This is the Sixtieth Anniversary issue of the magazine, and it has a good selection of well-known authors, but doesn't seem to have much of anything outstanding. I enjoyed the Shepard story the most, but it was still a lot of weird elements thrown together that did not make all that coherent of a story. The SIlverberg is a Majipoor story that didn't seem to use anything unique to that setting.

There is also a decent science article on vision and color, and Lucius Shepard trashes the Star Trek movie in his review.

"Halloween Town' - Lucius Shepard 3.5/5
A town at the bottom of a canyon has dark secrets. Weird story that did not come together for me.
"The Far Shore" - Elizabeth Hand 3/5
A dancing instructor rescues a strange boy from the forest.
"The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar" - Robert Silverberg 3.5/5
A trader seeks to learn the fate of his brother-in-law in a distant city. Decent, but not much too it, and doesn't need the Majipoor setting.
"Blocked" - Geoff Ryman 3/5
Humanity goes underground to escape an alien armada. Hints at something interesting, but didn't do much for me in the end. ( )

I received a free copy of this issue after getting second place in their 60th Anniversary contest. First prize was a 60 year subscription, second prize was three advanced reader copies of books. While 60 years of free FSF would have been nice, the books I got weren't that bad.

This issue, being the Diamond Anniversary, is thicker than any previous issue I've seen before. The writers represented were all past big names readers of FSF would be familiar with. In no particular order:

Bandits of the Trace by Albert E. Cowdry

Readers of Cowdry who are sick of every story being about New Orleans, pre- or post-Katrina, will be thrilled to hear that his story in this issue is NOT about The Big Easy. It features a college professor trying to get to the bottom of a century-old mystery, with the help of a lazy college student with a penchant for puzzles. The SF (spec-fic) elements of this story are very minimal, at least until the end. (3.5/5)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Licensable by Paul Di Filippo

Di Filippo's stories in FSF are hit or miss. I suppose somebody must enjoy the corny humor, otherwise, we wouldn't see it every other issue. This one pokes fun at the Coraline franchise, extending it, as Di Filippo does, to the logical (or illogical) extreme. (3/5)

Logicist by Carol Emshwiller

I felt that this short story was ejected into the world prematurely. It's too short to do the story justice, and it didn't feel fully developed. Likewise, the SF elements seemed completely absent (or, very, very subtle). The story features a teacher, a very logical man, who during a battle, finds himself befriending a woman, the enemy. The logic behind his decisions flows through his mind as he befriends this woman and her war-torn family. (3/5)

I Waltzed with a Zombie by Ron Goulart

Goulart's name, to me, evokes a cheesy, campy B-movie sort of feel. Oddly enough, all of his stories deal with just such a subject matter. I've read many Goulart short stories during my reading of FSF, and I must say: if you've read one, you've read them all: Down-on-his-luck guy connected to movies somehow engages the supernatural to try to further his own career and maybe rekindle a relationship with an ex-wife/girlfriend, only to fail in a semi-comedic way. Yawn. While funny, not something I would go out of my way to read. (2.5/5)

Never Blood Enough by Joe Haldeman

I'm not too familiar with Haldeman's writings, though his books have been recommended to me before. NBE deals with a xenobiologist on a strange planet with strange fauna. It's sort of a murder mystery, but I was shocked to have realized the killer before the protagonist. Probably because he's otherwise too distracted from what he loves by all the other hats he must wear. (3/5)

The Far Shore by Elizabeth Hand

Hand is someone who's name rings a bell, but I can't for the life of me come up with anything else she wrote. A memorable name, but not a memorable writer. This story features a main character who I found offensive. He's a former ballet dancer, he's gay, and he has a thing for young boys. Talk about negative stereotypes... because, of course, all male dancers are gay, and all homosexuals are boy-hungry pedophiles, right? But I digress. He's watching a cabin for his good friend, and while there, alone, meets a strange angelic man/boy with whom he's immediately smitten. The man/boy makes him an offer that will alter the rest of his life/afterlife. This story falls nicely into the category of "Fantastic thing happens, and then is gone," which may make for imaginative reading, but otherwise leaves the reader with nothing. It may be based on folklore, but if it was, Hand seemed to be keeping it very secret. (2.5/5)

Seeing Red by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty

If you've ever wondered about colors, and what makes something red/green/blue/whatever, this is a very insightful (pun unintended) science article. (3.5/5)

Another Life Charles Oberndorf

I've never heard of Oberndorf before. At least, his name is unfamiliar to me. This story features a guy recounting his past life (literally) to his estranged wife. The setting is complex: you die, but you can be reborn into a new body. He's telling his wife about this one woman, Noriko, who had quite an impression on him. I found this story unbelievable (imagine that! in an SF mag!), or at least, off-point, as he learns a valuable lesson in the end that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the story. At least, that's the impression I got. (2.5/5)

Through Time and Space With Ferdinand Feghoot by Ron Partridge

Ferdinand must get through a diamond-ring surrounding a planet. While the punchline is apropos for the 60th anniversary, it also felt like a cop-out. (3/5)

Mermaid by Robert Reed

Reed is an author who has a story featured quite regularly. His fiction is generally a step above the other writers. A guy comes into contact with a meth-head and his beautiful girlfriend. She's too pretty to be with him, and he realizes a similarity between them and him and his girlfriend, who is not quite of this world. He finds his suspicions are right, but maybe not quite as he suspected. (4/5)

The President's Book Tour by M. Rickert

Rickert's writing, like Goulart's, is pretty much the same, though not the same as Goulart. Rickert writes stories that are depressing, scary, and also empowering to women. Most of the time, witches are involved. While no witches take center stage in TPBT, we still get a depressing, scary, and empowering story. Some disaster altered things, and people in a small town all had grossly deformed children. The President visits one day, while on his book tour, and decides to live in the town. Disturbing, but better than some of the other stories it appeared alongside (3.5/5)

Blocked by Geoff Ryman

Ryman's stories usually feature Asian locales and characters. This story is no exception. People are fled from their homes to live under ground in a market-driven future distopia. A man and his surrogate family must cope with their new life, though he is not fully convinced the so-called aliens, the excuse used to make them flee, are quite real. (3/5)

Anti-Trek and
Halloween Town by Lucius Shepard

Shepard does two things for FSF: He writes movie reviews and stories. The movie reviews always trash blockbuster films designed to get asses in seats and buckets of popcorn to keep them stuck there, and he also tells us of lesser-known films that will actually challenge our intellect, instead of insulting it. It's like punishing a bad dog for peeing on the carpet, but then taking him outside to the old oak tree, and showing him that's where you pee. I love reading his reviews, and strive to be a reviewer of his caliber one day. This article features smack talk on Star Trek, and a gentle coaxing to see, instead Moon, as well as other films that may be worth your while, including a horror film (The House of the Devil), and a vampire film (Thirst). (5/5)

His stories on the other hand do not strike me with the same "Oh No You Didn't!" as his reviews. I respect him as a writer of fiction, but not as much as I respect him as a reviewer. His story, Halloween Town, is well realized: a strange town with a mysterious origin, a lack of cats, and secretive people, all living under the a former rock-star benefactor (Rock stars are a common theme in Shepard's fiction, a product of his real life as a musician). The characters are unique and well-developed, free of stock characters. Even no-named characters feel real, with a history. In this strange town, a new resident who flees his old life after a head injury gives him solar-powered genius, must adapt to the new life, and mustn't break any of the rules, both written and unwritten. It's a complex story, and while good, is not GREAT. (3.5/5)

The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar by Robert Silverberg

Silverberg's story is set in Majipoor, his fantasy world. The other Majipoor writings are not required reading in order to understand this story, but an appreciation for them may be to enjoy it. A man investigates the mysterious disappearance of his brother-in-law. He refuses to believe that demons made off with him, and every other trail seems highly unlikely, as all the suspects are quiet, benevolent folks incapable of cold-blooded murder. Nothing to write home about. (3/5)

Shadows on the Wall of the Cave by Kate Wilhelm

Wilhelm is one of those writers, like Hand, who I know I've read, but just can't remember. I'm sure her other stories are good, but they're just not memorable enough for me to attach her name to them. This story could be either fantasy or science fiction, which is good if you tend to prefer only one of these. A boy gets lost in a cave, and his brother and cousin live on with accusations flying at the brother and interrogations at the cousin. Years later, they get an unexpected surprise. (3.5/5)

All in all, I thought that this issue was borderline yawn. Many of the stories written by seasoned pros felt like, "Oh, crap, I have to send a story to Gordon in 10 minutes!" and less like Nebula/Hugo material, like one would expect in a 60th anniversary issue. At least it was free for me, though, eh?

Best in Show: Mermaid by Robert Reed

While this one didn't stand out like a sore thumb, it definitely was the one that was most enjoyable to read, and then ruminate on. ( )

So here it is, the Sixtieth Anniversary issue of the oldest running magazine in the genre. Plus, it has a fairly star studded contributor list with Joe Haldeman, Robert Silverberg, Kate Wilhelm, Lucuis Shepard, Robert Reed and a pile of other high profile writers represented. Each writer also introduces their own story with a brief story about their first encounter with Fantasy & Science Fiction, most of while make for entertaining little anecdotes. Unfortunately, even with this high-profile lineup of writing talent, the magazine is oddly average, with only a few stories deserving more than a "pretty good" rating.

My favorite story in the issue is Kate Wilhelm's Shadows on the Wall of the Cave, about the strange and sudden disappearance of a small boy and the effect this has on his two playmates. The story is appropriate scary, capturing just what people find spooky about dark caves, and the resolution is at the same time sad, hopeful, and realistic (or as realistic as one can get in a story that involves people vanishing into the shadows of a cavern). Bandits of the Trace by Albert E. Cowdrey, is also quite good. Told from a shifting viewpoint , the story is about a small town college professor and his attempts to unravel the mystery of the location of a treasure trove left by a notorious band of frontier bandits. The story is a little bit mystery, involving a complicated code left by the bandits, and a little bit fantasy, as the fate of Justice Urquhart, the worst of the bandits, is revealed. Overall, it is one of the best stories in the volume.

The longest story in the volume is Lucius Shepard's Halloween Town, which is sort of a grab-bag of odd ideas strung together: An empathic protagonist, a mysterious town in a canyon sheltered in perpetual twilight by a canopy of trees run by a strange ex-rock star in a fairly tyrannical manner, a strange cat-loving alien life form and, of course, a beautiful and dangerous love interest. The story meanders, and doesn't really go much of anywhere. I sort of got the impression that Shepard was clearing his desk of a bunch of ideas at once without a whole lot of point. I was not particularly excited by Elizabeth Hand's contribution The Far Shore. The story is a sort of fairy tale involving a ballet dance instructor fired from his job who takes up residence for the winter at the summer camp facility owned by a friend of his. He finds a strange young man naked in the snow, gets involved in a sexual fling with him (working in the tired cliche of a gay male ballet dancer) and ends up traveling to a fairy world across the lake with the young man. The story is pretty, but predictable, and there's not much to it.

Robert Silverberg contributes the Majipoor story The Way They Wove Spells in Sippulgar. Like most Majipoor stories it is quirky and weird, involving a strange mix of science fiction and possible fantasy. Unfortunately, the story involving a merchant's quest to discover the fate of his brother-in-law kind of meanders and doesn't actually come to much of a conclusion. The protagonist ends up refusing to press the issue in order to prevent the possibility of overturning his personal beliefs, in this case, the belief that the supernatural is not real. While the lack of resolution to the mystery in the story is frustrating, the personal internal tension experienced by the protagonist (reversed from the normal version of a person refusing to run the risk that their belief in the supernatural could be disproved) makes the story worthwhile, but not much more.

Another Life by Charles Oberndorf is set in a world in which brain-taping - reminiscent of that used in Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline - is used to revive dead soldiers for an extended war, with the protagonist remembering his long-ago first revival and attempts to understand the mystery surrounding the time period he lost (i.e., the time between his last brain-tape and his death). The story is fairly sordid, as he takes up with a hermaphrodite prostitute to make ends meet when he discovers that his enlistment has been mysteriously erased. One side note: There is a trend among current science fiction to make sure to include a lot of gay, lesbian, or bisexual characters and make this a feature of the story, apparently in an attempt to make the story seem cutting edge. It doesn't. First off, Samuel R. Delany got to this territory a couple decades ago, so it is not new. Second, it makes the story smack of desperation as the writer seems to be trying to prove how open-minded and edgy he is. Where it makes sense, like in Ben Francisco's Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts (Realms of Fantasy, October 2009) it adds to the story. Otherwise, it just seems tacked on for titillation like a naked breast shot in a cheap B movie.

Ron Goulart's I Waltzed with a Zombie is a fun, kind of silly story about resurrecting movie stars as zombies. It is fun to read, but not particularly noteworthy. Never Blood Enough by Joe Haldeman is another readable but ultimately forgettable story about life on an alien planet. Ron Partridge's Ferdinand Feghoot installment is, as usual, merely a set up for a pun-filled punch line. As usual, if you hate puns, you will hate this story, since there is nothing else to it. I generally find these to be a waste of a page, but they keep running them, so someone must find them amusing.

Both Blocked by Geoff Ryman and Mermaid by Robert Reed are stories about men making choices against their better judgment for emotional reasons. In Blocked humanity is, abandoning the surface of the Earth in fear of an alien invasion, and the protagonist is driven by his wife to accept this underground exile, even though he has doubts about whether the threat is real, or whether survival is worth giving up the sky. Mermaid is a fantasy about the power of the mythical creature to ensnare men with magic, even though the end result of that enchantment may not be to the mermaid's benefit. The central character is obsessed, and though he knows that his obsession is bad for both his love and himself, he struggles to break free. Carol Emswhiller's Logicist has a kind of darkly humorous element to it as well, following about a teacher of logic as he logically makes a series of fairly stupid choices ending with him turning his back on a potentially loving relationship. It is a sort of inverse of Blocked in that regard.

The President’s Book Tour by M. Rickert is a post-apocalyptic tale about the resulting mutant children and the parents who love them anyway. It is not so much humorous as absurdist, as the bizarrely mutated children grow up, begin to randomly have sex and then the President shows up to try to sell his latest book. He breaks up the one mutant couple that has been formed to make the female child his bride but then she tries to kill him and he abandons the town. The plot of the story isn't the point, rather one is supposed to focus on the bizarre post-apocalyptic life of the town’s residents, and the extraordinarily bizarre nature of the President's sojourn in the town. The ending somehow, despite the absurd dark humor of the story, ends up being touching and sad.

For a special anniversary issue, there are a surprising number of quite ordinary and unmemorable stories, and as far as I can tell, no truly superlative ones. The bulk of the stories fall into the average to good range though, and only a few fall short of this mark (Feghoot, I'm looking at you among others). While not as exciting an issue as I would have thought given the lineup of writing talent assembled, the overall quality is still an above average issue. Despite being something of a disappointment considering that this was supposed to be a special Sixtieth Anniversary extravaganza, I give it a recommendation with the caveat not to expect much more than an ordinary run-of-the-mill issue would deliver.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. ( )