Aboriginal SF
Spring, 2000
Issue #63 of the Hugo Award-nominated Aboriginal SF includes the stories "Feeders" by Dennis Fisher, "Close Quarters" by Stefano Donati, "Forked Tongue" by Mark Huntley Parsons, "Jack's Hand" by Stephen Woodworth, "Mr. Harriman's Peculiar Vigil" by Joseph Flanagan, and "The Prometheus Code" by Gary M. Gibson. There's also the science column by Robert A. Metzger and book reviews by Darrell Schweitzer. Cover art by Chris Moore.

Altair
Feb, 2000
The fifth issue of Australian magazine Altair includes fiction contributions "Fortress Ship" by Fred Saberhagen, "The World Was Woman" by Kurt von Trojan, "Chosen" by Stephen Dedman, and more from Karen Jordan Allen, Kain Massin, Joe Murphy, David Wesley Hill, and others. Humour includes "Move Over, E.R!" by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and "Walking the Planck" by Andrew Collings. Stunningly detailed cover art by Carol McLean-Carr -- check out the website for close-ups of the piece.

Absolute Magnitude
Issue #12
Fiction this issue includes "A Choice of Weapons" by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, "Beryl's Run" by Bud Sparhawk, "Night Patrol" by Gerard Daniel Houarner, "Deep Walnuts" by Linda Tiernan Kepner, and "Exchange Rate" by Hal Clement. There's also Allen Steele's "Primary Ignition" column and an Interview with Jack Willamson by Darrell Schweitzer. Cover by Dominic Emile Harman.

Dreams of Decadence
Spring 2000
Dreams of Decadence is the magazine of vampire fiction and poetry. The latest issue includes an excerpt from the new Anita Blake Novel, Obsidian Butterfly, by Laurell K. Hamilton. There's also fiction from Tippi N. Blevins, Ferelith Dawson, and Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg. Featured poets this issue are Denise Dumars, Ann K. Schwader, Karen R. Porter, Laurel Robertson, and A. M. Darrow. Cover art by Lee Seed and Newton Ewell.

TaleBones
#18, Winter 1999
TaleBones is sub-titled "A Magazine of Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy," which pretty much makes it unique in the marketplace. It's extremely professional thoughout, and the latest issue is no exception -- with fiction from James Van Pelt, Steve Redwood, Eric Del Carlo, Ken Scholes, Barth Anderson, and many more. There's also poetry from Keith Allen Daniels, reviews by Ed Bryant, A.P. McQuiddy and Duane Wilkins, and an interview with Eric Nylund. Cover by Jeff Sturgeon.

Interzone
March 2000
Issue 153 of British mag Interzone offers up a fine assortment of fiction, including "Cadre Siblings" by Stephen Baxter, "Stealing Happy Hours" by Paul di Filippo, "The Fire Eggs" by Darrell Schweitzer, and more. Gary Westfahl holds forth on science fiction and rock 'n' roll: do they have anything in common? There's also the usual Ansible Link (gossip by David Langford), Mutant Popcorn (film reviews by Nick Lowe), and book reviews by Tom Arden, David Mathew, Chris Gilmore, Paul Beardsley and Paul Brazier. Cover by Dominic Harman.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
May 2000
out April 1
The big story this issue is a reprint of the classic novelette "Flowers For Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, along with a lengthy excerpt from Keyes' new book -- Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey -- part auto-biography and part examination of the genesis for the story and the subsequent novel. There's also fiction from Ron Goulart, R. Garcia y Robertson, Robin Wilson, and Jennifer C. Vanderbes. Cover by Maurizio Manzieri.

Dark Planet
Publication Date: March 7, 2000
Published since 1995, Dark Planet is a Webzine of Science Fiction, Modern Fantasy, Poetry, and Related Nonfiction, and is one of the most acclaimed sources of online genre fiction. Tales this issues include "Reflections On A Classic Machine," by Brian A. Hopkins and "Fever Pitch," by Duane Swierczynski, in addition to contributions from, Brian A. Hopkins, Steve Zipp, Redena Hobbs, and many more.

Analog
May, 2000
out April 4
Analog and Asimov's seem to be using a lot of stock space art on their covers these days. It's probably a necessary cost-saving device, but it's still bothersome to us old-timers. The current cover, by Bob Eggleton, at least has considerably more character than most. Three big fiction pieces -- from Kij Johnson, Bud Sparhawk, and Allen Steele -- form the core of this issue, but there's also interesting shorter work from Stephen Baxter, Dave Creek, and others.

Asimov's SF
May, 2000
out April 4
"Mike Resnick visits The Elephants of Neptune." "A Weapon that can Destroy the Universe!" Who writes this cover copy? Fiction this issue from Alastair Reynolds, Robert Reed, John Alfred Taylor, Susan Palwick, Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris, Tom Purdom -- and, yes, Mike Resnick, as advertised. Cover by Mike Garlick.

Weird Tales
Winter '99
Speaking of stellar line-ups... dark fantasy's flagship publication checks in this month with new fiction from Keith Taylor, Ramsey Campbell, James Van Pelt, Tanith Lee, George Barr, and many others. I've been collecting very expensive vintage issues (1933-50) of Weird Tales on eBay recently and I must say that, in my opinion, the current incarnation rivals the heyday. Will collectors be snatching these issues up for $150 a pop someday? I dunno, but I'm keeping mine in good condition. Cover by Bob Eggleton.

Tangent Online
Issue #12: August 1999
Pub. Date: August 9th
The August issue of Tangent Online includes a report on Readercon 11, complete with a photo gallery, along with detailed reviews of nearly a dozen new magazines -- including Analog, Asimov's SF, F&SF, LC-39, Challenging Destiny, Interzone, and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.

Review: Asimov's SF, February 2000
reviewed by Trent Walters
Ursula K. Le Guin once again turns convention on its head in "The Royals of Hegn," which details the customs and habits of the royal family in a country where everyone is royal except for a single common family; L. Timmel Duchamp wrestles with compelling issues of personhood in "How Josiah Taylor Lost His Soul"; and Esther M. Friesner presents "The Shunned Trailer," which chronicles 2 days in the life of an Ivy League city-boy who stumbles upon the Cthulhu horrors of the South.

Review: The Edge: Tales Of Suspense #6 edited by Greg F. Gifune
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
If talent will out (sometimes it does) some of these names will be popping up on best-of lists everywhere. Chilling, heinous, even sickening -- there's something here for every appetite. Just don't assume every bite will be a pleasure.

Review: Interzone, December 1999
reviewed by Rich Horton
This issue features a number of regulars: the always baroque Richard Calder opens an unusual contemporary story, "Impakto," with a horror edge to it; Leigh Kennedy's "The Bicycle Way" tells of a diminutive woman who plays a child in an effort to flush out potential rapists and abusers; and "The People of the Nova" by Eric Brown features the head of a Station on Tartarus, charged with evacuating the planet before its sun blows up.

Review: Amazing Stories, Winter 2000
reviewed by David Soyka
With this issue, this magazine continues to pull off its amazing trick of packaging a pretty cool collection of leading SF and Fantasy writers sandwiched between the covers of a media tie-in publication seemingly of interest only to adolescent gamers. What remains is a nicely illustrated SF magazine with some real edge.

Review: Perpetuity Blues and Other Stories by Neil Barrett, Jr.
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
This collection -- the last to be compiled and edited by the late Jim Turner, the driving force behind some of the most important short fiction volumes in the last three decades -- is full of stories the best of which feature a familiar landscape full of diners, Wal-Marts, semis, and the quirky, usually good, sometimes malevolent people who inhabit them. It's also a world full of humor, poetry, dirt, magic, hope, despair, and the occasional alien.

Review: Interzone, November 1999
reviewed by Rich Horton
This issue displays the range of the magazine fairly well, with the odd feature that each story included has a tinge of horror. They range from an alternate history to an alien invasion tale, from an atmospheric near future SF to an odd contemporary fantasy/horror story to a humorous werewolf piece. Rich's favourite was "Naming the Dead" by Paul J. McAuley.

Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct/Nov 99
reviewed by David Soyka
David takes a look at both the big October/November double issue of F&SF, the magazine's 50th Anniversary issue, and the new hardcover collection The Best From F&SF: The 50th Anniversary Anthology, edited by Edward L. Ferman and Gordon Van Gelder and published by Tor. Both provided him with enchantments including Robert Reed's marvelous "First Tuesday", Terry Bisson's award-assured "MACS" and Lucius Shepard's unfortunately-named "Crocodile Rock."

Review: Asimov's SF, Oct/Nov 1999
reviewed by Rich Horton
Each year Asimov's SF publishes a double-sized issue dated October-November. These tend to be showcase issues, featuring lots of well-known authors, and some very good stories. This time out, Rich's favourites include Gardner Dozois' "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" and Tony Daniel's "In from the Commons."

Review: Amazing Stories, Summer 1999
reviewed by David Soyka
With little or no interest in licensed fiction, David still found himself drawn to the latest issue of the world's oldest SF magazine. It features brand new fiction from Kage Baker, Orson Scott Card, Robert Silverberg and others; media fiction by R.A. Salvatore (Star Wars) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), interior art by such folks as Dave Dorman and Mark Zug; columns by David Brin and Lester Smith... and even the first Dune fiction in over a decade, an excerpt from the upcoming novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1999
reviewed by John O'Neill
The September issue is a compact, beautiful, and inexpensive package. A bargain, in other words. It entertains as well as makes a handy introduction to an author or two you may not be familiar with now, but soon will be. The centrepiece of the issue is a huge novella from the collaborative trio of John Kessel, Jonathan Lethem, and James Patrick Kelly -- an original tale of first contact, bizarre alien biology, and eccentric human personalities.

Review: Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July/August 1999
reviewed by Ken Newquist
Ken has a look at the annual double-issue of the field's premiere hard-SF publication, a 240-page extravaganza which includes fiction from Catherine Asaro, Amy Bechtel, Joseph Manzione, Shane Tourtellotte, and G. David Nordley, among others. His pick for the issue is the cover novella by Adam-Troy Castro and Jerry Oltion, "The Astronaut From Wyoming," a "gut-wrenching story that takes the negative trends of the 90s and extrapolates them into a dismal future." Cover by Nicholas Jainschigg.