I read some fantastic Sci-Fi stories while I was out in Wisconsin. I subscribed to Forever Magazine, which is a “best of” monthly mag edited by Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld Magazine. None of the stories that I read in the July edition of Forever came from Clarkesworld. The stories truly are a “best of” curated by a fan and respected editor of science fiction.
I have been digging back into Clarkesworld over the past month. The magazine strikes a good balance between literary, sci-fi, and length. Stories are customarily 30 – 40 pages on my Kindle or smart phone. I appreciate The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, but I’ve found the stories to be exceedingly long at times, and enjoy gobbling up stories in a single bite if possible. But hey, I’ve freed up valuable time with this whole no social media thing, so I might find myself seeking longer stories again.
My favorite from this month’s issue of Forever was “An Evening with Severyn Grimes” by Rich Larson. Two words: cyberpunk awesomeness. This story had me gripped. The few brief moments where I actually yanked my eyes from the page (and those were to take sips of my coffee), I found myself saying, “This is freaking awesome!” Mr. Larson’s story had a tight plot, described fascinating technologies that made sense and weren’t too abstract, and shit, was just cool as hell.
I see Rich Larson has a story collection called Tomorrow Factory….