Fantasy Magazine, Issue 74 (December 2021): Fantasy Magazine, #74

By Arley Sorg and Christie Yant

FANTASY MAGAZINE is a digital magazine focusing exclusively on the fantasy genre. In its pages, you will find all types of fantasy-dark fantasy, contemporary urban tales, surrealism, magical realism, science fantasy, high fantasy, folktales_and anything and everything in between. FANTASY is entertainment for the intelligent genre reader-we publish stories of the fantastic that make us think, and tell us what it is to be human.

 

Welcome to issue 74 of FANTASY MAGAZINE! In this issue's short fiction, we get a different kind of hero's journey in a really cool world with Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga's "Saviour of the Light Market," and "The Rainmakers" by Megan M. Davies-Ostrom glitters and glows in a climate-based post-apocalypse. In flash fiction, Dominica Phetteplace haunts us with "24 Reasons You're Dreaming About Your Ex / 24 Razones Por Las Que Suenas Con Tu Ex," and C.L. Holland's "What the River Remembers" takes a much closer look at change through a unique perspective. For poetry, we have "Forest Maths" by Nnadi Samuel and "The Other Day The Saucers Came" by Karen Brenchley. Plus a kind of "Part 2" essay, or companion piece to our December 2020 essay, this one called "All the King's Women: the Fats" by Meg Elison.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adamant Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201452230

Book preview

Fantasy MagazineFantasy Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Issue 74, December 2021

FROM THE EDITORS

Editorial: December 2021

Arley Sorg and Christie Yant

FICTION

24 Reasons You're Dreaming About Your Ex / 24 Razones Por Las Que Sueñas Con Tú Ex

Dominica Phetteplace

Saviour of the Light Market

Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

What the River Remembers

C.L. Holland

The Rainmakers

Megan M. Davies-Ostrom

POETRY

The Other Day the Saucers Came

Karen Brenchley

Forest Maths

Nnadi Samuel

NONFICTION

All the King's Women: the Fats

Meg Elison

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS

Author Spotlight: Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

Author Spotlight: Megan M. Davies-Ostrom

MISCELLANY

Coming Attractions, January 2022

Support Us on Patreon, or How to Become a Dragonrider or Space Wizard

Subscriptions and Ebooks

Stay Connected

About the Fantasy Team

© 2021 Fantasy Magazine

Cover by OopsPixel/Adobe Stock Image

www.fantasy-magazine.com

Published by Adamant Press

From the Editors

Editorial: December 2021

Arley Sorg and Christie Yant | 687 words

AS: This is the last month of a really rocky year. As I write this line, it’s the middle of October. But when I think about the ending of the year, I think of all the things we’ve endured, both individually/personally and culturally; and I feel a sense of hope for what 2022 may bring.

CY: Everyone I know has struggled so much over the past two years. One of the things that has kept a lot of us going is the fact that we have each other—a community of readers, a community of creators, a community of fans. Ray Bradbury used to talk about how, when he would get lonely, he would go to the library to visit his friends. When I was growing up, I thought he meant the books; he probably did, but I think he may also have been talking about the people who wrote them. When we’ve all been forced by circumstance to be apart for so long, I take real joy in reading stories by the names I know, and in discovering exciting new work by names I don’t know.

AS: Fiction can serve so many purposes; it can be so many things. It can be an escape, a reprieve, or a means to release the pressures of life. It can be a conversation; it can help transform ideas and theories and even cultures. Reading fiction can be an emotional experience, catharsis; it can be intellectually stimulating and challenging. If something in our pages speaks to you, whether it’s fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, I hope you will share your favorite finds with friends, with peers, with whoever might be interested, and let them experience what you’ve experienced.

CY: That’s what it’s all about, right? It’s the difference between being into something and being a snob about it by keeping it to yourself and knowing more than the people around you, and being a fan who desperately wants to share that joy and get even more people into it. At my day job, it seems like once a month someone will say something like, Have you met Jane? She’s into science fiction and fantasy, too! You’ll love each other. Most of the time, they’re right; every conversation will revolve around what we’re read recently, what we liked or didn’t like about it, and what we hope to read next.

AS: Looking back at the pieces we’ve published over 2021, including this issue, I feel so proud of what we’ve put together. There’s so much for people to experience in our pages, and so many ways to engage with the work of these creators. We’ve been able to publish truly fantastic writing. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2022!

CY: We’re so fortunate to be able to bring these stories to our readers. Thank you all for sticking with us throughout 2021. We look forward to bringing you more stories to delight you, move you, make you think, and spark once again that sense of wonder that genre fiction does best.

• • • •

In this issue’s short fiction, we get a different kind of hero’s journey in a really cool world with Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga’s Saviour of the Light Market, and The Rainmakers by Megan M. Davies-Ostrom glitters and glows in a climate-based post-apocalypse. In flash fiction, Dominica Phetteplace haunts us with 24 Reasons You’re Dreaming About Your Ex / 24 Razones Por Las Que Sueñas Con Tú Ex, and C.L. Holland’s What the River Remembers takes a much closer look at change through a unique perspective. For poetry, we have Forest Maths by Nnadi Samuel and The Other Day The Saucers Came by Karen Brenchley. Plus a kind of Part 2 essay, or companion piece to our December 2020 essay, this one called All the King’s Women: the Fats by the author of Big Girl, Find Layla, and series The Road to Nowhere, Meg Elison. Enjoy!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Arley Sorg is a senior editor at Locus Magazine, where he’s been on staff since 2014. He joined the Lightspeed family in 2014 to work on the Queers Destroy Science Fiction! special issue, starting as a slush reader. He eventually worked his way up to associate editor at both Lightspeed and Nightmare. He also reviews books for Locus, Lightspeed, and Cascadia Subduction Zone and is an interviewer for Clarkesworld Magazine. Arley grew