For this issue we offer a split review: Chuck Rothman & Victoria Silverwolf each review half of the stories.
Fantasy & Science Fiction, September/October 2023
“Shining Shores” by Max Firehammer
“Bayanihan” by Maricar Macario
“Sort Code” by Chris Barnham
“What We Found in The Forest” by Phoebe Wood
“Mixtapes From Neptune” by Karter Mycroft
“To Pluck a Twisted String” by Anne Leonard
“My Embroidery Stitches Are Me” by A Humphrey Lanham
“Teatro Anatomico” by Getty Hesse
“Three Sisters Syzygy” by Christopher Mark Rose
“Upstairs” by Tessa Yang
“Night Haul” by Andrew Crowley
“On the Matter of Homo sapiens” by Kel Coleman
“Sugar Steak” by Jenny Kiefer
“Growths” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
“If I Should Fall Behind” by Douglas Smith
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“Shining Shores” by Max Firehammer
“Bayanihan” by Maricar Macario
“Sort Code” by Chris Barnham
“What We Found in The Forest” by Phoebe Wood
“Mixtapes From Neptune” by Karter Mycroft
“To Pluck a Twisted String” by Anne Leonard
“My Embroidery Stitches Are Me” by A Humphrey Lanham
“Teatro Anatomico” by Getty Hesse
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
“Shining Shores,” Max Firehammer’s novelette, takes us to the title town, a little seaside village. Lissa Grant, who often visited in the summer as a child, goes there to find her friend, Paul Kelly, who was staying there, but has not been heard from in a while. She sees some disturbing sights as she explores the town, leading to a discovery of a form of evil. The horror element is very well done and Lissa is a strongly drawn character. My only quibble is that the ending is something of a horror fiction cliché, but it doesn’t detract from an otherwise fine story.
Another novelette is Maricar Macario’s “Bayanihan,” which follows the life of a character who moves to Mars with her family. It focuses on the disorientation of moving to a different place and the issues of being an outsider. It ends up a series of small incidents and moods more than any actual narrative. Nice characterization, but well-traveled ground.
“Sort Code” by Chris Barnham has a character who has become unstuck in time, finding himself in different time periods. The one thing in common is Juliet, a woman whose car he seems to have crashed into. They return to the scene of the accident after each time period but then find themselves back in a different bit of the past. I liked the concept and the characters, but it seemed too familiar overall.
Phoebe Wood contributes “What We Found in The Forest,” a bit of flash fiction about two women walking into the forest and forming a relationship. It is something of a coming-of-age story. It’s hard to do much in the short length, so it concentrates on a mood instead of story.
“Mixtapes from Neptune” is flash fiction about someone exploring the deep oceans on Neptune and writing to a lover about what they found there, each section referring to a song. Karter Mycroft gives some vivid imagery, but it doesn’t really amount to much other than description. There seems to be an underlying story, but it doesn’t pay off.
“To Pluck a Twisted String” by Anne Leonard is also flash fiction from the point of view of a mother whose son aspired to be an artist, and who moved to Glass City to learn. He was sent back a failure, with no reason why, and later brought back as a criminal, again with no reason. She goes to figure out why. It manages to be affecting in its short length.
It’s another flash fiction piece with A Humphrey Lanham’s “My Embroidery Stitches Are Me” where the narrator has embroidery stitches on her skin and their reaction to them. It works as a metaphor for their life, I suppose, but there’s not a lot here.
“Teatro Anatomico” by Getty Hesse is set in Renaissance Venice, where a doctor does dissections of dead people for entertainment. The doctor’s daughter takes part and begins to take an interest in one of the corpses, who goes back at night and returns the body parts, which starts the dead man talking to her as a way for her to escape. Creepy setting but other than mood, there’s not much to offer.
Some thoughts: all these authors here were appearing in the magazine for the first time (some had appeared elsewhere) and it’s unusual to see so many at once. Also, there is a lack of lightness or humor; perhaps the other stories in the issue supply some of this.
Chuck Rothman’s flash fiction story, “Pot,” will soon be appearing in the PodCastle podcast. His novels are available from Fantastic Books.
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“Three Sisters Syzygy” by Christopher Mark Rose
“Upstairs” by Tessa Yang
“Night Haul” by Andrew Crowley
“On the Matter of Homo sapiens” by Kel Coleman
“Sugar Steak” by Jenny Kiefer
“Growths” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
“If I Should Fall Behind” by Douglas Smith
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Ranging from gruesome horror to quiet domestic drama, the stories in this issue offer a wide variety of moods to suit almost any taste.
In “Three Sisters Syzygy” by Christopher Mark Rose, an astronaut suddenly finds herself in a parallel reality in which Earth has three moons, and she has two sisters that did not exist in her own universe. The three siblings have wild adventures in space, culminating in an extraordinary climax.
I have avoided describing what happens to the sisters, because even a sketchy synopsis would require several paragraphs. Suffice to say that the author throws in multiple speculative themes, from the discovery of alien life to space pirates. The initial premise of alternate realities is interesting, and the characters are appealing, but I found the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plot overwhelming, and my credibility strained to the breaking point.
The main character in “Upstairs” by Tessaa Yang, her wife, and their young son are fortunate enough to win a place in the luxurious part of the city that looms high above the less desirable lower area. The story takes place at a time when meat is illegal, but is commonly available through the black market. The protagonist used to participate in this criminal activity, and is blackmailed into supplying meat to the residents of the upper city. A crisis threatens to expose her illegal actions, with the possibility of forcing her family to return to the lower city.
The author creates a believable future world with convincing detail. The main character is flawed, yet sympathetic. She makes a choice that is the lesser of two evils, which is unusually believable for a science fiction story. The narrative avoids melodrama, but the deceptively calm ending offers much to ponder.
In “Night Haul” by Andrew Crowley, a truck driver accepts an assignment to transport an unknown cargo to a place of mysterious, frightening darkness. A conversation with another trucker over CB radio reveals the dreadful truth about what he’s carrying, leading to a desperate battle against evil.
This is an effectively creepy horror story, with a constant mood of impending doom. I found the ending disappointing, but some readers may think it appropriate.
“On the Matter of Homo sapiens” by Kel Coleman features three very different robots searching for artifacts of humanity long after people have become extinct. They discuss the possibility of recreating the species, leading to a revelation on the part of one of the machines.
Although not openly comic, this is a light piece with a very simple plot. Although hardly profound, this brief bagatelle offers pleasant nonhuman characters.
“Sugar Steak” by Jenny Kiefer is a surreal horror story in which a woman eats the meat mentioned in the title at a mysterious restaurant that appears to have been closed for a very long time when she returns. Various objects come out of her mouth, and her teeth undergo a bizarre transformation, although a dentist denies that anything is wrong.
This weird tale of body horror is full of unnerving images, which appears to be the intent. The climax is less original than the rest of the story, and readers are likely to predict it.
In “Growths” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, a little girl has two extra arms that she must keep hidden. She and her mother meet the child’s strange father at a restaurant, where they discuss what should be done about her additional limbs before she enters school and is unable to hide them.
Although the exact nature of the father is not made explicit, the story has the feeling of science fiction rather than fantasy. What might have been a grotesque or ludicrous premise is treated in a realistic manner. The author’s ability to convincingly portray the psychology of a very young child adds verisimilitude to this quietly effective slice of life.
The main character in “If I Should Fall Behind” by Douglas Smith has the ability to shift into alternate realities. He uses this power in order to escape mysterious pursuers out to kill him and the woman he loves. His ability threatens the stability of all universes, forcing him to make a terrible decision.
The story has great emotional appeal and the plight of the two lovers is sure to touch the reader’s heart. The author is very fond of creating new words through the use of hyphens, such as “beauty-much” to describe the woman. I found this to be an affectation, and it is used so frequently that it becomes an annoyance in an otherwise powerful tale.
Victoria Silverwolf hasn’t reviewed half a magazine before.