Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 183, December 2021

by Neil Clarke (Editor), Aimee Ogden, Meghan Feldman

FICTION

- The Cold Calculations BY AIMEE OGDEN
- Beneath the Earth Where the Nymphs Sleep BY MEGHAN FELDMAN
- Vegvísir BY DAVID GOODMAN
- You Are Born Exploding BY RICH LARSON
- Other Stories BY WANG YUAN, TRANSLATED BY ANDY DUDAK
- Just One Step, and Then the Next BY E. N. DÍAZ
- A Series of Endings BY AMAL SINGH

NON-FICTION
- A Universe of Possibilities: Planets of Red Dwarfs BY JULIE NOVÁKOVÁ
- Navigating the Seas of South Asian Diversity: A Conversation with Tarun K. Saint BY ARLEY SORG
- A Whole New Realm: A Conversation with Diana M. Pho BY ARLEY SORG

Editor's Desk: Worldcon Bound BY NEIL CLARKE


- The Variable Man BY DOUGLAS P. LOBO

Genres: Short Stories

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2021

About the author

Neil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine. Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a ten-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form (winning once in 2022), three-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. In the fifteen years since Clarkesworld Magazine launched, numerous stories that he has published have been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, BSFA, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards.

Additionally, Neil edits  Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us,  The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.

He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi continues for me in 2022, starting January with last month’s Clarkesworld Magazine issue #183 (December, 2021). I read all short stories this time, but you can also listen to the podcast, hosted and narrated by the lovely Kate Baker https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/prio...

Consider supporting them on Patreon.

I didn’t pick and chose, just dove in blind and read all of them, and I wasn’t disappointed! On offer where:

The Cold Calculations by Aimee Ogden
Vegvisir by David Goodman
Other Stories by Wang Yuan
A Series of Endings by Amal Singh
Beneath the Earth Where the Nymphs Sleep by Meghan Feldman
You Are Born Exploding by Rich Larson
and Just One Step, And Then the Next by E. N. Díaz

All stories were exceptional and very diverse, but if I have to pick just one favorite it will be You Were Born Exploding by Rich Larson.

(I didn’t read the three non-fiction offerings).

Themes: sci-fi, space opera, dystopian, AI, death, time travel, mother and son, aliens.

4 Stars

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorites from this issue (with links!):

3. You Are Born Exploding
2. Beneath The Earth Where The Nymphs Sleep
1. The Cold Calculations

[Mark Catalfano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked "Vegvisir" by David Goodman, and "You are Born Exploding" by Rich Larson

[Afzal Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rich Larson story alone made this issue worthwhile!

[Baily]

Placeholder for "You Were Born Exploding" by Rich Larson

[Ken Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pandemic story with a difference. In the face of deliberate infection of our planet by a xenovirus, do we fight or do we surrender? Rich Larson's novelette tells the story of Elizabeth, Jack and Will on a beach at the end of the world. It is bittersweet, tragic but weirdly hopeful, all at the same time.

You can find it here. https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lars...