Bewildering Stories’
First Quarterly Review, 2021
Year 19 of Bewildering Stories
The Editors’ Choices in issues 885-895
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 — winter or summer, according to your hemisphere — with the Review Editors’ selection of favorites from the first quarter of 2021. 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 or competition; they are a special poll. And there are no quotas: anything — from everything to nothing — may qualify in any genre. 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, Jeffrey Greene, Andrew L. Hodges, Gary Inbinder, Bill Kowaleski, John Stocks and Lewayne L. White.
At Bewildering Stories, nothing is the proverbial tree falling unheard in a forest. All contributors know that real people have given their works a thoughtful reading, whether we send regrets or they qualify for the Mariner Awards at year’s end.
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 Edward Ahern, Heather J. Frederick, and Bill Kowaleski; Flash Fiction and Drama Editor Charles C. Cole; 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
We think our Review Editors reflect the range of opinion to be found among our readers. In the past 12 weeks, the Review Editors cast 716 votes on 76 titles, 29 of which have qualified as Editors’ Choices. We congratulate the authors and hope they will inspire all our contributors.
The Order of the Hot Potato is quite warm, with 11 titles.
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.
Looking ahead: We resume regular publication with issue 896 on March 29, 2021. The next few weeks will include catching up with e-mail, a procedure that has been regrettably but unavoidably delayed. The on-line schedule now constitutes mostly a list of titles. The number of long works pending and in progress will affect all genres substantially in the coming weeks.
| Titles selected of titles eligible | |||||
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Novels Novellas Serials |
0 of 1 1 of 2 |
Short Stories Flash Fiction Drama |
9 of 29 8 of 15 |
Poetry Short Poetry Essays |
6 of 8 4 of 20 1 of 1 |
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• Serialized works are eligible only in the quarter in which they conclude. |
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Serials Gary Clifton, Murder Me SweetlyShort Stories Jacob Austin, Scrabble Goes to the VetDavid Barber, Erckmann & Chatrian, The Mysterious Sketch A. M. Johnson, A New Normal Emer Mahoney, The Touch Sasha A. Palmer, Canis Familiaris Henry A. Paper, In Another Country Janet Sever, Side Gig Flash Fiction Charles C. Cole,
Notes From a Normal Boy
Jeffrey Greene,
Blinking Lights in the Night Sky The Habiliments of Home The Long-Distance Call My House Call Janthyn the Desperate Poetry Lana Bella, A Dead Man Who No Longer CriesGary Inbinder, Iceberg Alert LindaAnn LoSchiavo, The Quietus Sasha A. Palmer, Medusa Nick Pipitone, Cheap Carnival James R. Rudolph, A Clap Back at Old Age Short Poetry Edward Ahern, Covid LargesseMichael R. Burch, Unlikely Mike Oonah V. Joslin, Transformations James R. Rudolph, When the Music Stops Essays Valeriya Salt, Kutna Hora’s Ossuary Gallery |
Departments Books and Other Reviews Challenges
Memoirs Douglas Young, Reflections on RetirementThe 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 or more reasons. The titles are listed in descending order with the most controversial first. Five 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.
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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 Index and Readers’ Guide. In keeping with Bewildering Stories’ astronomical motif, the winners are indicated by the names of space telescopes. Multiple listings are ties. The most highly rated title in the quarter is designated by the name of an arm of the Galaxy.
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