The issue’s lead is a novelette: “Memorials” by Aliette de Bodard. Anticolonial theme, part of a series of stories sharing a setting. Addresses some of the ideas in Leah Cypress’s “What We Ourselves Are Not,” in the September 2013 issue: … Continue reading →
The December 2013 issue of Asimov’s came while I was at GenCon, so my reading and review of it was lost in the shuffle. Now that I hold the January 2014 issue, it only seems fitting that I clear … Continue reading →
Shelia Finch’s “A Very Small Dispensation” threw me dramatically back from the distant futures of “Memories of Earth” and “When the Rain Comin,” and the nearer futures of “Grounded” and “Adventures in Cognitive Homogamy” to the late 19th and … Continue reading →
I debated ceasing these Asimov’s reviews, now that I’ve had a story appear in Escape Pod. Every issue there’s a story, or two, that doesn’t work for me, and I have zero interest in dickishly bad-mouthing the work of others. … Continue reading →
Has it been a year since I started doing this? Dang, man, time passes. I’d like to think I’m getting better at articulating why I like some stories better than others, but who knows? Also, I think I’ve finally gotten … Continue reading →
Man, dates! Here we are just past summer’s true and proper beginning, and already the next issue of Asimov’s promised me is the September issue, to be followed by the October/November double issue. The 2012 Oct/Nov double issue, of course, … Continue reading →
Picking up from yesterday with the second half of this issue. The TL;DR verdict is that it’s a pretty okay issue, not as good as the June issue but the June issue was really stellar. Gray Rinehart asks What is … Continue reading →
After what felt like an interminable wait, Asimov’s for July 2013 arrived in my mailbox last week. I’m sure you’re dying to know my thoughts, and how many adjectives I squeeze in. Halotype 1402, by Ted Kosmata, runs ~11 page, … Continue reading →
Another issue of Asimov’s! Join me, won’t we? This issue starts off solidly, with “The Fountain,” by G. David Nordley (~16.5 pages, first person past tense). In a distant future with a plentitude of intelligent species but no FTL travel, … Continue reading →
Ken Liu’s “the Oracle” (third person past tense, ~8.5 pages) similarly presents the social change from a major invention through someone whose life is severely impacted, even ruined, by it. Here, though, the focus is strictly on the personal. On … Continue reading →
