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Lightspeed Magazine: March 2020, #118
Welcome to LIGHTSPEED's 118th issue!
This month's cover is by Elizabeth Leggett, and illustrates a new original short by Russell Nichols called "Giant Steps." It's a thought-provoking story of a woman wrestling with life, motherhood, and space exploration.
We also have a new short from Adam-Troy Castro ("Many Happy Returns"), which follows an inter-galactic adventurer bent on escaping life's responsibilities.
We also have SF reprints by
A.M. Dellamonica ("Living the Quiet Life") and
Charlie Jane Anders ("Reliable People").
Our original fantasy shorts include a story with a surprising botanical twist:
"Tend to Me," by Kristina Ten.
Tahmeed Shafiq brings us a sweeping tale of gods and romance in "Love and Marriage in the Hexasun Lands."
Our fantasy reprints are by
Aimee Bender ("Viewer, Violator") and
Eric Schaller ("Three Urban Folk Tales").
Our interview this month is with debut novelist K.M. Szpara.
And of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns.
Our ebook readers will also enjoy an excerpt from best-selling author Veronica Roth's first adult novel: CHOSEN ONES.
This month's cover is by Elizabeth Leggett, and illustrates a new original short by Russell Nichols called "Giant Steps." It's a thought-provoking story of a woman wrestling with life, motherhood, and space exploration.
We also have a new short from Adam-Troy Castro ("Many Happy Returns"), which follows an inter-galactic adventurer bent on escaping life's responsibilities.
We also have SF reprints by
A.M. Dellamonica ("Living the Quiet Life") and
Charlie Jane Anders ("Reliable People").
Our original fantasy shorts include a story with a surprising botanical twist:
"Tend to Me," by Kristina Ten.
Tahmeed Shafiq brings us a sweeping tale of gods and romance in "Love and Marriage in the Hexasun Lands."
Our fantasy reprints are by
Aimee Bender ("Viewer, Violator") and
Eric Schaller ("Three Urban Folk Tales").
Our interview this month is with debut novelist K.M. Szpara.
And of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns.
Our ebook readers will also enjoy an excerpt from best-selling author Veronica Roth's first adult novel: CHOSEN ONES.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2020
About the author
John Joseph Adams
383 books1,006 followersJohn Joseph Adams is the series editor of BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. He is also the bestselling editor of many other anthologies, such as ROBOT UPRISINGS, DEAD MAN'S HAND, BRAVE NEW WORLDS,WASTELANDS, and THE LIVING DEAD. Recent and forthcoming books include WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, OPERATION ARCANA, PRESS START TO PLAY, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, and THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH (consisting of THE END IS NIGH, THE END IS NOW, and THE END HAS COME). Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award (for which he has been nominated nine times), is a seven-time World Fantasy Award finalist, and served as a judge for the 2015 National Book Award. John is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is a producer for Wired's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. You can find him online at www.johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 4, 2020
"Tend to Me" by Kristina Ten is on my list of the Best Short SFF of March 2020: https://1000yearplan.com/2020/04/01/t...
November 9, 2020
*This review and rating is only for the short story Reliable People by Charlie Jane Anders.*
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. Charlie Jane Anders is the third author I’ve chosen for this month whose only work I’ve read was part of the “Nevertheless She Persisted” flash fiction series on Tor. Her story for that series, “Margot and Rosalind” was very middle of the pack for me, and I wanted to read something longer to really get a feel for her style. Well, the same criticisms I had for “Margot and Rosalind” I have for “Reliable People,” and thought that the flash fiction piece was the stronger of the two.
I’m not sure if it is Anders’ style to be very abstract and absurd in her writing, or if it is just the two stories I’ve chosen, but it does not really work for me. Like “Margot” I got the point she was making in this story, but the insufferable quirkiness of the characters and the absurdity of the story did not work at all for me here. It is from the point of view of Joel, a millennial who is married to Sukey, and the work he is doing for a Congressional Candidate. Interspersed are anthropological studies of an alien culture that do not relate to the linear story, but all in all there is this overall theme of progression from child to adult, from one without responsibilities to one with responsibilities that I did relate to. As a whole I took this story as a commentary on millennial culture in general that I think is relevant, but one I just don’t relate to. It touches on politics and idealism, relationship goals, stability vs. adventure, pokes just the slightest fun at hipsters, but does have kind of a scary subtext as we know that this generation of “non adults” is the one leading the way in our culture. And that’s fine, and I get it. However, when I read an entire story made up of lines like “Later, back at the B&B, we have amazing sex on a pile of taffy,” I just have a hard time staying focused. Absurdism is not my thing and though I can appreciate the message, the style just leaves me cold and alientated.
2.5 stars. You can read it for FREE here:
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fi...
Day nine of my November challenge where I try to read one science fiction or fantasy short story a day.
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. Charlie Jane Anders is the third author I’ve chosen for this month whose only work I’ve read was part of the “Nevertheless She Persisted” flash fiction series on Tor. Her story for that series, “Margot and Rosalind” was very middle of the pack for me, and I wanted to read something longer to really get a feel for her style. Well, the same criticisms I had for “Margot and Rosalind” I have for “Reliable People,” and thought that the flash fiction piece was the stronger of the two.
I’m not sure if it is Anders’ style to be very abstract and absurd in her writing, or if it is just the two stories I’ve chosen, but it does not really work for me. Like “Margot” I got the point she was making in this story, but the insufferable quirkiness of the characters and the absurdity of the story did not work at all for me here. It is from the point of view of Joel, a millennial who is married to Sukey, and the work he is doing for a Congressional Candidate. Interspersed are anthropological studies of an alien culture that do not relate to the linear story, but all in all there is this overall theme of progression from child to adult, from one without responsibilities to one with responsibilities that I did relate to. As a whole I took this story as a commentary on millennial culture in general that I think is relevant, but one I just don’t relate to. It touches on politics and idealism, relationship goals, stability vs. adventure, pokes just the slightest fun at hipsters, but does have kind of a scary subtext as we know that this generation of “non adults” is the one leading the way in our culture. And that’s fine, and I get it. However, when I read an entire story made up of lines like “Later, back at the B&B, we have amazing sex on a pile of taffy,” I just have a hard time staying focused. Absurdism is not my thing and though I can appreciate the message, the style just leaves me cold and alientated.
"You’re just another stupid asshole child,” Sukey snorts behind me. “You’d rather light our house on fire than have to grow up. You actually think Lithuanian sensory-deprivation LARPing is a thing to build your life around."
2.5 stars. You can read it for FREE here:
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fi...
Day nine of my November challenge where I try to read one science fiction or fantasy short story a day.
April 18, 2020
A few stories that I liked here:
New
Giant Steps by Russel Nichols - A strong story about sacrificing family to explore the cosmos. Black culture. 3.5
Many Happy Returns by Adam-Troy Castro - Happy Birthday Gorman. Hah. A robot shows up every year with a card for a man who wants nothing to do with his family's responsibilities. 3.5
Reprints
Viewer, Violator by Aimee Bender - A fun story about an art museum and a painting that only changes when you don't look at it. 3
Three Urban Folk Tales by Eric Schaller - Super cute story about love in the city told in three separate tales. 3
New
Giant Steps by Russel Nichols - A strong story about sacrificing family to explore the cosmos. Black culture. 3.5
Many Happy Returns by Adam-Troy Castro - Happy Birthday Gorman. Hah. A robot shows up every year with a card for a man who wants nothing to do with his family's responsibilities. 3.5
Reprints
Viewer, Violator by Aimee Bender - A fun story about an art museum and a painting that only changes when you don't look at it. 3
Three Urban Folk Tales by Eric Schaller - Super cute story about love in the city told in three separate tales. 3
March 13, 2020
OOF! Worse than usual. "Giant Steps" could have been interesting, but the blatant disregard for the basics of reality in such a close-future story ruined it. "Living the Quiet Life" was excellent! A full book's worth of development and intrigue in 8000 words. "Many Happy Returns" was fun, but too goofy to be serious and too serious to be goofy. "Reliable People" was wacky and fun, and perfectly suited to the short-fiction format.
The real disappointment here was the fantasy. "Viewer Violator" was neat, but not enough to be anything. "Tend to me" started with a really interesting premise, and could have been good but about 2/3 through it goes off the rails. "Three Urban Folktales" was just nothing. Not even worth describing. "Love and Marriage in the Hexasun lands" was the only of the fantasy that felt like anything at all. I enjoyed it and would certainly read a novel based off the premise.
The book excerpt was... rough. The premise was extremely YA, but the writing was adult in a weird and uncomfortable way.
The real disappointment here was the fantasy. "Viewer Violator" was neat, but not enough to be anything. "Tend to me" started with a really interesting premise, and could have been good but about 2/3 through it goes off the rails. "Three Urban Folktales" was just nothing. Not even worth describing. "Love and Marriage in the Hexasun lands" was the only of the fantasy that felt like anything at all. I enjoyed it and would certainly read a novel based off the premise.
The book excerpt was... rough. The premise was extremely YA, but the writing was adult in a weird and uncomfortable way.
October 19, 2020
Giant Steps - Russell Nichols ***
Good themes - choosing between success/career and family, clashing between generations - and tied into the jazz and banduns/giants background nicely. Weakest part is the SF motivation for the conflict itself - the prints on Titan only really serve the title reference - but the rest keeps it together.
Living The Quiet Life - AM Dellamonica ****
A doctor in a far-future telepathic society pretends to be unable to use the abilities most now take for granted, in order to treat those actually born unable to. Really liked the way this explores prejudices and forgiveness, as well as eugenicist "treatments" designed to prevent disabilities and how that affects those who live with them. Packs a lot into its length.
Many Happy Returns - Adam-Troy Castro ***
A rich heir tries to maintain his life of leisure and adrenaline-seeking, while a robot follows him trying to get him to accept his birthday and begin running the family business. Cute and sometimes funny, sometimes too quirky for its own good.
Reliable People - Charlie Jane Anders **
Speaking of too quirky for its own good, this is just a step or two above shouting about how random and weird you are. There's a bit about trying to recover the excitement of the early part of a relationship and trying to achieve something that raises it a little higher.
Viewer, Violator - Aimee Bender ***
A tour guide presents the story of a strange picture that changes when no-one is looking and has had an impact on the museum head. Interesting thoughts on the viewer's relationship to art - looking but not touching, or anything more - and the lighthearted tone is managed a little more delicately.
Tend To Me - Kristina Ten ****
A woman always finds herself unwillingly fitting into the lives of people she dates, taking up their hobbies as her own, and eventually goes through a change that allows her to grow in her own way. Really nice metaphor for relationships and personal growth.
Three Urban Folk Tales - Eric Schaller ****
Three short vignettes of love and life in a city, tied together neatly and playing with a fable/fairytale atmosphere. Short and sweet, simple but smoothly executed.
Love And Marriage In The Hexasun Lands - Tahmeed Shafiq ***
A king marries a goddess but they find mortal/immortal love difficult to maintain. More substantial than others in the issue - a lot of gods and kings and war myth-making. All good and well but never quite sparked interest beyond the portrait of lovers and their flaws.
Good themes - choosing between success/career and family, clashing between generations - and tied into the jazz and banduns/giants background nicely. Weakest part is the SF motivation for the conflict itself - the prints on Titan only really serve the title reference - but the rest keeps it together.
Living The Quiet Life - AM Dellamonica ****
A doctor in a far-future telepathic society pretends to be unable to use the abilities most now take for granted, in order to treat those actually born unable to. Really liked the way this explores prejudices and forgiveness, as well as eugenicist "treatments" designed to prevent disabilities and how that affects those who live with them. Packs a lot into its length.
Many Happy Returns - Adam-Troy Castro ***
A rich heir tries to maintain his life of leisure and adrenaline-seeking, while a robot follows him trying to get him to accept his birthday and begin running the family business. Cute and sometimes funny, sometimes too quirky for its own good.
Reliable People - Charlie Jane Anders **
Speaking of too quirky for its own good, this is just a step or two above shouting about how random and weird you are. There's a bit about trying to recover the excitement of the early part of a relationship and trying to achieve something that raises it a little higher.
Viewer, Violator - Aimee Bender ***
A tour guide presents the story of a strange picture that changes when no-one is looking and has had an impact on the museum head. Interesting thoughts on the viewer's relationship to art - looking but not touching, or anything more - and the lighthearted tone is managed a little more delicately.
Tend To Me - Kristina Ten ****
A woman always finds herself unwillingly fitting into the lives of people she dates, taking up their hobbies as her own, and eventually goes through a change that allows her to grow in her own way. Really nice metaphor for relationships and personal growth.
Three Urban Folk Tales - Eric Schaller ****
Three short vignettes of love and life in a city, tied together neatly and playing with a fable/fairytale atmosphere. Short and sweet, simple but smoothly executed.
Love And Marriage In The Hexasun Lands - Tahmeed Shafiq ***
A king marries a goddess but they find mortal/immortal love difficult to maintain. More substantial than others in the issue - a lot of gods and kings and war myth-making. All good and well but never quite sparked interest beyond the portrait of lovers and their flaws.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews