A review by cerv
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September/October 2019 (F&SF, #745) by Mary Soon Lee, Michael Moorcock, Paul Di Filippo, Elizabeth Bear, Y. M. Pang, Michael Swanwick, Jerry Oltion, Amanda Hollander, Thomas Kaufsek, Jeff Crandall, Maureen McHugh, Charles de Lint, Robert Silverberg, Gardner Dozois, Kelly Link, Ken Liu, C.C. Finlay, Karin Lowachee, Esther M. Friesner, James Sallis, Paolo Bacigalupi, Nick Wolven
The Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy Sep/Oct 2019 - 70th annniversary issue.
BLAH
The White Cat's Divorce - Kelly Link
Immortality obsessed billionaire and children and their shenanigans.
Erase, Erase, Erase - Elizabeth Bear
The protagonist wants to erase their existence because life is too painful and can they ever be forgiven for what they've done?
Ghost Ships - Michael Swanwick
I like a lot of Swanwick's short stories but I also dislike a lot of them, so I never know what to expect. I don't have anything to say about this other than I didn't like it and it's a contemporary "ghost story" set in the US.
MEH
Kabul - Michael Moorcock
Ragtag military company wanders aimlessly in a peri-apocalytpic Afghanistan.
Madness Afoot - Amanda Hollander
A Cinderella parody. Protagonist is the sister of the Prince.
Homecoming - Gardner Dozois
Dozois is a truly great editor and anthologist. As an author, not so much for me. This is the final story he wrote before he died. It's quite possible that I simply didn't understand the story at all, especially the ending. I have no idea what that was about. I could guess, but that's all it'd be.
OK
American Gold Mine - Paolo Bacigalupi
Disappointed by comparison to his other short stories, almost of which I really enjoy. It takes place at Not-Fox News with the protagonist being the top female anchor there. Basically about how fearmongering and outrage culture is destroying the country and media is the accelerant.
Little Inn On the Jianghu - Y.M. Pang
A Wuxia parody. Rather silly. Protagonist is an innkeeper whose inn destroyed by "heroes" and decides to do something about it.
Under The Hill - Maureen McHugh
This college has a secret, but if you would rather remain ignorant then you'll forever be. Some of the students are from the Seelie Court.
The Light on Eldoreth - Nick Wolven
I've enjoyed every Wolven story in F&SF, but this one was merely okay. It's entirely a marriage negotiation that takes place on Eldoreth, a planet barely within the galaxy, and so far in the future that they've become so "enlightened" that they are oblivious to their amorality.
The Wrong Badger
EnglandLand amusement park in the US has a reckoning with Woke Capitalism. A rival attacks them in the name of social justice to increase their market share.
GOOD
Booksavr - Ken Liu
Booksavr is an app that adjusts whatever you are reading to maximize your enjoyment based on what you define as "problematic content". Author reactions on the self-publishing web serial site are mixed. Are the characters not diverse enough for you? There's a setting for that. Does the author mishandle consent? No problem. No one should ever be offended by what they read.
Protagonist is an author against Booksavr. The story is mostly is "user reactions" on his site.
The ending is a real stinger.
Rather amusing.
OTHER
Three Score and Ten - Robert Silverberg
A truly great author reminisces about 70 years of S&SF.
BLAH
The White Cat's Divorce - Kelly Link
Immortality obsessed billionaire and children and their shenanigans.
Erase, Erase, Erase - Elizabeth Bear
The protagonist wants to erase their existence because life is too painful and can they ever be forgiven for what they've done?
Ghost Ships - Michael Swanwick
I like a lot of Swanwick's short stories but I also dislike a lot of them, so I never know what to expect. I don't have anything to say about this other than I didn't like it and it's a contemporary "ghost story" set in the US.
MEH
Kabul - Michael Moorcock
Ragtag military company wanders aimlessly in a peri-apocalytpic Afghanistan.
Madness Afoot - Amanda Hollander
A Cinderella parody. Protagonist is the sister of the Prince.
Homecoming - Gardner Dozois
Dozois is a truly great editor and anthologist. As an author, not so much for me. This is the final story he wrote before he died. It's quite possible that I simply didn't understand the story at all, especially the ending. I have no idea what that was about. I could guess, but that's all it'd be.
OK
American Gold Mine - Paolo Bacigalupi
Disappointed by comparison to his other short stories, almost of which I really enjoy. It takes place at Not-Fox News with the protagonist being the top female anchor there. Basically about how fearmongering and outrage culture is destroying the country and media is the accelerant.
Little Inn On the Jianghu - Y.M. Pang
A Wuxia parody. Rather silly. Protagonist is an innkeeper whose inn destroyed by "heroes" and decides to do something about it.
Under The Hill - Maureen McHugh
This college has a secret, but if you would rather remain ignorant then you'll forever be. Some of the students are from the Seelie Court.
The Light on Eldoreth - Nick Wolven
I've enjoyed every Wolven story in F&SF, but this one was merely okay. It's entirely a marriage negotiation that takes place on Eldoreth, a planet barely within the galaxy, and so far in the future that they've become so "enlightened" that they are oblivious to their amorality.
The Wrong Badger
EnglandLand amusement park in the US has a reckoning with Woke Capitalism. A rival attacks them in the name of social justice to increase their market share.
GOOD
Booksavr - Ken Liu
Booksavr is an app that adjusts whatever you are reading to maximize your enjoyment based on what you define as "problematic content". Author reactions on the self-publishing web serial site are mixed. Are the characters not diverse enough for you? There's a setting for that. Does the author mishandle consent? No problem. No one should ever be offended by what they read.
Protagonist is an author against Booksavr. The story is mostly is "user reactions" on his site.
The ending is a real stinger.
Rather amusing.
OTHER
Three Score and Ten - Robert Silverberg
A truly great author reminisces about 70 years of S&SF.