Magazine Review: FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION September/October 2016

By pghhead -

      from the Goodreads website . . . . . . . .

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sepember/October 2016

by C.C. Finlay (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Geoff Ryman (Contributor), Sarah Pinsker (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Desirina Boskovich (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Ian Creasey (Contributor), Lisa Mason (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Leah Cypess (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Steven Popkes (Contributor) , more…
really liked it 4.0  ·   Rating Details ·  9 Ratings  ·  4 Reviews                                                            
Volume 131, Nos 3 & 4, Whole no. 727
Contents:
Geoff Ryman - Those Shadows Laugh31819406Sarah Pinsker - Talking to Dead People
Peter S. Beagle - The Green-Eyed Boy
Desirina Boskovich - The Voice in the Cornfield, The Word Made Flesh
Ian Creasey - A Melancholy Apparition
Lisa Mason - Anything for You
Leah Cypess - Cupid's Compass
Steven Popkes - The Sweet Warm Earth
Kristine Kathryn Rusch - The Amazing Mr. Gerrold
David Gerrold - The Further Adventures of Mr. Costello
David Gerrold - The Dunsmuir Horror
David Gerrold - My Life in Science Fiction
Aimee Ogden - The Dragon
Robert Eldridge - Curiosities (less)
Paperback, 258 pages
Published September 2016 by Spilogale, Inc. (first published August 23rd 2016)
 

our review of the issue . . . . . . . .

     There's a lot to enjoy in this issue. At $7.99 it's a good value for readers. It presents some convincing evidence for supporting this on a monthly basis, as there just aren't many genre print magazines like this still around. 
     It's been several years since I have read F&SF, and I now understand why Fantasy precedes Science-Fiction in the title. The overall themes of these stories are fantasy, some with more science-fictional elements included. 
     The reason I picked this up was the cover noting this as a special David Gerrold issue. Love the story how a young college student sold a Star Trek script ("The Trouble With Tribbles") that became a favorite and launched a writing career that continues to this day. There's a tribute to Gerrold by Kristine Kathryn Rusch as well as an amusing and humble article by Gerrold about "My Life In Science Fiction." There are also two long and worthwhile new stories by Gerrold, who takes an iconic Theodore Sturgeon character and adds to his story in "The Further Adventures of Mr. Costello." I love how it ends. Even better is "The Dunsmuir Horror", a stream-of-consciousness rant-like narrative written as a letter to Gordon Van Gelder, long-time former editor of F&SF.
     Along with some book and film reviews, seven other short stories round out this issue, as well as a longer novelet, "Those Shadows Laugh" by Geoff Ryman, a touching love story that modernizes an older serial about an isolated civilization of women who reproduce by parthenogenesis. Peter S. Beagle returns to the world of The Last Unicorn in "The Green-Eyed Boy", a prequel of sorts. There is good work from Sarah Pinsker, Desiring Boskovih, Ian Creasey and Lisa Mason. 
     My favorite story in the issue (aside from the Gerrold pieces) is "The Sweet Warm Earth" by Steven Popkes, a heart-warming tale of 1960's crime, loan sharks, enforcers and horse races with a light fantastic element woven in. Runner-up is "Cupid's Compass" by Leah Cypress where neuroscience partners up with dating services to make marriages made in heaven (perhaps). 
 
 
 


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