"Finisterra", David Moles

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 – science fantasy
<<- F&SF Dec 2007 cover by Cory and Catska Ench for "Finisterra"

Bianca Nazario y Arenas, daughter in a family of aeronautical engineers, takes a job on Sky, a gas-giant world featuring an archipelago of island-sized floating creatures called zaratán. Thousands of people live and farm on top of the humongous zaratán named Finisterra. Bianca's employer Valadez, and his spidery, alien, firija associates, are butchering zaratanes for their skin and bones, despite the fact that the Concilium considers zaratanes a protected species.

This is a story has a memorable setting. The characters speak Spanish and Arabic, which is nicely different. Yet it's a bit hard to believe that someone like Bianca would take this job, even to escape her surprisingly patriarchal society on Earth. I would have liked to read more about the wondrous aspects of Sky.

"The Bone Man", Frederic S. Durbin

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 – dark fantasy
A creepy man called Conlin is sidetracked to a small American town with a strangely unmemorable name. It happens to be the day of the Hallowe’en Parade which features the Bone Man, a dancing skeleton. Apparently not everyone can see the Bone Man.

This story depicts its setting well. The protagonist's unsettling past is revealed. The ending takes a decidedly dark turn.

"Cold Comfort", Ray Vukcevich

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) July 2007 - science fiction
A freezer which is an artificial intelligence calls security / maintenance on a Holiday. They have a nice chat.

A cute, quirky story. It's only about three pages long.

"Stray", Benjamin Rosenbaum and David Ackert

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 - fantasy
In the era of FDR, Ivan, a down and out immortal, is found by a Muriel, a colored doctor's daughter. For her, Ivan becomes a light-skinned black man. They marry and Ivan works to fit into Muriel's world. Then, in a cemetery, Ivan meets crying white girl.

This story seems profound, but I'm a bit fuzzy about the point it's trying to make. Sure, there's the race issue. My guess is that this story is about making people like you.

"Transformations", David Barr Kirtley

SS RoF (Realms of Fantasy) December 2007 – science fantasy
<<- Realms of Fantasy December 2007 interior illustration by Rob Johnson for "Transformations"
Carrus, disguised as a red sports car, meets a boy named Alex. Carrus is a robotic soldier assigned to Earth on a covert mission during a space war. Alex likes Carrus because he is an awesome talking car that can transform himself into a huge robotic infantryman. Lonely Carrus makes a friend whom he visits over a period of years.

Alex as a young boy, teenager, and middle-aged man gets to play with a really cool car that only he knows about. This isn't a first contact or robot war story, it's more or less a guy's automotive fantasy dream. Sort of fun.

"Who Brought Tulips to the Moon?", S.L. Gilbow

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 - science fiction
Healthy ninety-four year old Mr. Hudson is taken to the moon by his always in a rush daughter Laura Severs and her husband Danny. On the way to Smooth Passing, a company that helps you pass away, Mr. Hudson accidentally knocks over an old woman. Later, he goes out of his way to apologize to the woman and they chat over drinks. The tulips mentioned in the title are displayed with the funeral urns.

Sort of a sad story. The author evokes resignation to fate well. There's a nice twist ending.

"Osama Phone Home", David Marusek

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 - science fiction
Angry that the U.S. Government did not capture Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora, a group of friends form a secret organization to help bring bin Laden to justice. They are deadly serious in their mission. Their Project Phone Home involves a truth serum drug dubbed True Confessions, genetically modified ragweed, voiceprint recognition traps, and cheap prepaid cell phones.

This is a suspenseful present-day story involving spooky but not impossible sounding technologies. It was originally published earlier in 2007 in MIT's Technology Review magazine.

"Hot Water", Richard Parks

SS RoF (Realms of Fantasy) December 2007 - fantasy
Lord Yamada is taken to a small Buddhist temple in the mountains to dry out after a bout of hard drinking. An angry, female, so-called demon is messing with temple's hot spring water. Young monk Hoshi fears he knows why this is happening.

Not memorably profound, but a pleasant little tale.

"The White Isle", Von Carr

SS RoF (Realms of Fantasy) December 2007 – fairy tale
<<- Realms of Fantasy December 2007 interior illustration by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law for "The White Isle"
A witchgirl lives alone on an island in a white tower. She has a shoebox of fingernails to sink ships with. When a second shipwrecked man washes up her island’s shore, she helps him and saves his life. The man, a son of a rich merchant, signals a passing ship and convinces the captain to take him and the witchgirl, whom he loves, to the mainland.

This is a story of why you might not want to bring home exotic people from faraway places. The witchgirl is interestingly not human. The purposely unexplained magic makes this a fairy tale.

"Don't Ask", M. Rickert

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) December 2007 – fantasy
The lost boys were stolen from their everyday modern lives. After they are found, they are not only older but different. Don't ask, but they've been running with the wolves.

A poignant short story about mothers trying to undue what happened to their boys, hoping to find the boys they lost.

"Still Point", Graham Edwards

SS RoF (Realms of Fantasy) December 2007 – fantasy
A struggling private investigator; a behemoth in a labyrinth; a police captain existing outside time; an angelic chaperone; a creepy landlord; and The Still Point of the Turning World.

This story is overstuffed with odd details, along with some humor and some gore. The characters are rather flat. The plot was a bit too convoluted to truly work.

"Bullet Dance", John Schoffstall

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) May 2007 - modern-day fantasy
Clio is the young daughter of an embassy official in Cairo. She claimed that she could dodge bullets. Others put this down as childish imagination. Even Clio herself, years later, thought her lessons were daydreams, until she needed to bullet dance.

This is a story where modern day issues intersect with unexplained fantasy. It's different, in a good way.

2007 Hugo Awards (fiction categories)

Best Novel: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge [Tor, 2006]

Best Novella: "A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed [Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2006]

Best Novelette: "The Djinn’s Wife" by Ian McDonald [Asimov’s July 2006]

Best Short Story: "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt [Asimov’s July 2006]

"Lord Weary's Empire", Michael Swanwick

NV ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) December 2006 - science fantasy
Will escapes his pursuers into the underground infrastructure of Babel. There he encounters the high-elf Lord Weary and his small Army of Night, and defeats their champion Bonecrusher in combat. Will becomes the new champion and takes residence in their subterranean shantytown. As flamboyant Captain Jack Riddle, Will defeats the Breakneck Boys and becomes a hero. He leads a raid to capture some underground horses. Lord Weary, perhaps unwisely, starts a war.

The protagonist, Will, experiences an adventure with grungy fey folk in the underground. In the end, nothing is truly changed. This story is a roundabout trip to nowhere, with some dark techno-fantasy scenery along the way.

"Inclination", William Shunn

NV ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) April/May 2006 – science fiction
Young Jude Plane takes a job outside the safety his Machinist Quarter on Netherview Space Station. His people live simply and worship the Builder, a religion that seems a mix of engineering and Christianity. On the space docks Jude works with the Sculpted, who are people that have been physically modified in various ways. What Jude learns challenges his previous views.

Maybe I had problems relating to this teenage boy's issues. I couldn't really get into this story, although there were some interesting bits.

"All the Things You Are", Mike Resnick

NT Jim Baen's Universe October 2006 - science fiction
A man saves a girl by confronting armed robbers and is mortally wounded. This wasn't the first time he put himself in such danger. Another man had repeatedly risked his life playing the hero too. A spaceport security man learns that both men saw service in the Patrukan War on the deserted planet of Nikita. What affected the battle survivors on Nikita? The security man travels lightyears on his vacation to find out.

This is a readable story, but, in my opinion, hardly groundbreaking. Plus, if you know something is an illusion, even if it's a pleasant illusion, why would you fall for it?

"Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth", Michael F. Flynn

NT ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) October/November 2006 – science fiction
One morning a ferry heading from Seattle to Bremerton mysteriously vanishes into the fog with nearly a thousand people aboard. No wreckage is found and eyewitnesses and radar report anomalous circumstances at the time of the ferry's disappearance. This story tells how some people are affected by this tragedy and what scientists determine happened.

This is an interesting, readable novelette. I could have done with more admirable bereaved folks and less about adultery, though. I particularly liked the viewpoints of the fisherman and The Adventure Club and the realistically kooky Internet postings.

"The House Beyond Your Sky", Benjamin Rosenbaum

SS Strange Horizons September 4, 2006 – science fantasy)
A powerful yet compassionate priest called Matthias has a library that contains worlds such as our own. He is building a bubble universe behind his house. A pilgrim from far away, one of the ancient ones, visits Matthias and wants to become ubiquitous in Matthias's new universe. Matthias hides his keys from the pilgrim.

I found this short story rather odd, and I couldn't get into it. The plot line in the world like ours, with its scenes of domestic violence, was a bit unsettling. I guess I'll give brownie points to the author for writing something different -- a tale about God-like universe-spanning beings -- and for some clever phrases.

"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)", Geoff Ryman

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) October/November 2006 - fantasy
This fantasy tale is set in a time like today in Phnom Penh in Cambodia. According to the author "this is a completely untrue story about someone who must exist." The story is about a rich young woman named Sith, who is Pol Pot's daughter. She lives an eccentric, narrow life trying to avoid unpleasantness. Sith falls in love with Dara, a young salesman working at a mobile phone shop. Sith is afraid to admit who she is. Sith is haunted by ghosts with no one to mourn them that call on her cell phones, and whose faces appear on her photocopier.

An exotic, colorful, (dare I say) haunting novelette. I enjoy tales with modern day ghosts. I was very impressed with this story. A very worthy Hugo award nominee.

"Eight Episodes", Robert Reed

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) June 2006 - science fiction
In 2016, a series called Invasion of a Small World debuted. It was poorly promoted, and had only adequate production values, unglamorous characters, and sloppy dialog. The series was cancelled after the fifth episode. But months later the final three episodes create a buzz by showing planetary vistas and a Permian ecosystem. Who was behind this series, who sent it?

This short story may present a more realistic view of life in the wide universe, but it lacks something in fun. Some of the golden age sci-fi genre tropes are near impossibilities, but why discourage us from reaching for the stars?

"Kin", Bruce McAllister

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) February 2006 - science fiction
<<- Asimov's Science Fiction February 2006 cover by Dominic Harman for "Kin"
In an overpopulated California of the future, a twelve-year old boy named Kim Tuckey-Yatsen wants a man killed because he is going to kill his sister. At a local tourist spot, the boy handed out notes. A scary, dangerous Antalou alien answers the boy's note. Seems the intelligent boy knows much about the Antalou. The boy's case strikes a chord with the alien, even though what little money the boy can offer is not worth a kill. The boy understands the alien better than either imagined.

This is a memorable science fiction short story. An unusual way to bend regulations, and a neat way to make a bureaucrat think. Plus five years later, a nice added bit for the boy.

"The Bible Repairman", Tim Powers

SS anthology (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year edited by Jonathan Strahan) - fantasy
Mr. Torrez does Bible repair by scorching out verses his customers find intolerable then re-sanctifying the book with holy water. He conducts ransom negotiations for stolen ghosts by offering some of his blood and his soul. His own dead daughter's ghost was kidnapped and was used as TV channel-changer. There are broken souls and urban magic.

This is a story filled with intriguing ideas. I recommend this story for that alone. It's like magic realism, but taken multiple steps from reality. But since the situations are really out there, and this isn't a long story, it was sometimes hard to put myself in the character's shoes. Nonetheless, an interesting tale.

"How to Talk to Girls at Parties", Neil Gaiman

SS story collection (Fragile Things) - science fantasy
Two English teenage boys -- one is outgoing, the other, the narrator, is shy about talking to girls – head off to a party, but they forget to bring the directions. They find a party, but girl they know isn't there. The girl who meets them at the door is very beautiful. Turns out it's a different party entirely, and the girls at the party are quite different indeed.

A charming story. Gaiman wisely doesn't try to explain or describe things entirely, and that helps to make the story work.

2006 Asimov's Science Fiction's Readers' Awards

Best Novella: "The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko
Best Novelette: "Yellow Card Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Best Short Story: "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
Best Poem: "Remembering the Future" by Darrell Schweitzer
Best Cover Artist: J.K. Potter

2007 Hugo Awards nominees for novella

"A Billion Eves", Robert Reed (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2006)
"Inclination", William Shunn (Asimov's Apr/May 2006)
Julian: A Christmas Story, Robert Charles Wilson (PS Publishing)
"Lord Weary's Empire", Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Dec 2006)
"The Walls of the Universe", Paul Melko (Asimov's Apr/May 2006)

2007 Hugo Awards nominees for novelette

"All the Things You Are", Mike Resnick (Jim Baen's Universe Oct 2006)
"Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth", Michael F. Flynn (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2006)
"The Djinn's Wife", Ian McDonald (Asimov's Jul 2006)
"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)", Geoff Ryman (F&SF Oct 2006)
"Yellow Card Man", Paolo Bacigalupi (Asimov's Dec 2006)

2007 Hugo Awards nominees for short story

"Eight Episodes", Robert Reed (Asimov's Jun 2006)
"The House Beyond Your Sky", Benjamin Rosenbaum (Strange Horizons Sep 2006)
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties", Neil Gaiman (Fragile Things)
"Impossible Dreams", Tim Pratt (Asimov's Jul 2006)
"Kin", Bruce McAllister (Asimov's Feb 2006)

"The Djinn's Wife", Ian McDonald

NT ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) JULY 2006 - science fiction
In the near-future in Delhi India, young female dancer Esha meets a handsome admirer who appears out of nowhere, like a djinn. He is the diplomat A.J. Rao, an artificial intelligence or aeai. That he spends time with her is noticed by government Inspector Thacker, a so-called Krishna cop. When Esha marries A.J. Rao she becomes a tabloid celebrity. But soon her husband's differences begin to annoy Esha.

A clever, well-written story set in an exotic future. Includes an interestingly different love scene. This story shares the same background as McDonald's story "The Little Goddess".

"The Small Astral Object Genius", James Van Pelt

SS ASFM (Asimov’s Science Fiction) OCT/NOV 2006 - science fiction
Can a Peek-a-boo, a small plastic device using AA batteries, take a photograph light years away and return instantaneously? Young obsessive teenage boy Dustin sends his Peek-a-boo out over and over again to take pictures of the stars, hoping to contribute to man's knowledge of the universe. Meanwhile his parents are heading towards a divorce.

A good forward-looking science fiction story set in the near future with well-drawn characters.

"Home Movies", Mary Rosenblum

NT ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) APR/May 2006 - science fiction/romance
Kayla is hired to record a family wedding, week-long reunion for an old woman who is a Mars Colony administrator. Kayla is more than a cameraman, she is what is called a chameleon. She takes a nano that records vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. After the job she downloads her recording and loses all memory of it. The old woman who wants the wedding covered is especially interested in one of her extended family, a handsome young man named Ethan.

The science fiction background is mainly a framework for a what ends up being a love story. A pleasant tale.

"The Age of Ice", Liz Williams

SS ASFM (Asimov’s Science Fiction) Apr/May 2006 – science fiction
On Mars in the far-future, The Matriarchy of Caud is preparing for war with Winterstike. Hestia Memar of Winterstrike is furtively searching the destroyed library of Caud for rumored information. The story includes a flayed warrior, scissor-women, and weird haunt-tech.

This short story is packed with ideas. There is technology I could relate to, and technology not unlike dark fantasy. I wonder if Liz Williams has more fiction set in this world. I liked this.

"Impossible Dreams", Tim Pratt

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) July 2006 - science fcition
Pete discovers a video store from a parallel universe which rents DVDs of movies that were lost in our world or were never actually filmed. Paying for and trying to play a DVD from another universe humourously complicates things. Pete befriends the store clerk who shares his love of movies.

A charming, fun story. I enjoyed it.

I wonder if that store has a copy of the lost 1917 version of Cleopatra starring Theda Bara? (I'm using a picture for Theda Bara for my profile picture.)

"Penultima Thule", Chris Willrich

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) AUG 2006 - fantasy
A thieving couple, Persimmon Gaunt and Imago Bone, take a "cacography" book to the northern rim of their flat world to throw it off the edge. This book, Mashed Rags Bound in Dead Cow, is so magically malicious that reading it is fatal, sort of like Monty Python's Killer Joke. In the far North, Gaunt and Bone encounter Stonekin, Hunger Stones, and Tornarssuk, which are tool-using polar bears.

A strange, but imaginatively strange, fantasy trek. Apparently previous stories have featured these characters.

"Another Word for Map is Faith", Christopher Rowe

SS F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) AUG 2006
In a future very Christian America, a teacher/reverend and her students try to make the world as it was mapped. They are in the wilds of Kentucky. They want to correct a ridge and valley of its so-called sins.

Some interesting details, but I wasn't sure for most of the story where it was going.

"Damascus", Daryl Gregory

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) DEC 2006 - science fiction
This is a story that slowly and interestingly unfolds. It features a disease that CDC is concerned about, a strange communion, and a woman with her own personal Jesus.

"Damascus" is an impressive speculative fiction story which is set in the present day.

"Shambhala", Alex Irvine

NT F&SF (Fantasy & Science Fiction) March 2006 - science fiction
Shambhala is a commercial virtual world, where people move to escape their physical bodies. But now Shambhala is crashing. Mike Chancey and various professional Nerds somewhere on earth, see computer status indicators are going yellow and red and worry about the legal ramifications. Shannon DeWalt, who is in the virt or virtual world, searches for Charon, who is knowledgeable, and sees the apocalypse from the inside.

I like the idea of and many of the details of this story, but the characters didn’t really draw me in.

"Yellow Card Man", Paolo Bacigalupi

NT ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) DEC 2006 – science fiction
Ethnic Chinaman Tranh has lost everything and is merely surviving in the slums of Bangkok. He once ran a shipping business in Malaysia, but his family was killed and his livelihood destroyed. Now he is just another yellow-card refugee without a steady job. But he does have a fine white linen suit. Tranh encounters a rich man whom he once fired.

This story is set in the same future as Bacigalupi's "The Calorie Man", but the science fictional elements aren't as integral to the plot. This is a well-written story, but it's really grim.

"A Dying Fall", Christopher Priest

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) DEC 2006 - fantasy / mainstream
An Englishman falling in front of an oncoming subway train instead of seeing his life pass before his eyes, sees a vision of a highway in Belgium and wonders why. This short story tells of the life of one Marcus Birch, and what was important to him to remember about Belgium.

A good story which held my interest.

"A Soul in a Bottle", Tim Powers

NT - 2006 book from Subterranean Press - fantasy
At Hollywood's Chinese Theater, book trader George Sydney meets a striking red-headed woman. They talk about poetry and then kiss. George longs to see her again. When he does, she literally disappears. George has fallen in love with a ghost. She, he learns, is the poet Cheyenne Fleming, who accidentally shot herself back in 1969. Cheyenne wants George’s help so that she can go back to the past, so she won’t have died.

A colorfully told story, and memorable. George apparently drinks and Cheyenne isn't an angel. This is not your typical ghost story or love story.

"Recognition", Joanne Steinwachs

SS Talebones Spring 2006 - science fiction
Forty years after catastrophe brought on by an alien invasion, elderly Mariah Cho ponders the changes she's seen. Swarm of flying things called Furies destroyed buildings, people and civilization. The survivors fear to congregate. Mariah lives with her deaf teenage grandson Soren. They like enjoy making wonderful things for each other. Soren dares to build arches. A new sort of alien is seen.

An interesting, post-apocalypse story. And it's set in my home state, Colorado.