AEscifi – Free science fiction from the frozen north

Northern Cross

There was no way to tell where it came from. Sometimes the pillars descended from above; sometimes they rose from beneath the earth. They rarely stayed in one place for long. “It isn’t the one,” said Joel.

Illustration by Nathan Fredette

Featuring:

AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review is free science fiction from Canadian and under-represented voices. AE is made possible by our donors and volunteers. Read more about us.

Editorial: / Paul Jarvey / Helen Michaud / D.F. McCourt / Matt Moore / J.J.S. Boyce / Bree Main / Erin MacNab / Jonathan Crowe + special help from David Zhang, Dylan Freeman-Grist, and Matt Bin

Island of Misfit Toys

Fiction
BY C.R. Beideman

Inside a black pantry in the lab among dismal powdered food stuffs, lit only by a red warning light that might never turn green, squatted a trembling human child wrapped in frayed hex-pattern synthetic, oxygen mask covering her gaunt face, who tried not to breathe, which could at any moment force a fit of coughing and give her away.

From One, Many; From Many, One

Fiction
BY Matt Moore

In the beginning, when the Creator had flowed His lifeblood into the first Adams, He had decreed that a Victor could only be harmed to create a new Adam. Needlessly killing one wasted His bounty, and needlessly wounding one rendered it an abomination of His perfect image.

Memory and Faded Ink

Fiction
BY B. Morris Allen

“Their memories are their pride,” she said, and kissed me. “I am hoping they will teach that trick to me.” I remembered that later, as I looked around our little mokhoro with its concrete floor and mud walls and absence of Tseleng.

I’m Sorry I Couldn’t Make It True

Fiction
BY Wendy Nikel

The look on his face as he stared down at me left no doubt that he was thinking the same thing. His eyes pleaded with me to just flick the dial, just a tiny bit... so I could make things right. So that we could be together, somehow.

AE, 2.0: Letter from an Editor

Helen Michaud

Don’t ever underestimate the difficulty of recreating. Bringing back something that already existed may seem like a simple proposition, but it isn’t. Stakes are higher this time around, or at least expectations are. When we first started AE, we had a feeling it would be — or would become — something pretty great, but we didn’t know for sure. Now, we knew what AE could be, and when we unveiled AE Mark 2, we wanted it to be worthy.

With apologies to LL Cool J, do call it a comeback. We couldn’t be more proud to fire up the engine again and start bringing you new stories and analysis about worlds that might be. For those of you who have been waiting for this moment, we promise it’s been worth it. And if you’re new to the travels of this humble vessel, welcome aboard. It’s going to be an adventure...

Continue reading...

extraordinary non-traditional narratives

An Exercise in Telling: Sylvain Neuvel’s Themis Files

Reviews
BY Jonathan Crowe

There are risks to attempting a atypical narrative form .... These books are proof that even in our field, which often disparages style in favour of idea, the execution of that idea—how you tell that tale—does in fact matter.

When His Hydraulics Failed and Mighty Casey Did Strike Out: Sports Science Fiction

Editorial
BY J.J.S. Boyce

People spend years or decades of their lives, training and hoping for a chance to run a specific distance a few hundredths of a second faster than everyone else, to vault a centimetre or two higher. Is this monumentally impressive or embarassingly trivial? Neither? Both?

What Dungeons and Dragons can Teach Us About Storytelling

Editorial
BY Luc Rinaldi

She let out a guttural bellow. Still stunned, the ogre grunted in return. Watching Sylvan attempt to speak, I thought she must be hexed—or just a fool. I began calculating who could get to her first: me, to save her, or the ogre, to turn her into its next meal. But before I could move, I felt a hand on my shoulder, next to the strap of my quiver. “Don’t."

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Reiteration

Fiction
BY Dirck de Lint

The blue centaur paused at the apex of a grassy knoll, intent upon a passing butterfly, the long iridescent plume of its mane sweeping out behind it in the still air. The season was late, and she hoped the insect might be a nondescript. After a moment of observation, she found the insect’s classification in the shared files. She did not need to, but she still sighed.

philosophical science fiction in the most literal sense

NECESSITY by Jo Walton

Reviews
BY Jonathan Crowe

Necessity, the third and concluding volume of Jo Walton’s Thessaly trilogy, is not a book that can be read on its own. You really do want to read the first two volumes, The Just City and The Philosopher Kings, first. As I pointed out in my review of those two books last year, this series is philosophical science fiction in the most literal sense. It’s the story of Greek gods creating a real-world city based on Plato’s Republic as a thought experiment, designed to explore concepts of consent, volition and equal significance.

Truth ... using details that are plainly untrue.

THE GASLIGHT DOGS by Karin Lowachee

Reviews
BY Wes Smiderle

Easing a reader into a fictional world can be like coaxing a timid swimmer into an outdoor pool. Sometimes the water’s chilly. The key to successfully introducing a vast new world is verisimilitude. A writer must capture the truth of a place using characters and details that are plainly untrue.

The Crack of the .bat

Fiction
BY Andrew Franklin

A quick thumb scan and I was talking with the closest thing to a person in the room. The only expensive thing in the building, the manager’s best friend, and our profiler: Bert.

TOO FAR GONE by Chadwick Ginther

Reviews
BY AE

Too Far Gone begins, as it rightly should, with a road trip.

Rare Specimen

Fiction
BY Scott Shank

It wasn't how the man clawed at empty air, or how he barrel-rolled once, taking in a final 360-degree view of earth and sky. The memory Johanna held onto was of the man's face, painted black as a new moon.

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