just can't go on. The writing is so fake and immature; almost as if Nelson were *trying* to make this "shit" cooler than it was by adding as many "fucks" as he could dropping in random racist cops. I was not impressed with what I read and I have no desire to continue. I'd say I'm surprised that a story that I loath was featured on the cover, but honestly it's happened before - I didn't think anything could be as bad as the tiny toy dinosaurs driving Barbie dreamvans from a few months back, but this one was.

"A Dog's Story" by Gardner Dozois; 1/5 stars

Another dull, boring, pointless story. I'm struggling to see how this one fits into either the sci-fi or fantasy categories.

"I Am Not I" by G. V. Anderson; 3/5 stars

Overall- not bad. And much better than most of it's predecessors in this volume. Ultimatly my only issue was with the world building. Characters were interesting and the storyline was strong but I was confused a good deal of the time. The story centers around a humanoid girl in a world were the dominant species has evolved into a more lepodopteran physicality. I enjoyed the main character and the mystic surrounding the honey man, but I need more, in both a good, and bad way.

"Afiya's Song" by Justin C. Key; 4/5 stars

By far the strongest piece in the collection. Detailing the story of Afiya, a young slave who is taught the magic of song healing from her mother, and other ancestors from Africa. As the story processes we witness the sturings of rebellion and revolution in the South leading to an alternate timeline of emancipation. Another interesting facet was Afiya's relationship with her master Louis - the pair grow up together and eventually have a child, yet there's is not a love story.

"Northwest Cruise" by Sophie M. White; 1/WTF stars  
White starts this poem off with... "So...what's the big deal?"

My sentiments, exactly.

"An Obstruction to Delivery" by Sean Adams; 2/5 stars

A bit of a dark comedy - imagine if Tim Burton had directed an episode of the office. The story centers around a group of postal workers who are being stocked by an underground "mysterious" monster. Not bad, just not my tastes.

"An Unearned Death" by Marissa Lingen; 1/5 stars

In a word: blah. Story centers around a girl and her household gods. Nothing really stuck with me on this. I would read a sentence and immediately forget what I read. It just didn't grip me.

[Michael Whiteman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In A Wide Sky, Hidden - William Ledbetter ***
The brother of a planetary-scale artist hunts for her across habitable planets after she announces her masterpiece and disappears. Their relationship is fleshed out through flashback sections, establishing her inspiration for him to follow his dreams of exploring the galaxy. Ends bittersweetly, both bleak and uplifting,

The Masochist's Assistant - Auston Habershaw ***
Comedy of manners where a young man cannot face the loss of status from working for an unconventional mage who stands outside the world's formal, aristocratic society. A nice take on finding your own place in the world, within or without the system, and the mage's amusing attempts to prevent his death lightened the rigidity of the story's world.

The Bride In Sea-Green Velvet - Robin Furth ****
A creepy Frankenstein-by-the-sea story, as a Lord has skeletons exhumed and brought back to life to marry. The crumbling seashore setting and Sir Henry's obsession with beauty below the skin create an eerie atmosphere and the concluding resurrection and sacrifice is a satisfying set piece to end on.

There Was A Crooked Man, He Flipped A Crooked House - David Erik Nelson **
A promising idea - the trap house where each door and window takes you to another part of it instead of outside and otherworldly beings hunt those trapped - let down by clumsy and inconsistent writing. The narrator is black, so says "gal" and "mos def" (and bafflingly, "skool") once each before dropping back into, presumably, the author's voice. An Icelandic character starts off all "Oh yes, I love America, ja?" then waxes poetic in fluent English about being under a supernatural compulsion. None of them feel like real people, the narration itself was awkward and it was impossible to engage.

A Dog's Story - Gardner Dozois *
It's hard to do a "from the animal's point of view" story and make it interesting rather than just giving things "dog" names and talking about their Humans. This doesn't manage it.

I Am Not I - GV Anderson ****
In a society dominated by genetically modified Varians who have given themselves extra limbs, eyes, wings etc, baseline humans, or Saps, are hunted and preserved for display. The Varians are suitably gothic and the honey man is a creation I loved. This is a story about the lengths people will go to to fit into "respectable" society, even against those like them, and the idea is realised smartly.

Afiya's Song - Justin C Key ****
Creating a story around slavery that does justice to the historical facts while still introducing something fresh seems difficult but this one gets there. The healing of the titular song is integrated smoothly into an otherwise realistic world. Afiya is well-drawn, her faith and love tempered by a guarded weariness. Doesn't shy away from the realities of slavery despite its fantasy elements, ultimately a story of perseverance and hope.

An Obstruction To Delivery - Sean Adams ***
Quirky story, structured in bite-size sections - almost report-like but with a knowing, irreverent tone. As fun as a story about postal workers forced to deliver via underground tunnels being gradually picked off by an enigmatic creature can be.

An Unearned Death - Marissa Lingen ***
Osrith is a messenger, travelling around and using her cloak to tell people which god's afterlife they will go to (those unclaimed by any god slowly rot away in the boneyards). A bit talky, but the attempts at persuading the recalcitrant grandma to find joy in something a god would adopt her for were well observed and Osrith's character and sense of justice shone through.

[Mary Soon Lee]

The stories in this issue of F&SF range from planet-hopping science fiction, to alternate history, to high fantasy. They deal with postal problems, real estate problems, necromancy problems. My favorites were two of the novelettes: Auston Habershaw's "The Masochist's Assistant," which is a wonderful, humorous, compassionate tale of a man reluctantly assisting a maverick sorcerer, and Justin C. Key's "Afiya's Song," which is a hard, unflinching, compassionate tale of slavery. I note that "Afiya's Song" was upsetting, yet I was glad to have read it. I also particularly enjoyed Gardner Dozois's brief yet warm "A Dog's Story," David Erik Nelson's lengthy yet engrossing "There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House," and Marissa Lingen's unexpected take on death and the gods in "An Unearned Death." This is another fine issue of a fine magazine.

N.B. I appreciate the tie-ins to the fiction that crop up in the classifieds page of F&SF, which this time includes an entry inspired by Sean Adams's "An Obstruction to Delivery."

[??????? · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid stories in this collection. In A Wide Sky and Masochist's Assistant are interesting and clever, but absolutely nothing comes remotely close to Crooked House. What a masterpiece.

[Rachel]

Sea-witch golems! A paradimensional hell house in Detroit! The underground postal system and a monster picking off mailpersons! Slavery uprising through the magic of song!

Favorites: "I Am Not I" - G.V. Anderson (body horror/social strata/Strohm-Waxxog royalty/ BEE MAN) and "An Obstruction to Delivery" - Sean Adams (postal system dystopia/hilarious form)

[Joey O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

These usually don’t rate a solid five stars, but this issue was consistently of high quality and entertaining throughout.

[Toby]

In A Wide Sky, Hidden, William Ledbetter. Another trans/post-humanism science fiction piece. Kid wants to be an explorer when he grows up, robots took his job. Galaxy's a big place, so he gets the job anyway. His sister's an artist; is a natural death in a transhuman universe the ultimate performance art? 3/5.

The Masochist's Assistant, Auston Habershaw. 3/5.

The Bride In Sea-Green Velvet, Robin Furth. A weird little fantasy set in an indeterminate age of the "real world". Sir Henry has a birthday coming up. They say the gifts you make yourself mean the most, but this story begs to differ. 4/5.

There Was A Crooked Man, He Flipped A Crooked House, David Erik Nelson. Cover novella. A haunted house tale, maybe with aliens, set in contemporary Detroit. Weird fiction vibes and a compelling narrative. Uses the setting and characters to drive the story quite well. Among the best fiction I've read in this journal. 5/5.

A Dog's Story, Gardner Dozois. Short story. A dog vigilante hires a hit man. Like The Secret Life of Pets meets Barry. A little bit of pathos but doesn't dwell on it. 2/5.

I Am Not I, G. V. Anderson. Novelet. The introduction alludes to China Mieville and I get a Perdido Streetesque Weird Urban vibe from this tale of arthropodic and horrific humanoids who trade in the biological detritus of humans. We get several uses of "mouthparts" which is rare and good. 4/5.

Afiya's Song, Justin C. Key. Novelet. Magical realism on the plantation. A very frank and disturbing telling of Afiya, a slave, and her connection to her "old gods" through song. I think we all know how this one ends. 4/5.

An Obstruction to Delivery, Sean Adams. Short Story. It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. 4/5.

An Unearned Death, Marissa Lingen. Short Story. Is the unexamined life worth leaving? 4/5.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The emphasis is on fantasy in this five-star edition of F&SF. I’d rate the majority of the content as excellent, but my favorites were the stories by Auston Habershaw, Robin Furth, Gardner Dozois, G.V. Anderson, and Marissa Lingen.

[Renee Babcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very strong issue. Standout stories for me were William Ledbetter's In a Wide Sky, Hidden, G. V. Anderson's I Am Not I, and Justin Key's Afiya's Song. I would expect to see some combination of these on various award ballots next year.

[Jeff Rensch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treat yourself to Auston Habershaw. A remarkably witty fantasy. Also excellent Melissa Lingen story.

[Grace Crandall · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This is a review for The Masochist's Assistant only; I listened to it on PodCastle and fell too far in love not to leave a review)

I really loved this!!! It's so rare to find character-driven, fun short stories with happy endings. There was a complex world in this story that came across seamlessly, and I loved both main characters equally. The ending was satisfying while still leaving a great deal open to the imagination. So well written!

[Emmett Hoops · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't always read every story in F&SF, but this time I did. (Horror of horrors: I often skip any story that starts off like, "The wizard Lothyriak drew his sword...") and go in search of a good horror story (such as the David Erik Nelson story, illustrated on the cover) or a straight science fiction tale. Well, this issue is so uniformly excellent, that you may well find yourself in the same boat I am. I even read the book reviews!

[Michael Frasca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite stories:

- "There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House" by David Erik Nelson. A house flipper acquires an amazingly pristine old house in the "BFE" part of Detroit. Alternately creepy and funny. Pairs well with The Sellout.

- "An Obstruction to Delivery" by Sean Adams. The citizens don't like seeing mail carriers on their routes, so the mayor orders the Post Office to use the old, dark tunnels under the city to deliver the mail. What could go wrong? Pairs well with Welcome to Night Vale.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent issue. There are three 5-star short stories in here. The cover story is weak, as is the cover. The science article is, I dunno, naïve?

[Rajesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good enuff, but the anchor novella about a haunted house that inspires the cover was quite lacklustre.

[Maryam]

I listened to Auston Habershaw's "The Masochist's Assistant" on PodCastle. It was fantastic! Don't miss it out!

[Vince Darcangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"An Obstruction to Delivery" by Sean Adams is phenomenal, a George Saunders-esque romp through an eccentric, subterranean postal service.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good issue, with a nice nod to Robert Heinlein's 'Crooked House' by David Erik Nelson and a fascinating tale by G. V. Anderson that starts out sounding like fantasy but slowly reveals itself to be SF via biological modification. Justin C. Key's 'alternative US slavery history' (with a small dose of fantasy) might be enjoyed by those into that time period; otherwise it's probably be too specific to find a bigger audience.

- "In A Wide Sky, Hidden" by William Ledbetter: a man travels the galaxy, searching for his sister who has left behind an enigmatic message about finding her through her art.

- "The Massochist's Assistant" by Auston Habershaw: an interesting tale about the assistant of a mage whose job is to try to kill his master; for what doesn't kill him will make him stronger. But the assistant's social standing in society suffers due to the mage's attempts at death antics until he is virtually exiled from society. And it may be up to the mage to help his restore it; even if it kills him.

- "The Bride in Sea-Green Velvet" by Robin Furth: a fascinating dark fantasy tale of a landlord who appears to have a fetish for the bones of dead women. In this story, he acquires what he believes is an especially beautiful skull of a woman who he plans to use in a dark, magical ceremony involving the sea that has been going on for generations, performed by his ancestors. Little does he know how the outcome of the ceremony will affect his own future for the worse.

- "There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House" by David Erik Nelson: a fascinating story about an unusual building in Detroit. Without going into too much detail, it tells the story of two people (and later, others) who find it curiously difficult to enter the house. But later, with the right key, they enter it, discover what its enticing contents are, and discover that leaving the house is now a challenge. Even more challenging is avoiding its chilling out-of-this-world occupant who is now hunting for them.

- "A Dog's Story" by Gardner Dozois: a short-short told from a dog's point of view of finding a girl's body and then, with the help of other animals, tracking down the killer and arranging a punishment. All in a dog's day.

- "I Am Not I" by G. V. Anderson: a fantastic tale that starts out sounding like fantasy but slowly reveals itself to be SF of a girl cast out from a famous family and seeks work at a body emporium. What the story reveals is a incredible world where humans are outcasts and treated like vermin in a world of genetically modified beings who see themselves as superior. The girl is desperate to fit into the world and to hide her background but her world comes crashing down as her deception is revealed and she has to accept that she is what she is.

- "Afiya's Song" by Justin C. Key: a long story set during the slave period in the US involving an unusual slave girl whose singing can cause healing. But things turn rebellious at the slave owner's plantation when the girl's husband is whipped to death.

- "An Obstruction to Delivery" by Sean Adams: to save money, a city strangely drives its postal service underground into former service tunnels. But things take a turn for the worse when postal workers start turning up as piles of bones. And it may need the help of a former postal worker, whose ideas on making the postal service wonderful are somewhat idealistic, to get to the bottom of the horror in the tunnels.

- "An Unearned Death" by Marissa Lingen: an interesting fantasy about a messenger of the gods whose cloak can reveal which god is willing to receive those who are about to die. But the messenger may have a difficult task ahead when she is called to find out who will receive a grandmother; for in this world, a sad fate awaits those who die without being accepted by any god.

[Leroy Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This issue had a few good stories, but then finished up with a couple of bad ones.

William Ledbetter - In A Wide Sky, Hidden - 4 stars
- A man searching for his older sister in the far future and on many far-flung planets. Well done.

Auston Habershaw - The Massochist's Assistant - 4 stars
- Having the job of being a magician's assistant can be really unrewarding for some magicians.

Robin Furth - The Bride in Sea-Green Velvet - 4 stars
- You may have magic and you may have the ability to create life, but the gods and tradition still have the last say.

David Erik Nelson - There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House - 3 stars
- How would a real estate agent/house flipper handle a very unusual house?

Gardner Dozois - A Dog's Story - 4 stars
- An old dog demonstrates that he can achieve justice with the help of many friends.

G. V. Anderson - I Am Not I - 3 stars
- In the far future when mankind has attained the ability to do major body modifications, then the poorest people who cannot afford modifications become the new untouchables.

Justin C. key - Afiya's Song - 4 stars
- A black woman slave in 19th century America recalls the old ways of using singing and music to achieve healing and general improvement. She attempts to organize a rebellion.

Sean Adams - An Obstruction to Delivery - 2 stars
- Postal delivery using underground tunnels. Very poor logic and plot.

Marissa Lingen - An Unearned Death - 2 stars
- Death and the messengers of the gods. I didn't find that this story accomplished anything.