Monthly Archives: May 2011

Ken Liu’s Paper Menagerie

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

There’s not a lot I can add to Mondy’s review of this story, however I’m going to try anyway. This story has made me cry every time I read it. I read it once, fast, and wept and wept. Next … Continue reading →

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Analog – May 2011

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

Ian McHugh’s Boumee and the Apes was by far the strongest piece in the May issue of Analog.  The first encounter between a clan of intelligent elephants (or mammoths) and apes doesn’t go well when one of the clan is … Continue reading →

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Oltion, Valentine, Beukes

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

A few stories I’ve enjoyed over the last little while: Jerry Oltion, “Taboo,” March Analog. ‘Enjoy’ is the wrong word for my overall experience of this story. Oltion makes quite a creepy and disturbing tale out of a future where a … Continue reading →

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How do I get to Bordertown?

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

I had not heard of the shared-world of Bordertown before this book crossed my Last Short Story desk. It’s a wonderfully rich arena for such a venture; there are, I think, two other anthologies of short stories set in this … Continue reading →

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F&SF May / June 2011

Posted on May 18, 2011 by

Before starting this review I did try and think of a jokey way of saying that I’ve come across another Ken Liu story that I love.  But everything I wrote either sounded like I was stalking him or I wanted … Continue reading →

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F&SF and Ken Liu

Posted on May 18, 2011 by

This year I am mostly concentrating on anthologies, because otherwise I will go nuts. However, I’m also reading some magazine stories that my stalwart companions rank particularly highly, or whose authors I cannot bear to pass up. F&SF has, surprisingly for … Continue reading →

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Clantasy

Posted on May 18, 2011 by

I have caught up on Clarkesworld and Fantasy for the year so far! Woohoo! Since everyone else is getting geared up for proper Last Short Story reading now rather than panicking in July like usual (I don’t count Mondy, starry … Continue reading →

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David Bowie would be so proud

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

Another anthology from the prolific Jonathan Strahan, Life on Mars invited authors to consider just that topic. A range of approaches has resulted in this collection, from stories dealing with the initial landing on and colonising of Mars, through to … Continue reading →

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All bite and no bark

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

As a general rule, I don’t do vampires. I never got into Buffy or Angel. So the fact that I liked – really liked – some stories in Teeth? That’s quite remarkable. The editors (Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling) asked … Continue reading →

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Nightsiders

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

Nightsiders is the first anthology of the Twelve Planets series, a set of twelve collections being put out by Alisa Krasnostein at Twelfth Planet Press. Each of the collections will consist of four short stories. This one, by Sue Isle, features stories that … Continue reading →

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