Strange Horizons Fund Drive

If you love Strange Horizons (and we very much do) then now is the time to show your support by donating a little to their fund drive.  Over on their blog they've got a lovely list of reasons why you should support them, including a few nifty prizes for donators... Books!  Art!  Tarot Readings!  Tax relief!  (er, what?)

All of which are very good reasons, however the best and foremost one should be this: Strange Horizons is one of the best magazines out there.  Not just for the fiction - which, it has to be said, is almost uniformly excellent.  We've reviewed  Recognizing Gabe: un cuento de hadas by Alberto Yáñez (Jan 2012) and Tornado's Siren by Brooke Bolander (Feb 2012), and further recommend Feed Me the Bones of our Saints (part 1) (part 2) by Alex Dally MacFarlane (July 2012), Tiger Stripes by Nghi Vo (May 2012), Pataki (Part 1)&(Part 2) by Nisi Shawl (2011), 起狮，行礼 (Rising Lion—The Lion Bows) by Zen Cho (2011),  The Yew’s Embrace by Francesca Forrest (2011), & Last Of The Monsters by Emil Skaftun (2010).

But! Also! Their non-fiction is also brilliant.  Always fascinating articles and some extremely juicy in-depth reviews that should not be missed. 

Share the love and keep them going strong by donating here!

And if you're curious, here's how the fund drive is going so far:

Tornado's Siren

Tornado's Siren by Brooke Bolander
(From Strange Horizons/20th February 2012)
Reviewed by Jenny Barber

"Rhea is nine years old when she first meets the tornado that will fall in love with her."

As first lines go, that's a doozy and sets up a beautifully surreal story that has the tornado stalking our heroine, sending her valentines and crashing her wedding. Because what else would a lovesick tornado do? Naturally the course of tornado love doesn't run smooth and while Rhea's first instinct is to reject the tornado's advances, she experiences a shift in attitude as she grows older and discovers that a traditional life really isn't what she wants after all.

This is both fabulous fun and quite moving while effortlessly making you root for the unconventional couple. Somehow the tornado's actions are completely logical and Rhea makes for an appealing heroine who deals with the weirdness affecting her life in a believable manner. Excellent stuff.

Strange Horizons is available for free here and more about about Brooke Bolander can be found on her website here. Also, check out her story Her Words Like Hunting Vixens Spring on Lightspeed here.

Recognizing Gabe: un cuento de hadas

Recognizing Gabe: un cuento de hadas by Alberto Yáñez
Reviewed by Jenny Barber

Published in the 16th January 2012 edition of Strange Horizons, Recognizing Gabe is an utterly beautiful story where any attempt at describing it isn't going to do it justice. That's not going to stop us trying though...

It's partway coming of age tale, partway modern fairytale, keeps offering up challenges to standard gender perceptions and shows how it is possible to be accepted for who you are, even if who you are doesn't meet the traditional expectations of those around you.

The titular Gabe was technically born as a girl, but it takes the interference of his godmother, in a scene that's both sweet and done with elegant simplicity, to get the rest of his family to accept him as a boy. And even though it takes a little time, they fully accept him as their son - so much so that there's a lovely scene where Gabriel's father passionately defends Gabe's right to be the kind of boy he is.

It also shows that gender labelling is never an easy thing, as even after Gabriel is accepted fully as a son of the family, his family traditions still challenge him. His love of cooking falls firmly into the accepted female sphere of activity and is considered not a thing a good son should be indulging in, but even that isn't set in stone and the resolution is subtly done.

Where this story really wins out is the telling. Yáñez has a deft touch, saying much with a few well chosen words, and effortlessly weaves a wonderful story that stays with you long after the reading of it. Very highly recommended so remember it when award nomination time comes around.

Strange Horizons is available for free here (and a must-read for the excellent selection of non-fiction they also publish) and more about about Alberto Yáñez can be found on his website here.