(High Fantasy) Diogenes ought to be using the magician’s floating castle to help the emperor, but he feels obliged to honor his promise to restore Sylva’s body to her—even if it destroys the world. (10,901 words; Time: 36m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Low Bridge! Or The Dark Obstructions, by M. Bennardo
(Historical Fantasy) On the Erie Canal, a young man and his bride confront an author who doesn’t believe in the supernatural at all. (8,086 words; Time: 26m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
There is almost no speculative element in this story.
Mandelbrot the Magnificent, by Liz Ziemska
(Historical Fantasy) An account of how the young Benoit Mandelbrot learned he could affect physical reality with his mathematics and how he tried to mount a defense against the Nazi’s in France. (20,135 words; Time: 1h:07m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
See related articles on Tor.com.
Three May Keep a Secret, by Carlie St. George
(Horror) At a drunken party, Scarlett tells the new boy a ghost story she’d promised her now-dead best friend she’d never repeat. (7,682 words; Time: 25m)
Rating: ★★★★★ Tense yet Endearing
El Cóndor del Machángara, by Ana Hurtado
(Magical Realism) In a riverside village in Ecuador, a girl identifies with a mythical figure who once sought help in the river of the condor. (4,704 words; Time: 15m)
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Apology & Open Letter Responses
Apology
We apologize to all readers and authors we've harmed and offended. Greg has withdrawn from the Locus Recommended Reading List panel.We apologize for offending non-binary and trans people who use “they” as their pronoun. Our criticism of fictional non-binary characters in stories hurt real people who read and identify with those characters. What we'd previously dismissed as differences of personal preference or as "neutral" linguistic arguments, actually exposed a major blind spot.
We also apologize for trying to "explain" trans people to a cis audience in two reviews (The Black Tides of Heaven & The Red Threads of Fortune). It is not our place to do that no matter how much history Greg had in the LGBT movement, and we should have known that.
Moving forward, we will no longer single out the use of “they” as pronouns for non-binary characters as a Pro or Con of a story. We will treat non-binary characters the same way we treat gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans characters. For existing reviews, we will update each with a correction and comment that links to this post. In general, if people tell us about errors in pronouns or gendering, we’ll thank them for their feedback and correct the errors.
We continue to listen and to learn, and we will do better.
For People Who Are Making Threats: It's come to our attention that some people are making threats against some of the folks who complained about RSR's treatment of trans and non-binary people. This really is not acceptable and we condemn it unconditionally.
Monday, November 27, 2017
In Calabria, by Peter S. Beagle
★★★★★ Beautiful, Charming, and Uplifting
(Modern Fantasy) Claudio tends his farm alone down at the tip of the Italian peninsula until a young woman and a pregnant unicorn disturb his tranquility. (31,954 words; Time: 1h:46m)
Recommended By: 🏆Locus+2 🏆WFantasy+1 👍RHorton.r+1 👍RSR+2 (Q&A)
There is no connection with the Last Unicorn stories.
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