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Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine
August 1997

This month's F&SF starts off with an interesting essay by Jack Williamson. He covers his career as well as mentioning some of the sources for inspiration for some of his books. It really amazes me that Williamson, who has been writing since the late 1920s, is still writing today.

Stories featured in this issue are:

"Monstrosity" by Mary Soon Lee. A neat twist on the old "Beauty and the Beast" legend. Here, the beauty is the beast. Another person enters the beast's life (as expected) but even the ending is different and wonderfully done.
"The Edge of the Bed of Forever" by Jonathan Lethem and Angus MacDonald is a quirky story with a 'Lethem-ish' covering about a man who carries on an affair in an unusual hotel room. The room in question is in 'no-time' which means that time does not pass when you are in it. He starts to worry when he begins to spend so much time in it that he ages faster than his wife! The authors take us 'behind the scenes' of the hotel and show that all is not what it seems in the characters quest for a solution to his problem.
"Orleans, Rheims, Friction: Fire" by Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg is an extremely stylistic story that, unfortunately, lost me a quarter of the way in. Apparently about Joan of Arc in prison before being burned alive, it introduces modern characters like Joe DiMaggio who strike up conversations with her. But I am very sure I totally missed the point of the story.
"Halls of Burning" by Jake West takes a look at the future of the American school system where teachers are shielded from pupils by transparent partitions and gang warfare is common-place. Into this wanders a teacher who still believes he can make a difference. A nice piece of work which I hope won't occur in real life.
"The Green Man" by Rand B. Lee reminds me vaguely of Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood series. It involves a young boy who, one day, see a naked green man in a nearby wood. His attempts to investigate only leads to suspicions by his family.
"Mosquito League" by Michael Libling is an entertaining story about two boys, one fat and cowardly, the other prone to fist-fights, who form an alliance to help each other: the former to learn how to play baseball, the latter to learn how to avoid being bullied too much. Into this wanders a strange liquid provided by the fat boy's mother that may prove to be more than it seems.
"Giants in the Earth" by Michael A. Martin tells a story of an earth where superheroes (and villains) exists. But one day, one of the heroes is given the power to change the earth. How will he use it, especially considering he has been in the hero business for many years!
"The Science of Invisibility" by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty is a science article about what is involved in making a man invisible. It even includes experiments that you can perform to make objects invisible.
"Mustard Seed" by Mark Bourne looks at how religion would have to change to adapt to a world where Contact with alien civilisations has taken place.
"Hooks, Nets, and Time" by Linda Nagata offers a fascinating look at a future where sharks are nearly extinct. One man, who keeps sharks in a farm (for, what else, shark's fin soup) has his life thrown in disarray when he saves a man who is trying to escape from their mutually hated employer. Life is made more difficult by a great white shark in the farm who is hungry to get a more 'wholesome' meal.

[Home Page][Index of Reviews][July 1997][October/November 1997]

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine August 1997

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine
August 1997