"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.

"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 Kewlest Thing of All", David Ira Cleary

NT ASFM Mar 2006 - science fiction
<<- Asimov's Science Fiction Mar 2006 cover by J.K. Potter for "The Kewlest Thing of All"
Genuinely cool girl Bonny Brood, who has a videophone embedded in her palm and browser windows across her skin, is guerilla marketing "kewlness" to fat and uncool Katelyn Sayed. Bonny is blocking Katelyn from being branded by corporation Steward International for this guy Terrence. The setting is a future San Francisco after melt waters flood the city.

This seems like updated cyberpunk. It humorously includes a girl on girl crush. The ending confounded me somewhat, but I'd recommend this novelette.

"Planet of Mystery", Terry Bisson

NV F&SF Jan 2006/Feb 2006
pulp fiction sci-fi
<<- F&SF Jan 2006 cover by Max Bertolini for "Planet of Mystery"

A manned space mission to the planet Venus improbably discovers a cool surface and breathable air on Venus. Astronauts Aeneas Hall and Lu-Hsun Chang are captured by amazon women riding centaurs. Lost robotic lander RB1011, or Robbie, has gained sentience. Chang falls in love with Queen of the Amazons Sha-Nee-La. After Hall reports seeing a flying saucer, orbital pilot Collins says that she considers the UFO more plausible than the centaurs and amazons because it's more scientific.

This is a lightweight tale that pokes fun at the ridiculousness of some old time sci-fi. Mission Control is mentioned as Houston and Burroughs (Mars). This novella was serialized. Part one is in the January 2006 F&SF issue, part two in the February issue.