Wonderfully strong issue; almost every story hits its mark -- and the variety of marks is dazzling."Shooting Iron," by Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard, is the absolute standout in a very strong issue. A kickass protagonist in a pitch-perfect adventure story, that grabs tropes of East and Westerns and flips them on their head."The Memorybox Vultures," by Brian Trent, imagines living on in the cloud after one's death... and consequently, who might try to extinguish such lives. Fast-paced and...

The Memorybox Vultures was excellent :)

Have I mentioned that this is my all time favorite Literature Magazine? Oh, I have? Well, it is. And again, I read every word of this issue.

So SoMany of the stories drag on far beyond the point of being interesting. I prefer shorter stories in larger quantities.

8 • The Memorybox Vultures • 22 pages by Brian Trent Very Good+. When people die they can have their memories uploaded into a quasi-intelligence. Donna Lane works for Epitaph corporation that manages quasints. She is talking with Brent McCue when she is kidnapped, wakes up the next morning to find that a client has committed suicide. Donna thinks it was murder. With the help of Brent she is able to find the identity of the hacker. Now what can she do with this information?30 • Shooting Iron • 41...

Every story was well-written and intense. A Taste of Opal was particularly outstanding. . There are no compromises in this issue.

I liked "Shooting Iron" by Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard, and "Suicide Watch" by Susan Emshwiller

I love this magazine for the unique stories. The literary feel, the weirdness, the stretching of the cultural paradigm. Just what I like. I recommend this at least once. Get a copy. At first, the writing clashes. It's not mainstream, not popular, but it submerges you as you read them. You find a new part of you and a great pleasure at a unique experience you haven't yet found.Brief snapshots of stories I liked most:The Taste of Opal, Yukimi Ogawa,. A world in the future. Genetic engineering (I a...

This was an exceptionally good edition. I often find myself skipping a story or two but not this time. Every store was really good.

I think this is the 4th issue in my subscription. It was the best so far! Two 5's and two 4's!A slight spoiler follows?The science story on blood was quite appropriately placed after the story "Suicide Watch", both story and science article were favorites of mine!1-5 rating, Author, Title3 - Brian Trent - The Memorybox Vultures5 - Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard - Shooting Iron1 - Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam - The Men Who Come From Flowers4 - Harry Turtledove - Powerless3 - Brenda Kalt - The Gal...

A better than average issue with fun stories by Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard, Jeremiah Tolbert, Yukimi Ogawa and Sarina Dorie. Susan Emshwiller's debut story was also interesting and continues her parent's involvement with the magazine.- "The Memorybox Vultures" by Brian Trent: the story of a future where AI driven memories of dead people live on as 'posts from the dead'. But when one dead person's recorded videos of a politician's younger self abusing animals and others start to surfac...

Brian Trent - "The Memorybox Vultures": 3 stars Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard - "Shooting Iron" 2-3 starsBonnie Jo Stufflebeam - "The Men Who Come From Flowers": 4 starsHarry Turtledove - "Powerless": 3 starsBrenda Kalt - "The Gallian Revolt as Seen from the Sama-Sama Laundrobath": 3 starsJeremiah Tolbert - "We Mete Justice With Beak and Talon" 2-3 starsYukimi Ogawa - "Taste of Opal": 4 starsSusan Emshwiller - "Suicide Watch": 5 starsGregor Hartmann - "Emissaries From the Skirts of Heave...

A darn good issue all around. I had a number of favorites:- "The Memorybox Vultures" by Brian Trent: I've read and enjoyed several of Trent's stories, and this one creates a chilling and fascinating vision of the future where the dead continue to post on social media. - "Powerless" by Harry Turtledove: Southern California under Russian communism, with a focus on a rebellious cog in the machine. Leave it to Turtledove to come up with a fresh alt history twist. I added this novelette to my awards

My favorite stories:- Harry Turtledove - Powerless. You can't fight city hall. Or can you? Revolutions build from small actions at the grassroots.- Brenda Kalt - The Gallian Revolt as Seen from the Sama-Sama Laundrobath. Nice companion piece to Powerless. - Gregor Hartmann - Emissaries From the Skirts of Heaven. Compressing an entire life story into a short story is no mean feat. Hartmann pulls it off masterfully. Sure to be on many award shortlists.

Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard offer a reversal of the “white savior” trope featured in most West meets East stories; in “Shooting Iron”, a Malaysian woman become a wild west gunslinger to liberate an American ghost town whose residents are frozen in time by a 100-plus-year-old curse. As a child, rich girl Jenny Lim crash lands in Angel Gulch, where the residents haven’t aged a day since the 19th century, thanks to a curse authored by Boss Lonely, a demonic cattle rancher who made the tow...

Great issue, front to back! And, sure I may be a little biased, but my sister’s dark, haunting story, Suicide Watch, is just amazing! Heck, biases aside, even if we WEREN’T siblings I’d think it was fantastic! Go Sis!!

The Memorybox Vultures had an amazing premise and was executed well, with a tight plot, a good balance of action and reflection, sleezy goverment types, badass heorines, and an ending that grips the heart. My favorite story in this issue

One of the best issues in a long time. Every story is above average and a couple of them are very good.Brian Trent - The Memorybox Vultures - 4 stars - A very well done story about a near future where when people die they can leave a social media/AI presence which can interact with people to a limited extent. Unfortunately, they can also be hacked.Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L. Howard - Shooting Iron - 4 stars - Good vs. Evil with the battle being fought by the hero/heroine in the white hat agai...

This issue of F&SF contains three novelettes, all of which I liked, and eight short stories, all but one of which I liked. Of the novelettes, my favorite is Harry Turtledove's "Powerless," which is an alternate history where the main character lives in a totalitarian Communist state in California's San Fernando Valley. It's a very effective story about small, stubborn acts of defiance.Among the short stories, two stood out for me. Susan Emshwiller's "Suicide Watch" is a deeply disturbing story a...

Excellent issue. Every story was enjoyable, and several quite good ones. Khaw & Howard’s “Shooting Iron”, Turtledove’s “Powerless”, Brian Trent’s “The Memorybox Vultures”, Jeremiah Tolbert’s “We Mete Justice with Beak and Talon”, and Gregor Hartmann’s “Emissaries from the Skirts of Heaven” were all favorites, and from the fact I’ve named half the issue gives an idea of the quality.