"I love LIghtspeed Magazine: edited by John Joseph Adams"

2022-09-23 20:28:39

Fantasy MagazineLightspeed MagazineNightmare MagazineFacebookTwitterScience Fiction & Fantasy © Grandeduc / Adobe Stock ImageHomeAboutAbout LightspeedOur StaffBack IssuesSpecial IssuesIssue #100People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!Queers Destroy Science Fiction!Women Destroy Science Fiction!AdvertisingSubmit a StoryContact UsFictionScience FictionSeries: The Aetherian RevolutionSeries: Sun Lords of the PrincipalitySeries: TwinmakerFantasySeries: DungeonspaceSeries: Legends of the Burnt EmpireSeries: From the Lost Travelers’ Tour GuideSeries: The Kaslo ChroniclesSeries: The Tales of Gorlen VizenfirtheSeries: Tales of the Great Sweet SeaFlash FictionIllustrated StoriesAward NomineesHugo AwardNebula AwardWorld Fantasy AwardStoker AwardParsec AwardTheodore Sturgeon Memorial AwardMillion Writers AwardWSFA Small Press AwardBest of the Year reprintsFantasy MagazineNightmare MagazineNonfictionEditorialsFeature InterviewsAuthor SpotlightsArtist ShowcaseArticlesBook ReviewsMedia ReviewsCover GalleryPodcastsSF PodcastsFantasy PodcastsPodcast RSS FeedSubscribe via iTunesSubscribe via Google PlayListen via StitcherBuy the Lightspeed: Year One AudiobookBuy from AudibleBuy from DownpourBuy/SubscribeBuy SubscriptionsBuy EbooksBuy BundlesBuy PaperbacksSupport/SubscribeEbook Tips & FAQMy AccountRSSLatest Science Fiction StoryThe Application of Strawberry Lip Gloss in a Low-Gravity Environmentby R J TheodoreAuthor spotlightGordon noted another entry in her portfolio of regrets. She regretted being reckless early in her career and ending up in med armor so young. She regretted leaving Samela, almost as much as she regretted meeting Samela. Regretted letting Sam steal her ship. And now, she regretted answering that want ad for a shipmate. Her suit suggested a mild pain reliever for the oncoming headache, which she accepted with a blink of her right eye. A whiff of medicinal vapor escaped her collar.ReadListenBuy eBookDirect (ePub/Mobi/PDF)Amazon (Kindle)Barnes & Noble (Nook)Weightless (ePub/Mobi)Kobo (ePub) SubscribeLatest Fantasy StoryThe Sister Cityby Cody GoodfellowWhen Loren left, he said it wasn’t me but the city. “This place hates me, Julian,” he said of LA. “I have to live in a city that loves me like this shithole loves that douchebag from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Typically, he buried the casual cruelty under a bad joke, but it was the first crack in a reservoir of obsession he’d kept completely secret. When he abruptly left for Portland, he didn’t ask me to come with him, and I wouldn’t shame myself by following him. Fast-forward three months: Loren’s parents come to me to find out what happened to him.ReadListenBuy eBookDirect (ePub/Mobi/PDF)Amazon (Kindle)Barnes & Noble (Nook)Weightless (ePub/Mobi)Kobo (ePub) SubscribeAdvertisementLatest NonfictionBook Review: Africa Risen, edited by Thomas, Ekpeki, & Knightby Arley SorgAfrica Risen isn’t just a new anthology edited by a triumvirate of amazing editors (Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight)—it’s a terrific read! Let reviewer Arley Sorg tell you why you’ll love it.ReadBuy eBookDirect (ePub/Mobi/PDF)Amazon (Kindle)Barnes & Noble (Nook)Weightless (ePub/Mobi)Kobo (ePub) SubscribeMore Science Fiction StoriesThe CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe Worldby MKRNYILGLD If you’re reading this—on some godforsaken imageboard, or dog-eared book page, or in encrypted base pairs sequenced off 3D-printed oligos—you’re probably grappling with a pretty tough decision right now. Breathe. I’m not judging you. I know how it goes. You tried your best but nothing’s infallible, or you slipped up one night, or he just straight-up went, your biological clock’s ticking, and hacked your birth control, knowing once it happens you won’t have a choice. The second his sperm enters your egg, he’s done, back to his star-studded career cranking out Science and Cell papers.Civilian Assumptionsby Dominique Dickey Like their battleship, Maddox was born for war. They emerged from the nursery with one purpose alone: to expand the Consortium’s borders, a bloody mission that had lasted generations, and would last generations to come. Any civilian raised in the Consortium would know a few things about Maddox: That Maddox goes into battle unafraid. That they believe the Consortium’s cause is a just one. And that they are blindingly in love with their ship. Like all captains, Maddox raised Olivia—that was what they named their ship, a soft name for a dangerous thing—from a seed.Eminenceby Karl Schroeder Usually, Nathan felt his cares lift a little as he turned the car onto Yuculta Crescent. Today, he had to resist an urge to drive past, even just go home. Nathan passed parked RVs and sports cars as he looked for an empty spot. As he walked back to a modest ochre house, he heard voices: teenagers talking about trading items in some online-game world. Nathan hesitated again. I could still go back to the car, let Grace find out from somebody else. The temptation was almost overwhelming.(available on 9/29) Buy IssueMore Fantasy StoriesThe Inheritance of Dust and Leatherby Jenny Rae Rappaport It never was a love story. Or perhaps it was, but I was too blind to see it. I kissed him because I had to—because the castle demanded it and the servants needed it—and frankly, the dead are talkative bastards. He transformed, and in his place was a man dressed in green and gold with hair that needed trimming and hands instead of paws. And I smiled, because it was expected, and I said “Yes” because it was expected. And then, I married him for his library.The Queen of the Earless Seals of Lake Baikalby Kristina Ten Dia was four years old when she first saw the earless seals of Lake Baikal, and twenty-four when she met their queen. In the time between, she moved from her small town, which was a short train ride’s distance to the lake, to the big city, which was a short train ride’s distance to everything, and went to university to study hotel management. Dia was well suited for hospitality; she was accommodating by nature. In the city, she learned the art of the turndown: how to dim the lights and plump the pillows just right.Her Five Farewellsby Martin Cahill When the Asphodel Queen decides she’ll die to save our people from her ex-husband’s tyranny, she commands me to build her a coffin, the very first in our world’s history. Her ageless face of ivory and emerald is water on a windless day; her stillness betrays nothing of her decision. As the Senate screams in sorrow, I am held by her imperial glare, the enormity of my task sinking in like sunlight on skin. “Me, Your Majesty? I’m but a humble craftsman.” Her voice rises above the growing din, as panic races through data-vines and across the crystal-network.(available on 9/29) Buy IssueAdvertisementSep. 2022 (Issue 148) Buy eBookDirect (ePub/Mobi/PDF)Amazon (Kindle)Barnes & Noble (Nook)Weightless (ePub/Mobi)Kobo (ePub) Science Fiction StoriesThe CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe Worldby MKRNYILGLDCivilian Assumptionsby Dominique DickeyThe Application of Strawberry Lip Gloss in a Low-Gravity Environmentby R J Theodore Author spotlightEminenceby Karl Schroeder (available on 9/29)Fantasy StoriesThe Inheritance of Dust and Leatherby Jenny Rae RappaportThe Queen of the Earless Seals of Lake Baikalby Kristina Ten Author spotlightThe Sister Cityby Cody GoodfellowHer Five Farewellsby Martin Cahill (available on 9/29)NonfictionEditorial: September 2022by John Joseph AdamsBook Review: She and Her Cat, by Makoto Shinkai, translated by Naruki Nagakawaby Aigner Loren WilsonBook Review: Africa Risen, edited by Thomas, Ekpeki, & Knightby Arley SorgBook Review: Other Terrors, edited by Liaguno & Masonby Chris Kluwe (available on 9/29) Exclusive EBook ContentNOVEL EXCERPT: Desert Creaturesby Kay Chronister This issue's cover art by Grandeduc / Adobe Stock Image.SubscribeAdvertisement AdvertisementStay ConnectedTwitterFacebookRSS FeedSubscribe to the EbookAdvertisement