This was obviously not the usual starcrossed love story, and as the followup Days of Blood and Starlight opens, it has become a starcrossed war story. Akiva searches the burned-out chimaera lands of Eretz, where he finds a thurible – a container used to store souls – in the caves of Karou’s people, with a paper affixed that says her name, he believes she is dead. Filled with sorrow and regret, Akiva travels back to his regiment and his half-brother and -sister. Jocular but dangerous Hazael and fierce and fearsome Liraz made their disapproval of Akiva’s chosen course clear in the previous novel, finally discovering what had changed him: his love for what appeared to be a human girl, but, of course, wasn’t. He fully expects they will kill him or shun him, and they are angry. As with everything in Taylor’s impeccably crafted world, the reality is far more complex than that. In getting to know Hazael and Liraz, we also come to know Akiva much more fully, and to understand the terrible hierarchy of the seraph, and how much blood stains their beautiful wings.
Akiva is not the only one searching for Karou. Her human best friend Zuzana refuses to give up, watching for her return with her boyfriend Mik. Thoroughly and charmingly playful Zuzana and Mik finally get a lead when news networks report on a girl stealing teeth from the world’s museums. Karou is alive, of course, and holed up in an abandoned desert hideaway with… Thiago, the warrior prince who killed her when she was Madrigal, and what chimaera soldiers are left. She’s become the new Brimstone, though not at his skill level, resurrecting bodies for the small resistance movement going out on sorties against the seraph through a nearby portal. Thiago oozes a suspect kindness one moment and a bloodlust and calculation the next. We cannot help but fear for Karou’s life here, with no allies.
And Karou is wracked with guilt over her role in destroying her people, filled with disgust for herself and her feelings for Akiva, and trying to make things right in the only way she sees. The destructive war of Eretz may have already created a situation where no happiness can be possible. But once these two, an angel and a devil, had a dream for a different world. As the war escalates, both Karou and Akiva will have to decide how much further they are willing to go and whether they have already passed the point of redemption.
Here, Taylor explores every haunting echo of the first novel’s revelations. The supporting cast continues to shine, and Ziri, the last of Madrigal’s fellow Kirin, is a compelling addition. As we move toward the crisis point of the trilogy’s end, it is the depth of Karou and Akiva’s history that makes this installment even more powerful than the first. Taylor never misses an opportunity to wrest maximum emotion from events, sometimes by shifting the order in which they are revealed to us. The reader feels swallowed in the terrible choices of the past and the present, just as the characters are. And yet we are still left with hope, despite impossible odds. With gorgeous prose and a refusal to flinch from difficult consequences, Taylor is crafting a trilogy that seems destined to become a YA classic.
–Gwenda Bond
Return to In This Issue listing.
MAGAZINES RECEIVED: DECEMBER
Analog Science Fiction and Fact–Stanley Schmidt, ed. Vol. 132 No. 11, $4.99, November 2012, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novelettes by Gray Rinehart, Alastair Mayer & Brad R. Torgersen, Sarah K. Castle, and Daniel Hatch; short stories by Robert R. Chase, Richard A. Lovett, Parry Jensen, and Larry Niven; and a science article from Richard A. Lovett. Cover by Tomislav Tikulin.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact–Stanley Schmidt, ed. Vol. 132 No. 12, $4.99, December 2012, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novella by Michael Alexander & K.C. Ball; novelettes by Shane Tourtellotte, and Paul Carlson; short stories by Stephen L. Burns, Ken Liu, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Richard A. Lovett, and Liz J. Andersen; and a science article from Jim Kling. Cover by diversepixel/Shutterstock.com
Analog Science Fiction and Fact–Stanley Schmidt, ed. Vol. 133 No. 1 & 2, $7.99, January/February 2013, 10 times a year, 192pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novellas by Rajnar Vajra, and Edward M. Lerner; novelettes by Brad R. Torgersen, Robert Scherrer, Amy Thomson, and Kyle Kirkland; short stories by Jerry Oltion, John G. Hemry, H.G. Stratmann, Harry Turtledove, and Edward M. Lerner; a science article from Michael F. Flynn; and a special feature by Richard A. Lovett. Cover by David A. Hardy.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact–Stanley Schmidt, ed. Vol. 133 No. 3, $4.99, March 2013, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novelettes by Bond Elam, Marissa Lingen, and Sean McMullen; short stories by Harry Turtledove, Andrew Barton, Barry Malzberg & Bill Pronzini, Bud Sparhawk, and Don D’Ammassa; and a science article from Kevin Walsh. Cover by Visuals Unlimited, Inc./Victor Habbick/Gettyimages.com
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine–Jacob Edwards, ed. Vol. 10 No. 3, #55, 2012, A$12.95, quarterly, 170pp, 14-1/2 x 21 cm. Australian SF and fantasy small-press magazine. This issue includes short fiction by Tom Holt, Stephen Gallagher, K.J. Parker, Agatha Christie, and others; poetry; an interview with Glen Duncan; and a ‘‘musical interlude’’ by Richard O’Brien. Cover by Inna Basman. Subscription: one-year A$48.00/Overseas A$68.00 to Andromeda Spaceways Publishing, c/o Simon Haynes, PO Box 127, Belmont WA 6984, Australia; electronic subscriptions A$12.00 for one year from:
Asimov’s Science Fiction–Sheila Williams, ed. Vol. 36 Nos. 10 & 11, Whole Number 441 & 442, October/November 2012, $7.99, 10 times a year, 192pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novellas by Alan Smale and Jay Lake; novelettes by Gray Rinehart and Will Ludwigsen; short stories by Paul McAuley, Kit Reed, Vylar Kaftan, Eugene Mirabelli, Ekaterina Sedia, John Alfred Taylor, and Steven Utley; poetry, reviews, etc. Cover by Donato Giancola.
Asimov’s Science Fiction–Sheila Williams, ed. Vol. 36 No. 12, Whole Number 443, December 2012, $7.99, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novella by Steven Popkes; novelette by Ken Liu; short stories by Chris Beckett, Mike Resnick, Sandra McDonald, and Robert Reed; poetry, reviews, etc. Cover by Laura Diehl.
Asimov’s Science Fiction–Sheila Williams, ed. Vol. 37 No. 1, Whole Number 444, January 2013, $4.99, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novelettes by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Will McIntosh, Kit Reed, and Suzanne Palmer; short stories by James Van Pelt and Nancy Kress; poetry, reviews, etc. Cover by Michael Whelan.
Asimov’s Science Fiction–Sheila Williams, ed. Vol. 37 No. 2, Whole Number 445, February 2013, $4.99, 10 times a year, 112pp, 15 x 22 cm. Novella by Vylar Kaftan; novelette by Matthew Hughes; short stories by David Erik Nelson, M. Bennardo, Robert Reed, and John Chu; poetry, reviews, etc. Cover by Mozzyb/shutterstock.com.
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 2 No. 1, January 2012, $4.00, quarterly, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This issue has an essay on disability by John Lukin and genre book reviews. Cover by Marilyn Liden Bode. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state residents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 2 No. 2, April 2012, $4.00, quarterly, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This issue focuses on poetry with essays on supernatural elements in Spanish poetry by Liz Henry, and Mark Rich on ‘‘Writing, Race, and Poetry’’; poetry by Mark Rich, Mechele Bannister, and Emily Jiang; reviews of poetry books with examples; and genre book reviews. Cover by Terri Windling. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state residents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 2 No. 3, July 2012, $4.00, quarterly, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This issue includes an appreciation for Adrienne Rich; an essay on the desire to have a child by Abby Koenig; and genre book reviews. Cover by Meredith Scheff. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state resid
ents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 2 Supplement, August 2012, $5.00 or free with subscription, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This special supplement spotlights Jonna Russ with various essays including a look at Russ and feminism by L. Timmel Duchamp; a consideration of Russ’s influence on SF by Farah Mendlesohn; an analysis of Russ’s What Are We Fighting For by Alexis Lothian; an examination by Brit Mandelo of the ‘‘Other’’ in Russ’s short fiction; and reviews of two Russ related books. Cover by Monte Rogers. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state residents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 2 No. 4, October 2012, $4.00, quarterly, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This issue includes autobiographic essays by Kiini Ibura Salaam and Mark Rich about their relation to their art; poetry; and genre book reviews. Cover by Kristine Campbell. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state residents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
The Cascadia Subduction Zone–L. Timmel Duchamp, et al. eds. Vol. 3 No. 1, January 2013, $4.00, quarterly, 24pp, 20 x 28 cm. Literary magazine with essays, poetry, and reviews. This issue includes Alan DeNiro’s look at critic Paul Kincaid’s argument about the state of the SF genre and DeNiro’s response; and a piece of short, short fiction by Nin Andrews; poetry; and genre book reviews. Cover by Pam Sanders. Subscription: $15.00 for four issues to Aqueduct Press, PO Box 95787, Seattle WA 98145-2787 (WA state residents add 9.5% sales tax); website:
Mondo Cult–Jessie Lilley, ed., No. 3, 2012, $13.00, infrequently, 160pp, 21-1/2 x 28 cm. Mondo Cult celebrates all aspects of modern pop culture with short articles on a variety of genre subjects including Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, A.E. van Vogt, Forrest J. Ackerman, H.P. Lovecraft, King Kong, Frankenstein, Dr. Who and many other topics. Cover by L.J. Dopp. Subscription: Unavailable, but individual issues may be purchased from Mondo Cult, 343 Soquel Ave., #138, Santa Cruz CA 95062.
ONLINE MAGAZINES
Abyss & Apex Magazine (
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The New York Review of Science Fiction (
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Strange Horizons (
Grintalis; and articles by Mark Plummer, Thomas M. Ingram, Genevieve Valentine, John Clute, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, and Eleanor Arnason.
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Tor.com (
Locus, February 2013 Page 22
