/lit/ - Literature

>>17669411
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March-April 2021 (F&SF, #754)

NOVELETS
The Music of the Siphorophenes - C.L. Polk
A non-binary space pilot is starstruck by a female pop star who wants to listen to the singing of the siphorophenes, a sentient spacefaring species that are able to travel through the vacuum of space without a ship. After that's resolved, it shifts to being about emotional disclosure, which is facilitated by mind-melding.
Blah

Mannikin - Madeleine E. Robins
A mother fearing for the life of her newly born boy asks a witch to cast a permanent illusion so that she can raise her son as a daughter. This causes problems later on in their life. This is entirely a plot device and not about sexual politics, which was surprising. It's basically a fable.
Meh

In the Garden of Ibn Ghazi - Molly Tanzer
According to the author this is a fictionalized account of the time when she thought she had read a story with this title but she wasn't able to find any evidence that it had ever existed. This left her with no choice but to write a story where the character discovers that the story exists and explains why she wasn't able to find it herself. She then becomes part of the story. Ibn Ghazi is a reference to the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi which is an event card that appears in the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Arkham Edition and was the inspiration for this story.
Meh

Jack-in-the-Box - Robin Furth
A journalist for Country Life magazine comes to Blackthorn manor. She's taken on a tour by a six-year old boy which becomes ever more macabre as she's exposed to the family's dysfunction.
Ok

SHORT STORIES
Crazy Beautiful - Cat Rambo
AIs programmed to value art above all else go rogue.
Meh

The Bletted Woman - Rebecca Campbell
A rather morbid story. "Bletting is a process of softening that certain fleshy fruits undergo, beyond ripening." It ends with zombies, which is well, whatever.
Ok

Our Peaceful Morning - Nick Wolven
The animal revolution has begun. All animals shall be made sapient. There's a lot of sociopolitical commentary involved though it's also meant to be humorous.
Ok

Minstrel Boy Howling at the Moon - B. Morris Allen
A guy plays a harmonica which causes inexplicable events to occur.
Meh

Speak to the Moon - Marie Brennan
A suicidal and immortal Japanese astronaut on the Moon seeks kaguya-hime so that he may finally be allowed to die..
Meh

Character - Harry Turtledove
A self-deprecating metafictional tribute to Peter S. Beagle. The character is aware he's a character in this story but there isn't anything he can do about it.
Enjoyable

The Pizza Boy - Meg Elison
He may be the last Pizza Boy. It's an extremely arduous task to make and deliver them when seemingly everything and everyone in space is trying to kill you and every single ingredient is exceedingly difficult to acquire. His ship is in disrepair and his family is dead.
Ok

>>17669411
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March-April 2021 (F&SF, #754)

NOVELETS
The Music of the Siphorophenes - C.L. Polk
A non-binary space pilot is starstruck by a female pop star who wants to listen to the singing of the siphorophenes, a sentient spacefaring species that are able to travel through the vacuum of space without a ship. After that's resolved, it shifts to being about emotional disclosure, which is facilitated by <spoiler> mind-melding.</spoiler>
Blah

Mannikin - Madeleine E. Robins
A mother fearing for the life of her newly born boy asks a witch to cast a permanent illusion so that she can raise her son as a daughter. This causes problems later on in their life. This is entirely a plot device and not about sexual politics, which was surprising. It's basically a fable.
Meh

In the Garden of Ibn Ghazi - Molly Tanzer
According to the author this is a fictionalized account of the time when she thought she had read a story with this title but she wasn't able to find any evidence that it had ever existed. This left her with no choice but to write a story where the character discovers that the story exists and explains why she wasn't able to find it herself. She then becomes part of the story. Ibn Ghazi is a reference to the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi which is an event card that appears in the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Arkham Edition and was the inspiration for this story.
Meh

Jack-in-the-Box - Robin Furth
A journalist for Country Life magazine comes to Blackthorn manor. She's taken on a tour by a six-year old boy which becomes ever more macabre as she's exposed to the family's dysfunction.
Ok

SHORT STORIES
Crazy Beautiful - Cat Rambo
AIs programmed to value art above all else go rogue.
Meh

The Bletted Woman - Rebecca Campbell
A rather morbid story. "Bletting is a process of softening that certain fleshy fruits undergo, beyond ripening." It ends with <spoiler>zombies</spoiler>, which is well, whatever.
Ok

Our Peaceful Morning - Nick Wolven
The animal revolution has begun. All animals shall be made sapient. There's a lot of sociopolitical commentary involved though it's also meant to be humorous.
Ok

Minstrel Boy Howling at the Moon - B. Morris Allen
A guy plays a harmonica which causes inexplicable events to occur.
Meh

Speak to the Moon - Marie Brennan
A <spoiler>suicidal and immortal</spoiler> Japanese astronaut on the Moon seeks <spoiler>kaguya-hime</spoiler> so that he may finally <spoiler> be allowed to die.</spoiler>.
Meh

Character - Harry Turtledove
A self-deprecating metafictional tribute to Peter S. Beagle. The character is aware he's a character in this story but there isn't anything he can do about it.
Enjoyable

The Pizza Boy - Meg Elison
He may be the last Pizza Boy. It's an extremely arduous task to make and deliver them when seemingly everything and everyone in space is trying to kill you and every single ingredient is exceedingly difficult to acquire. His ship is in disrepair and his family is dead.
Ok