Asimov’s Science Fiction October/November issue — the traditionally “slightly spooky” issue — contains a huge new 34,000-word novella from the brilliant Aliette de Bodard, the sequel to her Hugo and Nebula Award nominee, On a Red Station, Drifting, plus stories from Alan Smale, Ian Creasey, Rick Wilber, Ian McDowell, and many others. Here’s the description from the website:

Aliette de Bodard’s October/November 2015 cover story is an enormous new novella that plunges us into a far future where various factions struggle to find the lost “Citadel of Weeping Pearls.” Success will require travel through time and space. The journey could result in death, or it could give the empire the weapon it needs in a war against archenemies.

Our traditionally “slightly spooky” issue is full of outré stories of the macabre. A trio of tales makes use of English and Irish locales and lore. Alan Smale entices us to the West Midlands for a chilling look at “English Wildlife”; Ian Creasey draws us further north to York, and, then through hyperspace, to listen while a young girl spins a sinister yarn about “My Time on Earth”; and Rick Wilber takes us from the beaches of West Ireland to the coast of Massachusetts for one character’s just rewards in “Walking to Boston.” We remain in the U.S. for Sandra McDonald’s ghostly account of “The Adjunct Professor’s Guide to Life After Death”; venture to the old west for Ian McDowell’s uncanny legend of “The Hard Woman”; and voyage through time with Timons Esaias to find out what happened in “Hollywood After 10.” Daryl Gregory escorts us to another realm for a surprising twist on a familiar tale of witchcraft in “Begone”; and new author Brooks Peck lures us to a space station in Earth’s Orbit to view the consequences of living “With Folded RAM.”

The striking cover art this issue is by Maurizio Manzieri, for “Citadel of Weeping Pearls.”

Non-fiction this month includes Robert Silverberg’s Reflections column, which praises Star (Psi Cassiopeia), a forgotten nineteenth-century interstellar space opera; Norman Spinrad’s On Books, which examines today’s hard SF in “The Real Deal”; and James Patrick Kelly’s On the Net, which informs us that “We Have the Technology” to create the posthuman era.

There’s also an array of seasonally spooky poetry and other features. Here’s the complete Table of Contents, with links to story excerpts.

NOVELLA

“The Citadel of Weeping Pearls,” Aliette de Bodard

NOVELETTES

“English Wildlife,” Alan Smale
“The Hard Woman,” Ian McDowell
“Walking to Boston,” Rick Wilber
“Begone,” Daryl Gregory

SHORT STORIES

“The Adjunct Professor’s Guide to Life After Death,” Sandra McDonald
“With Folded RAM,” Brooks Peck
“Hollywood After 10,” Timons Esaias
“My Time on Earth,” Ian Creasey

POETRY

“The Music of Skeletons,” Bruce Boston
“Classified,” Robert Borski
“Classified II,” Robert Borski
“Zhongqiujie: the Mid-Autumn Festival,” Shawn Fitzpatrick
“October Leaves,” Suzanne Palmer

DEPARTMENTS

Editorial: Twenty-Ninth Annual Readers’ Awards’ Results, Sheila Williams
Reflections: Star (Psi Cassiopeia), Robert Silverberg
On the Net: We Have the Technology, James Patrick Kelly
Next Issue
On Books, Norman Spinrad
The SF Conventional Calendar, Erwin S. Strauss

The October/November issue was available on newsstands on September 15. It will be on sale until October 27.

Asimov’s Science Fiction is edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines. The cover price is $7.99 for 192 pages; a one-year subscription is $34.97 (US) or $49.97 (International). It is also available in a variety of digital formats. The cover this issue is by Maurizio Manzieri, for “Citadel of Weeping Pearls.” Check out the complete TOC, story excerpts, and additional free content at the website.

We last covered Asimov’s SF here with the September 2015 issue.

Our mid-September Fantasy Magazine Rack is here. See all of our recent fantasy magazine coverage here.