Fiction

Science Fiction

The Master who came for Enri was wearing a relatively young body. Sadie guessed it was maybe fifty years old. It was healthy and in good condition, still handsome. It could last twenty years more, easily.

Illustrated by Hillary Pearlman

In June 2014 (Issue 49)

Science Fiction

Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death

by James Tiptree, Jr.

—I am hugely black and hopeful, I bounce on six legs along the mountains in the new warm! . . . Sing the changer, Sing the stranger! Will the changes change forever? . . . All my hums have words now. Another change!

Illustrated by Li Grabenstetter

In June 2014 (Issue 49)

Science Fiction

Each to Each

by Seanan McGuire

Author spotlight

The smell of damp steel assaults my nose as I walk the hall, uncomfortable boots clumping heavily with every step I force myself to take. The space is tight, confined, unyielding; it is like living inside a coral reef, trapped by the limits of our own necessary shells.

Illustrated by Li Grabenstetter

In June 2014 (Issue 49)

Science Fiction

A Word Shaped Like Bones

by Kris Millering

Author spotlight

The dead man sits in the corner of the chamber enclosed by spaceship on all sides. He takes up a lot of space. He has been there for three days.

Illustrated by Li Grabenstetter

In June 2014 (Issue 49)

Fantasy

The Ba of Phalloon

by Matthew Hughes

Author spotlight

“I’d say there are at least three hundred of them,” Kaslo said. “Mostly men, but quite a few women. I don’t see any children. I see clubs, knives, some homemade spears.” He turned from the narrow slit of unglazed window that pierced the castle wall.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)

Science Fiction

Selfie

by Sandra McDonald

Author spotlight

If you ask me, I’m more like my mom than my dad. She and I love astronomy and the mysterious origins of the universe. Dad’s not only stuck on the past, he literally would move there if he could. Every summer he drags me along on his research trips to eras where sweaty-smelling people with wool bathing suits hole up in seaside deathtraps.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)

Fantasy

Willful Weapon

by Fred Van Lente

Author spotlight

The torch of the Statue of Liberty blazed with an unearthly light. The steamship lumbered through the retina-stinging nimbus which draped the colossal lady and her fortress pedestal in a luminescent haze. Cellach mac Rath crowded with the rest of the bedraggled masses on the deck and watched his destiny loom ever closer: the towers of Manhattan, garlanded with gargoyles and lit with the fires of a million lanterns.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)

Science Fiction

Zero Temptation

by Sean Williams

Author spotlight

Picture the most perfect place on Earth. If it’s a deserted desert island, you’d be close. Blue sky, white sand, green palm trees, crystal water, gently sighing surf . . . Paradise, right? Now picture yourself trapped there, with no way of escape. It doesn’t take long for heaven to turn to hell.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)

Fantasy

Second Hand

by Rajan Khanna

Author spotlight

Quentin Ketterly stood in the Gold Star Saloon and lit his cheroot with one hand, the other resting lightly on his hip, very close to his waistcoat pocket. He stared across the room at the five men playing poker at a nearby table. His eyes tracked the movement of the cards that they held and played, though his mind was on another set of Cards entirely.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)

Science Fiction

Deep End

by Nisi Shawl

Author spotlight

The pool was supposed to be like freespace. Enough like it, anyway, to help Wayna acclimate to her download. She went in first thing every “morning,” as soon as Dr. Ops, the ship’s mind, awakened her. Too bad it wasn’t scheduled for later; all the slow, meat-based activities afterwards were a literal drag.

In May 2014 (Issue 48)