Asimov’s Science Fiction March 2010

–published by Dell Magazine
–112 pages
–4.25/5 stars

When I saw that the cover of the latest Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine was by the contemporary artist with classical talent, Donato Giancola, it became a must buy. I was also excited by the opportunity to read a story by Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, whose latest book, Diving Into the Wreck, has been getting positive buzz on the net. While I certainly hoped that a cover-to-cover read through this magazine would deliver more thrills than chills, I did not expect it to be quite the intensely pleasurable experience it turned out to be.

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The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Seventh Series ~Anthony Boucher, ed.

–published 1958 (Book Club Edition)
–Doubleday and Company
–264 pages
–4/5 stars

A book lover’s treasured possessions come in all shapes and sizes and their reasons for being cherished can be as enigmatic as the myriad of readers on the planet or as simple as a three word explanation. In the case of this recently purchased treasure it is the simple explanation: book cover art. I fell in love with this wonderful representation of 1950’s science fiction art the moment I pulled it off the top shelf of a small used bookstore in my home town on a shopping trip during Christmas vacation. I was bound to pick it up, it was only a couple of dollars, even before I opened to the table of contents to see a nearly balanced representation of authors that I have read, authors I have heard of but not read, and authors whose names were foreign to me. Imagine my great pleasure to find that this collection was every bit as fun to read as its cover art promised it to be.

I had determined to spend the last weekend of January reading short stories and though it was not my intention to read this book from start to finish, once I started I just could not put it down. Per usual I will attempt to give a very brief overview/rating of each story without spoiling the experience for you. After all, if I like a story then I want you to read it too!

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