This is the January/February 2021 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, one of the leading SFF pro-zines. I quite enjoyed this issue, most stories are quite good, even if there are no true gems. Here follows item-by-item review of the contents:A Magical Eire [Asimov's Editorials] essay by Sheila Williams a general talk about the fact that COVID-19 prevented usual meetings and what great meetings the author had in the past. 2*One Hundred Years of Robots [Reflections] essay by Robert Silverberg Capek...

I really didn't connect to the Robert Reed tale, a big chunk of this issue. Interesting world-building, but no emotional resonance with the characters.

Review is solely for "A Rocket for Dimitrios" by Ray Nayler, nominated for the 2021 Locus Award for best novella. This was the cover story for this issue. Look for it on other award ballots in 2022! Online copy: https://www.raynayler.net/a-rocket-fo... A fine, complex story set around 1960 in an alternate Cold War, after the US and the Allies won WW2 decisively with alien technology found in a crashed alien saucer in the Western US desert. Death Rays! Flying cars! Wonderful old-fashioned SF, wit...

I've generally tried to leave out spoilers, but if you do not want any hint of what is in this issue, please don't read my reviews below.Overall issue rating (as an average of rated stories): 3.3Favorite story in this issue: "No Stone Unturned" NOVELLA"A Rocket for Dimitrios" 4/5Ray Nayler's story is wonderfully layered, taking in the whole sweep of complexity of such a place as mid-century Turkey. Reading this story, I would almost not even call it alternative history so much as parallel histor...

Personal reading notes:(1) A Rocket for Dimitrios - Ray Nayler (cover story)Alt-history set in the 1950s, after the US wins WWII with the help of alien tech. There's a rumor floating around that there's a second saucer crash site and the Russians are closing in, so the US government brings in a sensitive with the ability to read the memories of dead people. Sylvia delves into the memories of the mysterious Dimitrios to learn if there truly is a second saucer and its possible crash site. I liked

Novellas:A Rocket for Dimitrios - 4/5The Realms of Water - 4/5Novelettes:No Stone Unturned - 4/5Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in Seventeen Scenes - 3/5Hunches - 2/5Shy Sarah and the Draft Pick Lottery - 3/5Mayor for Today - 3/5Short Stories:The Fear of Missing Out - 2/5The Three-Day Hunt - 2/5Humans and Other People - 3/5I Didn't Buy It - 4/5

Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel in Seventeen Scenes - Suzanne PalmerAn enjoyable novelette, where revenge, diplomacy and murder stalk the halls stalk the halls of Kenyon Station, where Commander Ennie Niagara must prevent violent disagreement between the delegations of the demanding and odious Joxto and the fruit loving Okgono (in between snacks and a smorgasbord of multispecies delicacies). But the chance discovery of a serendipitous stowaway on the station reveals the dirty secret of

This is one of the best issues of Asimov's I've read in ages."A Rocket for Dimitrios" was excellent, better than the earlier story "The Disintegration Loops" published in Nov/Dec 2019, but may have been assisted by my having read that one. Go back and read Loops first if you can, if not, no problem."Table Etiquette..." by Suzanne Palmer is one of the better stories I've read in a while. Hilarious. Adventurous. Great aliens. Great characters. Great story. "Shy Sarah" another great read. Three 4+

Good entertaining issue with some great stories and some in-betweens.The fiction starts of great by Ray Nayler with his novella "A Rocket for Dimitrios" which is set in the same alternate universe as "The Disintegration Loops" (available on the authors website at https://www.raynayler.net/sf-the-disi...) where the United States used alien tech from a crashed UFO to win the second world war in an overwhelmingly way, so we have a story taken place in the 1960's were the US is even more of a superp...

In ‘A Rocket for Dimitrios’, 5/5, Ray Nayler torna nella sua amata Istanbul: qui non per un dolente cyberpunk come ‘Return to Red Castle’, ma per un frizzante racconto ambientato, come ‘The disintegration loops’ e ‘Father’ in numeri passati, in una realtà parallela in cui un disco volante è caduto in California nel ’38, rendendo disponibili agli USA tecnologie avanzate, che hanno permesso loro non solo di vincere la II Guerra Mondiale ma anche di respingere l’Armata Rossa fuori dall’Europa Orien...

Here are my favorite stories from the Jan/Feb 2021 issue of Asimov's. Nice theme with the last four stories all addressing the question of personhood.- Rocket for Dimitrios by Ray Nayler.A return to the alt-history of alien tech found in the 1938 American SW; riding the memory loops of a dead informant to find a second saucer. How can you have a balance of power with only one power?- The Realms of Water by Robert Reed.“The smell of sweet electric!” On a long desert journey, there are sure to be

After FDR’s U.S. gained a technological edge using crashed saucer tech, they pushed back the Axis to achieve a pax americana, but it’s imperiled by the discovery of a second saucer. Sylvia Alstatt is brought in to try to read the dead brain of the information seller Demetrios using alien tech and locate the missing saucer. But is it the right thing to do? General Hedy Lamarr and Eleanor Roosevelt don’t think so. Alternate intrigue from Ray Nayler in “A Rocket For Demetrios”. A human killed on a

Though there are a couple/few stories in this issue that I didn’t care much for, the vast majority were really excellent. A great start to 2021 for Asimov’s.“A Rocket for Dimitrios” by Ray Nayler — Increasingly liking the fiction from Nayler and his translations, and this alternate history is no different. A follow up to his previous story “The Disintegration Loops”, the foundation for this alternate world is the discovery of alien technology in the early 1930s and its implementation in US over

Lots of good stuff in this issue. "Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in Seventeen Scenes" is a murder mystery set on a space ship and involves food & dining customs amongstvarious species. "Mayor for Today" takes the gig economy and automation, extrapolates it, and explores the mayhem caused. "Humans and Other People" find a human and a "Mobile Anthroform" salvaging stuff in Philadelphia. "Shy Sarah..." posits the existence of people who bring luck to a team or an event merely by their a...

A (excellent):A Rocket for Dimitrios by Ray NaylerNo Stone Unturned by Nick WolvenShy Sarah and the Draft Pick Lottery by Ted KosmatkaB (very good):Table Etiquette for Diplomatic Personnel, in 17 Scenes by Suzanne PalmerHunches by Kristine Kathryn RuschMayor for Today by Fran WildeThe Three-Day Hunt by Robert R ChaseHumans & Other People by Sean William SwanwickC (average):The Realms of Water by Robert Reed D (poor):The Fear of Missing Out by Robert H CloakeI Didn't Buy It by Naomi Kanakia

Highlights:A Rocket for DimitriosHunchesShy Sarah and the Draft Pick Lottery

There are definitely some authors in here to watch out for. The science fiction essay by one of the editors was fantastic.

Listened to Fran Wilde’s “Mayor for Today” on futuristic gig jobs and being sent to China to be mayor of Danzhai. Rather entertaining—(view spoiler)[it became intergalactic with aliens! That was unexpected on my end. (hide spoiler)] The story was a bit drawn out in terms of pacing, but I enjoyed the premise and the various cultural details and everyday activities of intermingling that painted a rich setting. The plot twist was pretty cool and unexpected.3.5/5This was spotlighted in the podcast.

I liked "The Three Day Hunt" by Robert R. Chase.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I just read the one story - it's quite good! (the link above it for Peter Tillman's review which is good in itself.