The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Winter 2024, Volume 146 #771 (magazine review).
‘The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction’ is still experiencing production problems. As a result of ongoing issues, the magazine has shifted to a quarterly schedule and announced that there will be no spring edition. These anxieties appear to have distracted the design team, leading to inconsistencies. The label for this issue is Summer 2024, but the previous issue was Winter 2024. To further complicate matters, the label indicates that this issue will remain visible until October 29th.
Which year? Does it mean October 2024, 2025 or even 2029? Perhaps some of the problems can be resolved now that the magazine, along with several other highly regarded genre magazines, has been sold to Must Read Magazines, a division of Must Read Book Publishing. Despite these problems, the contents are of the expected high quality.
The reshaping of myth is a common theme in genre writing. When done well, it can suggest a different perspective of the familiar. Occasionally it can explain a story that otherwise doesn’t make biological sense. ‘Metis In The Belly Of The God’ by Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an explanation as to how Athene was born fully formed and armed from the head of Zeus.
‘Snowdrop’ by Raul Caner Cruz uses an idea that appears in the folklore of many cultures, the magical creation of a partner or child from available materials. In this, it is Odin who provides the gift of a child, Snowdrop, as a reward for hospitality when a childless couple opens their door to him on a wild night in the middle of a blizzard.
Gods and goddesses are immortal and will have survived to today, even if they don’t show themselves. In ‘Dog People’ by Esther Friesner, four goddesses are having ‘girl’s time’ before Persephone is due to go back to Hades. While they are indulging in their enjoyment, a tumultuous event unfolds. After enjoying high tea at Palm Court, they discover that the streets of New York are filled with the dead, who have somehow wandered out of the Underworld.
The idea of alien abduction has almost reached the status of modern folklore. ‘On My Way To Heaven’ by Alberto Chimal (translated from the Spanish by Patrick Weill) is a novelette set in Mexico. The narrator’s uncle claims that he had been abducted by aliens and was expecting them to reclaim him. The story is partly about the effect that this event has on the people around him and partly about the attitude of the government at the time towards the population.
There are other stories that are more clearly categorised as science fiction. ‘Water Baby’ by Tonya R. Moore, takes climate change and rising sea levels as a starting point. In a flooded Florida town, people are leaving, some for the mainland, others just vanishing. Niobe is changing. She is adapting to the changing circumstances. The story’s theme is that some can adapt to change, while others fear it and cannot, even if such rapid evolution is unlikely.
‘She’s A Rescue,’ written by Marie Vibbert, is a science fiction story that includes elements of humour. Taking a dog into space is likely to cause issues. Add a teenager and warring parents, and you have the potential for disaster. Juno is on board a cargo ship with her father while her mother is trying to stop them landing on Ceres.
The final story in this issue is ‘Stickerthin’ by Phoenix Alexander. It is a mixture of fantasy and, for the main character, horror. The harpies, or Apteira, normally give unfertilised eggs to the local population. This time, when Anaximander cracks his, a sticker-thin falls out. It is an infant harpy, and he has to raise it. To him, it is a curse, and he tries his best to get rid of it. It is a tale of facing the unknown and coping with the unexpected. This story was carefully crafted, and it seems there is more to say about this society and Anaximander’s growth.
There is plenty more in this issue, including poetry, the most impressive of which is ‘In Her Footsteps’ by Suzanne J. Willis, which explores aspects of death, real and in myth.
It is to be hoped that the magazine can continue in its present form under the new ownership, as it is a valuable outlet for new writers to have their voices heard.
Pauline Morgan
May 2025
(pub: Spilogale Inc. 260 page A5 magazine. Price: $10.99 (US), $11.99 (CAN). ISSN: 1095-8258).
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