Category anthology
Bad Dreams and Broken Hearts
Bad Dreams and Broken Hearts is a collection of related short stories by Misha Burnett. I’ve been a fan of Misha’s writing for a while, so I knew up front that I’d enjoy this. The stories all follow Erik Rugar, a detective who investigates magical crimes for the city government. I imagined the setting as […]
Short Story News
Today, I have a few links to outside content for you. The most important is a call for submissions from Misha Burnett for a new anthology titled “Young Dragons”. This is a unique opportunity if you are a new or aspiring fantasy author, as stories are only being accepted from authors who haven’t been published […]
Green-Eyed Monster
Green-Eyed Monster I’ve finally gotten a break in my road travel schedule (good for my health, but bad for my career prospects, since my driving is to job interviews these days), so I’m giving the audiobooks a rest and doing some good old-fashioned reading with my eyeballs. Well, not all that old-fashioned, since I’m using […]
Review: Alien Landscapes
Kevin J Anderson’s Alien Lanscapes In my last post, Kevin J Anderson and me, I mentioned that I would review this collection, which consists of three short stories and a novelette, all by KJA. So, here we go: Short Stories Landscapes – Two pals are dropped off on an uninhabited (but habitable) planet to do some […]
Side Quest: from Underbridge to Goodnight Moons
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six OK, I didn’t have good luck with the first nine stories in this collection, or the next ten, but here are the last twelve anyway: Underbridge by Peter Beagle. A troll statue eats small animals and, eventually, people. Relic by Jeffrey Ford. A story about a […]
Side Quest: from Malak to After the Apocalypse
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six I didn’t have good luck with the first nine stories from this collection, but I’m sure that was just nine anomalies in a row. Here are the next ten: Malak by Peter Watts. A drone develops (or gets programmed with, I can’t remember) a conscience, […]
Side Quest, attempt #2
Last year, I announced my side quest to read several “best of” collections and see whether any of them were worth reading through the years. My first attempt was a disaster. Check out the wrap-up post. For attempt #2, I’m reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six. Here are my takes […]
Magazine: Lyonesse Volume 1
Lyonesse, Volume 1 Lyonesse is another magazine in the superversive tradition, which I mentioned in my review of Astounding Frontiers. Unlike Astounding Frontiers, Lyonesse has open submissions periods, so if you’ve written some superversive fiction, this could be a home for it. There are two ways to read Lyonesse: you can subscribe and receive […]
Side Quest: from The Cold Step Beyond to Digital Rites
The next 10 stories in my side quest: The Cold Step Beyond by Ian MacLeod. A warrior-monk-girl-thing is sent on her latest monster-killing quest. The thing she’s sent to kill turns out to be herself in the past. Also, she’s the imaginary friend of a dead girl who took over the dead girl’s body. Possibly the […]
Side Quest: from The Copenhagen Interpretation to a Response from EST17
The next 10 stories in my Side Quest: The Copenhagen Interpretation by Paul Cornell. A steampunk espionage story, where the great powers have learned to fold space-time. The Invasion of Venus by Stephen Baxter. Two alien species fight a war in our solar system, but ignore Earth. This could have been a nice flash fiction, but instead […]
Side Quest: from The Choice to The Ice Owl
This is the first post in my Side Quest, where I read collections of the “best” sci-fi/fantasy stories from 2011. Here’s my take on the first 10 stories: The Choice by Paul McAuley. While Paul McAuley would appear to be a mild-mannered author, apparently at night he fights crime as CAPTAIN INFODUMP. Seriously, if you […]
Side Quest
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I sent myself on a magazine quest to find the best SFF magazine, and ultimately subscribe to it. When I began my quest, I thought I’d review a dozen magazines. I’ve already reviewed 32 magazines here, and I’ve discovered so many others that […]
Planetary Defense Command 