Interzone 241

Artwork by Ben Baldwin

The Bookzone in Interzone 241 will feature the following:

Darkening Skies by Juliet E. McKenna (reviewed by Elaine Gallagher who will also interview Juliet)

Fever by Lauren DeStephano (reviewed by Jack Deighton)

A Dance with Dragons, volumes 1 & 2 by George R.R. Martin (reviewed by Peter Loftus)

The City’s Son by Tom Pollock (reviewed by Paul F. Cockburn)

Three Science Fiction Novellas by J-H Rosny aîné (reviewed by Paul Kincaid)

The Outcast Blade by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (reviewed by Iain Emsley)

Irenecon by Aidan Harte (reviewed by Lawrence Osborn)

The Sword and Sorcery Anthology edited by David G. Hartwell & Jacob Weisman (reviewed by Maureen Kincaid Speller)

Rocket Science edited by Ian Sales (reviewed by Ian Hunter)

Adrift on the Sea of Rains by Ian Sales (reviewed by Ian Hunter)

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that there are two books by Ian Sales in this month’s Bookzone. This is not because Ian is a good friend (that, in fact, is a very good reason for not reviewing both of them) but because another reviewer couldn’t manage to get a review of a different book to me on time. These things happen. Ian Hunter was originally supposed to roll both of his books into one review but kindly split it into two in order to fill the gap. Thus are magazines made. This particular magazine should be out in a week or so.

And here’s the result of the TTA Press Euro 2012 sweepstake while we’re at it. Again, these things happen.

Year’s Best SF 14

I’ve finally got my hands on a copy of David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer’s Year’s Best SF 14, and a pretty fine collection it is too. I had already read half of the contents when they were first published, but that doesn’t detract from the quality. It tends to be lighter on commentary than most of the other annuals, possibly because the editors get all that out of their system in the New York Review of Science Fiction, but they are upbeat about the short fiction situation. Apparently in 2008, “Interzone got darker but had some real high spots,” and Jason Sanford’s The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain from Interzone 217 can, of course, be found inside.

Year’s Best SF 14

Jason Sanford’s The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain, from Interzone 217, has been selected for inclusion in The Year’s Best SF 14.

Interzone 218

- artwork by Warwick Fraser-Coombe -

The October Interzone was published last Thursday and should be speeding its way to your doormat or local retailer as you read this. Indeed, it may even have already arrived. This time around we have the following reviews:

The Last Reef and Other Stories by Gareth Powell (reviewed and interviewed by Paul Cockburn)
An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe (reviewed by Mike Cobley)
The Kingdom Beyond The Waves by Stephen Hunt (reviewed by Lawrence Osborn)
Template by Matthew Hughes (reviewed by Ian Sales)
Year’s Best Fantasy 8 edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer (reviewed by Paul Kincaid)
The Painted Man by Peter Brett (reviewed by Iain Emsley)
Stalking the Unicorn & Stalking the Vampire by Mike Resnick (reviewed by Juliet McKenna)
Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (reviewed and interviewed by Rick Kleffel)

A big thanks goes out to Paul Raven for his help and Andy Cox for making the review section look so damned good. The rest of the magazine’s not half bad either. It’s a bit of a Chris Beckett special and contains no less than three of his stories and an interview with him, plus more fiction from Daniel Akelrod & Lenny Royter, Hannu Rajaniemi, and Tim Lees. There are also film reviews from Nick Lowe, DVD reviews from Tony Lee, and news and stuff from David Langford.

Doesn’t that cover look wonderful?