Fantasy and Science Fiction, May/June 2023

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Rating: 3/5

A better than average issue, with good stories by Fawaz Al-Matrouk, Matthew Hughes, Kiran Kaur Sain, Ferdison Cayetano and Fatima Taqvi.

• “On The Mysterious Events at Rosetta” by Fawaz Al-Matrouk: via a series of letters, a story is told during the time of France’s conquest of Egypt, of the discovery of a mysterious Egyptian tomb, and the curse that is unleashed when the tomb was opened.
• “The Dire Delusion” by Matthew Hughes: an investigation into the theft of religious relics, taken from thieves who had stolen them from various temples in the city, leads to the discovery of a plot that might unsettle the city.
• “Amrit” by Kiran Kaur Saini: a story of an elderly man who is reluctantly assigned a robot helper and housekeeper named Amrit. Amrit gradually changes the grumpy mood of the old man, but apparently goes too far when Amrit suggest he reconnects to his estranged son. What happens next would change the character of the old man and Amrit.
• “In Time, All Foxes Grieve Westward” by Lark Morgan Lu: a fantasy story about a magical fox who, with a human, returns to his ancestral land to settle the affairs of her fox mother before she dies. But it is tense, with the mother disagreeing with the son over his modern lifestyle while he has to deal with her hoarding things over the century that he now has to deal with.
• “A Conjure-Horse in San Ouvido” by Ferdison Cayetano: set in the time of the American occupation of the Philippines, it tells the story of a black soldier facing racism and second thoughts as the white soldiers of his company abuse the natives. Then one native reaches out to him, and they find a connection, for they both have magic and use it to bond and connect to deal with the soldiers.
• “Highway Requiem” by T. R. Napper: in a future where truck driving is becoming a dying job due to automation, one of the last truck drivers is struggling to make a delivery and keep his job. Then a crisis on his latest job forces a reevaluation of what is important to him while doing the job.
• “The Lucky Star” by Dr. Bunny McFadden: on Titan, one person in charge of mapping an area balks at the task when it would reveal the secret of a bar. But as it turns out, its secret isn’t so secret after all.
• “For the Benefit of Mr. Khite” by Zig Zag Claybourne: an intelligence in charge of an artificial orbiting station ponders the meaning of living.
• “Time And Art” by Barbara Krasnoff: and old lady gets her wish for more time to do what she wants to do; but at a price.
• “I Paint the Light with My Mother’s Bones” by K. J. Aspey: a disturbing, horror story of a girl who wanted to hide away from everybody and gets her wish. But now she wants out.
• “We Are Happy to Serve You” by Margaret Dunlap: workers grumble at the ‘smart’ food dispenser which serves out what the workers don’t really want. Until, one day, the dispenser has had enough.
• “Titan Retreat” by Ria Rees: a woman who used to see the dark skies with her children now wants to get away from it, and goes to the only place where that is possible.
• “Knotty Girl” by Melissa A. Watkins: a variation on the fairy tale about a girl who stays in a high tower and lets down her hair for a magical person to enter. At first, the relationship appears affectionate. But as she grows older and gains knowledge of the outside world via books, she realizes the relationship is not to her advantage. And then, one day, she gets the chance to escape and, perhaps, to regrow the world she knows.
• “A Truth So Loyal and Vicious” by Fatima Taqvi: a story that starts with a mother that gives birth to twins, one fated to be fortunate, the other to be unfortunate. As the story develops, you start to wonder who are really the fortunate and unfortunate ones.

Magazine read from 2023/05/14 to 2023/05/25