The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2007
reviewed by David Soyka
The cover story is "The Master Miller's Tale" by Ian R. MacLeod, which takes
place in the "Aether" universe of his novels The Light Ages and The House of Storms. For the uninitiated, the story
has no direct connection to the plots of either novel beyond the general setting, so no need to fear getting lost among
unfamiliar references. It covers the themes of the novels in which conflict is rooted in the inevitable cultural upheavals -- for better or
worse -- wrought by scientific advancement.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2005
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
A common criticism against big-market fantasy journals is that the published material is too commercial, and that the only 'edgy'
stuff happens off the radar screen and with smaller publications. In this issue,
editor Gordon Van Gelder proves that not all major publications have sold their soul. Not totally, at least.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2004
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
This issue offers a study on why short fantasy is so danged hard for
so many writers. The problem is not one of content or form. That is, fantasy has its writers who have fantastic imaginations,
and who deliver that imagination with heavy subtext. Many of these writers are skilled artisans whose writing acumen generate
excellent prose. However, the fantasy writer works with one handicap...
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2005
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
This edition of Fantasy & Science Fiction offers writing from Alex Irvine, Esther Friesner,
Paul Di Filippo, John McDaid, Arthur Porges, Lucius Shepard, and Bruce Sterling, among others. The results are mixed, though
some bits are worth the price of admission by itself.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2004
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
Despite being a themed issue, the collection of stories have little in common,
much like the denizens of America. If there is a commonality, it is one of vision,
rather than one of style or voice. In "The Battle of York," a novelette by James Stoddard, the author presents to the reader an
American history that has become an oral tradition myth, due to the destruction of all paper and electronic records. Stoddard shows a
character named Washington, who cannot tell a lie and his quest to find Mount Rushmore in order to save his country.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 2003
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
Out of all the stories, "The Tale of the Golden Eagle" is the only one Steve would consider a must read, but
there turned out to be enough good work in the issue to give it a thumbs up in general. If you're a Malzberg fan, you'll have
the time of your life. If you're not, you're not likely to become one reading this issue.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2003
reviewed by David Soyka
According to editor Gordon Van Gelder, this month's special Barry Malzberg issue was inspired by the serendipitous submission of two separate
pieces of fiction that feature the cranky semi-legend. "So I contacted Barry about writing that essay he'd been promising to write, his memoir
of working for the Scott Meredith Agency," Van Gelder notes in explaining why, in this case, there isn't any new fiction from the honored author
in question. (There are, however, reprints of two shorts: "A Short Religious Novel" from 1972 and "A Clone at Last" written with Bill Pronzini from 1978.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
Bruce Sterling's contribution is a powerful satiric depiction of how the conformist consumerist mind-set alters little in response to the bureaucratic and
technological ineptitude in a near-future America beset by heightened levels of terrorism. The story's title, "In Paradise," reflects
the multiple layers of irony here. It is a sly comment of the American political ideal -- that "paradise on the hill" the early
settlers saw as a refuge from religious intolerance but from which the oppressed too often became oppressor -- and the somewhat
less profound paradise of our consumer culture -- the shopping mall.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
Regular readers have been expecting to see M. Rickert's "Leda" for quite some time as editor Gordon van Gelder kept hinting
about it as a cover story whose artwork got delayed. Well, it's finally here and, as they say, well worth the wait. For the
first in a series of contemporary retellings of Greek myths, Rickert presents the rape of the title character by a swan from the
multiple perspectives of the victim and her husband, as well as, in a darkly funny aside, a rape hotline operator who thinks she's
getting a crank call.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
Well, it's that time of year for "beach reading," a cultural indulgence focusing on light entertainment that doesn't
divert you from the more important thoughts of putting on sufficient sun screen and imbibing the next alcoholic
beverage. Whether by editorial intention or not, this issue would be a good choice
to put in your beach bag for that purpose.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
In "Dazzle's Inferno," the cover story of the June issue, Scott Bradfield takes
what could be -- and usually is -- easily a "too cutesy" idea and puts some real bite into it. Dazzle is a pooch
apparently without a master, but still subject to human interventions supposedly in the dog's best interest from such
well-intentioned folks as the SPCA and Animal Welfare Agents.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
There are more than a few laughs -- along with a few things to think about -- in this issue. For
aspiring writer types, the laughs may be a little too close to home.
"The Essayist in the Wilderness" by William Browning Spencer presents an English professor who wins the lottery (itself a
kind of fantasy) that allows his wife and him to chuck the drudgery of grading papers. They buy a retreat in the woods to
devote themselves to their twin passions of reading and writing. While the wife is by far the more industrious writer, the
highly self-absorbed narrator eventually hits upon the idea of writing nature essays. Nature, however, has other ideas in store for the budding Thoreau.
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The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
It's doubtful if a 12-year-old (who some say is the prime demographic for SF with their pre-pubescent
sense of wonder ripe for notions of intergalactic travel and marvelous inventions) can really appreciate Maureen F. McHugh's meditation on the effects of
Alzheimer's not only on its victims, but their loved ones. It's one of those investigations into what exactly
is it that defines a human being for which SF is noted. But instead of robots or mutations, McHugh's subject is
the very real horror of a living person whose identity, the very essence of what defines an individual, is slowly stripped away.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
Charles Coleman Finlay cover story, "The Political Officer," is not just some
run-of-the-mill space opera with a clearly defined hero saving the day that someone who doesn't read much
more than sci-fi media spin-offs will enjoy. Though, on the surface, it is that. But Finlay has taken
the veneer of cliched WW II-era sub-mariner movies, transposed it to an interstellar setting, and flavored
the mixture with the paranoia of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Sort of Das Boat meets 1984
meets Star Trek. We don't know who the good guys are, and the one who just might be does
some bad things. Nothing colorful here, not even black and white, just shades of grey that blend into murkiness.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2002
reviewed by David Soyka
"We all know there's more than meets the eye out there." This theme is, to one extent or another,
shared by all the fiction -- as well as non-fiction -- in February's issue,
not to mention the genre, and literature as a whole. Which, David thinks, is why most of us read this stuff. Not just
for fun -- though some of these stories are quite fun -- but to ponder what might be.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2001
reviewed by Nick Gevers
This issue is a nostalgia fest. Five writers look backwards, their gaze simultaneously
longing and, usually, ironic; and, unsurprisingly, the majority commemorate the former (apparent) openness of
America. Oh! for the 20s and its robust echoes of the Old Frontier. Oh! for the times when men were men and
could fly biplanes, box in makeshift rings, or tinker with dangerous technologies without state and federal
regulation. Oh! for the pop culture of those times, with its dearth of artifice, its simple dedication to
adventure! Or sentiments to that general effect. With artifice added. With a new cynical take on adventure. With
the gloss that 75 years as a self-conscious genre brings...
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2001
reviewed by Nick Gevers
The emphasis of the May issue falls heavily on the side of Fantasy,
and why not? The results, in the magazine short fiction field, that preserve far
removed from the genre's customary bug-crushing Tolkienian gigantism, can
be very pleasing, if the lineup here is anything to go by.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 2001
reviewed by David Soyka
This special Lucius Shepard issue features an appreciation by Katherine
Dunn, a bibliography, an acerbic film review by the author and the featured
story, "Eternity and Afterward," which is not to be missed. As for the
other stories in this issue, of particular interest is Robert Reed's "Market
Day," covering somewhat similar territory as Shepherd in exploring the
crushing compromises of the human spirit.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2001
reviewed by Nick Gevers
This "Special Lucius Shepard Issue" succeeds in its undertaking very well
indeed. Katherine Dunn contributes a vivid Introduction to Shepard; William
G. Contento adds a fairly full Bibliography of Shepard's works; Shepard
himself scrags Lost Souls mercilessly in his Film column; and there
is the centrepiece, Shepard's long new novella "Eternity And Afterward," a
blistering existential salvo such as hasn't been seen from him since the
80s. One of speculative fiction's greatest prose artists is back to his
best; one can only genuflect.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 2001
reviewed by David Soyka
This issue contains Harlan Ellison's "From A to Z in the Sarsaparilla Alphabet" and Amy Sterling Casil's "To Kiss the Star."
These two very different novelets bookend an impressive collection of short fiction that demonstrate how effective
storytelling is not so much the originality of an idea, but the originality in developing familiar archetypes in startling
ways.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2000
reviewed by David Soyka
If you're looking for an ideal mix of fantasy -- sword and sorcery, magic
realism, slipstream, humorous, literary -- look no further than the June
issue of F&SF. In this issue, Joyce Carol Oates' novelette, "In
Shock," is one of those "am I crazy or is this really happening" stories;
Ursula K. Le Guin once again plumbs her background and interest in
anthropological subjects; "Thief of Two Deaths" by Chris Willrich is a story
of the questing variety; while "Le Morte D'Volkswagyn" pokes fun at the
genre. There's also some contemporary horror and even a nod to the science
fiction element of the magazine's title in Gregory Benford's semi-regular column.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1999
reviewed by John O'Neill
The September issue is a compact, beautiful, and inexpensive package. A
bargain, in other words. It entertains as well as makes a handy introduction
to an author or two you may not be familiar with now, but soon will be. The
centrepiece of the issue is a huge novella from the collaborative trio of
John Kessel, Jonathan Lethem, and James Patrick Kelly -- an original tale of
first contact, bizarre alien biology, and eccentric human personalities.
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 1999
reviewed by Ken Newquist
The July edition has a little something for everyone. Fantasy fans should
enjoy most of its stories, and while hard SF fans may balk at some of its
content, they'll find that Robert Reed's "Winemaster" is worth the price of admission.
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