Bewildering Stories’
Fourth Quarterly Review, 2016
Year 15 of Bewildering Stories
The Editors’ Choices: issues 684-695
Lighthouse |
The Quarterly and Annual Reviews and Bewildering Stories itself
are like lighthouses on the chaotic sea of the Internet.
They signal not danger but “Good landfall” and “Safe harbor.”
Welcome ashore!
Everything in green is a link. A few links are standard (blue, underlined). The genres in the “Titles selected” table are anchor or alert links. Links to pages other than the QR open in a new window; you won‘t lose your place.
Bewildering Stories ends the season — spring or fall, depending on your hemisphere — with the Review Editors’ selection of favorites from the fourth quarter of 2016. New readers will have easy access to the recent best of Bewildering Stories, and veteran readers will have a chance to catch up on anything they may have missed.
The Quarterly Reviews are not a contest, competition or poll. And there are no quotas: anything — from everything to nothing — may qualify in any genre. Rather, they answer a practical question: “If a friend asked you to recommend something outstanding from the past quarter of Bewildering Stories, what are your favorites? What would you choose?”
As always, the Review Board’s discussions have been extensive and lively. A big Thank You to Edward Ahern, Bill Bowler, Gary Clifton, Charles C. Cole, Ada Fetters, Gary Inbinder, Bill Kowaleski, Marina J. Neary, John Stocks and Lewayne L. White.
At Bewildering Stories, no one is the proverbial tree falling unheard in a forest. All contributors know that real people have given their works a thoughtful reading, regardless whether we send regrets or they qualify for the Mariner Awards.
The Review Editors and Associate Editors — our review readers — have functions that are entirely different but equally important. The Review Editors determine how Bewildering Stories shall carry its flag. The Associate Editors determine what Bewildering Stories shall be. Their insightful and detailed critiques of submissions help us set what we like to think is an Internet standard for editorial practice and for service to our contributors and readers.
Our special editors also deserve a vote of thanks: Coordinating Editors Bill Bowler, Edward Ahern and Bill Kowaleski; Flash Fiction Editor Charles C. Cole; and Poetry Editor John Stocks. They provide the kind of personal touch Bewildering Stories takes pride in, and they make the administrative work not only easier but possible.
The Quarterly News
In the past 12 weeks, the Review Editors cast 884 votes on 88 titles, 35 of which have qualified as Editors’ Choices. We congratulate the authors represented here. We hope they will inspire all our contributors.
We think our Review Editors reflect the range of opinion to be found among our readers.The Order of Merit is a special acknowledgment to our contributors. It’s a kind of “surprise package” that links to the most highly rated works in this Quarterly Review.
The Mariner Awards follow next week, in the 2016 Annual Review. We resume regular publication with issue 696 on January 2, 2017.
| Titles selected of titles eligible | |||||
|
Novels Novellas Serials |
2 of 2 |
Short Stories Flash Fiction Drama |
13 of 38 6 of 8 1 of 1 |
Poetry Short Poetry Essays & Memoirs |
4 of 10 9 of 29 |
- All selections are listed in alphabetical order by author unless noted otherwise.
- Serialized works are eligible only in the quarter in which they conclude.
- Multiple titles are listed in chronological order.
|
Serials Bill Prindle,Short Stories Edward Ahern, The Consubstantial ManDavid Castlewitz, MAMA's Boy Gary Clifton John Gatley, The Places Between Gary Ives, Christmas Pies Bill Kowaleski, Politics Unusual Morris Marshall, That Burning Question Roger Pitcher, The Splon Is a Lonely Hunter Kitley Wellington, The Parochial Quest of Upper Pandle Drama Charles C. Cole, BugsFlash Fiction Gary Clifton, A Mother's BlessingCharles C. Cole, Betsy Isbell, Heave(n) for Don(e) Pedro Boris Kokotov, Utterly Presidential Poetry Gary Beck, RemembranceBertrand Cayzac, Second Martian Eclogue Anna Ruiz, Inside the Quiet Room Richard Stevenson, Batsquatch Short Poetry Shola Balogun Lana Bella B. Z. Niditch, A Boston BeatRobert W. Shmigelsky, The Endless Sea |
Departments Selections are listed in chronological order. Challenges (Paren)thesis and AntithesisMistakes Were Made Party Overboard Where’s His Daddy? Clean Up or Clear Out Counterexamples Discussions Emergency EquipmentCassandra’s Voices in 2016: Warnings to the Modern Age The Del Rio Crossing The Hayek Manifesto Simultaneous Submissions: The Trust Factor Memorials Remembering Ron Van SweringenRemembering Susan Hagedorn The Order of the Hot Potato Here are the most controversial works of the quarter, the ones on which the Review Editors’ opinions diverged significantly for one reason or another. The titles are listed in descending order with the most controversial first. All but two of the titles appear among the Editors’ Choices. Challenge to the readers: why might any of these titles be on the list? Discussions are welcome and may appear in a future regular issue.
| ||||
|
The Order of Merit | |||||
|
Here are links to the most highly rated works in each genre represented by more than one title in this Quarterly Review. The categories are listed according to their normal order in the Readers’ Guide.
In keeping with Bewildering Stories’ astronomical motif, the winners are indicated by the names of space telescopes. The most highly rated title in the quarter is indicated by the name of an arm of the Galaxy. |
| ||||
