Status Updates From Fantasy Magazine, Issue 59,...

It hadn’t come down since great-grandparent days, but as its last descent had left no stone on stone—nor man, woman, child alive—anywhere people had once dwelled aboveground on the continent, the hero would go up before it came down again, and kill the kaiju maximus. They would go too: the hero’s weakness, and her strength.

Starten på Kaiju maximus....

Kaiju Maximus®: “So Various, So Beautiful, So New”: 3/5
The Lady's Maid: 3/5
The Duchess & The Ghost: 4/5
The Padishah Begum's Reflections: 3.5/5
Down the Path of the Sun: 4/5
The Ledge: 3/5
The Sea Troll's Daughter: 5/5
The Sleepover Manifesto: 5/5

The Lily and the Horn: 4.5/5

"He could feel himself doing the ugly, tiresome thing, whereby you put off some pleasure best enjoyed now, for fear nothing good will come again."

The Sea Troll's Daughter by Caitlín R. Kiernan: 4 stars
A "hero kills a troll story" that doesn't take the expected paths or follow the familiar story beats, quite refreshing.

Ledge by Austin Bunn, 2.5 stars
More of a metaphorical, literary story about death and longing. Not my cup of tea.

Down the Path of the Sun, by Nicola Griffith: 2 stars

While the writing was good, I'm sad to say that I didn't really get why this was the story. Felt like one scene from a brutal, post-apocalyptic novel. Again, more was explained in the Author Spotlight, and I understand her personal meaning, but didn't get it from reading, because I don't share her experiences. Also, this was her first ever short story, so.

The Padishah Begum's Reflections by Shweta Narayan: 3.5 stars
First of the reprints. A mechanical female ruler in India meets with a French delegate. Took me a couple of false starts to finish, quite complex with stories within stories. A great world!

The Duchess and the Ghost, by Richard Bowes: 4 stars A young gay boy is haunted by the ghosts of his past in 60s Greenwich Village. Quite light on the fantasy elements, but the writing style is flowing and easy to read.

The Lady's Maid, by Carlea Holl-Jensen: 3 stars
A maid serves a lady with many changeable heads. Would've enjoyed it more if I had known from the start that the Return to Oz parallels were intentional, not accidentally swiped. This could've been in the horror issue, there were two viscerally disturbing scenes. I tried to read while eating, a big mistake! It was impossible to swallow anything while reading those.

Kaiju Maximus, by Kai Ashante Wilson: 3.5 stars.
A hero travels with her family to confront a Kaiju. I thought all the stories would feature queer characters, like in the science fiction issue, but this doesn't. Instead it flips regular gender role expectations with a female hero and a male caretaker.
I had to read the Author Spotlight to understand the meaning of the diversions from the main storyline.

The Lily and the Horn, by Catherynne M. Valente: 5/5 stars The preparations for an irregular feast, in gorgeous prose.

The Lily and the Horn, by Catherynne M. Valente: 5/5 stars The preparations for an irregular feast, in gorgeous prose.

And I looked upon this magazine and it saved me.