Just a quick Holiday Season update, in case anyone is running short on reading material:
There is a new Lila Black (the main protagonist from the Quantum Gravity Series by Justina Robson) short story available in the 4th issue of Andromeda's Offspring, Theresa Derwin's free eFanzine.
It's rather entertaining, even if I'm not entirely sure if it's canon, and if, where it would fit in... but yes, I'd pay for more Lila Black, so here's to hope!
I would like to draw your attention to Lohengrin & Tanhauser, a rather marvelous story by A. S. Salinas which can be found in Issue 13 of Rudy Rucker's 'Webzine of Amazing Tales', Flurb.
I very much liked the lightness of touch and general cleverness, as well as the incessant name dropping and references to classic tropes and other works (Bene Tesseract, anyone?).
Entertaining stuff - we want more! The picture to the right is part of a drawing by Lee Sargent - I found it rather fitting for a story on a low-gravity alien world where the inhabitants go around on pogosticks (no Predators, though).
The story follows Phoenix, an experimental (post-?)human with special abilities/powers, created and modified as a test subject in Tower 7 by the 'Big Eye', all in the name of science and the various, not always verys salubrious uses it is being put to. It also talks about the meaning of 'home' and 'belonging' as well as the responsibilities that come with freedom.
The story can be read, for free, here on the Subterranean website - I'd suggest that you do so, but also that you purchase the magazine itself!
EscapePod has published an online readable version of Ferrett Steinmetz's short story "Run," Bakri Says on their website. This was originally published in Asimov's last October, but appears now to be available for general consumption on the open Internet - to the benefit of all, I have to say after reading the story!
"Run," Bakri Says plays in a scenario where the inventor of some technological breakthrough, who also is a Bomb/IED making specialist in some unnamed insurgency, has been caught up in a general round-up by the American soldiers. It plays in real life, on Video Games, and on how time travel could, just could, turn real life into some kind of Video Game if you had save points you could go back to...
It's unsettling, it's thought provoking, and it's rather well executed. A candidate for an award, I would think...
