Lightspeed Magazine, June 2014 (Women Destroy Science Fiction special issue) (Volume 49)

I only read the "fresh" stories or rather listened to them, maybe I'll get back to the older ones at some other time. Overall I enjoyed the stories.

While I enjoyed a lot of these stories - some more than others - I find a distinct difference from the type of Science Fiction I most enjoy. I think I missed the original controversy that led to this special issue being published. I thought it was to showcase women that write SF. But to me this feels as if all these SF stories were written by someone who would usually write fantasy but wanted to prove they could write SF. Or maybe I missed the point and this was not about women writing SF but rather about a different style of SF stories. The latter is certainly true with many of the stories having some kind of fantastical element or classical fantasy tropes turned to SF. Many read like SF/Fantasy cross-over stories.

My favorite was "The Lonely Sea in the Sky" because it reads like an enormously long poem and had a more SF-feel than most of the stories.

Here's a short comment on each of the stories I read/listened to:

„Canth“ by K.C.Norton - why do so many female authors initial their names? Is it to hide their gender from prejudiced readers? Anyway this story is about a young woman searching her (submersible) ship after it „ran away“."

„A Burglary, Addressed by a Young Lady“ - Elizabeth Porter Birdsall - somewhere there‘s a society where courtship rituals are way different from ours. A story on a friendship discovered on a roof."

„The Lonely Sea in the Sky“ - by Amal El-Mohtar, the poesy of diamonds as they shape the life of a scientist involved with an artifact that changed life on Earth as we know it. Just what you expect from the title

„Dim Sum“ by Maria Dahvana Headley. Cosmic food may not always be good for you especially if a vengeful ex-wife is involved. Foodies in space ... while I consider myself a foodie on Earth this one didn’t exactly click with me.

„The Unfathomable Sisterhood of Ick“ by Charlie Jane Anders. Imagine dating if one could record a set of memories and give them to someone else. An unexpectedly wholesome read on relationships and friendships.

„The Image of Man“ by Gabriella Stalker. „Why would the mall do anything to hurt us?“ Scary view into extreme consumerism and debt ... Wendell lives at the Mall with his family and takes on debt every week with his „teen funds“ ... that „teach responsibility and are good for the mall“

„The Case of the Passionless Bees“ by Rhonda Eikamp. „Of all the strange sights I had been privy to during my acquaintanceship with the illustrious detective...“ - read first sentence, groaned found out what happens when Sherlock Fanfic mashes with Steampunk AI. Why has this story not been written before. It should always have existed. <3

„Walking Awake“ by N.K. Jemisin. Parasites from outer space have taken over humanity as Masters. A story about the destructive tendencies of humanity and self-sacrifice for the greater good... I think? I didn‘t quite „grok“ this one.

„Cuts both ways“ by Heather Clitheroe. Spencer is a „fore-caster“ by virtue of an advanced implant. Apparently, this makes him very special and also very sick. He can do a lot of good but when he fails he fails ... big. Technology also cuts both ways.

"A word shaped like Bones" by Kris Millering. An artist in space and an unexpected dead man. This story managed to draw me in despite or because of the revulsion it evokes ...

"Each to Each" by Seanan McGuire. A sci-fi story about mermaids, who'd have thought that would swim? Anyway I enjoyed listening to this exploration of a different frontier than space."