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Asimov's Science Fiction May/June 2019
211 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2019
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About the author
Sheila Williams
276 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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 1, 2019
Carrie Vaughn's novella "Gremlin" is on my list of the best short SFF of May 2019: https://1000yearplan.com/2019/06/01/t...
part-read
June 26, 2020I liked Sean Monaghan's "Chasing Oumuamua" well enough for 3 stars because of its valiant, if underwhelming, attempt to describe a neuroatypical character (I've been bipolar since 2003, and I don't think you should try that in the cramped space of a short story). But mostly because it made me laugh.
Read for the 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominations.
Read for the 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Award nominations.
June 13, 2019
I like Paul's rating system, so I'll adopt it: even though some of my evaluations are pretty different.
I'll publish as I go.
This issues' stories are good, and the bonus is Norman Spinrad’s comeback as reviewer of novels. Each of his reviews is a deep insight in science fiction’s history and meaning, at the same time revealing the core of meaning of the reviewed novel. This month, he expounds about Vandermeer’s Borne (exploring the boundries between "mimetic" science fiction, "non-mimetic" fantasy, and cases which are neither) and Lavie Tidhar in general (exploring Israeli science fiction).
Grade A (excellent)
Sacrificial Iron by Ted Kosmatka. A very good hard sf story, in a terse style, with an original idea for bending spacetime so to travel faster than light; intertwined with the narrative of a bad relationship between astronauts spiraling out of control into stark madness, à la Barry Malzberg; finally, the story of a new beginning of mankind thanks to a generational starship, and about how all pristine beginnings are tainted.
Gremlins by Carrie Vaughn. Gremlins have long been the nightmare of air mechanics, at least from WWII, well before Joe Dante’s movie made them widely known. Here the full truth about them is finally exposed! We follow one of them, Drook, from saving a Soviet woman pilot in Stalingrad, to a descendant of hers flying Warthogs in Iraq (the gremlin has become a sort of heirloom, handed down from grandmother to grandaughter), until still generations later a starship-pilot will discover the creature’s whereabouts and bring it home, putting her life at risk.. a very good action story, mixing humour and sorrow, by the author of weird western and weird fairy tales.
B (very good)
The Memory Artist by Ian R McLeod. The best literary story, a Hugo/Nebula candidate in my opinion; it reminds me Fritz Leiber's "Little Lady Macbeth" in narrating poetically and hypnotically the wanderings and vagaries of an old lady amidst mountains of debris and litter in what seems a garbage dump planet, and her spooky encounters, led by a necklace of everyday tidbits charged with memories (whose memories?); but reality is not exactly what she sees..
Unfinished Business by Bill Johnson. Paleontology meets science fiction when an ark containing a level for each geological period of Earth appears in the skies. A secret agent and a park guide, sentimentally involved, will have to negotiate the ark's leaders demands.. a good idea which deserves further development.
Chasing Oumuamua by Sean Monaghan. The author of “Crimson birds..” and “Ventiforms” weaves another story where family ties and astronomy are intertwined: Oumuamua is the extra-solar planetoid that did cross our solar system last year; suppose another does the same seven years from now: we don’t want to be caught unprepared. So a landing probe is to be engineered as soon as possible; but it requires the contribution of a deranged mind, whose sister alone holds, maybe, the key to his most brilliant thoughts..
Not Only Who you know by Jay O'Connell. After "The Gorgon" two issues ago, another story on workplace relationship, or better on the future of the workplace itself: written with cruel humour as a dark romance, but with a happy ending of sorts. A young developer, striving against University debt and family woes, lands in a corporate IT and using all of her skills, from deeply technical to exquisitely feminine through the legal, conquers a patent and a place in the harem of the owner (actually the scion of an old family of owners, still longing for the times when Pinkerton could take care of strikes!). some gimmicks from the military division of the same corporation will help her consolidate her position and obtain the just reward for her discovery. A brilliant story both on the characters’ side and for exposing the lies of meritocracy, capitalism, competition, etc
C (average)
Never the Twain Shall Meet by Peter Wood-- a short story about sentiments divided between cloned brothers: it is also meant as a humouristic story and this is the best of it (really nice cooking robots, with a fad for vintage toys from the Seventies..): beside that, little sf and plenty of everyday Americana, which make it a bit parochial (I cannot be much interested in a quarrel between Eastern and Western recipes for North Carolina barbecue sauce).
D (poor)
The Doing Undoing of Jacob E Mwangi by E Lily Yu
The Intertidal Zone by Rahul Kanakia
Still to be read:
Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry by John Richard Trtek
I'll publish as I go.
This issues' stories are good, and the bonus is Norman Spinrad’s comeback as reviewer of novels. Each of his reviews is a deep insight in science fiction’s history and meaning, at the same time revealing the core of meaning of the reviewed novel. This month, he expounds about Vandermeer’s Borne (exploring the boundries between "mimetic" science fiction, "non-mimetic" fantasy, and cases which are neither) and Lavie Tidhar in general (exploring Israeli science fiction).
Grade A (excellent)
Sacrificial Iron by Ted Kosmatka. A very good hard sf story, in a terse style, with an original idea for bending spacetime so to travel faster than light; intertwined with the narrative of a bad relationship between astronauts spiraling out of control into stark madness, à la Barry Malzberg; finally, the story of a new beginning of mankind thanks to a generational starship, and about how all pristine beginnings are tainted.
Gremlins by Carrie Vaughn. Gremlins have long been the nightmare of air mechanics, at least from WWII, well before Joe Dante’s movie made them widely known. Here the full truth about them is finally exposed! We follow one of them, Drook, from saving a Soviet woman pilot in Stalingrad, to a descendant of hers flying Warthogs in Iraq (the gremlin has become a sort of heirloom, handed down from grandmother to grandaughter), until still generations later a starship-pilot will discover the creature’s whereabouts and bring it home, putting her life at risk.. a very good action story, mixing humour and sorrow, by the author of weird western and weird fairy tales.
B (very good)
The Memory Artist by Ian R McLeod. The best literary story, a Hugo/Nebula candidate in my opinion; it reminds me Fritz Leiber's "Little Lady Macbeth" in narrating poetically and hypnotically the wanderings and vagaries of an old lady amidst mountains of debris and litter in what seems a garbage dump planet, and her spooky encounters, led by a necklace of everyday tidbits charged with memories (whose memories?); but reality is not exactly what she sees..
Unfinished Business by Bill Johnson. Paleontology meets science fiction when an ark containing a level for each geological period of Earth appears in the skies. A secret agent and a park guide, sentimentally involved, will have to negotiate the ark's leaders demands.. a good idea which deserves further development.
Chasing Oumuamua by Sean Monaghan. The author of “Crimson birds..” and “Ventiforms” weaves another story where family ties and astronomy are intertwined: Oumuamua is the extra-solar planetoid that did cross our solar system last year; suppose another does the same seven years from now: we don’t want to be caught unprepared. So a landing probe is to be engineered as soon as possible; but it requires the contribution of a deranged mind, whose sister alone holds, maybe, the key to his most brilliant thoughts..
Not Only Who you know by Jay O'Connell. After "The Gorgon" two issues ago, another story on workplace relationship, or better on the future of the workplace itself: written with cruel humour as a dark romance, but with a happy ending of sorts. A young developer, striving against University debt and family woes, lands in a corporate IT and using all of her skills, from deeply technical to exquisitely feminine through the legal, conquers a patent and a place in the harem of the owner (actually the scion of an old family of owners, still longing for the times when Pinkerton could take care of strikes!). some gimmicks from the military division of the same corporation will help her consolidate her position and obtain the just reward for her discovery. A brilliant story both on the characters’ side and for exposing the lies of meritocracy, capitalism, competition, etc
C (average)
Never the Twain Shall Meet by Peter Wood-- a short story about sentiments divided between cloned brothers: it is also meant as a humouristic story and this is the best of it (really nice cooking robots, with a fad for vintage toys from the Seventies..): beside that, little sf and plenty of everyday Americana, which make it a bit parochial (I cannot be much interested in a quarrel between Eastern and Western recipes for North Carolina barbecue sauce).
D (poor)
The Doing Undoing of Jacob E Mwangi by E Lily Yu
The Intertidal Zone by Rahul Kanakia
Still to be read:
Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry by John Richard Trtek
June 13, 2019
3.5 stars.
This issue of the long-standing magazine features a collection of interesting and not so interesting stories. Personal favorites, for me, among these include “gremlins” which in three separate parts explores the relationships between three generations of a family of female pilots and the alien who helps them survive their trips and “Not only who you know” which lets us watch the negotiation of between a woman and her rich ex-boyfriend, now a head in a jar.
Some of these stories are not quite so successful. “The memory keeper” as an example was paced a bit too slowly for my taste. Still, it’s a very solid issue with some things that made me think and some that I just found amusing.
This issue of the long-standing magazine features a collection of interesting and not so interesting stories. Personal favorites, for me, among these include “gremlins” which in three separate parts explores the relationships between three generations of a family of female pilots and the alien who helps them survive their trips and “Not only who you know” which lets us watch the negotiation of between a woman and her rich ex-boyfriend, now a head in a jar.
Some of these stories are not quite so successful. “The memory keeper” as an example was paced a bit too slowly for my taste. Still, it’s a very solid issue with some things that made me think and some that I just found amusing.
August 25, 2019
"Gremlin" 4 stars
"Unfinished Business" 3.5 stars
"The Memory Artist" 2.5 stars
"Recrossing the Brooklyn Ferry" 4 stars
"The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi" 3 stars
"Sacrificial Iron" 3.5 stars
"Never the Twain Shall Meet" 3 stars
"Chasing Oumuamua" 3 stars
"Not Only Who You Know" 4 stars
The Intertidal Zone" 3 stars
"Unfinished Business" 3.5 stars
"The Memory Artist" 2.5 stars
"Recrossing the Brooklyn Ferry" 4 stars
"The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi" 3 stars
"Sacrificial Iron" 3.5 stars
"Never the Twain Shall Meet" 3 stars
"Chasing Oumuamua" 3 stars
"Not Only Who You Know" 4 stars
The Intertidal Zone" 3 stars
July 3, 2019
Average issue, with an outstanding novelette by Ian R. MacLeod (“The Memory Artist”), and some good stories from E. Lily Yu (“The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi”), Sean Monaghan (“Chasing Oumuamua”) and Jay O’Connell (“Not Only Who You Know”). Below my reading notes on the stories.
“Unfinished Business”, by Bill Johnson (2 stars)
A pulpy, sci-fi adventure set in a distant future where a giant insect civilization that lived on prehistoric Earth has returned. Could have been written 60 years ago! Flat characters and thin plot.
“The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi”, by E. Lily Yu (4 stars)
A short story in a future Kenia where society has split severely into doers and non-doers. Great world and character building in quite a short length.
“The Memory Artist”, by Ian R. MacLeod (5 stars)
A moving and dreamy story on the struggle of an artist that infuses memories into objects, in search of her own past, set in an SF landscape of waste islands orbiting around a star. Wonderfully written, It works as an allegory of how our fragile memory works. Doing discoveries as this (however late) is one of the great things of reading magazines.
“Sacrificial Iron”, by Ted Kosmatka (2 stars)
A dull generational ship story, that reads almost like a space version of the biblical narrative of Cain and Abel.
“Never the Twain Shall Meet”, by Peter Wood (3 stars)
A fun SF approach on the Doppelgänger trope, but little more than that.
“Chasing Oumuamua”, by Sean Monaghan (4 stars)
A tale inspired in the recent visit of the interstellar object “Oumuamua” to the Solar System. Asked by NASA, an artist goes back to her parents home to try to reconnect with his brother, a former astrophysicist genius whose mental health has gone downhill, as he could be key on landing a probe in a new interstellar object. Intriguing.
“Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry”, by John Richard Trtek (3 stars)
An unusual time-travel story, built more on characters than plot. The references to Walt Whitman add a nice touch to this SF story on heartbreak and running away to dwell in the past. Very well written, but the plot lacks some tension.
“Not Only Who You Know”, by Jay O’Connell (4 stars)
A cynical take on relationships, set in a world where the massive introduction of AIs have disrupted the work market, and unemployment has rocketed high. Fun and scary at the same time.
“The Intertidal Zone”, by Raul Kanakia (3 stars)
SF as a tool to talk about the arbitrariness of physical beauty canons, and social pressure to adapt one’s own appearance to them. This is the kind of story one has the impression has read already.
“Gremlin”, by Carrie Vaughn (3 stars)
A novella running over 3 different generations of pilot women spanning from World War II to an speculated future of interstellar travel. The link between them is their acquaintance with an alien creature feeding on metal scraps and drawn to chaos (a “gremlin”), that is transferred across generations as a family inheritance, priceless as a companion in war. The story is OK but felt repetitive, specially on its first 2 parts, which repeat a similar scheme, just moving the setting from WWII to the Gulf war.
“Unfinished Business”, by Bill Johnson (2 stars)
A pulpy, sci-fi adventure set in a distant future where a giant insect civilization that lived on prehistoric Earth has returned. Could have been written 60 years ago! Flat characters and thin plot.
“The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi”, by E. Lily Yu (4 stars)
A short story in a future Kenia where society has split severely into doers and non-doers. Great world and character building in quite a short length.
“The Memory Artist”, by Ian R. MacLeod (5 stars)
A moving and dreamy story on the struggle of an artist that infuses memories into objects, in search of her own past, set in an SF landscape of waste islands orbiting around a star. Wonderfully written, It works as an allegory of how our fragile memory works. Doing discoveries as this (however late) is one of the great things of reading magazines.
“Sacrificial Iron”, by Ted Kosmatka (2 stars)
A dull generational ship story, that reads almost like a space version of the biblical narrative of Cain and Abel.
“Never the Twain Shall Meet”, by Peter Wood (3 stars)
A fun SF approach on the Doppelgänger trope, but little more than that.
“Chasing Oumuamua”, by Sean Monaghan (4 stars)
A tale inspired in the recent visit of the interstellar object “Oumuamua” to the Solar System. Asked by NASA, an artist goes back to her parents home to try to reconnect with his brother, a former astrophysicist genius whose mental health has gone downhill, as he could be key on landing a probe in a new interstellar object. Intriguing.
“Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry”, by John Richard Trtek (3 stars)
An unusual time-travel story, built more on characters than plot. The references to Walt Whitman add a nice touch to this SF story on heartbreak and running away to dwell in the past. Very well written, but the plot lacks some tension.
“Not Only Who You Know”, by Jay O’Connell (4 stars)
A cynical take on relationships, set in a world where the massive introduction of AIs have disrupted the work market, and unemployment has rocketed high. Fun and scary at the same time.
“The Intertidal Zone”, by Raul Kanakia (3 stars)
SF as a tool to talk about the arbitrariness of physical beauty canons, and social pressure to adapt one’s own appearance to them. This is the kind of story one has the impression has read already.
“Gremlin”, by Carrie Vaughn (3 stars)
A novella running over 3 different generations of pilot women spanning from World War II to an speculated future of interstellar travel. The link between them is their acquaintance with an alien creature feeding on metal scraps and drawn to chaos (a “gremlin”), that is transferred across generations as a family inheritance, priceless as a companion in war. The story is OK but felt repetitive, specially on its first 2 parts, which repeat a similar scheme, just moving the setting from WWII to the Gulf war.
June 2, 2019
The good thing about having a subscription to a print magazine is it encourages me to actually read it. I always mean to read internet-based magazines, but I often never get around to them. The problem with podcasts is I'm always falling behind the most recent episode. It's especially hard to keep up to date with podcasts that have extensive back catalogs. I have a greater incentive to read a print magazine, though, because I've already paid for it, so not reading it would be wasting money.
Something that occurred to me this issue is that they usually accompany poems with pictures, but other than the cover, the fiction doesn't get pictures. I wonder why. Anyway, here's a quick summary of the stories in this issue.
"Unfinished Business" by Bill Johnson features some interesting aliens, evolved forms of creatures from different eras in earth's past such as giant bugs. "The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi" by E. Lily Yu takes place in a future Kenya in which everyone gets a minimum basic income and some members of society choose to just play video games all day instead of working. "The Memory Artist" by Ian R. MacLeod is a depressing story about a confused old woman wandering through a world of decay.
"Sacrificial Iron" by Ted Kosmatka involves two men on a long space mission who end up getting on each other's nerves. I really liked this one. "Never the Twain Shall Meet" by Peter Wood is my favorite story this issue. A humorous tale about a man obsessed with the difference between tomato- and vinegar-based barbecue sauce arguing with his accidentally-created clone and slacker robot. Not only is it hilarious, but it's also thought provoking. Having a duplicate of yourself around really makes you question the nature of identity.
"Chasing Oumuamua" by Sean Monaghan is the second story in a row featuring a narrator whose brother has dreadlocks. In this story, the narrator tries to convince her mentally ill brother to share a scientific discovery with NASA. "Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry" by John Richard Trtek is about a team sent back in time to capture other time travelers before they can change the future. I particularly liked the line, "Time would heal all wounds, even its own."
"Not Only Who You Know" by Jay O'Connell is another good one. The narrator engages in a corporate negotiation with a head in a jar. "The Intertidal Zone" by Rahul Kanakia features an alien with body issues going through body modification. Finally, in "Gremlin" by Carrie Vaughn, a WWII fighter pilot befriends a gremlin who helps her take out enemy aircraft. The story continues into more modern times in part 2, and in part 3, the gremlin accompanies a descendant of her original friend on an interstellar voyage.
Overall, another solid issue with a good mix of stories.
Something that occurred to me this issue is that they usually accompany poems with pictures, but other than the cover, the fiction doesn't get pictures. I wonder why. Anyway, here's a quick summary of the stories in this issue.
"Unfinished Business" by Bill Johnson features some interesting aliens, evolved forms of creatures from different eras in earth's past such as giant bugs. "The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi" by E. Lily Yu takes place in a future Kenya in which everyone gets a minimum basic income and some members of society choose to just play video games all day instead of working. "The Memory Artist" by Ian R. MacLeod is a depressing story about a confused old woman wandering through a world of decay.
"Sacrificial Iron" by Ted Kosmatka involves two men on a long space mission who end up getting on each other's nerves. I really liked this one. "Never the Twain Shall Meet" by Peter Wood is my favorite story this issue. A humorous tale about a man obsessed with the difference between tomato- and vinegar-based barbecue sauce arguing with his accidentally-created clone and slacker robot. Not only is it hilarious, but it's also thought provoking. Having a duplicate of yourself around really makes you question the nature of identity.
"Chasing Oumuamua" by Sean Monaghan is the second story in a row featuring a narrator whose brother has dreadlocks. In this story, the narrator tries to convince her mentally ill brother to share a scientific discovery with NASA. "Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry" by John Richard Trtek is about a team sent back in time to capture other time travelers before they can change the future. I particularly liked the line, "Time would heal all wounds, even its own."
"Not Only Who You Know" by Jay O'Connell is another good one. The narrator engages in a corporate negotiation with a head in a jar. "The Intertidal Zone" by Rahul Kanakia features an alien with body issues going through body modification. Finally, in "Gremlin" by Carrie Vaughn, a WWII fighter pilot befriends a gremlin who helps her take out enemy aircraft. The story continues into more modern times in part 2, and in part 3, the gremlin accompanies a descendant of her original friend on an interstellar voyage.
Overall, another solid issue with a good mix of stories.
June 1, 2019
My favorite stories:
- Gremlin by Carrie Vaughn - Keepsakes are passed down through generations. What would your grandma give you if she was a WWII Russian fighter pilot? Fun story- not really a 20K feet nightmare. Be sure to watch Bugs Bunny in “Falling Hare.”
- The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi by E. Lily Yu - World-wide universal basic income has lead to the development of two social groups. The “Doers” make, create, and generally contribute to society. The “Don’ts” subsist on UBI and spend their time gaming, socializing on the internet, etc. Jacob, to his family’s consternation, is a Don’t. Can they push Jacob into becoming a Doer or is it something he has to do for himself?
- Gremlin by Carrie Vaughn - Keepsakes are passed down through generations. What would your grandma give you if she was a WWII Russian fighter pilot? Fun story- not really a 20K feet nightmare. Be sure to watch Bugs Bunny in “Falling Hare.”
- The Doing and Undoing of Jacob E. Mwangi by E. Lily Yu - World-wide universal basic income has lead to the development of two social groups. The “Doers” make, create, and generally contribute to society. The “Don’ts” subsist on UBI and spend their time gaming, socializing on the internet, etc. Jacob, to his family’s consternation, is a Don’t. Can they push Jacob into becoming a Doer or is it something he has to do for himself?
May 10, 2019
Ratings for stories in this issue:
Grade A (excellent)
Never the Twain Shall Meet by Peter Wood-- SF story in which NC BBQ debate plays a key role!
Unfinished Business by Bill Johnson
Chasing Oumuamua by Sean Monaghan
B (very good)
Sacrificial Iron by Ted Kosmatka
Gremlins by Carrie Vaughan
C (average)
The Memory Artist by Ian R McLeod
Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry by John Richard Trtek
D (poor)
The Doing & Undoing of Jacob E Mwangi by E Lily Yu
Not Only Who you know by Jay O'Connell
The Intertidal Zone by Rahul Kanakia
Grade A (excellent)
Never the Twain Shall Meet by Peter Wood-- SF story in which NC BBQ debate plays a key role!
Unfinished Business by Bill Johnson
Chasing Oumuamua by Sean Monaghan
B (very good)
Sacrificial Iron by Ted Kosmatka
Gremlins by Carrie Vaughan
C (average)
The Memory Artist by Ian R McLeod
Recrossing Brooklyn Ferry by John Richard Trtek
D (poor)
The Doing & Undoing of Jacob E Mwangi by E Lily Yu
Not Only Who you know by Jay O'Connell
The Intertidal Zone by Rahul Kanakia
September 25, 2025
Plenty of good reading here! The Ship contains levels from all periods of Earth's history, part laboratory, part historical record (from what I can gather) maintained by a 300 million year old race. When a few humans are in the right place at the wrong time on Earth however, they are forced to attend a dangerous ritual of discovery in Bill Johnson's "Unfinished Business". Ted Kosmatka tells the harrowing tale of two men - Nasmeth and Zaya, interstellar voyagers who get on each others nerves, with violent results and unforeseen consequences in "Sacrificial Iron", and Sean Monaghan has us trying to hitch a ride on an interstellar asteroid in "Chasing Oumuamua". Jay O'Connell gives us an entertaining story of corporate revenge that includes putting a head in a box and then marrying it in "Not Only Who You Know". Closing the issue is the excellent "Gremlin" by Carrie Vaughn, wherein a Russian fighter pilot in WWII discovers a bizarre alien stranded on Earth and searching for a way home. Recommended issue.
March 2, 2020
Gremlins is a super fun short story that spans generations. The beginning is based on a story of female Russian pilots that fought in the 2nd WW. The twist is when Natalia, one of the pilots is saved by a tiny gremlin, when it actually downs an enemy plane. That gremlin is then past from generation to generation of Natalia’s family. I could definitely see this story as a graphic novel, visually this would be so much fun. This story was a quick entertaining read.
February 11, 2020
Granted I only read one novella from this book, Carrie Vaughn's GREMLIN and it was superb. Family epic story that starts in Russia and moves through the centuries. Excellent characters and premise. I loved it.
January 5, 2020
I loved “Gremlins”—a clever take on the little monsters that gum up the works in the machinery. And I can’t believe I forgot to update my progress!
April 8, 2020
4.7. Really, really good. I thoroughly enjoyed most every story in this collection. Gremlin especially was a delight. I can't wait to read more by some of these authors!
August 21, 2020
Ian McCloud's "The Memory Artist" was probably my favorite of this issue. Very trippy. I wish I could give 3.5 stars, but I'll give 4 since most of the others were fun and readable.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews