"Strangers on a Bus", Jack Skillingstead

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) December 2007 - science fiction
A man named Neil strikes up a conversation with a woman called Freya on a Greyhound bus. He tells her that he sees stories in the faces of strangers, embellishes them, and the people become what he makes up. She isn't sure what to think, but she's got to admit that he knows way too much about her life.

An interesting story, although it sort of made me think of The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin. If I was this woman, I doubt that I would have remained calmly nearby to hear the entirety of this man's tale.

"do [this]", Stephen Graham Jones

SS ASFM (Asimov's Science Fiction) December 2007 - science fiction
Over dinner, Leo's dad conjectures about testing for consciousness through language. Leo would have totally ignored his dad if he didn't have an assignment on a similar subject. Later, in his room, Leo processes function loops on his computer for his paper and gets strange results.

A rather cryptically told tale from the viewpoint of two nerds. Some readers may enjoy following these trains of thought. I think I liked this story better in hindsight.

"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.