Analog Science Fiction and Fact
• Vol. 123 No. 4, April 2003, $3.50/C$4.95, 144pp, cover art by George Krauter
• Near-monthly (11 times/year) magazine of science fiction and nonfiction; published since 1930 (originally Astounding); edited by Stanley Schmidt
• Website: http://www.analogsf.com/
• The cover story is Catherine Asaro's "Walk in Silence", set in the Ruby Dynasty universe of her previous tales.
• Ben Bova offers the latest take on the issue of whether there are intelligent aliens in the galaxy or not; his article, "Isaac Was Right: N Equals One", alludes to the solution implicit in Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" tales, in which there are no intelligent aliens, and humans dominate the galaxy. Schmidt's editorial contrasts this article with that of Dr. Robert Zubrin's last April, advising that Analog has no 'official' position on the matter.
• Other fiction includes part 3 (or 4) of Rajnar Vajra's serial "Shootout at the Nokai Corral", and short stories by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, Kyle Kirkland, and Mary Soon Lee.
• Departments include Jeffery D. Kooistra's "The Alternate View" column, which discusses several "recent and worthy" science books that challenge conventional wisdom; Tom Easton's book reviews, of works by Harness, Stableford, Macdonald, Zahn, and others; "Brass Tacks" letters; and Anthony Lewis's page of "Upcoming Events".
(Tue 25 Feb 2003)
Asimov's Science Fiction
• Vol. 27 No. 4 (whole #327) , April 2003, $3.50/C$4.95, 144pp, cover art by Jim Burns
• Near-monthly (11 times/year) SF magazine; published since 1977; edited by Gardner Dozois
• Website: http://www.asimovs.com/
• The cover story by Charles Stross, cheekily titled "Nightfall" [title of the 1941 Isaac Asimov novelette, one of the most famous SF stories of all time], is the latest in the series of stories about Macx family that began last year with "Lobsters", just nominated for this year's Nebula Award.
• Other fiction consists of novelettes by Neal Barrett Jr., Michael Swanwick, and Robert Silverberg (latest in his "Roma Eterna" series); short stories by Paul McAuley, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Mike Resnick; and poetry by Bruce Boston, Geoffrey A. Landis, and Joe Haldeman.
• In Departments, Robert Silverberg reveals that he read War and Peace for the first time just recently, and he uses the occasional to reflect on writers' tools, past and present; Frederik Pohl may write 4 pages a day every day wherever he goes, but Silverberg "never, never, NEVER write[s] while away from home". Book reviews are by Paul Di Filippo, covering books by Barrington Bayley, Camille Flammarion, James Van Pelt, Paul Park, Ian Watson, Judith Merril, and many others. (An interview with Di Filippo is upcoming in a future issue of Locus Magazine.)
(Tue 25 Feb 2003)
Black Gate
• Vol. 1 No. 5, Spring 2003, $9.95/C$14.50, 208pp, cover art by Chris Pepper
• Quarterly "adventures in fantasy literature"; published since 2001; published and edited by John O'Neill
• Website: http://www.blackgate.com/index.htm
• This issue's nearly 100,000 words of fiction include works by Peadar Ó Guilín, Joseph A. McCullough V, Todd McAulty, S.C. Smith, Michael H. Payne, Jennifer Busick, Brian A. Hopkins, Don Bassingthwaite, and cover story by Shawn L. Johnson; plus 40-page fantasy classic "Tumithak of the Corridors" by Charles R. Tanner.
• Columns include a new Letters column, gaming reviews by Don Bassingthwaite, and comics reviews by Claude Lalumière, and book reviews by Lisa DuMond, Victoria Strauss, and Jeff Ford.
• Departments are John O'Neill's editorial, statusing the magazine's progress, acknowledging contributors' awards, and whatnot; and a 2-page comic, "Knights of the Dinner Table: The Java Joint", by Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, and John O'Neill.
(Mon 24 Feb 2003)
Cemetery Dance
• Issue 41, ©2002, $4.00, 96pp, cover art by Glenn Chadbourne, cover design by Gail Cross
• Quarterly horror magazine, published since 1988; published by Richard Chizmar and currently edited by Robert Morrish
• Website: http://www.cemeterydance.com/
• Fiction in this issue is by Brian A. Hopkins, Ron Sering, Chris Bevard, Phil Rickman, and Steve Vance.
• Interviews are of Brian A. Hopkins, Insomnia director Christopher Nolan, and Phil Rickman.
• The Usual Suspects [Departments] includes words from the editors; Stephen King news by Bev Vincent; "Waves of Fear", a column of book reviews by Paula Guran; a column by Thomas F. Monteleone; a media column by Michael Marano; a movie column by Ray Garton; and a "CD Reviews" column of reviews by William P. Simmons, Garrett Peck, Jack Lloyd, and others.
(Tue 25 Feb 2003)
Chronicle
• Issue 233, Vol. 25 No. 2, February/March 2003, $4.95/C$5.95, 66pp, cover design by Angela Kessler
• Monthly SFFH trade journal, founded in 1979 by Andrew I. Porter as Science Fiction Chronicle; now published by Warren Lapine, with news editor John Douglas
• Website: http://www.dnapublications.com/sfc/
• The cover is a collage of cover images from various DNA Publications magazines: Absolute Magnitude, Weird Tales, Dreams of Decadence, and others.
• Headlines in this issue are about Silhouette's launch of a fantasy imprint; Tor's launch of a paranormal fantasy line; Knopf's purchase of a trilogy by Christopher Paolini; Tor's purchase of a web-published novel by John Scalzi; and other news.
• Features include Warren lapine's "Ruminations on a Decade in Publishing", Jeff Rovin's SF Cinema column; Don D'Ammassa's 68 book reviews; Steve Sawicki's short fiction reviews; Tanya Brown's UK report; and Alan Dean Foster's movie reviews (of Treasure Planet and The Two Towers).
(Mon 24 Feb 2003)
Dreams and Nightmares
• Issue 64, January 2003, $3.00, 20pp, cover art by Sandra Scholes
• Magazine of fantastic poetry, published approximately quarterly since 1986, by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
• Website: http://home.earthlink.net/~dragontea/
• This issue has poems by Darrell Schweitzer, Mario Milosevic, Tim Jones, s.c. virtes, Mike Allen, Steve Sneyd, Deborah P. Kolodji, Sonya Taaffe, April Lott, Joey Froehlich, Bruce Boston, Lucy A.E. Ward, and Marcie Lynn Tentchoff.
• Locus Online's review copy of this issue is accompanied by a copy of a chapbook by D&N editor David C. Kopaska-Merkel, The Ruined City, containing 10 poems, with an introduction by Gloundan Smorpian, and issued in an edition of 100 copies. Copies are available for $5 from David C. Kopaska-Merkel at Gnarled Totem Press, 1300 Kicker Rd., Tuscaloosa AL 35404. Or see the author's website.
(Wed 5 Feb 2003)
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
• Vol. 104 No. 4 (whole #616) , April 2003, $3.99/C$4.99, 162pp, cover art by Gary A. Lippincott
• Near-monthly (11 times/year) magazine of fiction, reviews, and features; published since 1949; edited by Gordon Van Gelder
• Website: http://www.fsfmag.com
• Fiction in this issue consists of novelets by Mark W. Tiedemann, Gary W. Shockley ("The Lightning Bug Wars", the cover story), and Paul Di Filippo; and short stories by Albert E. Cowdrey, Robert Sheckley, M. Rickert, and Joyce Carol Oates.
• Departments include short book reviews by Charles de Lint, longer musings on books by Michelle West, Lucius Shepard's films review--of Solaris--, Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty's science column, and a Curiosities page by Stephen Jones.
(Sat 15 Feb 2003)
The New York Review of Science Fiction
• Issue 174, Vol. 15 No. 6, February 2003, $4.00, 24pp
• Monthly review and criticism magazine, published since 1988; edited by David G. Hartwell, Kathryn Cramer, et al.
• Website: http://www.nyrsf.com/
• Special Dark Designs issue with lead features by Paul Pipkin on William B. Seabrook, and Darrell Schweitzer on Thomas Ligotti.
• David G. Hartwell editorializes on the History Channel's "misapprehension as to the nature of reality" in its recent 2-hour history of SF.
• Other features and reviews include Gillian Dooley on Doris Lessing, Jeff VanderMeer on Paul Di Filippo, Michael Levy on Kate Elliott, Joseph McCabe on Neil Gaiman, Philip E. Smith on Robert A. Heinlein, Alec Austin on Michael Chabon, and others.
(Tue 11 Feb 2003)
The Third Alternative
• Issue 33, Winter 2003, £3.95/$7, 66pp, cover art by Pascal Blanche
• Quarterly UK magazine of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, edited by Andy Cox
• Website: http://www.ttapress.com/
• Fiction in this issue is by Brian Hodge, Mary Soon Lee, Lynda E. Rucker, John Aegard, Simon Avery, and Sarah Singleton.
• A guest editorial by M. John Harrison is about J.R.R. Tolkien and "the fantasy factory".
• Features include an interview with (and a sidebar short story by) Brian Aldiss; a cinema column by Christopher Fowler; an article about Brian De Palma by Mike Sutton; a commentary by Allen Ashley; and tiny-print reviews (including a short interview with Graham Joyce) by Sandy Auden, Mike O'Driscoll, Peter Tennant, and others.
• The magazine's offer of a free copy of issue #32 is still open; just e-mail Andy Cox and mention Locus Online.
(Tue 11 Feb 2003)
Last month: January
