Magazines

Jupiter XLIV: Kallichore

2014-05-08 · in Books, Jupiter · 99 words

Sam S. Kepfield's Come in Peace — a Russian crew on the moon in an alt-history 1988 — is the strongest story here; nice stuff. Frobisher's Dog and The Polisher by Nicholas Mark Harding is an enthusiastic romp around a Stross-esque idea, in need of a bit of editing. Roderick Gladwish's A Bit of a Mutiny works nicely; it's fluff but in a good way, not taking itself too seriously or spending too long getting to its point. Nobel Worthy by Jeff Pfaller is decently written, but I was disappointed that it went exactly where it looked like it was going...

"Interzone", issue 251

2014-04-30 · in Books, Interzone · 79 words

John Grant's Ghost Story is the standout here — very good indeed. Karl Bunker's Ashes is a smart take on the Singularity, and I'd love to have the illustration for it (by Jim Burns) as a poster. Trace Welser's A Doll Is Not A Dumpling has some nice ideas, although I wish it hadn't followed the general trend of ending with the death of its protagonist (at least Gareth L. Powell's This Is How You Die is upfront about it).

Jupiter XLIII: Arche

2014-04-28 · in Books, Jupiter · 41 words

This was a bit of a downer-ending issue all round; Carmelo Rafala's A Woman of Light and Steel was my favourite here (sounds like an interesting world; would like an expanded version), and Craig Pay's Spindle Pickers was also pretty good.

Jupiter XLII: Thelxinoe

2014-04-27 · in Books, Jupiter · 38 words

Not as polished as Interzone, but an equally-decent mix of interesting stories. I liked Gordon Ross Lanser's The Long Sleep and Patrick Mahon's Be Careful What You Wish For from this issue — both in the classical SF-story mould.

"Interzone", issue 250

2014-04-26 · in Books, Interzone · 36 words

Again, the illustrations in this issue were great. A pretty abstract set of stories this time — I liked Greg Kurzawa's Predvestniki, and thought Georgina Bruce's Wake Up, Phil was splendidly weird, hitting exactly the intended note.

"Interzone", issue 249

2014-01-27 · in Books, Interzone · 32 words

A good set of stories — I liked all of these, particularly Tim Lees' Unknown Cities of America, which feels like it ought to be a Dave Carter song. Some lovely illustrations too.

"Interzone", issue 248

2014-01-19 · in Books, Interzone · 77 words

It's been several years since I last had an Interzone subscription. I like the new format: smaller overall, with less glossy paper. Some excellent illustrations in this issue.

My clear favourite here was The Hareton K-12 County School and Adult Extension by James van Pelt; I'm a sucker for interesting worldbuilding, and this story was essentially all worldbuilding. I also liked Sean McMullen's Technarion — bigger-picture not-quite-steampunk without the padding — and Ken Altabef's short, elegant Il Teatro Oscuro.

Jupiter XLI: Aoede

2014-01-01 · in Books, Jupiter · 26 words

Low-budget SF zine, with five short stories in this issue. I particularly liked "Pam" by Peter C. Loftus, and thought the cover art was pretty cool.

"Analog", December 1976

2013-07-30 · in Books, Analog · 5 words

Not grabbed by anything here.

"Analog", August 1963

2013-07-30 · in Books, Analog · 26 words

Fairly typical 60s SF -- good enough but nothing spectacular. Cringeworthy editorial by John W. Campbell. This was the last issue of the UK version of Analog.