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Asimov's Science Fiction November/December 2021
- GenresShort Stories
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2021
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9 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Williams
277 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 29, 2022
This is the November/December 2021 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, the last in 2021. There are a lot of interesting short stories, but novelettes a bit on unnecessary long side. Contents:
Thirty-Fifth Annual Readers' Awards' Results [Asimov's Editorials] essay by Sheila Williams finally the list of last year’s best from the magazine. The big names win with Connie Willis taking best novella and Kevin J. Anderson best novelette. My personal favorite among short stories – Father by Ray Nayler takes 2nd place (also the author got the 3rd for another story). 3*
Reader's Award Winners (Asimov's, November-December 2021) [Annual Readers' Award (Asimov's)] essay by uncredited see above.
A Bad Day for the Dinosaurs [Reflections] essay by Robert Silverberg the dinosaur of SF recalls his pre-WW2 fascination with giant lizards and gives some (new to me) detail of the day the giant meteor fell. 3*
I am Apple Orchard poem by Mark C. Childs a dedication to Frost’s poem, which I don’t know.
Super! [On the Net] essay by James Patrick Kelly superheroes in the movies and criticism by Martin Scorsese that the genre’s limits (heroes won’t die or turn evil permanently) limits dramatic quality of the movies. And critique of this statement plus supers in books. 3*
Tracks poem by Bruce Boston three-liner. 3*
Hānai novelette by Gregory Norman Bossert the story got this issue cover and one of the several water-themed pieces. This story is set in indeterminate but assumedly near future, when Hawaii is an independent state and Earth is visited by several (more precisely three) alien species – Sisters, the Construct and the last of his kind Wandering Willie D. The protagonist is an archeologist Helena Kulikuli Johnson, who decades ago was taken by the Construct to another world and there destroyed some kind of frescoes, for what she is in disgrace. Willie D chose her for his contact with the humanity and asked three favors of her, one of which is to perform a final ritual dance with her before his demise. 2.5*
Muallim short story by Ray Nayler In 2020, the author had Father story here about a robot and here a similar golden age of SF robot is introduced. This is about a real old mountain village of Khynalyq in northern Azerbaijan. There a local population speaks a distinct language Khinalug - this all is true, not SF. The story is narrated by Maarja, an Estonian from an international NGO who tries to teach local kids, together with a robot Muallim, whom locals attack from time to time with stones (maybe even for fun). A nice piece and I like stories that make me google things. 3.5*
And the Raucous Depths Abide short story by Sam Schreiber There was Bloop, a mysterious underwater sound recorded in the 90s. in this story, set as a documentary, it is a final beatdown of two parts of an alien probe, that was sent to observe life on Earth, but fell and split in two in the ocean. Separated, each developed its own sentience and plans. 3*
Disrupted Patterns poem by Jennifer Crow
Dream Interpretation novelette by Jack Skillingstead the narrator is a psychiatrist to the wealthy. One of his patients, Elena claims that she is from an alternate reality, where an alien artifact called Nakamura passes the Earth and people when go to sleep are shifting between realities. He doesn’t believe her, but in his sleep dreams of another life, where he works with ‘dregs of society’ – the career he wanted, but was forced to abandon by his then-girlfriend. And when he wakes, there are a lot of people, who also dreamt of another life. 3*
The Gem of Newfoundland novelette by Sandra McDonald in this world mermaids are real and one of them in the narrator’s aunt. She lives in a pool in the basement of her grandmother’s house. The mermaid is unattractive, obnoxious, old and chain-smoking, and the narrator has a hard time with her. 3*
Chalk and Carbon poem by Marissa Lingen letters across geological ages. 3*
Striding the Blast short story by Gregory Feeley godlike posthumans made an artificial atmosphere on Mercury and a protagonist, Aurelia, is sent on a flying race over the planet, to amuse watching ‘gods’ with her death. The story tries to mix Greek mythology and posthumans and there are just too many things introduced but not developed. 3*
Czerney at Midnight [Lena and the Octopus] novelette by Sheila Finch a researcher tries to communicate with octopi and ‘faces a wall’ after an initial insight that they think in images. Her autistic son and an AI made my her husband (who researches how to make AI sentient) help her in her research. 2.5*
Your Memories are Sponsored by a Fossil Fuel Company poem by Matt Thompson we belong to corporations. 3*
From the Fire novelette by Leah Cypess the narrator is an art expert who went back in time to study the works of Botticelli. She is contacted by a rich man, who want her to go and save Botticelli’s work from the bonfire of the vanities. she says that time cannot be changed, but he tries to persuade her. 2.5*
Bread and Circuits short story by Misha Lenau a protagonist Nadia wakes one morning because someone set a sentient toaster at her doorstep. She, like the author (which is stated at the start) has Fibromyalgia and had to work from home, which she turned into an "orphanage" for sentient machines, left by their owners. A cute story. 3.5*
Daydream Believer novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson a weird mix of old-style juvenile space opera but with VR (called here 3V). Jean is a teenager , got her first paying job as a part-time operator for Cape Horn Colony Help Line – traveling with her parents to a new colony. She was already a 3V closet princess ruling over her domain in cyberspace, but on her new job she get a call from one of the participants of a real space war who may be a real princess. Mix of real and virtual makes story hard to follow. 2.5*
A Separate Resonance (In Memoriam L. R. J.) poem by P. M. F. Johnson
The Ones Who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away short story by David Gerrold a homage to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin an interesting but weaker version that describes the future of that story. 2.5*
Tau Ceti Said What? short story by Jack McDevitt a probe sent 40 years age to Tau Ceti starts to report its observations – there are two habitable planets with urban civilizations… however, from time to time transmission cannot be decrypted. Why? 3*
La Terrienne novella by John Richard Trtek a homage to Jack Vance. the protagonist Monsieur Picot is the only human on the planet. He is indentured to the Krinn, one of the ‘major’ interstellar players. He sees a human woman walking nearby, investigates her to find that she is a fake – a Baradeeni who had been modified with the DNA of a human. The whole story is filled with aliens and their intrigues and looks like a part of a larger work. 2.5*
Next Issue (Asimov's, November-December 2021) essay by uncredited
On Books: Alternate Realities (Asimov's, November-December 2021) [On Books] essay by Norman Spinrad this time it is about alt-history and his diatribe that “god in machine’ is in a lot of it these days in so-called “science fiction,” “SF,” and even fantasy, such dramatic failures even tending to dominate Hugos and Nebulas. It has to do with the negative combination of not enough paper published science fiction or fantasy magazines and Amazon allowing anyone at all to self-publish anything. The result of this is not enough good editing. 3*
The Tsuchinoko Always Lies poem by Megan Branning
Thirty-Fifth Annual Readers' Awards' Results [Asimov's Editorials] essay by Sheila Williams finally the list of last year’s best from the magazine. The big names win with Connie Willis taking best novella and Kevin J. Anderson best novelette. My personal favorite among short stories – Father by Ray Nayler takes 2nd place (also the author got the 3rd for another story). 3*
Reader's Award Winners (Asimov's, November-December 2021) [Annual Readers' Award (Asimov's)] essay by uncredited see above.
A Bad Day for the Dinosaurs [Reflections] essay by Robert Silverberg the dinosaur of SF recalls his pre-WW2 fascination with giant lizards and gives some (new to me) detail of the day the giant meteor fell. 3*
I am Apple Orchard poem by Mark C. Childs a dedication to Frost’s poem, which I don’t know.
Super! [On the Net] essay by James Patrick Kelly superheroes in the movies and criticism by Martin Scorsese that the genre’s limits (heroes won’t die or turn evil permanently) limits dramatic quality of the movies. And critique of this statement plus supers in books. 3*
Tracks poem by Bruce Boston three-liner. 3*
Hānai novelette by Gregory Norman Bossert the story got this issue cover and one of the several water-themed pieces. This story is set in indeterminate but assumedly near future, when Hawaii is an independent state and Earth is visited by several (more precisely three) alien species – Sisters, the Construct and the last of his kind Wandering Willie D. The protagonist is an archeologist Helena Kulikuli Johnson, who decades ago was taken by the Construct to another world and there destroyed some kind of frescoes, for what she is in disgrace. Willie D chose her for his contact with the humanity and asked three favors of her, one of which is to perform a final ritual dance with her before his demise. 2.5*
Muallim short story by Ray Nayler In 2020, the author had Father story here about a robot and here a similar golden age of SF robot is introduced. This is about a real old mountain village of Khynalyq in northern Azerbaijan. There a local population speaks a distinct language Khinalug - this all is true, not SF. The story is narrated by Maarja, an Estonian from an international NGO who tries to teach local kids, together with a robot Muallim, whom locals attack from time to time with stones (maybe even for fun). A nice piece and I like stories that make me google things. 3.5*
And the Raucous Depths Abide short story by Sam Schreiber There was Bloop, a mysterious underwater sound recorded in the 90s. in this story, set as a documentary, it is a final beatdown of two parts of an alien probe, that was sent to observe life on Earth, but fell and split in two in the ocean. Separated, each developed its own sentience and plans. 3*
Disrupted Patterns poem by Jennifer Crow
Dream Interpretation novelette by Jack Skillingstead the narrator is a psychiatrist to the wealthy. One of his patients, Elena claims that she is from an alternate reality, where an alien artifact called Nakamura passes the Earth and people when go to sleep are shifting between realities. He doesn’t believe her, but in his sleep dreams of another life, where he works with ‘dregs of society’ – the career he wanted, but was forced to abandon by his then-girlfriend. And when he wakes, there are a lot of people, who also dreamt of another life. 3*
The Gem of Newfoundland novelette by Sandra McDonald in this world mermaids are real and one of them in the narrator’s aunt. She lives in a pool in the basement of her grandmother’s house. The mermaid is unattractive, obnoxious, old and chain-smoking, and the narrator has a hard time with her. 3*
Chalk and Carbon poem by Marissa Lingen letters across geological ages. 3*
Striding the Blast short story by Gregory Feeley godlike posthumans made an artificial atmosphere on Mercury and a protagonist, Aurelia, is sent on a flying race over the planet, to amuse watching ‘gods’ with her death. The story tries to mix Greek mythology and posthumans and there are just too many things introduced but not developed. 3*
Czerney at Midnight [Lena and the Octopus] novelette by Sheila Finch a researcher tries to communicate with octopi and ‘faces a wall’ after an initial insight that they think in images. Her autistic son and an AI made my her husband (who researches how to make AI sentient) help her in her research. 2.5*
Your Memories are Sponsored by a Fossil Fuel Company poem by Matt Thompson we belong to corporations. 3*
From the Fire novelette by Leah Cypess the narrator is an art expert who went back in time to study the works of Botticelli. She is contacted by a rich man, who want her to go and save Botticelli’s work from the bonfire of the vanities. she says that time cannot be changed, but he tries to persuade her. 2.5*
Bread and Circuits short story by Misha Lenau a protagonist Nadia wakes one morning because someone set a sentient toaster at her doorstep. She, like the author (which is stated at the start) has Fibromyalgia and had to work from home, which she turned into an "orphanage" for sentient machines, left by their owners. A cute story. 3.5*
Daydream Believer novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson a weird mix of old-style juvenile space opera but with VR (called here 3V). Jean is a teenager , got her first paying job as a part-time operator for Cape Horn Colony Help Line – traveling with her parents to a new colony. She was already a 3V closet princess ruling over her domain in cyberspace, but on her new job she get a call from one of the participants of a real space war who may be a real princess. Mix of real and virtual makes story hard to follow. 2.5*
A Separate Resonance (In Memoriam L. R. J.) poem by P. M. F. Johnson
The Ones Who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away short story by David Gerrold a homage to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin an interesting but weaker version that describes the future of that story. 2.5*
Tau Ceti Said What? short story by Jack McDevitt a probe sent 40 years age to Tau Ceti starts to report its observations – there are two habitable planets with urban civilizations… however, from time to time transmission cannot be decrypted. Why? 3*
La Terrienne novella by John Richard Trtek a homage to Jack Vance. the protagonist Monsieur Picot is the only human on the planet. He is indentured to the Krinn, one of the ‘major’ interstellar players. He sees a human woman walking nearby, investigates her to find that she is a fake – a Baradeeni who had been modified with the DNA of a human. The whole story is filled with aliens and their intrigues and looks like a part of a larger work. 2.5*
Next Issue (Asimov's, November-December 2021) essay by uncredited
On Books: Alternate Realities (Asimov's, November-December 2021) [On Books] essay by Norman Spinrad this time it is about alt-history and his diatribe that “god in machine’ is in a lot of it these days in so-called “science fiction,” “SF,” and even fantasy, such dramatic failures even tending to dominate Hugos and Nebulas. It has to do with the negative combination of not enough paper published science fiction or fantasy magazines and Amazon allowing anyone at all to self-publish anything. The result of this is not enough good editing. 3*
The Tsuchinoko Always Lies poem by Megan Branning
December 26, 2021
There's one word to describe this issue of Asimov's: flavorful. New worlds, new colors, and even a pit stop at a science fiction classic. This issue was good overall, with two standouts and only one 'dud'... let's get to it.
-"Hanai" by Gregory Norman Bossert sets the tone for this issue with a colorful futuristic Hawaii. The artwork for this cover story is gorgeous, but sadly I don't think the story has as much substance as the painting. Still, it's a creative tale with somewhat interesting characters, so I'd give it 7/10.
-"Muallim" by Ray Nayler is influenced by Russia or the Middle East or something like that (another non-Western flavor) and is about artificial intelligence and robots. Some parts are cool, but it didn't really grab me so. six out of ten.
-"And the Raucous Depths Abide" is by Sam Schreiber... never heard of that guy before... and it's a short one. It's about something that's been inside the North (or South?) Pole for a long time. Kinda fun. 7.5.
-"Dream Interpretation" by Jack Skillingstead is the first looker here. It's about a mysterious comet and dreams of alternate realities and how perception plays a part in romantic love. It'll be in my head for a while... 8/10.
-"The Gem of Newfoundland" by Sarah McDonald is Canadian, and while I wouldn't call it exotic, it is about an aging mermaid. Kind of aquatic, like "Hanai" and so-forth. I liked it and gave it a seven out of ten. Did I slap a half on there? Maybe, I dunno, it was a bit clever.
-George Feeley's "Striding the Blast" had this real interesting world with human gods on Mercury and then there's cool stuff on Saturn or... something like that. Apparently this is part of a patchwork of future sci-fi tales by Feeley, and maybe it would've made more sense to me if I'd read and enjoyed those. So it was cool, but I didn't follow the exotic world, so... six?
-"Czerney at Midnight" by Shelia Finch is another entry into a series, but it was considerably easier to follow. It's another aquatic tale because a xenolinguist tries talking to an octopus and her gender bending son helps with music... Mildly intrigued, probably seven out of ten.
-"From the Fire" by Leah Cypress was a really good one. It's about an art institute with time travel and it deals with goevrnment cover up and conspiracies, the reasonable and the unreasonable. I love time travel, so this one was an easy 8.5 for me.
-"Bread and Circuits" by Misha Lenau... may have gotten a 6/10? I dunno, because it was a bit lackluster. There's a tech savvy orphan and a broken sentient toaster and it's all a bit aimless in my humble opinion.
-R. Garcia y Robertson wrote "Daydream Believer," and it may be part of a series, I'm not sure. And I don't care all that much. There's this big ship and this woman who works on a help line and crap goes down with a fuzzy virtual reality world and... I'm not sure. I suppose it was okay. Six.
-The other standout, the winner of at least this issue, was "The Ones Who Walk Away From the Ones Who Walk Away." Yes, it's a follow up to Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." Follow up stories fifty years on written by authors like David Gerrold (he did "Trouble with Tribbles") shouldn't be good. But this is really good. Echoed the thoughts of the guy I read this with. Cleverly built upon the ambiguity of the original tale. I'll definitely be recommending and passing this story on in the future.
-Jack McDevitt's "Tau Ceti Said What?" can't follow up on that. I was too busy thinking about Omelas. And the story was middling. Five out of ten. Maybe this was the real dud?
-"La Terrienne" is the novella by John Richard Trtek, and it's kind of cool. There's this future in the Far Reach with big alien species and one last human and then there's an AI and another person seeming to be human shows up... I hope Trtek has written or will write more in this cool world. I think 7.5/10, mainly for the world?
So I could give this issue four stars, but there were only a couple standout stories here that I'll hold onto for the foreseeable future. And the next issue doesn't look great... not a lot of authors that I recognize... but who knows, it could be great. We'll see. Regardless, I'll put too much time in my Goodreads review for it again.
-"Hanai" by Gregory Norman Bossert sets the tone for this issue with a colorful futuristic Hawaii. The artwork for this cover story is gorgeous, but sadly I don't think the story has as much substance as the painting. Still, it's a creative tale with somewhat interesting characters, so I'd give it 7/10.
-"Muallim" by Ray Nayler is influenced by Russia or the Middle East or something like that (another non-Western flavor) and is about artificial intelligence and robots. Some parts are cool, but it didn't really grab me so. six out of ten.
-"And the Raucous Depths Abide" is by Sam Schreiber... never heard of that guy before... and it's a short one. It's about something that's been inside the North (or South?) Pole for a long time. Kinda fun. 7.5.
-"Dream Interpretation" by Jack Skillingstead is the first looker here. It's about a mysterious comet and dreams of alternate realities and how perception plays a part in romantic love. It'll be in my head for a while... 8/10.
-"The Gem of Newfoundland" by Sarah McDonald is Canadian, and while I wouldn't call it exotic, it is about an aging mermaid. Kind of aquatic, like "Hanai" and so-forth. I liked it and gave it a seven out of ten. Did I slap a half on there? Maybe, I dunno, it was a bit clever.
-George Feeley's "Striding the Blast" had this real interesting world with human gods on Mercury and then there's cool stuff on Saturn or... something like that. Apparently this is part of a patchwork of future sci-fi tales by Feeley, and maybe it would've made more sense to me if I'd read and enjoyed those. So it was cool, but I didn't follow the exotic world, so... six?
-"Czerney at Midnight" by Shelia Finch is another entry into a series, but it was considerably easier to follow. It's another aquatic tale because a xenolinguist tries talking to an octopus and her gender bending son helps with music... Mildly intrigued, probably seven out of ten.
-"From the Fire" by Leah Cypress was a really good one. It's about an art institute with time travel and it deals with goevrnment cover up and conspiracies, the reasonable and the unreasonable. I love time travel, so this one was an easy 8.5 for me.
-"Bread and Circuits" by Misha Lenau... may have gotten a 6/10? I dunno, because it was a bit lackluster. There's a tech savvy orphan and a broken sentient toaster and it's all a bit aimless in my humble opinion.
-R. Garcia y Robertson wrote "Daydream Believer," and it may be part of a series, I'm not sure. And I don't care all that much. There's this big ship and this woman who works on a help line and crap goes down with a fuzzy virtual reality world and... I'm not sure. I suppose it was okay. Six.
-The other standout, the winner of at least this issue, was "The Ones Who Walk Away From the Ones Who Walk Away." Yes, it's a follow up to Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." Follow up stories fifty years on written by authors like David Gerrold (he did "Trouble with Tribbles") shouldn't be good. But this is really good. Echoed the thoughts of the guy I read this with. Cleverly built upon the ambiguity of the original tale. I'll definitely be recommending and passing this story on in the future.
-Jack McDevitt's "Tau Ceti Said What?" can't follow up on that. I was too busy thinking about Omelas. And the story was middling. Five out of ten. Maybe this was the real dud?
-"La Terrienne" is the novella by John Richard Trtek, and it's kind of cool. There's this future in the Far Reach with big alien species and one last human and then there's an AI and another person seeming to be human shows up... I hope Trtek has written or will write more in this cool world. I think 7.5/10, mainly for the world?
So I could give this issue four stars, but there were only a couple standout stories here that I'll hold onto for the foreseeable future. And the next issue doesn't look great... not a lot of authors that I recognize... but who knows, it could be great. We'll see. Regardless, I'll put too much time in my Goodreads review for it again.
November 19, 2021
Really enjoyed several stories in this edition including Hanai, Czerny at midnight, and La Terrienne.
Super disliked yet another R. Garcia y Robertson story. I never liked his series/world and I wish they stopped publishing him so damn often.
Super disliked yet another R. Garcia y Robertson story. I never liked his series/world and I wish they stopped publishing him so damn often.
December 21, 2021
Wandering Willie D is the last of the alien species Keetea and he has come to Hawai’i to meet with a publicly disgraced xenoanthropologist Helena to ask three favours. Through the means of dance, specifically the hula, WWD hopes to pass on some legacy of his race to humanity despite the interference of other aliens like The Sisters and the Construct. “Hanai” by Gregory Norman Bossert is a strong and memorable tale. Jack Skillingstead gives us the chilling tale “Dream Interpretation” where a woman’s seemingly paranoid delusion that an alien artifact is altering realities may not be all fantasy, while Sheila Finch takes us to a cephalopod research lab where human-octopus communication has stalled until a young boy plays “Czerny At Midnight” and an AI breaks its silence. Leah Cypess takes us time-travelling to Savanarola’s Bonfire of the Vanities and a suspected Botticelli saved “From The Fire”; and a human who rescues smart appliances who have developed odd behaviours or quirks, which cause them to have trouble relating to other people, discovers that they may have the same problems in “Bread And Circuits” by Misha Lenau. Picot is the only Terran on Unemone, in the Farther Reach, when he unexpectedly sees what looks like a Terran woman in the streets. But on closer inspection the lifeform is a construct from Baradeen called Madelique, based on a real Terran woman who has been freed as a lure by the Jhir as part of an antiquities scam. But there are wheels within wheels in “La Terrienne” by John Richard Trtek.
October 26, 2021
An okay issue with some very good stories. Here are my favorites:
- Hanai by Gregory Norman Bossert
I'm lookin' out my window
I watch the clouds go by
I look to see eternity
The endless rolling sky
- Willie Dixon
Every being wants to pass on a legacy before they die.
- Dream Interpretation by Jack Skillingstead
When was your cusp—a time of a critical personal choice that would lead to two very different life timelines? You ever dream of taking the other path? Discuss.
- The Gem of Newfoundland by Sandra McDonald
There are no second acts in American lives—except, perhaps, if you are a mermaid. Pairs well with Bill Johnson’s “We Will Drink a Fish Together.”
- From the Fire by Leah Cypess
The past is a robust construct that time travelers can’t influence…until one day an art historian does. A more subtle and personal tale than A Sound of Thunder.
- Muallim by Ray Nayler
A young woman evaluating an aid program for an impoverished village discovers the assistance they are receiving isn’t working out very well. Sometimes the ‘savers’ have a very wrong idea of what the ‘saved’ actually wants and needs. Should we rethink the Peace Corp?
- And the Raucous Depths Abide by Sam Schreiber
The REAL story of what caused The Bloop—an epic tale of duty, derangement and altruism. Thank you backup!
- Bread and Circuits by Misha Lenau
Alexa/Siri + exponential growth in computing power + sophisticated AI = a suicidal toaster.
A thought-provoking allegory for our throw-away treatment of people who we think are too strange, too difficult or just plain annoying.
- The Ones Who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away by David Gerrold
“Nothing is changed when you walk away.”
As we debate such things as health care for all, education, and ending child poverty, will you walk away? A tale for our times.
- Tau Ceti Said What? by Jack McDevitt
“Can you hear me now?” First contact…sort of? A cautionary tale.
- Hanai by Gregory Norman Bossert
I'm lookin' out my window
I watch the clouds go by
I look to see eternity
The endless rolling sky
- Willie Dixon
Every being wants to pass on a legacy before they die.
- Dream Interpretation by Jack Skillingstead
When was your cusp—a time of a critical personal choice that would lead to two very different life timelines? You ever dream of taking the other path? Discuss.
- The Gem of Newfoundland by Sandra McDonald
There are no second acts in American lives—except, perhaps, if you are a mermaid. Pairs well with Bill Johnson’s “We Will Drink a Fish Together.”
- From the Fire by Leah Cypess
The past is a robust construct that time travelers can’t influence…until one day an art historian does. A more subtle and personal tale than A Sound of Thunder.
- Muallim by Ray Nayler
A young woman evaluating an aid program for an impoverished village discovers the assistance they are receiving isn’t working out very well. Sometimes the ‘savers’ have a very wrong idea of what the ‘saved’ actually wants and needs. Should we rethink the Peace Corp?
- And the Raucous Depths Abide by Sam Schreiber
The REAL story of what caused The Bloop—an epic tale of duty, derangement and altruism. Thank you backup!
- Bread and Circuits by Misha Lenau
Alexa/Siri + exponential growth in computing power + sophisticated AI = a suicidal toaster.
A thought-provoking allegory for our throw-away treatment of people who we think are too strange, too difficult or just plain annoying.
- The Ones Who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away by David Gerrold
“Nothing is changed when you walk away.”
As we debate such things as health care for all, education, and ending child poverty, will you walk away? A tale for our times.
- Tau Ceti Said What? by Jack McDevitt
“Can you hear me now?” First contact…sort of? A cautionary tale.
January 29, 2022
Another issue jam-packed with well-written stories and poems, although none had a particular winter holiday theme. Among my favorites were "Hanai" (the first A is long) by Gregory Norman Bossert, which combines hula, Hawai'i, and aliens. I hope to see more of Helena and Izzy. In "Dream Interpretation," by Jack Skillingstead, a psychiatrist has a very interesting patient who may be telling the truth. "The Gem of Newfoundland," by Sandra McDonald, resonated with me because I have been cleaning out the houses of relatives who have passed and wondering what to do with their stuff. In this case, the "stuff" is a mythical and sentient being! Leah Cypess combines time travel and art history in "From the Fire." R. Garcia y Robertson introduces a new character in "Daydream Believer" (as well as a lot of cultural references!), the latest in his "Rylla Lives!" saga. I hope he collects these stories into a novel! (And I hope it includes a cast of characters and their relationships.) "La Terrienne" is a novella by John Richard Trtek where the sole Terran in the Far Reach discovers he's not alone. Mr. Trtek has created an interesting world--I'd love to read more stories about them.
The other short stories and poems are also worthy of attention. All-in-all, a fine compilation, perfect for reading while traveling and before bed.
The other short stories and poems are also worthy of attention. All-in-all, a fine compilation, perfect for reading while traveling and before bed.
December 13, 2021
Decent issue. Nothing too bad and nothing super amazing. Have a couple of favorites.
Ray Nayler is always up for something worth reading and "Muallim" was a well-written emotional tale about a robot teacher in a small village in Azerbaijan and how it manages to make a difference to the kids in this mountain village.
"Dream Interpretation" by Jack Skillingstead is quite a strange story with lots of things going on and a plot with high stakes. A psychiatrists starts getting very real dreams about another life of his, which seem more real than his known life. And he is not the only one experiencing this. Apparently an alien visitor is messing up reality for everyone on Earth and this has some rather dire consequences. Skillingstead manages to create a story that is both engaging on a very personal level for the protagonist while also conveying the global consequences of this massive impact.
"The Gem of Newfoundland" by Sandra McDonald is set in a world where mermaids are real. The story follows a woman who inherits her grandmothers house along with the mermaid living in a water tank in the basement. A mermaid her grandmother adopted at a young age and they both made quite a name of themselves back in the day. Now the mermaid is an old cranky chain smoking alcoholic. The story deals with the practicalities of dealing with such a problem, but the real story is about the protagonist and her growing realisation that she also has a drinking problem. Technically not science fiction, but an enjoyable read none the less.
A good time travel story is always welcome and we get thrown back to the Renaissance in "From the Fire" by Leah Cypess. We follow an art expert going back in time to recover a lost painting by Botticelli. It is a typical thriller like plot without any major surprises, but it works fine.
"Bread and Circuits" by Misha Lenau is a cute little story about a future where everyday appliances have their own personalities that need human attention to work properly. The narrator is a woman who adopts abandoned devices and try to threat them properly.
Ray Nayler is always up for something worth reading and "Muallim" was a well-written emotional tale about a robot teacher in a small village in Azerbaijan and how it manages to make a difference to the kids in this mountain village.
"Dream Interpretation" by Jack Skillingstead is quite a strange story with lots of things going on and a plot with high stakes. A psychiatrists starts getting very real dreams about another life of his, which seem more real than his known life. And he is not the only one experiencing this. Apparently an alien visitor is messing up reality for everyone on Earth and this has some rather dire consequences. Skillingstead manages to create a story that is both engaging on a very personal level for the protagonist while also conveying the global consequences of this massive impact.
"The Gem of Newfoundland" by Sandra McDonald is set in a world where mermaids are real. The story follows a woman who inherits her grandmothers house along with the mermaid living in a water tank in the basement. A mermaid her grandmother adopted at a young age and they both made quite a name of themselves back in the day. Now the mermaid is an old cranky chain smoking alcoholic. The story deals with the practicalities of dealing with such a problem, but the real story is about the protagonist and her growing realisation that she also has a drinking problem. Technically not science fiction, but an enjoyable read none the less.
A good time travel story is always welcome and we get thrown back to the Renaissance in "From the Fire" by Leah Cypess. We follow an art expert going back in time to recover a lost painting by Botticelli. It is a typical thriller like plot without any major surprises, but it works fine.
"Bread and Circuits" by Misha Lenau is a cute little story about a future where everyday appliances have their own personalities that need human attention to work properly. The narrator is a woman who adopts abandoned devices and try to threat them properly.
January 15, 2022
A better than average issue. I particularly enjoyed John Richard Trtek's story
La Terrienne". Slightly mannered, but in a good way, dialogue, excellent plotting, and an interesting setting. Set in the far future with competing Great Powers it is full of intrigue and engaging characters.
"Hanai" was a pleasant read, but I could not sympathize with the main character. Is it actually ethical to take it upon your self to make decisions for a whole people?
"Dream Interpretation" was an interesting take on the alternate world's idea without invoking any silly "conscious observer" woo.
"From the fire" is a superior time travel tale. I love that they mention "you can't change anything with a time machine, because if you do you will eventually uninvent your time machine, and now nothing has changed" which a very famous author first mentioned.
"Bread and Circuits" is nice take on what happens when all your appliances have AI.
The R. Garcia y Robertson space opera was a bit of "more of the same", but still an enjoyable read.
David Gerrold's tale was not SF, in my opinion, but a very good story that I was glad to have read. More of a 19th century adventure.
La Terrienne". Slightly mannered, but in a good way, dialogue, excellent plotting, and an interesting setting. Set in the far future with competing Great Powers it is full of intrigue and engaging characters.
"Hanai" was a pleasant read, but I could not sympathize with the main character. Is it actually ethical to take it upon your self to make decisions for a whole people?
"Dream Interpretation" was an interesting take on the alternate world's idea without invoking any silly "conscious observer" woo.
"From the fire" is a superior time travel tale. I love that they mention "you can't change anything with a time machine, because if you do you will eventually uninvent your time machine, and now nothing has changed" which a very famous author first mentioned.
"Bread and Circuits" is nice take on what happens when all your appliances have AI.
The R. Garcia y Robertson space opera was a bit of "more of the same", but still an enjoyable read.
David Gerrold's tale was not SF, in my opinion, but a very good story that I was glad to have read. More of a 19th century adventure.
January 1, 2022
A+ (outstanding):
Dream Interpretation by Jack Skillingstead
A (excellent):
Muallim by Ray Nayler
And the Raucous Depths Abide by Sam Schreiber
B (very good):
Hanai by Gregory Norman Bossert
Daydream Believer by R Garcia y Robertson
C (average):
La Terrienne by John Richard Trtek
The Gem of Newfoundland by Sandra McDonald
Czerny at Midnight by Sheila Finch
From the Fire by Leah Cypess
The Ones who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away by David Gerrold
Tau Ceti Said What? by Jack McDevitt
D (poor):
Striding the Blast by Gregory Feeley
Bread & Circuits by Misha Lenau
Dream Interpretation by Jack Skillingstead
A (excellent):
Muallim by Ray Nayler
And the Raucous Depths Abide by Sam Schreiber
B (very good):
Hanai by Gregory Norman Bossert
Daydream Believer by R Garcia y Robertson
C (average):
La Terrienne by John Richard Trtek
The Gem of Newfoundland by Sandra McDonald
Czerny at Midnight by Sheila Finch
From the Fire by Leah Cypess
The Ones who Walk Away from the Ones Who Walk Away by David Gerrold
Tau Ceti Said What? by Jack McDevitt
D (poor):
Striding the Blast by Gregory Feeley
Bread & Circuits by Misha Lenau
May 26, 2024
Really enjoyed this issue. Even the Robertson Free Callisto universe story, which I usually don’t like very much, was better than usual. Lots of AI-themed stories in this one. My particular favorites:
Bread and Circuits by Misha Lenau, a wonderful meditation on the casualties of the Singularity and AI, and what does it mean to be a person.
From the Fire by Leah Cypess, a very nice time travel story by one of my favorite authors, about art, and how important recognition is for the things you do.
La Terrienne, by John Richard Trtek, a very fun story in an intriguing new universe, with some very distinctive alien voices.
Muallim, another story about AIs and personhood.
Bread and Circuits by Misha Lenau, a wonderful meditation on the casualties of the Singularity and AI, and what does it mean to be a person.
From the Fire by Leah Cypess, a very nice time travel story by one of my favorite authors, about art, and how important recognition is for the things you do.
La Terrienne, by John Richard Trtek, a very fun story in an intriguing new universe, with some very distinctive alien voices.
Muallim, another story about AIs and personhood.
March 9, 2022
A lot of intriguing ground is covered in the 200 or so pages of this issue. I particularly liked "Dream Interpretation" by Jack Skillingstead (mostly for the idea), "The Ones Who Walk Away From The Ones Who Walk Away" by David Gerrold (mostly for the theme), and "La Terrienne" by John Richard Trtek (mostly for the remarkably rich world that he created). Once again the book reviews piqued my interest.
July 3, 2022
Pretty enjoyable, although I really detest the characters in Czerny at Midnight and would suggest you skip it. Bread and Circuits is pretty funny.
February 9, 2023
I liked “And the Raucous Depths Abide” by Sam Schreiber
September 27, 2023
Some good, some not so good.
I'm really not into the fantasy, more Sci-fi ... and I think I lean towards a harder sci-fi.
But, some good short stories in this.
I'm really not into the fantasy, more Sci-fi ... and I think I lean towards a harder sci-fi.
But, some good short stories in this.
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