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Uncanny Magazine #37
Uncanny Magazine Issue 37: November / December 2020
Fiction
- Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang
- 50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu
- Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide
- The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell
- The Salt Witch by Martha Wells
- Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus
- The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo
- Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang
- 50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu
- Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide
- The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell
- The Salt Witch by Martha Wells
- Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus
- The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo
Nook
First published November 3, 2020
About the author
Lynne M. Thomas
100 books218 followersIn my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.
I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.
I'm an eleven-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
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December 3, 2020The Salt Witch by Martha Wells
“Hell is people, witch, and some people are so bad they can make anyplace into Hell, even a place meant to be a refuge.”
The witch Juana is the protagonist of this short story by one of my favorite writers. Juana flies over the sea and discovers an anomaly on an island facing hurricanes.
Ghosts and girl-power.
3,5 sandy stars.
could be found here
“Hell is people, witch, and some people are so bad they can make anyplace into Hell, even a place meant to be a refuge.”
The witch Juana is the protagonist of this short story by one of my favorite writers. Juana flies over the sea and discovers an anomaly on an island facing hurricanes.
Ghosts and girl-power.
3,5 sandy stars.
could be found here
January 11, 2021
This rating and review are only for the short story The Salt Witch by Martha Wells that is found in this volume.
I have been wanting to read something by Martha Wells for awhile, so for this week’s short story, I browsed the interwebz for some of her short fiction, finding this one for free from Uncanny Magazine.
And boy oh boy was this a super fantastic story. Witches, Demon Kings, unsettled ghosts, hurricanes, sandy beaches, identity, and a good ole dose of girl power on top.
Juana is a witch traversing the ocean on a rinky dink little sailboat when she feels herself pulled to a ghost island on her way to Hispaniola. When she lands there, she realizes that someone or something has caused quite a stir there. The island is home to ghosts who’ve lost their lives to hurricanes, and everything is in disarray. The ghosts are scattered and confused, the hotel refuge has been taken over by an asshole of the highest order, and chaos rules.
For me, this story was a little reminiscent of Ocean at the End of the Lane, but with a badass female at its core. Juana must come to terms with her memories of the island, and her place in it before she can set things right for everyone else. It is a short story with a really awesome female protagonist that has a lot to say about claiming your power, owning it, standing up to the patriarchy, and saving yourself.
I was thoroughly entertained the entire way through this short, and will be sure to put Martha Wells’ other works on my radar, effective immediately.
4 stars.
Read this kickass story for free here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...
I have been wanting to read something by Martha Wells for awhile, so for this week’s short story, I browsed the interwebz for some of her short fiction, finding this one for free from Uncanny Magazine.
And boy oh boy was this a super fantastic story. Witches, Demon Kings, unsettled ghosts, hurricanes, sandy beaches, identity, and a good ole dose of girl power on top.
Juana is a witch traversing the ocean on a rinky dink little sailboat when she feels herself pulled to a ghost island on her way to Hispaniola. When she lands there, she realizes that someone or something has caused quite a stir there. The island is home to ghosts who’ve lost their lives to hurricanes, and everything is in disarray. The ghosts are scattered and confused, the hotel refuge has been taken over by an asshole of the highest order, and chaos rules.
For me, this story was a little reminiscent of Ocean at the End of the Lane, but with a badass female at its core. Juana must come to terms with her memories of the island, and her place in it before she can set things right for everyone else. It is a short story with a really awesome female protagonist that has a lot to say about claiming your power, owning it, standing up to the patriarchy, and saving yourself.
Rescue yourself, queen. Start with ‘no’.
I was thoroughly entertained the entire way through this short, and will be sure to put Martha Wells’ other works on my radar, effective immediately.
Witches got to witch.
4 stars.
Read this kickass story for free here:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/t...
December 30, 2020
If Ken Liu pitched for Major League Baseball, he would be a howitzer. If he played tennis, he would be a wall 27 feet wide. If he attacked spaceships, he'll be on fire off the shoulder of Orion. The point is, he's really, really good.
Save yourself from my terrible metaphors and go see for yourself just how good he can be by reading 50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/5...
Save yourself from my terrible metaphors and go see for yourself just how good he can be by reading 50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/5...
May 22, 2021
Overall enjoyable collection of stories. Tops for me were Martha Wells' "Salt Witch" and Hvide's "Words we say instead," but really all the stories were worth reading.
June 10, 2023
Listened to LeVar Burton read The Words We Say Instead by Brit E.B. Hvide.
I think I’ve listened to this before…perhaps; either way I enjoyed it.
Another good reading by LeVar and a great collection of themes.
Well written. I enjoyed the heart being compared to a hummingbird.
I think I’ve listened to this before…perhaps; either way I enjoyed it.
Another good reading by LeVar and a great collection of themes.
Well written. I enjoyed the heart being compared to a hummingbird.
March 1, 2021
2021 Winter (February);
I blitzed in a read of this recent 2020 award-winning short story by Martha Wells before interviewing her this past weekend. I fell in love with story so very quickly (with all the times blurring and fading in and out of each other), and as it simultaneously unspooled the past of the main character and brought into focus the message of the story itself, I was riveted.
Say no, my dears, and give no man your crowns.
She took a deep breath and said, “What about no.”
It said, “What do you mean, no? No to what?” The voice was sneering and deep, just like she had expected, but also just a little whiny.
“Monsters like you, you got to start with ‘no’,” Juana said. “Then just keep working your way further toward ‘hell no’.”
I blitzed in a read of this recent 2020 award-winning short story by Martha Wells before interviewing her this past weekend. I fell in love with story so very quickly (with all the times blurring and fading in and out of each other), and as it simultaneously unspooled the past of the main character and brought into focus the message of the story itself, I was riveted.
Say no, my dears, and give no man your crowns.
December 7, 2022
I'm adding this purely for "The Salt Witch" - a satisfying and compelling short story by Martha Wells. I read it here on Tor.com.
Read
February 17, 2021Favourite stories in this one:
Words We Say Instead, by Brit EB Hvide—Absolutely heartbreaking, made more so because I was thinking about dogs. Easily the most emotionally devastating thing I've read in a long time.
The Salt Witch, by Martha Wells—biased because I love me some Murderbot, but this was a fast-paced, dream-logic story that kept me engaged even when I had no idea what was going on.
The Span of His Wrist, by Lee Mandelo—A quiet, gentle queer story about moving on that didn't go exactly where I thought it would.
Words We Say Instead, by Brit EB Hvide—Absolutely heartbreaking, made more so because I was thinking about dogs. Easily the most emotionally devastating thing I've read in a long time.
The Salt Witch, by Martha Wells—biased because I love me some Murderbot, but this was a fast-paced, dream-logic story that kept me engaged even when I had no idea what was going on.
The Span of His Wrist, by Lee Mandelo—A quiet, gentle queer story about moving on that didn't go exactly where I thought it would.
March 25, 2021
Some of the stories (like "The Salt Witch" by Martha Wells and "The Span of His Wrist" by Lee Mandelo) I liked a lot. Others (notably "50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know" by Ken Liu) were okay but not quite my cup of tea. There were one or two I didn't like, and at least one (though I forget which) that I disliked enough to DNF the short story and move on to the next piece. I really only skimmed the essays and interviews, but the poetry was neat. I had forgotten poetry was in these magazines too.
November 15, 2020
A nice variety. Fewer of the stories than usual worked for me but the two that did were so fantastic I have to go for four stars. 50 things every AI working with humans should know is moving and interesting and made me feel a very unusual emotion and Word We Say Instead is one of the most heartbreaking short stories I have read this year. The essays were good and interesting. I don’t get the poetry but that’s a me problem not an it problem.
January 20, 2022
Another free short piece, and I love Martha Wells, and I have been reading her fantasy novels for a long while. This is an almost dream-like fantasy in a Caribbean setting island with witches and ghosts. It might be the set up for more stories with Juana, since the ending is kind of open to that, but in all I did not think there was much plot or characterization.
Shelved as 'comics-and-magazines'
December 10, 2020Favorites:
Words We Say Instead (Brit E. B. Hvide)
Proof of Existence (Hal Y. Zhang)
The Bottomless Martyr (John Wiswell)
Words We Say Instead (Brit E. B. Hvide)
Proof of Existence (Hal Y. Zhang)
The Bottomless Martyr (John Wiswell)
July 27, 2021
I think you have to be high to read this.
November 16, 2024
Really enjoyed Martha Wells' The Salt Witch and Brit E. B. Hvide's The Words We Say Instead
July 1, 2023
Now I know why uncanny
Just didn't seem to make sense... The majority of content wasn't the fiction, but interviews and essays. One essay in this issue cleared that up. Apparently the publication is aimed at the social breed... Those who not only insist on perceiving Everything done by everyone in terms of politics & refuses to believe in apolitical beliefs or actions from anyone. Not espousing a party, but refuses to believe some of us don't have one. At least the bits of fiction tacked on make a bit more sense within that viewpoint.
Just didn't seem to make sense... The majority of content wasn't the fiction, but interviews and essays. One essay in this issue cleared that up. Apparently the publication is aimed at the social breed... Those who not only insist on perceiving Everything done by everyone in terms of politics & refuses to believe in apolitical beliefs or actions from anyone. Not espousing a party, but refuses to believe some of us don't have one. At least the bits of fiction tacked on make a bit more sense within that viewpoint.
August 23, 2022
“The Salt Witch” by Martha Wells 4*
Read
January 16, 2023Read:
"The Salt Witch by Martha Wells"
"The Salt Witch by Martha Wells"
June 6, 2023
I read "The Salt Witch" by Martha Wells and loved it! You can find the link in her bibliography: https://www.marthawells.com/bib.htm/.
June 15, 2023
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells — 4 stars
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu — 2.5 stars
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota — 3.5 stars
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu — 2.5 stars
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota — 3.5 stars
April 28, 2022
A fascinating collection of short stories, essays, and poetry. I enjoyed most of the short stories, though some were a bit over my head. I came for the Lee Mandelo story and stayed for the 'uncanny' aspect of all the narratives. Most of the essays covered topics I don't have much interest in, but they were well written and thoughtful. The poetry was quite lovely. I have deeper insight and notes about the stories, but not up for posting them at the moment.
August 19, 2021
I only listened to the short story Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide in this magazine through the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. *Spoilers* The story started out slow but gained traction, as a veteran space pilot is at a shady spaceship dealership, looking for old technology that has been banned by the government. Turns out years ago, she and other pilots were given AI ships that connected to their brain waves, and these ships became like family to them. When they were ordered to decommission their ships due to potential problems with the technology, she reluctantly complied but has regretted it in the decades since. Now she searches for bits of old technology that she hopes she can reinstall and seeks penance for betraying her AI ship years ago.
December 8, 2020
Fiction
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu: 3/5
Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang: 3.25/5
Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide: 5/5
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells: 3/5
The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo: 4.5/5
The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell: 4/5
Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus: 2/5
Non-fiction
Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball: 2.5/5
Black and White and Red All Over: On the Semiotic Effect of Color Printing in Genre Fiction by Meg Elison: 2.5/5
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota: 3.5/5
This Isn't the End: On Becoming a Writing Parent by K.A. Doore: 2.5/5
Average rating: 3.25/5
50 Things Every AI Working with Humans Should Know by Ken Liu: 3/5
Proof of Existence by Hal Y. Zhang: 3.25/5
Words We Say Instead by Brit E. B. Hvide: 5/5
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells: 3/5
The Span of His Wrist by Lee Mandelo: 4.5/5
The Bottomless Martyr by John Wiswell: 4/5
Cerulean Memories by Maurice Broaddus: 2/5
Non-fiction
Evoking the Gothic: The House That Anxiety Built by Meghan Ball: 2.5/5
Black and White and Red All Over: On the Semiotic Effect of Color Printing in Genre Fiction by Meg Elison: 2.5/5
Traveling Without Moving by Michi Trota: 3.5/5
This Isn't the End: On Becoming a Writing Parent by K.A. Doore: 2.5/5
Average rating: 3.25/5
Read
September 20, 2021⚜ poetry review ⚜
I leave
your number; not to grieve,
nor as one surviving;
But just to leave
As ever, my poetry stanning cannot be sated. I read Making Accommodations by Valerie Valdes, An Elder Resigns from the Chorus of Oedipus at Colonnus by Peter Tancy, Cento for Lagahoos by Brandon O’Brien and The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow.
I mean, how lovely is Making Accommodations:
I’ve tried to thin
my bones and sinews, ink myself in lines
so small, so shrinking, safe to overlook—
passed between palms, a secret note in school,
crumpled and cast into a fire as fuel,
or pressed between the pages of a book
I leave
your number; not to grieve,
nor as one surviving;
But just to leave
As ever, my poetry stanning cannot be sated. I read Making Accommodations by Valerie Valdes, An Elder Resigns from the Chorus of Oedipus at Colonnus by Peter Tancy, Cento for Lagahoos by Brandon O’Brien and The Automaton Falls in Love by Jennifer Crow.
I mean, how lovely is Making Accommodations:
I’ve tried to thin
my bones and sinews, ink myself in lines
so small, so shrinking, safe to overlook—
passed between palms, a secret note in school,
crumpled and cast into a fire as fuel,
or pressed between the pages of a book
March 6, 2021
This review is for the short story "The Salt Witch" by Martha Wells, originally published in Uncanny Magazine 37.
I read and loved Well's Murderbot diaries series, and I was quite curious to read a fantasy story by the same author. The story follow Juana, a witch, that while trying to travel towards the Caribbean, she keeps getting pulled towards a mysterious sandbar island populated by ghosts of he past and hunted by some evil presence.
It's a very good story, but I confess I strongly preferred the Murderbot Diaries. :P
I read and loved Well's Murderbot diaries series, and I was quite curious to read a fantasy story by the same author. The story follow Juana, a witch, that while trying to travel towards the Caribbean, she keeps getting pulled towards a mysterious sandbar island populated by ghosts of he past and hunted by some evil presence.
It's a very good story, but I confess I strongly preferred the Murderbot Diaries. :P
April 1, 2021
Intellectually challenging. To the point where a Google search is a necessary component of reading it. However, while I enjoyed the list, I found the earlier ending, "Ceci n'est pas moi" a bit more of an emotional punch and greater theme.
Points for referencing both the Terminator and my favorite Octavia Butler series.
Points for referencing both the Terminator and my favorite Octavia Butler series.
April 9, 2021
Very well-written, but didn't really grab me. I suspect I would enjoy it more if I read it again, knowing the twists that were coming. Any real plot description would involve massive spoilers, so all I'll say on that front is that 'things are not as they seem'.
November 18, 2020
I liked "The Bottomless Martyr" by John Wiswell
January 25, 2021
The Salt Witch by Martha Wells only.
Shelved as 'paused'
May 1, 2021Top Ten Finalist - Short Story - Locus Awards - 2021
https://locusmag.com/2021/05/2021-loc...
https://locusmag.com/2021/05/2021-loc...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews