Current Issue | Asimov’s Science Fiction

October/November is our traditional slightly spooky issue, and the 2016 edition is no exception. The magazine is jam-packed with stories about ghosts, angels, demons, souls, curses, and a couple of aliens. Alexander Jablokovs bold new novella brings us a tale of death and danger, a woman with a rather unusual occupation, and The Forgotten Taste of Honey.

Sandra McDonalds cheerful tone belies the horror that lurks for The People in the Building; the souls of the damned are captured in Susan Palwicks poignant Lucite; death and another odd job play a part in Michael Liblings amusing and irreverent tale of Wretched the Romantic; Project Extropy uncovers new mysteries in Dominica Phetteplaces ongoing series; S. N. Dyer draws on history and folklore to explain what happens When Grandfather Returns; seeds of hurt and mistrust are sewn in Rich Larsons Water Scorpions; new author Octavia Cade invites us to spend some time Eating Science With Ghosts; Will Ludwigsen examines the curse of The Leaning Lincoln; and Michael Blumleins heartfelt novella asks us to Choose Poison, Choose Life.

Robert Silverbergs Reflections column dabbles in some Magical Thinking; James Patrick Kellys On the Net prepares to Welcome Our Robot Overlords!; Norman Spinrads On Books takes on Short Stories in a column that features the Nebula Awards Showcase anthologies as well as The Fredric Brown Megapack and Harlan Ellisons Can & Cantankerous; plus well have an array of poetry and other features youre sure to enjoy. Get your copy now!

by Alexander Jablokov

Tromvi trudged up the hill from the harbor, where she had just packed the last of her trade goods into the hull of a ship heading to the east. What she had received in return already weighed on her horses backs. She smiled to herself as she remembered the sea captain, caught between a reluctance to say goodbye and the need to be ready for the receding tide, being uncharacteristically sharp with his crew. READ MORE

by Sandra McDonald

At an office building on Tanner Boulevard, two intelligent elevators whisk workers up from the lobby toward their employment destinations. The people headed for the fifth floor greet each other every morning with nods. The people from the fourth floor sip from their brown coffee cups and read their smartphones.READ MORE

by Lisa Bellamy

Today they jostle among us until sundown, listen to our chatter, nudge each other, read the news over our shoulders; they window-shop READ MORE

by Sheila Williams

Welcome to our annual slightly spooky issue. The fall double issue is always long in the making. Throughout the year, we see stories that land a little outside Asimovs, admittedly rather soft, parameters. While we do publish one or two stories in each issue that could be called fantasy, surreal fiction, or slipstream, our focus is primarily on science fiction. Of course I get a lot of traditional science fiction story submissions, but I see a lot of uncanny submissions, too. READ MORE

by Robert Silverberg

Isaac Asimov, for whom this magazine was named and who was my predecessor as writer of this column, was a totally rational man with no belief whatever in matters supernatural. That didnt stop him from writing the occasional fantasy story or from editing a long series of anthologies with such titles as Devils, Ghosts, Spells, and Magical Wishes.READ MORE

by James Patrick Kelly

My friend John Kessel and I have had a longstanding disagreement about the future of artificial intelligence. Even though we have co-edited a couple of anthologies examining post-cyberpunk...READ MORE

by Norman Spinrad

I have been writing this column for close to four decades now, and, yet, to the best of my recollection, I have never reviewed a book of short stories. During my writing career, I have written and published something like twenty-five novels, but I have also probably written something close to one hundred short stories, if by short stories one means fiction of less than novel length, which is my definition here. READ MORE

by Erwin S. Strauss

October is a busy month. My picks range from coast to coast this time: CONtraflow, Archon, EerieCon, VCon, CapClave (where Ill be), ConClave, ConStellation, ValleyCon, MileHiCon, ICon and NecronomiCon. Whew! Plan now for social weekends with your favorite SF authors, editors, artists, and fellow fans.READ MORE

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Current Issue | Asimov's Science Fiction