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Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine
April 1998

Stories featured in this issue are:

"So Many Miles to the Heart of a Child" by Richard Bowes is a 'quiet, urban' fantasy that I, unfortunately, am unable to get a grip on. Set against a background of a few years ago with the AIDS epidemic just starting, it features a man who has a 'Shadow' which lives apart from him. He is drawn towards a deserted merry-to-round that may be more dangerous than it seems.
"Straight Changes" by Rick Wilber starts off by looking at an elderly man pitching in a game of baseball, but ends up being something else as he starts hearing voices.
"Home on the Range" by Jacquelyn Hooper takes a look at a hunting expedition set on another world. But what starts off as a simple hunt turns sinister when the apprentice begins to understand what the hunted (an alien species) can say. Is he one of them?
"Tall One" K.D. Wentworth takes a look at how a priest who wants to spread The Word among a race of reptile-like aliens. The problem is, the aliens have no past-tense in their language, so how can the priest tell them stories of people who had lived in the past? As the story shows, the solution is subtle, thoughtful and somewhat uncomfortable.
"Revenge" by Michael Blumlein is a fascinating tale about the ghost of a young baby who asks her father to revenge her death by killing the doctor who 'mishandled' her birth. But the father refuses, her revenge takes a different form. The ending is unexpected and rather unusual, unless you've seen a certain film.
"Boom and Zoom" by Gregory Benford is Benford's speculative look at the future of the 'paperless' office through the eyes of two brokers who, through virtual reality, 'surf' and 'feel' for the next big hit. It's a wild and speculative ride.
"Mother Grasshopper" by Michael Swanwick features Swanwick's usual 'unique' view of the world, this time from the back of a gigantic world shaped like a grasshopper! It tells the tale of a man who is tracking down an apparent magician on this world, equipped with most of the deadly plagues. What is his purpose and what is it about the world that makes him necessary?

[Home Page][Index of Reviews][March 1998][May 1998]

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine April 1998

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine
April 1998