Black Gate

The longest story in the March/April issue of F&SF is John P. Murphy’s novella “The Liar,” which editor C.C. Finley introduces with, “If you’ve ever wondered what the result would be like if Garrison Keillor wrote a Stephen King story, then look no further.” In his review at Tangent Online, Jason McGregor writes:

Greg is a “liar,” which is to say someone who can tell broken things they aren’t really broken and, if he’s convincing enough, repair them with an imposition of will alone. When the old sexton can no longer perform his duties, Greg takes over and learns about the town’s secret: every November 5th, a teenager dies. Unraveling this supernatural mystery takes him back to a crashed WWII bomber nearby and another secret. Adding urgency to this fatal problem is that Greg and Pastor Julie have a budding relationship going and Julie has a wayward teenaged daughter…

[Murphy] creates interesting characters steeped in a sense of place (small-town New Hampshire) in which quite a bit does happen and, even when matters aren’t at a peak, I was content to hang out with the folks of the story. The realistic aspects are very well done, the fantasy is deftly woven in (and creative in recasting the essence of the supernatural element), and the horror adds spice.

Jason van Hollander’s cover illustrates Marc Laidlaw’s novelette “The Ghost Penny Post.” Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies has changed up its cover art again. I quite like the new art, “Research Lab” by Sung Choi (see the full piece here), which covers their third Science Fantasy Special Issue.

The March 3rd BCS is a special double-issue featuring a bonus story, a bonus podcast, and a science-fantasy episode of the BCS Audio Vault podcast. It contains original short fiction by Yoon Ha Lee, Cat Rambo, Anaea Lay, and an Audio Vault reprint by Yoon Ha Lee.

“Foxfire, Foxfire” by Yoon Ha Lee
Even in human-shape, I had an excellent sense of smell. I had no difficulty tracking the pilot. She lay on her side in the lee of a chunk of rubble, apparently asleep. The remains of a Brick Ration’s wrapper had been tossed to the side. She had downed all of it, which impressed me. But then, I’d heard that piloting was hungry work.

“Call and Answer, Plant and Harvest” by Cat Rambo
Today her sleeves are sewn with opals and moonstones and within their glimmer here and there on the left sleeve, glitters another precious stone, set in no particular order, random as the stars. Her skirt and bodice are aluminum fish-scales, armored though she expects no fight. Her only weapon is her own considerable wit.

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While I was at my local Barnes & Noble on Saturday, picking up the new issues of F&SF, Analog, and Asimov’s, I was delighted to see the February issue of Locus peeking out from behind Mystery Scene. I don’t always have the best luck finding Locus on newsstands, and I really didn’t want to miss the February issue.

The February Locus is always a special event… it’s their annual Year in Review issue, and this one does not disappoint. It has detailed looks back at the best new books and short fiction from the last twelve months by virtually all of their reviewers, including Gardner Dozois, Rich Horton, Jonathan Strahan, Russell Letson, Faren Miller, Gary K. Wolfe, Cheryl Morgan, Ellen Datlow, Paul Kincaid, and many others. It also includes the 2015 Locus Survey ballot, their annual Magazine Survey, a long interview with Tom Doherty, and — as always — plenty of reviews of short fiction and books. There’s also an obituary of David G. Hartwell, and a promise of additional appreciations next month.

In addition to all the news, features, and regular columns, there’s also the indispensable listings of Magazines Received, Books Received, British Books Received, and Bestsellers. Plus Letters, and an editorial. See the complete contents here.

We last covered Locus with the December 2015 issue. Locus is edited by Liza Groen Trombi, and published monthly by Locus Publications. The issue is 62 pages, priced at $7.50. Subscriptions are $63 for 12 issues in the US. Subscribe online here. The magazine’s website, run as a separate publication by Mark R. Kelly, is a superb online resource. It is here.

See our March Fantasy Magazine Rack here, and all of our recent Magazine coverage here.

In her editorial in the latest issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction, Sheila Williams pens a passionate and thoughtful defense of Young Adult fiction.

I’m used to being told that the engineering in one story is too realistic or the fantasy in another too pervasive. The critic will avow that the tale would have been better off in Analog or F&SF. On rarer occasions, I have been criticized for featuring tales about children and young adults. The implication is that Asimov’s is a magazine for adults, which means the tales should all be about adults as well. This last criticism has always been the one that most surprises me.

It’s hard to imagine a magazine that purports to cover all the conditions of humanity not covering the early years every so often. Any reader of Asimov’s has certainly experienced childhood and the ’tween years. Many of the issues that faced us then reverberate throughout our lives. With any luck, some of our readers picked up the magazine as precocious young adults….

It can be argued that there are two types of stories about young protagonists. One is really written for the adult who is looking back on those early years…. The other seems to be written specifically for the child or young adult… I’ve also enjoyed many works that fall into the second category… That young people will learn much about the world from reading adult literature does not mean that adults can’t find pleasure and illumination in works that were primarily written for the young.

Hear, hear! You tell ’em, Sheila. I discovered Asimov’s with the Summer 1977 issue at the tender age of 12, and the fact that the magazine was very friendly to young readers was a huge plus for me. I hope it continues to attract young readers, and having an occasional YA component to the fiction is a huge piece of that.

Read Sheila’s complete editorial here.

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I was very pleased to see Goblin Fruit, the online magazine of poetry of the fantastical, return after a one-year hiatus (does one year even count as a hiatus? If that’s true, Black Gate took a hiatus after virtually every issue!) March looks like it has plenty other good surprises in store for short fiction fans — stay tuned. For our vintage magazine readers, Rich Horton took a look at the June and July 1960 issues of Amazing Science Fiction Stories, containing James Blish’s complete novel …And All the Stars a Stage. And Matthew Wuertz continued his issue-by-issue re-read of Galaxy with March 1953.

Check out all the details on the magazines above by clicking on the each of the images. Our February Fantasy Magazine Rack is here.

As we’ve mentioned before, all of these magazines are completely dependent on fans and readers to keep them alive. Many are marginal operations for whom a handful of subscriptions may mean the difference between life and death. Why not check one or two out, and try a sample issue? There are magazines here for every budget, from completely free to $35/issue. If you find something intriguing, I hope you’ll consider taking a chance on a subscription. I think you’ll find it’s money very well spent.

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