Asimov’s July 2008
I think the July issue of Asimov’s might still be available on newsstands. Here are my thoughts on the contents. This was a fairly average issue of Asimov’s, which is to say that it was very good.
The Philosopher’s Stone – Brian Stableford – A steampunk story touching on Sir Francis Drake, etherships, alternate history… This novella just is not my style, but it seems to be a fairly decent example of the genre. The writer tells an interesting story and sketches out a protagonist that seems “real” (if not memorable). Several of the supporting characters lacked depth; bringing them out a little more might have helped me to overcome my apathy towards the genre.
Lester Young and the Jupiter Moons’ Blues – Gord Sellar – This is an absolutely wonderful mix of 1940s jazz & black culture, plus sort of an alien invasion; the voice of the character is dead-on. Why isn’t more SF written like this? That is to say, with characters clearly of color and willing to explore issues of race. This story will stick with me for a long, long time.
Vinegar Peace, or, The Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage – Michael Bishop – An emotional piece about parents surviving their children by an author who knows first-hand. The flow is almost “stream of consciousness” but stays grounded enough not to become distracting.
The Woman Under the World – Steven Utley – A fine example of very short fiction exploring one idea, in the vein of the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
Cascading Violet Hair – R. Neube – I love SF noir, and this story delivers. Set on a space station with resource shortages, dealing with the results of overly authoritarian governments, the story contains several nuggets worth considering in our own world.
26 Monkeys, also the Abyss – Kij Johnson – Wow, this was almost magical realism. It drug on a little bit here and there, and it’s not the sort of hard science fiction I personally prefer, but the author manages to make one of the monkeys outshine the main character. Not by accident, I’ll note.
Light Across an Impossible Lake – Mark Rich – I’m still pondering the explication of this tantalizing poem. It’s like I can almost figure out what he’s really describing, but the language is vaguely evocative of enough different things that it’s not simply a poetic description of some astronomical phenomenon, I think. And that makes it excellent verse.
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