F&SF, JAN. 2006

Thought I'd squeeze this in before the end of the year too, so I can keep pace with my Asimov's thoughts. I finished this issue the other week, so my comments may not be as in depth as they normall would (or wouldn't, I guess).

The issue gets off to a good start with Robert Reed's "Less Than Nothing." It continues the story of Raven, a young boy of the People, who killed a man in the previous installment. He is now exiled from the People and learns surprising new things about himself and his family. The ending opens things up for more exploration of the world in the next story. Hope we see that story in 2006.

Next up is part one of the first serialized story in F&SF in many years - Terry Bisson's "Planet of Mystery" (also the story featured on the great pulp-style cover by Max Bertolini). It details the first mission to Venus, where things take a major turn for the unexpected...or is that just a hallucination? Bisson crafts a story of equal parts action and thought and I'm looking forward to seeing how it concludes.

One of my favorite newer writers is Matthew Hughes. "Shadow Man" is not a tale of Henghis Hapthorn or Guth Bandar, though. Rather, it deals with a disturbed individual. The story is decent but seems too similar to other stories to register too much. Probably my least favorite Hughes story ever.

I also didn't care too much for "Horse-Year Women" by Michaela Roessner. It was well-written and had some interesting parts but overall just didn't appeal to me much. Not everything can.

Ever considered renting out space in your brain for the government to use? Tony Sarowitz's "A Daze in the Life" tackles that question and what could happen to you if you fall in love. Yeah, a rather vague description but it's a solid story.

I love reading a first-time writer who gets it right. It makes me look forward to the next story from that writer and also gives me hope as someone who hopes to publish his first story soon. "Journey to Gantica" by Matthew Corradi is my favorite story of the issue. It's a tall tale in more ways than one with lots of fun bits and a moral message in the end. Right up my alley. Give us more, Matthew!

The issue closes out with Bruce McAllster's "The Boy in Zaquitos," a story about a different kind of secret government agent. That's all I will say about the story itself other than to say it is sadly not that far-fetched. It's also good.

So, Gordon Van Gelder gets his 2006 publishining year off to a good start. I expect no less from my favorite fiction magazine.