Editor’s Note for the November-December Issue
Tags: Issue Contents
David A. Hardy’s cover art illustrates “Skipping Stones in the Dark” by Amman Sabet, a generation ship story that follows an AI’s attempt to provide continuity and maintain social cohesion beyond its original crew. In all, this issue brings you ten new stories, three poems, and all our usual columns and features. Three writers make their first appearance in the magazine.
You can buy single copies of this issue:
* Paper copies directly from us: from our website
* Electronic copies from Weightless Books
And if you’d like to support the magazine and the work we do, please consider subscribing.
* Paper subscriptions: https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/subscribe.htm
* Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZFZ4O8/
* Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004ZFZ4O8/
* Weightless Books, every format, worldwide: https://weightlessbooks.com/category/publisher/spilogale-inc/
“The Bahrain Underground Bazaar” by Nadia Afifi
Bahrain’s Central Bazaar comes to life at night. Lights dance above the narrow passageways, illuminating the stalls with their spices, sacks of lentils, ornate carpets, and trinkets. Other stalls hawk more modern fare, NeuroLync implants and legally ambiguous drones. The scent of cumin and charred meat fills my nostrils. My stomach twists in response. Chemo hasn’t been kind to me.
“La Regina Ratto” by Nick DiChario
Giuseppe spent the first night in his new apartment trying to sleep through the scratching and scuttling noises of small creatures. When he rose the next morning, he saw three rats standing on their hind legs in his kitchen, gazing up at him like shiny-eyed children. “”
“How to Burn Down the Hinterlands” by Lyndsie Manusos
Begin with rage. Begin with the memory of your mother. Her smell, her sounds, her silhouette against the fire. Remember the way she was dragged from your home, taken because she had reached too high, her ambition deemed too great. Because she forged a weapon she shouldn’t have. Remember their promise: that the world would be saved. That this sacrifice was for the greater good. One woman versus the entire kingdom. Was that not an obvious choice? Remember snarling, spitting, and crying in the arms of bigger, lesser men.
“The Glooms” by Matthew Hughes
As Baldemar sculled the little skiff toward the jetty, he thought he saw a figure he recognized, though for the man to be present here in Golathreon was improbable. But the westering sun, down low on the waters of the Sundering Sea, made the gentle waves flash with gold, and all resolution was lost in the auric glare.
“A Tale of Two Witches” by Albert E. Cowdrey
After speaking with the sheriff, Rosie Merckel decided she’d better make a pit stop on the way out of his HQ.
“Wouldn’t want to have to go in that house,” she muttered.
“A Civilized and Orderly Zombie Apocalypse Per School Regulations” by Sarina Dorie
For the last twenty years, my school district has been enforcing mandatory A.L.I.C.E. training drills in case we ever need to safely respond to an emergency, such as intruders, school shootings, or irate parents. I doubt our district ever imagined my sixth-grade class would need to use our training to respond to a zombie apocalypse.
“The Homestake Project” by Cylin Busby
Just after dawn, I drove my rental the three miles from the motel to the Homestake Mine. It was hard to miss, the rolled, dark earth that gave the Black Hills their name, churned and piled at the base of the mountains. I parked the Ford among all the other strictly American cars and made my way into the office.
“On Vapor, Which the Night Condenses” by Gregor Hartmann
The five-armed sea star looked like a toy. It was made of a soft, pliant material with no sharp edges, in happy eye-catching colors that would delight a child. Lying on a workbench, it begged to be touched. Philippa Song thought it was the most adorable murder weapon she’d ever encountered.
“The Silent Partner” by Theodore McCombs
He found something less than a mouse on Mrs. Fowler’s stone front porch as he climbed her stoop to ring the bell. Just the head, worked over by fine cat teeth, and a gristly tuft of throat and dusky belly. Some neighborhood feral was taking good care of the old woman, evidently. He lingered with one foot on the stoop, a little too interested. He bent carefully, wrapped the mouse head in a used tissue, and pocketed it. Then he knocked on the door.
“Skipping Stones in the Dark” by Amman Sabet
The Fold was my embarking name, but there’s nowhere else to set foot anymore. No other starships. So one imagines the pointlessness of a distinct name.
Coursing the black, my humans give birth, grow old, and die within me. They mark distance using the voyage, mark time by how fast a ray of light completes it. The meter and the hour are things of the past, for Earth was left behind many generations ago. They only have each other now. And me.
We hope you’ll share your thoughts about the issue with us. We can be found on:
Enjoy!
C.C. Finlay, Editor
Fantasy & Science Fiction
fandsf.com | @fandsf
November/December
72nd Year of Publication
The Bahrain Underground Bazaar – Nadia Afifi
La Regina Ratto – Nick DiChario
How to Burn Down the Hinterlands – Lyndsie Manusos
The Glooms – Matthew Hughes
A Tale of Two Witches- Albert E. Cowdrey
A Civilized and Orderly Zombie Apocalypse Per School Regulations – Sarina Dorie
The Homestake Project – Cylin Busby
On Vapor, Which the Night Condenses – Gregor Hartmann
The Silent Partner – Theodore McCombs
Skipping Stones in the Dark – Amman Sabet
Least Weird Thing of All – Beth Cato
Mended – Mary Soon Lee
Space Isn’t Like in the Vids – Beth Cato
Books to Look For – Charles de Lint
Musing on Books – Michelle West
Films: Three Degrees of Shirley Jackson – David J. Skal
Science: Is Math Real? – Jerry Oltion
Competition #100
Coming Attractions
Index to Volumes 138 & 139
Curiosities – Paul Di Filippo
Cartoons: Mark Heath, Kendra Allenby, Bill Long
Cover: David A. Hardy for “Skipping Stones in the Dark”
comments