Clarkesworld is a monthly on-line magazine edited by Neil Clarke.
Everything is available in HTML from
the magazine's site, and
it can be bought in various other formats.
"Dave's Head" by Suzanne Palmer gives us a not-quite-meathook-yet grim
future, and an intelligent animatronic dinosaur head (salvaged from a
theme park), and an uncle whose mind really isn't working right any
more. If only Palmer bothered to say what was in the vials, rather
than making them a MacGuffin, this would be superb; as it is, it's
pretty darn good.
"Amorville" by Bella Han has a woman obsessed with a virtual actor
(you pick your partner and then bring them into the story of your
choice), but thinks its big revelation is cleverer than it is.
"To Catch All Sorts of Flying Things" by M. L. Clark throws the reader
in at the deep end with lots of alien names, but once one gets one's
bearings it's a fine story of interaction with genuinely other
aliens.
"Lapis" by Sara Saab: and then it's a crash back to Generic Modern SF
Story as we get out-of-order narration, and a second person present
voice, and all this in order to tell a tedious story against a
background that might actually be interesting if it ever came into
focus. Bah.
"Malinche" by Gabriela Santiago is the story of Doña Marina and Hernán
Cortés… in a world where the Aztecs have something like electricity
and primitive robots. It's remarkable, and excellent.
"Staying with the End of the World: SF Futures of Hope during
Ecological Devastation" by Eleanna Castroianni is more about the
transformative power of story than about specific examples;
interesting but slight.
"Science Fiction Heist: A Conversation with Derek Künsken" by Arley
Sorg would be more interesting if I hadn't already read and hated
Künsken's The Ghosts of Ganymede back in January. But at least one
thing is explained: his idea of quantum physics comes from other SF
authors, Baxter and Reynolds, not from actual science.
"The Future of Shame and Hope: A Conversation with L.X. Beckett" by
Arley Sorg is more intriguing: Beckett's trying to build a positive
future out of the present situation, and doesn't entirely convince,
but at least they're saying something.
"Editor's Desk: A Journey 'Home'" by Neil Clarke talks about his trip
to the Worldcon in Dublin (like seemingly everyone else, he had major
travel problems) and to see Irish family.
Three stories I enjoyed in a single issue, after a couple with none
that I got on with at all. The Clark definitely gets a Hugo
nomination, and the Santiago, and maybe the Palmer. All right, I'll
keep reading Clarkesworld for now.
Comments on this post are now closed. If you have particular grounds for adding a late comment, comment on a more recent post quoting the URL of this one.