For this year's Hugo awards there are three semiprozines in contention
that satisfy my voting criteria. One didn't bother to provide a sample
in the Hugo packet. This is one of the other two.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies #157 proclaims itself a Sixth Anniversary
Double-Issue, but all we get is four short stories. Looking at the web
site, it appears that the original issue also contained two "audio
fiction podcasts" (author readings) and one story from the archives.
OK, so it does seem to come out every two weeks rather than monthly
or bi-monthly. In any case, there's no editorial content here, just
brief author bios.
There does seem to be a theme, even so: all these stories are
fantasies, and all of them are set in non-European mythologies.
The Sorrow of Rain (Richard Parks) has Lord Yamada (whose status
seems unclear) dealing with a troublesome rain spirit in
fantasy-Japan. The obvious explanation is not a full explanation,
which is pleasing, but there's no room to do much with it. Reminded me
slightly of the anime series Mushi-Shi, which is a good thing.
Apparently there's already a short story collection dealing with Lord
Yamada, which may explain why he's not actually introduced here.
Heaven Thunders the Truth (K.J. Parker) is set in a fantasy-Africa:
the narrator, a doctor, has a snake living in him that's the source of
his power, such as it is. As usual with Kathy Jo's stories, it's all
rather more complicated than it appears, and the problem of a
disobedient daughter gradually leads our hero into treason as the best
of a bad lot of options. I like her in person but I'm not a great fan
of her writing; it's just a bit too unrelievedly dismal.
The Moon Over Red Trees (Aliette de Bodard) is in a fantasy-Vietnam,
where a native woman living as "local wife" to a French plantation
owner realises the reason she is there. It's a Be Careful What You
Wish For story, subclass Consider the Price; well-written, and the
setting is obviously one that de Bodard knows well, but there isn't
really much new here.
Butterfly House (Gwendolyn Clare) is in a fantasy-China: the
protagonist is a butterfly-keeper to the Empress, sent out to the site
of a recent battle to gather "corpsewings", the only butterflies that
feed on flesh. Why? Well, we won't be told that of course, but we do
have her struggle as she decides whether to obey. This feels as though
it ought to be the opening of a novel; it's pretty slight on its own.
So four unremarkable stories, really, and with no other content
there's not much to recommend. Does BCS only do fantasy? Judging by
the web site, it appears not. Compared with Lightspeed there's much
less here, which means fewer chances to include a story that impresses
me.
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