Tag: fantasy

Apex Magazine Issue #149

I recently resubscribed to Apex Magazine. This is the first issue I have read since doing so. Here are my brief reviews of the fiction in that issue. As always, stories can be read online for free by clicking on the titles.

“Shadows Below Seaway Trains” by Ai Jiang (4,400 words) — A friend tricks the main character into adopting a child for the money then abandons them both. A touching exploration of hard pasts and hard decisions. (My rating: 4/5)

“I Remember a One-Sided Die” by Francis Bass (7,000 words) — A young girl on an alien planet seeks to become a coordinator. This story is told from the perspective of an alien race. I applaud the attempt, but it ended up being too confusing for me. Perhaps needs more than one read. (My rating: 2/5)

“Seven Ribbons” by Beth Goder (3,400 words) — A girl saves her sister from the penalties of being a traitor to her city. I liked the relationship, but it wasn’t much of a story. A little too abstract for me. (My rating: 2/5)

“Heart Seeds” by E. Thade (1,700 words) — After the Collapse, a robot child cares for its father in a world that broke down after finding a drug for immortality and the population becoming sterile. (My rating: 4/5)

“Life as the Natural State of Things” by Rich Larson (3,500 words) — Friends and brothers find their relationships undone by a simple wooden cup. An exploration of how power corrupts. As usual, this author explores an idea in a deeply engrossing story. (My rating: 5/5)

“To Kill a Language” by Rukman Ragas (800 words) — A list of steps for how to kill a language. A disturbing, effective metaphor. (My rating: 4/5)

“Extenta” by Daniel Roop (1,000 words) — In the far future of humans enslaved and born in space, one discovers resistance. ((My rating: 4/5)

“Things the Older Boy Understands” by Sierra Branham (1,000 words) — Two boys on a ship to new world comfort each other as one dies from a thought worm. A heartbreaking story of love and found family. (My rating: 5/5)

“As It Comes” by Derek Alan Jones (100 words) — One person comforts another at the end. (My rating: 4/5)

“Swan Song” by Liam Hogan (100 words) — Two drones descend to the ground after fighting stops. (My rating: 4/5)

“The Fifth Horseman” by Cressida Roe (100 words) — A fifth horseman of the Apocalypse follows the first four. (My rating: 4/5)

“The Liberation of Brother Buffalo” by Michael Boatman (12,500 words) — A man who lost his sister as a child finds himself married to a violent mega church preacher. The story goes down easy until the climax takes a crowbar upside your head. (My rating: 5/5)

“The Neighbors” by L. Marie Wood (2,300 words) — A woman sits on her deck contemplating what the neighbors might be hiding. Includes a great opening passage about mind wandering. (My rating: 4/5)

Average rating: 3.92/5

Uncanny Magazine Issue #65, July/August 2025

Once again I am reviewing the stories in the latest issue of a magazine I subscribe to. All stories are available to read online for free by clicking on the story title. If you like what you read from a particular magazine, I highly encourage you to subscribe. It is very inexpensive and helps support short speculative fiction writers and publications.

“The Diner at the Intersection of Duty and Despair” by John Chu (7,422 words) — Two chosen one participants work to save a bridge that holds worlds together. Oh, and they have a prior relationship, too. (My rating: 3/5)

“When He Calls Your Name” by Catherynne M. Valente (10,219 words) — A woman’s husband is drawn away by a beauty who is not all that she seems to be. Let’s just say that fans of Dolly Parton will especially appreciate this supernatural exploration of power, relationships, and cheating. (My rating: 5/5)

“Finer than Silk, Brighter than Snow” by Shveta Thakrar (2,385 words) — A laundress learns ancient tales from a snake who turns out to be a demon. A straightforward fairy tale about the value of story. (My rating: 3/5)

“The Garden” by Emma Törzs (5,096 words) — A god or undead person trapped in the city due to running water in the canals watches her neighbor water her garden during a drought. A little flat. I felt like it could have said more. (My rating: 3/5)

“Whalesong” by Daniel H. Wilson (7,038 words) — A mother and son confront each other on a research trip to observe the Great Convergence of whales. A touching story of how a mother and son can misunderstand each other their whole lives. (My rating: 5/5)

“The Terrarium” by Jordan Taylor (3,995 words) — An heir to a lord who is in love with another young man let’s loose fairy moths. A heartbreaking story of learning to deal with change. (My rating:4/5)

“The Best Way to Survive a Tiger Attack” by A.W. Prihandita (1,495 words) — A young girl who was mentally abused by her nanny who she sees as a tiger, does her best to behave. Explores the mixed up emotions that arise in such situations. (My rating: 3/5)

Average rating per story: 3.71

Anima Rising by Christopher Moore

In July, my online book club reads historical fiction. This year, we selected this book. I tried to get it from my library, but both the ebook and the physical book had a long wait list. In the end, I broke down and bought myself a copy of the ebook from ebooks.com.

The cover of the book includes a short blurb about the plot. It reads, “Klimt, Freud, and Jung meet the bride of Frankenstein”. Very accurate but without much detail. Klimt finds the bride of Frankenstein, whom he calls Judith, naked and apparently dead on the banks of the river after crossing a bridge on his way home. Upon realizing that she is not dead, he enlists a young paper boy to help him get her to his studio. He hopes to paint her portrait. Klimt is portrayed as a lovable, caring artist who spends his time around young naked models, sleeping with many of them and having many children named Gustave. Judith remembers nothing of her past, not even her name. Klimt gets Freud to take her as a patient. This is how we start to learn about Judith’s past, and the story takes off from there.

If you have read Christopher Moore before, you will not be surprised that there is a lot of humor and downright absurdity in this book. I laughed out loud many times reading it. He has a way with words and with the way he views situations. He also includes a warning in the beginning of the book titled Author’s Note and Trigger Warning. This note warns about sex, nudity, and violence throughout the novel and ends, “Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, if you are listening to this book in audio format in the car, with a kid or your grandma, turn on something else. Now.” The story kept me guessing and turning pages. I love how the author approaches storytelling and thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

My rating: 4/5

Hugo Awards for Short Fiction, 1 of 12

The Hugo Awards will presented at the Seattle Worldcon 2025 on Saturday, 16 August. Starting today, I will be highlighting one short fiction nominee each weekday running up to the announcement of winners that day.

Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novelette

“Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker (11,996 words or about 48 minutes to read), published in Uncanny magazine issue #59, July/August 2024

Sarah Pinsker is one of my favorite authors! She always combines great storytelling with exploring the most amazing “What if?” questions.

In this touching and endearing story, she tells us of estranged sisters who find their way back to each other after many years. And in the process, the older learns something about her sister that she actively made herself forget.