3.5/5, rounding up. None of the stories really stood out to me. Some body horror in a few, as well as fairy tale retellings. Introduced a new? game review section, looks to be cool. Watch out, IGN! There’s a new 3-letter all caps competitor in town. (Lol)Nothing to hate, but middling selection for my tastes.

I liked "Eyes of the Forest" by Ray Nayler.

As ever, F&SF is well worth reading with its eclectic mix of stories. I am usually most drawn by likable characters, but this time one of my favorites -- Holly Messinger's novella "Byzantine" -- drew me by its voice and the fascination of its setting and premise, holding my attention despite my limited sympathy for both the main characters.Another of my favorites, Ray Nayler's science fiction story, "Eyes of the Forest," combined a strange alien world with thoroughly likable characters and a com...

An average issues with interesting stories by Ray Nayler, Holly Messinger and a hilarious story involving American Indians by Joseph Bruchac.- "Hornet and Butterfly" by Tom Cool and Bruce Sterling: in a flooded future world, one person struggles to stay alive in a world turned upside down. But doing so may need him to subjugate himself to a person born to be in the upper classes.- "Stepsister " by Leah Cypess: a story that continues on from the ending of a familiar fairy tale, but with unusual t...

"Stepsister" by Leah Cypess - really interesting novella.

My favorite stories:“Byzantine” by Holly Messinger“Stepsister” by Leah Cypess“Warm Math” by Rich Larson“Birds Without Wings” by Rebecca Zahabi“Eyes of the Forest” by Ray Nayler“Another F*cken Fairy Tale” by M. Rickert

Eyes of the Forest by Ray Nayler is on my list of the Best Short SFF of May 2020: https://1000yearplan.com/2020/06/01/t...

Favorites were “Byzantine”, “Eyes of the Forest”, and “Warm Math”.“Byzantine” caught me off guard. I’m normally not into historical fiction but I blazed through this story. Fantastic! I’ll try to find more stories set in ancient history settings!

Average Rating - 4.1 starsIndividual Ratings:- "Hornet and Butterfly" by Tom Cool & Bruce Stirling - 3- "Stepsister" by Leah Cypress - 4- "Eyes of the Forest" by Ray Naylor - 4- "Byzantine" by Holly Messinger - 4- "Warm Math" by Rich Larsen - 5- "An Indian Love Call" by Joseph Bruchac - 3- "Birds Without Wings" by Rebecca Zahabi - 5- "Into the Eyes of Jack Saul" by Richard Bowes - 4- "Who Carries the World" by Robert Reed - 4- "Another Fucken Fairy Tail" by M. Rickert - 5

Here’s a ticket to difficult times in Constantinople, to future floating cities turned upside down, to a Europe where fear of strangers has spread more than ever, to troubling decisions in deep space,… Here’s some highlights of the trip.Bruce Sterling returns with a story co-written with Tom Cool, “Hornet and Butterfly”, which he describes as “what cyberpunk would look like if somebody had invented it in 2019 in Hong Kong”. As in Sterling’s early stories, violence and poetry go hand in hand in a...

Eyes of the Forest by Ray Nayler was riveting.The Books To Look For column was a pleasure to read, and made me run to my iPad and order 3 of the books reviewed, right away.The Plumage From Pegasus column, written by Paul Di Filippo, entitled “Faster, Publisher! Binge! Binge!” was by far my favourite piece in the magazine, a flowing, monumental tribute to (or apology for) that blessed of all addiction objects, reading. Specifically the ultimately satisfying experience of reading a long series, pr...

My favorite stories:- Stepsister by Leah Cypress. One should avoid getting sucked into the maelstrom of a dysfunctional family, especially when they are the First Family. A new viewpoint on an old tale. With fae.- Eyes of the Forest by Ray Naylor. Words are important because they define the world and the way we see it. The wrong word can kill you, but the right word can save you. - Plumage from Pegasus: Faster, Publisher! Binge! Binge! by Paul Di Filippo. Pity the binge-oholic! New definition: a...

Some stories were excellent, others just didn't work for me.However, I REALLY liked:"Stepsister" by Leah Cypress"Birds Without Wings" by Rebecca Zahabi"Byzantine" by Holly Messinger"Eyes of the Forest" by Ray Naylor

Favorite(s):"The Eyes of the Forest" by Ray Neylor"An Indian Love Call" by Joseph Bruchac"Birds Without Wings" by Rebecca Zahabi"Stepsister" by Leah Cypress

A pretty good collection of stories in this issue.Tom Cool & Bruce Stirling - Hornet and Butterfly - 3 stars - I don't really know what this story is trying to say. In a future of ecological disaster, an artificial island on the ocean is flipped by a storm. A highly trained assassin kills police, goes to a friend for help, observes a specialized human butterfly being born, and on and on to no real aim.Leah Cypess - Stepsister - 4 stars - Cinderella has her stepmother and stepsisters stoned to de...

This review is for Nebula Award-nominated novelette “Stepsister” by Leah Cypess:Fairytales pre-Disneyfication tended to be grim and often vengeful. The world was dark and cruel, and the stories reflected that. Put Disney Princess gloss on them all you want, but Brothers Grimm had their versions of Cinderella’s stepsisters chop off bits of their feet and then have their eyes plucked out by birds, Hans Christian Andersen has his Little Mermaid commit suicide rather than enjoy the happily-ever-afte...

6 • Hornet and Butterfly • 19 pages by Tom Cool, Bruce Sterling OK+. The artificial island that Hornet was living on was destroyed by a typhoon. Four cyborg cops try to roust him for hoarding in a time of disaster. He resists successfully, but now has to protect himself from more cops that they're sure to send. Here the story is looking fantastic, but more elements are introduced, a woman grown from a vat, she leaves via helicopter, everyone else is on a refugee ship. It lost my interest.25 • St...

Rating for ‘Stepsister’ by Leah Cypess.

Hornet And Butterfly - Tom Cool & Bruce Sterling **A combat-adapted posthuman living on a gigantic raft city tries to survive as a refugee after a storm turns the whole city upside down and destroys it, then chases after a more advanced posthuman. Rather too old school and fetishistic of its subject for me and somewhat meandering in its plot. Stepsister - Leah Cypess ***A reimagining/extension of Cinderella, focused on a bastard brother of the prince in the years after Ella and Ciar's marriage.

Will return with more in depth review, but this was a very good issue.