|
I bought the Aug 2012 issue Of Lightspeed Magazine for my Kindle only to get a copy of "Slow Life" by Michael Swanwick, {which I've commented upon earlier} but in fact there are some other excellent stories in this issue which make it an interesting anthology.
I still think that "Slow Life" is the best story there. However a fantasy novelette, "Cotillion" by Delis Sherman runs it very close indeed. There is an interesting Haldeman story. "A Separate War", set in the Forever War universe and a fine short fantasy, "Breaking the Flame" {Kat Howard} using an unusual and very effective narrative structure. "Love Might Be Too Strong a Word" {Charlie Jane Anders} is very much a scifi fun romance with a difference while "Flash Bang Remember" {Tina Connolly & Caroline M. Yoachim} could be described as a very interesting variation on the pocket universe theme. I found "A Moment Before It Struck" {Linda Nagata} a fairly competent fantasy, but otherwise unexceptional. The only stories I found completely uninteresting were "The Necromancer In Love" {Wil McCarthy} and "The `Bookmaking Habits of Select Species" by Ken Lin. But others may well differ. There was also an excerpt from a Carrie Vaughn novel, Kitty Steals The Show--something that one often gets in magazines of this type.
The issue also provided some interesting interviews with authors and a section providing an "Author Spotlight" for each contributor.
If the issue had a dominating theme it would be an examination of gender issues. Most of the stories dealt with gender conflicts, expectations, and stereotypes, either directly or through subversion. This made it even more interesting as an anthology.
In the final analysis, I enjoyed the issue and am glad to have it despite my non-interest in the Carrie Vaughn excerpt and the two stories I found rather boring.
|