The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2008

P.E.Cunningham’s “Monkey See” in the June, 2008, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a lighthearted heroic fantasy tale, complete with wizards, magic, and of course, a talking sword. Ji is a Zhindi warrior. Whilst investigating a potential threat to the Emperor, she arrives at an apparently abandoned village, only to find […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2008

The May 2008 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction kicks off with a hint of horror provided by Albert E. Cowdrey’s “Thrilling Wonder Stories.” Knowledgeable science fiction readers might recognise the title as a reference to a real (and recently relaunched) pulp magazine, and the story is set in the era of […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 2008

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is well known as one of the longest running venues for speculative fiction and as one of the “Big Three” print magazines for the science fiction genre, alongside Analog and Asimov’s. While the smallest of the three in terms of circulation, F&SF’s reputation for quality and the discovery […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2008

In the March, 2008, issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction Alexander Jablokov sees the Cold War technology race through the eyes of “The Boarder,” Vassily, a Soviet ex-pat living in Andrew’s U.S. basement. As a metallurgist who helped to develop Sputnik, he follows the U.S. space program with avidity, influencing young Andrew with his criticisms. […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2008

In the first short story, “Balancing Accounts” by James L. Cambias, of the February 2008 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Annie is a sentient spaceship (I think) whose owners allow her the independence to seek out and trade for metal, electronics, and other supplies needed for interstellar travel. Mostly, Annie thinks in a […]

Distillations: Alliteration

As I mentioned last month, this column will be exploring various poetry techniques each month and how they are used in current speculative poetry. This month’s featured technique is alliteration, which is defined as the repetition of initial consonants or consonant sounds. It is a simple technique which can be powerful if not overdone. It […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2008

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction has been running since 1949 and, as its title hints, offers a catholic mix of SF of varying degrees of hardness, as well as fantasy, and even outright horror and occasional slipstream. Its stories often have a more urbane, less intense style than the majority of stories in […]

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2007

Cover by Cory and Catska Ench

“Osama Phone Home” by David Marusek is a bold choice to open December’s issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This is the story of a group of old college friends who come together with one common goal—to track down Osama Bin Laden. They pool their collective talents, […]