Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: April 2006
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: April 2006
I feel accomplished, I'm starting to actually catch up on my issues! :)
"Gardening at Night"
by Daryl Gregory
The story starts out really slow for me, and it stays slow longer than I'm comfortable with. The mytes are interesting, the parallel between Eden even more interesting, and Eli's circumstances probably the most compelling, but I just couldn't click with any of the characters, and couldn't get into the story. The ending was good though. Weird, but appropriate.
"iKlawa"
by Donald Mead
I really wanted to like this story, as it had an untraditional fantasy setting (Africa) and an ethnic cast. But unfortunately, the story was not as cool as it could've been. Mead uses a couple points of view to tell his tale, but Cetshwayo's wasn't interesting (chiefs and captains are rarely interesting), and Nokukhanya's felt inconsequential. I knew what was coming by the end, and wasn't surprised. The story also felt like a lot of telling. The culture, while given to me in various aspects, never felt fully realized--I never felt steeped in this world, and therefore, never fully steeped in this story. Oh well. It could've been cool, but it was lacking for my taste.
"Starbuck"
by Robert Reed
I was really hoping for something different from a piece titled "Starbuck", given the pop-culture implications. Instead, I got a semi sci-fi baseball story. I like and understand baseball well enough, but this story bored me. The ending was cute and clever, especially in light of the message that technology and enhancements are nothing compared to psychology, but that's all I got out of it.
"Cold War"
by Bruce McAllister
McAllister has a wonderful voice, and the story has a gentle rhythm. But I don't know if it's my age or what exactly, but I'm not sure I got this piece. I understand some of the significance, but I guess I was expecting more, because I kept looking for a speculative element, but I don't think I got one. The mother repeating the same thing could've been a weird side-effect from what happened, or it could've been her in shock. I'm not sure. Maybe someone who understood this story better can explain it to me. :)
"The Moment of Joy Before"
by Claudia O'Keefe
Loved this story. O’Keefe has a wonderful way of utilizing her setting (this piece is also in West Virginia), and a wonderful way of pulling you into her characters and situation. The mysticism of this story was wonderful, the reality harrowing, and the ending mostly satisfying. I say mostly because I’m a stickler for details and wanted to know what exactly the agreement was, and why she left and why it was allowed and why, then, was she so frightened of him in her human form? Granted, all of that would’ve dragged the ending down considerably, but I think a little more than what we got wouldn’t have hurt. But overall, an excellent story. I’d love to see more work from her.
Lowest average yet: I only liked 1/5 pieces. Some of the other pieces I wanted to like, but the stories just didn't click for me. Oh well. The O'Keefe story alone is worth the price of the issue.