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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 187, April 2022
Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction, articles, interviews and art. Our April 2022 issue (#187) contains:
Original fiction by Thoraiya Dyer ("Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress"), Leonard Richardson ("Two Spacesuits"), Greg Egan ("Dream Factory"), Pan Haitian ("Hanuman the Monkey King"), Beth Goder ("An Expression of Silence"), Martin Cahill ("An Urge To Create Honey"), and Parker Ragland ("The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame").
Non-fiction includes an article by Julie Novakova, interviews with Rachel Cordasco and Djuna, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
Original fiction by Thoraiya Dyer ("Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress"), Leonard Richardson ("Two Spacesuits"), Greg Egan ("Dream Factory"), Pan Haitian ("Hanuman the Monkey King"), Beth Goder ("An Expression of Silence"), Martin Cahill ("An Urge To Create Honey"), and Parker Ragland ("The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame").
Non-fiction includes an article by Julie Novakova, interviews with Rachel Cordasco and Djuna, and an editorial by Neil Clarke.
139 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Neil Clarke
401 books398 followersNeil 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 1, 2022
I read only
Dream Factory
by Greg Egan
If I have to point the most annoying part about social media today it would be the so called influencers and their herd. Most of them have no idea what are they talking about, but lo and behold, a mass hysteria follows, and not around a good thing.
Anyway, the point of this little rant is that I completely dislike to read about influencers, and there are a couple of them in this story. Of course is not a praise to them, it just shows the effect they are having, which in this particular case, through manipulation (which is often the case IRL too) led to a good thing.
The good thing is that the story is about cats and a guy's quest to save them from being something else than just felines. That I liked a lot.
Being an Egan' story, is everything it should be. If I were to let my pet peeve aside, this deserves 5 stars. But I rate readings based on my pleasure, hence just 3.
You can read (or listen to) it on the magazine's site: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/egan...
If I have to point the most annoying part about social media today it would be the so called influencers and their herd. Most of them have no idea what are they talking about, but lo and behold, a mass hysteria follows, and not around a good thing.
Anyway, the point of this little rant is that I completely dislike to read about influencers, and there are a couple of them in this story. Of course is not a praise to them, it just shows the effect they are having, which in this particular case, through manipulation (which is often the case IRL too) led to a good thing.
The good thing is that the story is about cats and a guy's quest to save them from being something else than just felines. That I liked a lot.
Being an Egan' story, is everything it should be. If I were to let my pet peeve aside, this deserves 5 stars. But I rate readings based on my pleasure, hence just 3.
You can read (or listen to) it on the magazine's site: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/egan...
June 19, 2022
Thoraiya Dyer ‘Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress’ *****
Leonard Richardson ‘Two Spacesuits’ *****
Greg Egan ‘Dream Factory’
Pan Haitian ‘Hanuman the Monkey King’ *****
Beth Goder ‘An Expression of Silence’ *****
Martin Cahill ‘An Urge To Create Honey’ *****
Parker Ragland ‘The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame’ *****
I say repeatedly: SF is perhaps unique as a genre in that its future development is consistently shaped by writers starting out with short-form fiction. In other words, if you want to demonstrate to a non-SF reader the true potential and sheer scope and wonder of contemporary SF, just give them Clarkesworld #187 to read.
What a superb issue. There is not a single dud among these stories. Yes, they are diverse and challenging, and are unlikely to appeal equally to all. But taken together, what a rich smorgasbord! Stories range from a delightful if slightly icky cat story (electrodes implanted in its brain to control its disdain towards humans; don’t worry, it has a happy ending) to a story about discovering your parents having sex in an alien habitat / hobbit hole that dad built in the backyard, and some incredible world-building and alien first contacts.
On the non-fiction side, there is a fascinating interview with Rachel Cordaso, who established the Speculative Fiction in Translation website in 2016 and a is regular reviewer of translated genre works: “Since it’s impossible for any of us to learn every language and then read books in those languages plus their translations, we need to find a way to talk about international literature without just throwing up our hands and saying it’s impossible.”
Leonard Richardson ‘Two Spacesuits’ *****
Greg Egan ‘Dream Factory’
Pan Haitian ‘Hanuman the Monkey King’ *****
Beth Goder ‘An Expression of Silence’ *****
Martin Cahill ‘An Urge To Create Honey’ *****
Parker Ragland ‘The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame’ *****
I say repeatedly: SF is perhaps unique as a genre in that its future development is consistently shaped by writers starting out with short-form fiction. In other words, if you want to demonstrate to a non-SF reader the true potential and sheer scope and wonder of contemporary SF, just give them Clarkesworld #187 to read.
What a superb issue. There is not a single dud among these stories. Yes, they are diverse and challenging, and are unlikely to appeal equally to all. But taken together, what a rich smorgasbord! Stories range from a delightful if slightly icky cat story (electrodes implanted in its brain to control its disdain towards humans; don’t worry, it has a happy ending) to a story about discovering your parents having sex in an alien habitat / hobbit hole that dad built in the backyard, and some incredible world-building and alien first contacts.
On the non-fiction side, there is a fascinating interview with Rachel Cordaso, who established the Speculative Fiction in Translation website in 2016 and a is regular reviewer of translated genre works: “Since it’s impossible for any of us to learn every language and then read books in those languages plus their translations, we need to find a way to talk about international literature without just throwing up our hands and saying it’s impossible.”
June 7, 2022
Doc Luckless And The Stationmistress - Thoraiya Dyer ***
Two Spacesuits - Leonard Richardson ***
Dream Factory - Greg Egan ***
Hanuman The Monkey King - Pan Haitian, trans. Emily Jin ***
An Expression Of Silence - Beth Goder ****
An Urge To Create Honey - Martin Cahill ****
The Carrion Droid, Zoe, And A Small Flame - Parker Ragland ***
Two Spacesuits - Leonard Richardson ***
Dream Factory - Greg Egan ***
Hanuman The Monkey King - Pan Haitian, trans. Emily Jin ***
An Expression Of Silence - Beth Goder ****
An Urge To Create Honey - Martin Cahill ****
The Carrion Droid, Zoe, And A Small Flame - Parker Ragland ***
May 28, 2022
Overall very nice novels, the best imho was Leonard Richardson ("Two Spacesuits"), so uncanny and weird
December 21, 2022
Onwards with Clarkesworld Magazine issue #187 (April, 2022). You can read the stories online or 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:
Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress by Thoraiya Dyer
Two Spacesuits by Leonard Richardson
Dream Factory by Greg Egan
Hanuman the Monkey King by Pan Haitian
An Expression of Silence by Beth Goder
An Urge To Create Honey by Martin Cahill
and The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame by Parker Ragland
All stories were exceptional and very diverse, but if I have to pick just one favorite it will be An Expression of Silence by Beth Goder.
(I didn’t read the three non-fiction offerings).
Themes: sci-fi, fantasy, space opera, dystopian, AI, aliens.
4 Stars
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:
Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress by Thoraiya Dyer
Two Spacesuits by Leonard Richardson
Dream Factory by Greg Egan
Hanuman the Monkey King by Pan Haitian
An Expression of Silence by Beth Goder
An Urge To Create Honey by Martin Cahill
and The Carrion Droid, Zoe, and a Small Flame by Parker Ragland
All stories were exceptional and very diverse, but if I have to pick just one favorite it will be An Expression of Silence by Beth Goder.
(I didn’t read the three non-fiction offerings).
Themes: sci-fi, fantasy, space opera, dystopian, AI, aliens.
4 Stars
March 12, 2023
So far, I only read Leonard Richardson's "Two Spacesuits" short story from here. Main character gets called home because his father and mother are both accusing the other of weird, very weird, behaviour perhaps alien contact. And it was fun, and interesting, entertaining stuff. I am not sure if this fits into the author's other works, or not, it felt somewhat episodic. I wish the author had gone more deeply into the engineering and architecture of the mound, LOL. Nicely written.
June 28, 2022
Favorites: “Doc Luckless and the Stationmistress”, Thoraiya Dyer; “Dream Factory”, Greg Egan; and “An Urge to Create Honey”, Martin Cahill.
August 28, 2022
Five stars for Two Spacesuits and Dream Factory. Two stars for the rest.
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August 27, 2023Dream Factory by Greg Egan
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews