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Clarkesworld read-through time! September's a strong issue, w/ most stories harmonized around themes of identity in diff. contexts that tend to dissemble all notions of a coherent self. (Even the cover art, by Rodion Shaldo, resonates well w/ the content!) http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/artbio_168/
To start, Lavie Tidhar's "Blue and Blue and Blue and Pink" is a deft reconstituting of war nostalgia/trauma via the world of pilots on deadly missions. The otherworldly element here can be real or metaphorical: either way, the story's core is all feeling. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/tidhar_09_20/
G. D. Angier's "What Remains of Maya Sankovy" is a beautiful first publication: part of the embryo-ship subgenre, this tale reflects meaningfully on how alien-world transformations might be interpreted by beings that are themselves amalgams of identities. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/angier_09_20/
Arula Ratnakar's "Lone Puppeteer of a Sleeping City" is a strong example of story-by-exposition, b/c the narrator exudes calm, educative confidence at every juncture. The style also matches its subject: a study of refracted consciousness in bio(+) realms. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ratnakar_09_20/
Isabel Lee's "Certainty" is another excellent matching of form to function: a 2nd-person story that amply suits the core theme of imagining oneself into other lifetimes, universes, possible trajectories, and... maybe even loves. Solid sense of place, too. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lee_09_20/
Next, R.P. Sand's "Ask the Fireflies" lovingly follows a medical AI installed in a comatose child, as this doting AI struggles to help their patient by learning to work with the vocab of her inner world, while also resisting heartbreaking external forces. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sand_09_20/
Nin Harris's "Every Plumage, Every Beak" is a pointed reframing of the problem of ignorance among peoples differently yoked to a common oppressor. One friend's carelessness w/ an oath-sister's ancestral trauma costs her dearly. Is anyone owed forgiveness? http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/harris_09_20/
Lastly, Keishi Kajifune's "The Book Reader" (trans. Toshiya Kamei) is a slip of a tale, a veneration of the written word in physical form as something different than digital tech: a gateway to the imagination that some don't want the next gen to attain. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kajifune_09_20/
Carrie Sessarego's "The Moon's a Balloon" talks about "hot-air" balloon history in speculative fiction. It's a functional essay, establishing a chronology rather than going deep into why balloons fascinated.
(I suggest Richard Holmes' Falling Upwards!) http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sessarego_09_20/
(I suggest Richard Holmes' Falling Upwards!) http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/sessarego_09_20/
Next, Arley Sorg interviews Sheila Williams--as an anthology curator, as well as in relation to her work as EIC of Asimov's. They talk about the heightened value of domestic stories with speculative elements, & how to ensure variety in themed collections. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/swilliams_interview/
Sorg then interviews Scott H. Andrews, creator of BCS. It's a warm interview delving into the heart of what makes a good BCS story--worldbuilding, emotional resonance--& Andrews takes the time to celebrate quite a few BCS authors, including R.B. Lemberg! http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/andrews_interview/
Rounding out the issue (before Kate Baker's excellent narration is fully uploaded for the month): Neil's editorial promotes his latest collection, The Best Science Fiction of the Year, Vol. 5. It's a mighty ToC, including a few from less-celebrated venues! http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/clarke_09_20/
One closing note: *Many* stories here showcase an SF&F convo that is nuanced irrespective of how many of "the classics" today's writers have read. Why? Because all that we've imagined before is embedded in today's reality. These dreamers keep us pressing forward. Excellent issue.
