The Readers’ Guide
What’s in Issue 921
| News |
This is Bewildering Stories’ one-thousandth official issue (regular issues plus the Quarterly and Annual reviews). The current and some former Review Editors are celebrating by holding a nostalgic “Classic Reissues” party, where they recall their favorites from their own works. It’s a “thank you” for our editors’ invaluable support to the Bewildering community, be they new or veterans of many years.
We resume regular publication with issue 922 next week. The links all open in a new window; you won’t lose your place on this page. |
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| Novels |
In the mid-17th century, Cyrano recapitulated the history of flight in the 20th century, more than three hundred years in advance. And he anticipated progress in another way, as well. Cyrano de Bergerac, The Other World
Episode 9: One Small Step for a Woman... — tr. Don Webb
A prison governor and a police inspector seem particularly interested in the recent behaviour of two of the inmates. Six years earlier, the mysterious Xérus exploited his knowledge of the 1950s Marseilles underworld to recruit a leader for an intrepid bank robbery. Michael E. Lloyd, Missing Emilie
Book I: Self Above All
Chapter 1: Something in the Air |
| Short Stories |
Two old Cold War spies bid each other a sad farewell at the end of their long careers:
Edward Ahern, Alte Kameraden. Legends of heroism can last for generations, and stories can bring old friends back from the past — sometimes literally: Bill Bowler, Garbage Planet. The San-Lo Gate is the only passage into an impregnable realm. But even such a narrow gate needs more than one gatekeeper: Gary Clifton, The Keeper of the San-Lo Gate. It’s been said that pets and their owners may come to resemble each other. Just don’t take it too far, okay? Heather J. Frederick, Not That Kind of Cat Lady. That bottle of pure water may come as a freebie at first, but beware; it may contain a Trojan Horse: Jeffrey Greene, Water of Life. Andrew L. Hodges introduces an unobtrusive hospital volunteer who witnesses many stories but has one of her own to enact: The Angel and the Locket. Nemo and Kafka the Cat will sell out, for a price. And Peredia has ways of driving the price down — very low: Gary Inbinder, Nemo and Kafka in Peredia. In a post-apocalyptic dark age, an isolated colony tries to keep alive the remnants of civilization and technology. The task is daunting and calls for compromises: Bill Kowaleski, Critical Mass. Sometimes even a would-be queen can be jolted back into reality: Marina J. Neary, Let Them Eat Cat Food FTPD: Homicide detectives Lilly and Michael are on the trail of a killer that's been leaving headless bodies in its wake, and it's like nothing the inhabitants of Fairy Tale Land have ever seen before: Lewayne L. White, Something Fishy. |
| Flash Fiction |
Strangers may become friends, even though they may be friends who never meet: Charles C. Cole, A Prisoner of Habit. |
| Poetry | John Stocks, Seven Acts of Mercy: House Clearance |
| Short Poetry |
Bertil Falk, e e cummings in more than memoriam |
Departments
| Review Article |
The collection Cassandra’s Voices explains a lot about the world since “the year civilization collapsed” almost 3,200 years ago. All five titles illuminate our own time; one, in particular, asks whether the fundamental conflict between mythos and logos can be transcended and reconciled. Don Webb discusses Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God. |
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| Challenge | Challenge 921 asks: What are Your Choices? |
| The Art Gallery |
John Eric Ellison, Intimate Sky Richard Ong, Emma A randomly rotating selection of Bewildering Stories’ art NASA: Picture of the Day Sky and Telescope, This Week’s Sky at a Glance |
Randomly selected Bewildering motto:
Randomly selected classic rejection notice:
Bewildering Stories’ official mottoes:
“Poems are not made with ideas; they are made with words.” — Stéphane Mallarmé
Ars longa, vita brevis. Rough translation: “Proofreading never ends.”
To Bewildering Stories’ schedule: In Times to Come
Readers’ reactions are always welcome.
Please write!
