Magazine Review | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction - May/June 2018 (Vol. 134, Nr. 5 & 6)
On Monday the 7th, I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a three issues of various magazines. I've already posted a review of one of them. Here's the review of one of the other two.
The Magazone of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 134, Nr.s 5 & 6. Published bi-monthly. Can be found online here.
The full contents of this issue are listed here at the F&SF website.
This was, for me at least, a marvelous introduction to F&SF (the magazine) and I enjoyed all of the stories contained within. Of the eleven assorted 'novelets' and short stories inside, these were my favorites:
Amman Sabet, who wrote "Umbrus" in F(r)iction 10, here appears with "Tender Loving Plastics," the story of a foster child to a robotic mother. The complex emotions that emerge are portrayed marvelously unsentimentally. It's a beautiful story.
Skipping ahead by rather a bit comes Melanie West's "What You Pass For," which is the story of a painter who "paints" people white. Whether they're black or foreign immigrant, she paints them all to turn them white. It's framed as a story she is telling to someone she is refusing to paint - I shan't say anymore.
Finally, there is Albert E. Cowdrey's "Behold the Child," a tale of a child with telekinetic powers whose parents (mother in ally with an amoral [immoral] lawyer) are fighting for custody. This can only be a bad thing, because as we quickly learn, the child - of five years - is premoral. Just as all seems to wrap up to a happy end, we are left with sadness, sympathy, and even shock.
The remainder of the stories were all very, very good. Indeed, I would say that of Dare Segun Falowo's "Ku'gbo" that I have every expectation of rewarding reread and for the story to become a favorite alongside the rest. It's wholly different from everything else in the issue.
And the rest, in rough descending order of enjoyment. these rankings are by no means final, but merely what I think at the moment of writing.
Stephanie Feldman's "The Barrens," one of the 'novelets' (oh, let's just call them novelette. F&SF does it weird 'cause it looks fancy, I bet.) was almost a favorite. It's a horror tale, and while I don't read much horror, I expect that to those that do this tale may seem a touch familiar. But it's very well-told.
"The Properties of Shadow" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman was another almost-favorite. It is hampered primarily by a lack of clarity of what, precisely, the shadows are - mates? partners? independent beings? - but it turned out a surprisingly emotional tale.
Though there are multiple fantasy stories here, the most blatantly fantastic tale here is definitely "Argent and Sable" by Matthew Hughes. This story goes for a non-magical protagonist working as henchman to a genuine wizard. That said, he's been - apparently - touched by a Helm of something-or-other to make him lucky. The characters have appeared in previous short stories, you see. It's a good story, though it does have a page or two where it seemed to drag. It's relatively standard fantasy. Nothing ground-breaking, but who cares? It's well-told.
"Inquisitive" by Pip Coen takes as its central protagonist a person who lacks empathy or even emotion, who does not understand social interaction. She's utterly ruthless in pursuit of her objectives - but it comes to a surprisingly emotional end. Maybe one just a shade, just the slightest fraction too neat, but no matter. It left me satisfied.
Brian Trent's "Crash Site" was another strong one which built a very interesting world which - it seemed to me - left plenty of room for the writer to return to in the future. Four main characters take stage, each of them flawed in their own ways, one of them actively dislikeable, but each comes through clearly. The ending left me a little unsatisfied and confused when I first read it, but I suspect a reread will clarify.
That leaves two tales which, though good in their own ways, were probably the weakest of the bunch: Lisa Mason's "The Bicycle Whisperer," a subversion of the talking car thing by switching it to a bicycle, but beyond that there is little unique. Gardner Dozois' "Unstoppable" was another fantasy tale, with an entertainingly ironic ending. And though I say it's on the weakest tales here, by no means is it bad. I quite enjoyed it. But against everything else, it's just not as emotive or interesting.
Alrighty, just for fun, I'll rank it all:
- "Tender Loving Plastics" by Amman Sabet
- "What You Pass For" by Melanie West
- "Behold the Child" by Albert E. Cowdrey
- "Ku'gbo" by Dare Segun Falowo
- "The Properties of Shadow" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
- "The Barrens" by Stephanie Feldman
- "Inquisitive" by Pip Coen
- "Argent and Sable" by Matthew Hughes
- "Crash Site" by Brian Trent
- "Unstoppable" by Gardner Dozois
- "The Bicycle Whisperer" by Lisa Mason
Ask me again what I think in a day or two and you'll probably get a somewhat different answer.
I hope you enjoyed! Yes, posting three days in a row was a wonderful experience, but I hope no one thought I actually could maintain it. Anyways... next up will be, I imagine, reviews of the Asimov's issue as well as of A Betrayal in Winter.
Did you read this issue of F&SF? Have other thoughts you'd like to share? The comments section is open. And if you enjoyed, please upvote and please resteem and even (if you're feeling daring) follow for more stuff like this.