A review by standback
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2017 by C.C. Finlay
5.0
A variety of really powerful stories -- and, as always, something for everybody. I think this is the strongest issue of F&SF this year.
My standout stories:
Water God's Dog, by R.S. Benedict. A hard-hitting story of a world that lives at the mercy of its remote water god. The god is ostensibly benevolent, but the story makes clear how precarious is the charity of those who have amassed power. The story works beautifully on both levels; as a self-contained story, and as a mirror of late-stage capitalism.
Marley and Marley, by J.R. Dawson. A wrenching premise: When a child is orphaned, with no-one to care for them, time travelers can recruit that child's future self to foster-- herself. The result is a startling, intimate story about one's dreams and expectations for the future, and what it means to "fix" one's life. Refreshing and resonant; highly recommended.
Big Girl, by Meg Elison. The author's observation in the preface, saying "women are always the wrong size," perfectly captures this cutting piece. Every paragraph drives home how its protagonist is gawked at, objectified, dehumanized. The story's progress continues strong, as Bianca moves on in spite of ever-present humiliation. I think, and hope, that what's being implied is that she's managed to find happiness and contentment in spite of it all.
---
The issue's novella, Marc Laidlaw's "Stillborne," is the capstone of a series of Gorlen the Bard's swashbuckling adventures -- but this one breaks the mold a bit. The primary story, where the heroes accompany a pilgrimage to an annual wonder, is melancholy and haunting -- a story of the blindness and callousness of man. And twined with that, we get both the background to Gorlen's larger story, and a sort of conclusion to it -- making this story stand well alone, independent of the series; and also has the series elements as more central than they've been in some of Gorlen's previous tales.
Kate Wilhelm's "Attachments" has two ghosts hijacking the protagonist, in a scheme to free their compatriots, eternally haunting an ancient castle. This story has some dark corners lurking in it, but most of it is good-natured, positive, and a lot of fun.
"Whatever Comes After Calcutta," by David Erik Nelson, is a mix of several compelling elements, including a man shot by his wife, and a witch saved from hanging. I enjoyed it, but there was moment that captivated me in particular -- the townspeople describing what, precisely, the witch has done to them is chilling; taking a scene that looks familiar and turning it into something very disconcerting indeed.
"By The Giant's Red Light," by Larry Niven, is a quick piece, with a lone inhabitant on Pluto in the far future. It's quick and fairly slight, but definitely feels a long, long way from home.
"Carbo," by Nick Wolven, features an autonomous car that's gotten way too autonomous -- and that's developed some very unfortunate ideas of what its owner wants. It's a light, engaging piece, with a long-suffering, ever-frustrated protagonist. Wolven's charm is wearing a little thin on me, though -- this author's previous stories in F&SF, "We're So Sorry For Your Recent Tragic Loss" and "Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do?", were exactly the same: a protagonist getting bombarded with endless annoying, intrusive notifications of some type or another. Wolven seems rather more diverse in other venues; I hope his future outings in F&SF find new notes to strike.
"Racing the Rings of Saturn," by Ingrid Garcia, has some fantastic Hard SF speculation about a race of truly mind-boggling scope, with some beautiful ideas and imagery. The racing concept is married to a plot of rebellion and revolution, which I felt worked poorly -- the details, the stakes, the way conflict was portrayed, all felt very flimsy to me. I came away feeling the story was seeking a plot for its backdrop, and consequently tried to make the race a linchpin in a rebellion, in a way that doesn't really make much sense.
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Condolences on the passing of Paul Doherty, one of F&SF's science column duo. The column in this issue, exploring the topic of night vision, is an excellent one.
I was disappointed to find no column by Chris Moriarty, who's written an annual column since 2008, and who I always look forward to reading. I hope she'll be back in 2018.
---
In conclusion: excellent issue, closing off an excellent year.
Looking forward to 2018!
My standout stories:
Water God's Dog, by R.S. Benedict. A hard-hitting story of a world that lives at the mercy of its remote water god. The god is ostensibly benevolent, but the story makes clear how precarious is the charity of those who have amassed power. The story works beautifully on both levels; as a self-contained story, and as a mirror of late-stage capitalism.
I scold him. "In my youth, we had more dignity."Coming on the heels of Benedict's very excellent "My English Name" in F&SF's May/June issue, I hope we'll get to see many more stories from this promising author!
"In your youth," he says, "you had more water."
Marley and Marley, by J.R. Dawson. A wrenching premise: When a child is orphaned, with no-one to care for them, time travelers can recruit that child's future self to foster-- herself. The result is a startling, intimate story about one's dreams and expectations for the future, and what it means to "fix" one's life. Refreshing and resonant; highly recommended.
Big Girl, by Meg Elison. The author's observation in the preface, saying "women are always the wrong size," perfectly captures this cutting piece. Every paragraph drives home how its protagonist is gawked at, objectified, dehumanized. The story's progress continues strong, as Bianca moves on in spite of ever-present humiliation. I think, and hope, that what's being implied is that she's managed to find happiness and contentment in spite of it all.
---
The issue's novella, Marc Laidlaw's "Stillborne," is the capstone of a series of Gorlen the Bard's swashbuckling adventures -- but this one breaks the mold a bit. The primary story, where the heroes accompany a pilgrimage to an annual wonder, is melancholy and haunting -- a story of the blindness and callousness of man. And twined with that, we get both the background to Gorlen's larger story, and a sort of conclusion to it -- making this story stand well alone, independent of the series; and also has the series elements as more central than they've been in some of Gorlen's previous tales.
Kate Wilhelm's "Attachments" has two ghosts hijacking the protagonist, in a scheme to free their compatriots, eternally haunting an ancient castle. This story has some dark corners lurking in it, but most of it is good-natured, positive, and a lot of fun.
"Whatever Comes After Calcutta," by David Erik Nelson, is a mix of several compelling elements, including a man shot by his wife, and a witch saved from hanging. I enjoyed it, but there was moment that captivated me in particular -- the townspeople describing what, precisely, the witch has done to them is chilling; taking a scene that looks familiar and turning it into something very disconcerting indeed.
"By The Giant's Red Light," by Larry Niven, is a quick piece, with a lone inhabitant on Pluto in the far future. It's quick and fairly slight, but definitely feels a long, long way from home.
"Carbo," by Nick Wolven, features an autonomous car that's gotten way too autonomous -- and that's developed some very unfortunate ideas of what its owner wants. It's a light, engaging piece, with a long-suffering, ever-frustrated protagonist. Wolven's charm is wearing a little thin on me, though -- this author's previous stories in F&SF, "We're So Sorry For Your Recent Tragic Loss" and "Caspar D. Luckinbill, What Are You Going to Do?", were exactly the same: a protagonist getting bombarded with endless annoying, intrusive notifications of some type or another. Wolven seems rather more diverse in other venues; I hope his future outings in F&SF find new notes to strike.
"Racing the Rings of Saturn," by Ingrid Garcia, has some fantastic Hard SF speculation about a race of truly mind-boggling scope, with some beautiful ideas and imagery. The racing concept is married to a plot of rebellion and revolution, which I felt worked poorly -- the details, the stakes, the way conflict was portrayed, all felt very flimsy to me. I came away feeling the story was seeking a plot for its backdrop, and consequently tried to make the race a linchpin in a rebellion, in a way that doesn't really make much sense.
---
Condolences on the passing of Paul Doherty, one of F&SF's science column duo. The column in this issue, exploring the topic of night vision, is an excellent one.
I was disappointed to find no column by Chris Moriarty, who's written an annual column since 2008, and who I always look forward to reading. I hope she'll be back in 2018.
---
In conclusion: excellent issue, closing off an excellent year.
Looking forward to 2018!