Issue:
In this issue:
The December 2023/January 2024 issue of Locus magazine is a special double issue and has interviews with Robert J. Sawyer, Andrea Stewart, and Ai Jiang, and a spotlight on artist Winona Nelson. Chengdu Worldcon and the World Fantasy Convention are both covered with extensive reports and photos. The issue lists US and UK forthcoming books titles through September 2024. News includes the Ignyte and Sidewise Awards winners, Mueller's Endeavour win, a Worlds of IF Revival, AI news, and more. Cory Doctorow's column is entitled What Kind of Bubble is AI. In this month's obituaries and appreciations, Michael Bishop, Weston Ochse, D.G. Compton, Tim Underwood, A.S. Byatt, Sherrie Cronin, and Bertil Falk are remembered. Reviews cover new titles by R.F. Kuang & John Joseph Adams (eds.), K.J. Parker, Kelly Link, Nisi Shawl, Ray Nayler, Tashan Mehta, Margrét Helgadóttir (ed.), Premee Mohamed, Bethany Jacobs, Melissa Scott, Foz Meadows, Eliza Chan, Brendan Shay Basham, Aric McBay, Suzan Palumbo, Brent Lambert, Leigh Harlen, Angela Sylvaine, Delilah S. Dawson, Sean Lusk, Molly McGhee, Heather Fawcett, Aimee Pokwatka, Seanan McGuire, Kate Pearsall, Em X. Liu, Mur Lafferty, Aimee Pokwatka, Stephen Markley, Geoff Ryman, Gene Wolfe, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Jonathan Evison, Marie Helene Bertino, Cory Doctorow, Carissa Orlando, Clay McLeod Chapman, Rachel Harrison, Jimmy Juliano, María Fernanda Ampuero, Tananarive Due, Stephen Baxter, Wesley Chu, Megan E. O'Keefe, V.E. Schwab, B. Pladek, Brad Weismann, and others.
Table of Contents:
December 2023/January 2024 • Issues 755/756 • Vol. 91, No. 6/Vol. 92, No. 1
56th Year of Publication • 30-Time Hugo Winner
Cover and interview designs by Stephen H. Segal.
INTERVIEWS
Robert J. Sawyer: A Cryonic Murder / 12
Andrea Stewart: After the Rebellion / 44
Ai Jiang: Where the Ghosts Live / 64
MAIN STORIES/ 5, 6 & 7
Michael Bishop (1945-2023) • Appreciations from F. Brett Cox, Daryl Gregory, and James Frenkel • Ignyte Awards Winners • Mueller Wins Endeavour Award • Worlds of IF Revival • Sidewise Awards Winners • Best Books of 2023 • AI News
PEOPLE & PUBLISHING / 8
Notes on milestones, awards, books sold, etc., with news this issue about Jesmyn Ward, Ramsey Campbell, Bob Eggleton, Tanya Huff, Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Kalynn Bayron, and many others.
THE DATA FILE / 11
Lynch Wins Booker • PRH Sues Iowa • Andrew Carnegie Medals Shortlist • Prix Utopiales Winners • Scholastic Union News • Australian Shadows Awards • PRH Diversity Report • Premio Italia Winners • World Conventions News • Workshop News • Publishing News • Bookstore News • Legal News • Announcements • Awards News • Financial News • International Rights • Audio Rights
SPECIAL FEATURES
Commentary: Cory Doctorow: What Kind of Bubble is AI?, 43 • Spotlight on Winona Nelson, 57
CONVENTIONS
Chengdu Worldcon, 46 • World Fantasy Convention, 58 • 2023 WSFS Business Meeting, 56
LISTINGS
Magazines Received: October & November, 80 • Books Received: October, 82 • Books Received: November, 90 • Bestsellers, 102 • New & Notable, 103
OTHER OBITUARIES / 119
Weston Ochse • Appreciation by Yvonne Navarro Ochse • D.G. Compton • Tim Underwood • Appreciation by Arnie Fenner • A.S. Byatt • Sherrie Cronin • Bertil Falk
EDITORIAL MATTERS / 122
Double Issue • Worldcon • Other News...
LOCUS LOOKS AT BOOKS
Short Fiction Reviews by CHARLES PAYSEUR / 14
Strange Horizons 9/18/23, 9/25/23, 10/2/23, 10/9/23, 10/16/23; Lightspeed 10/23; Fiyah 10/23; Kaleidotrope 10/23; Fantasy 10/23; Flash Fiction Online 10/23; GigaNotoSaurus 10/23; Baffling 10/23; Beneath Ceaseless Skies 10/5/23, 10/19/23; Escape Pod 10/12/23; Worlds of Possibility 10/23; Cast of Wonders 10/14/23, 10/25/23, 10/27/23; Escape Pod10/19/23, 10/26/23; Diabolical Plots 10-11/23; Understudies, Priya Sridhar; Samovar 10/23/23; Strange Horizons10/30/23, 11/6/23; Lightspeed 11/23; Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11/2/23, 11/16/23; GigaNotoSaurus 11/23; Flash Fiction Online 11/23; F&SF 11-12/23.
Short Fiction Reviews by PAULA GURAN / 17
Weird Horror Fall ’23; Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet Summer ’23; Uncanny 9-10/23; The Sunday Morning Transport10/24/23, 9/10/23, 9/3/23; Apex #140; The Dark 9/23, 10/23.
Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. WISE / 18
Analog 9-10/23; Clarkesworld 10/23; Flash Fiction Online 10/23; Asimov’s 11-12/23; Clarkesworld 11/23; khōréō 3.2.
Reviews by GARY K. WOLFE / 20
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023, R.F. Kuang & John Joseph Adams, eds.; Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead, K.J. Parker; Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, K.J. Parker; The Book of Love, Kelly Link; Kinning, Nisi Shawl; The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler.
Reviews by NIALL HARRISON / 23
Sisters of Esi, Tashan Mehta; Nordic Visions, Margrét Helgadóttir, ed.
Reviews by LIZ BOURKE / 24
The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed; These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs; Fallen, Melissa Scott; All the Hidden Paths, Foz Meadows; Fathomfolk, Eliza Chan.
Reviews by JAKE CASELLA BROOKINS / 27
Swim Home to the Vanished, Brendan Shay Basham; Inversion, Aric McBay.
Reviews by ALEX BROWN / 28
Skin Thief: Stories, Suzan Palumbo; A Necessary Chaos, Brent Lambert; A Feast for Flies, Leigh Harlen; Frost Bite, Angela Sylvaine; Bloom, Delilah S. Dawson.
Reviews by COLLEEN MONDOR / 30
Midnight at the Houdini, Delilah S. Dawson; The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley, Sean Lusk; Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, Molly McGhee; Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, Heather Fawcett; The Parliament, Aimee Pokwatka; Mislaid in Parts Half-Known, Seanan McGuire.
Reviews by ALEXANDRA PIERCE / 32
Bittersweet in the Hollow, Kate Pearsall; The Death I Gave Him, Em X. Liu; Chaos Terminal, Mur Lafferty; The Parliament, Aimee Pokwatka.
Reviews by IAN MOND / 34
Deluge, Stephen Markley; Him, Geoff Ryman; The Wolfe at the Door, Gene Wolfe; Womb City, Tlotlo Tsamaase; Again and Again, Jonathan Evison; Beautyland, Marie Helene Bertino.
Reviews by PAUL DI FILIPPO / 37
The Lost Cause, Cory Doctorow.
Reviews by GABINO IGLESIAS / 38
The September House, Carissa Orlando; What Kind of Mother, Clay McLeod Chapman; Black Sheep, Rachel Harrison; Dead Eleven, Jimmy Juliano; Human Sacrifices, María Fernanda Ampuero.
Reviews by Divers Hands: PAULA GURAN, RUSSELL LETSON, ADRIENNE MARTINI, ARCHITA MITTRA, ALVARO ZINOS-AMARO / 39
The Reformatory, Tananarive Due; Creation Node, Stephen Baxter; The Art of Destiny, Wesley Chu; The Blighted Stars, Megan E. O'Keefe; The Fragile Threads of Power, V.E. Schwab; Dry Land, B. Pladek; Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope, Brad Weismann.
Terry Bisson: This Month in History / 15, 19, 21, 25, 29, 31, 35, 37
Photo Listing and Ad Index / 63
Magazines reviews in this issue (indicating reviewer)—
Strange Horizons 9/18/23, 9/25/23, 10/2/23, 10/9/23, 10/16/23 (Charles Payseur)
Lightspeed 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Fiyah 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Kaleidotrope 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Fantasy 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Flash Fiction Online 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
GigaNotoSaurus 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Baffling 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 10/5/23, 10/19/23 (Charles Payseur)
Escape Pod 10/12/23 (Charles Payseur)
Worlds of Possibility 10/23 (Charles Payseur)
Cast of Wonders 10/14/23, 10/25/23, 10/27/23 (Charles Payseur)
Escape Pod 10/19/23, 10/26/23 (Charles Payseur)
Diabolical Plots 10-11/23 (Charles Payseur)
Understudies, Priya Sridhar (Charles Payseur)
Samovar 10/23/23 (Charles Payseur)
Strange Horizons 10/30/23, 11/6/23 (Charles Payseur)
Lightspeed 11/23 (Charles Payseur)
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11/2/23, 11/16/23 (Charles Payseur)
GigaNotoSaurus 11/23 (Charles Payseur)
Flash Fiction Online 11/23 (Charles Payseur)
F&SF 11-12/23 (Charles Payseur)
Weird Horror Fall ’23 (Paula Guran)
Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet Summer ’23 (Paula Guran)
Uncanny 9-10/23 (Paula Guran)
The Sunday Morning Transport 10/24/23, 9/10/23, 9/3/23 (Paula Guran)
Apex #140 (Paula Guran)
The Dark 9/23, 10/23 (Paula Guran)
Analog 9-10/23 (A.C. Wise)
Clarkesworld 10/23 (A.C. Wise)
Flash Fiction Online 10/23 (A.C. Wise)
Asimov’s 11-12/23 (A.C. Wise)
Clarkesworld 11/23 (A.C. Wise)
khōréō 3.2 (A.C. Wise)
Books reviews in this issue (indicating reviewer)—
Ampurero, María Fernanda • Human Sacrifices (Gabino Iglesias)
Basham, Brendan Shay • Swim Home to the Vanished (Jake Casella Brookins)
Baxter, Stephen • Creation Node (Russell Letson)
Bertino, Marie-Helene • Beautyland (Ian Mond)
Chan, Eliza • Fathomfolk (Liz Bourke)
Chapman, Clay McLeod • What Kind of Mother (Gabino Iglesias)
Chu, Wesley • The Art of Destiny (Adrienne Martini)
Dawson, Delilah S. • Bloom (Alex Brown)
Dawson, Delilah S. • Midnight at the Houdini (Colleen Mondor)
Doctorow, Cory • The Lost Cause (Paul Di Filippo)
Due, Tananarive • The Reformatory (Paula Guran)
Evison, Jonathan • Again and Again (Ian Mond)
Fawcett, Heather • Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Colleen Mondor)
Harlen, Leigh • A Feast for Flies (Alex Brown)
Harrison, Rachel • Black Sheep (Gabino Iglesias)
Helgadóttir, Margrét, ed. • Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction (Niall Harrison)
Jacobs, Bethany • These Burning Stars (Liz Bourke)
Juliano, Jimmy • Dead Eleven (Gabino Iglesias)
Kuang, R. F., & John Joseph Adams, eds. • The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 (Gary K. Wolfe)
Lafferty, Mur • Chaos Terminal (Alexandra Pierce)
Lambert, Brent • A Necessary Chaos (Alex Brown)
Link, Kelly • The Book of Love (Gary K. Wolfe)
Liu, Em X. • The Death I Gave Him (Alexandra Pierce)
Lusk, Sean • The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley (Colleen Mondor)
Markley, Stephen • The Deluge (Ian Mond)
McBay, Aric • Inversion (Jake Casella Brookins)
McGhee, Molly • Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind (Colleen Mondor)
McGuire, Seanan • Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Colleen Mondor)
Meadows, Foz • All the Hidden Paths (Liz Bourke)
Mehta, Tashan • Mad Sisters of Esi (Niall Harrison)
Mohamed, Premee • The Butcher of the Forest (Liz Bourke)
Nayler, Ray • The Tusks of Extinction (Gary K. Wolfe)
O'Keefe, Megan E. • The Blighted Stars (Adrienne Martini)
Orlando, Carissa • The September House (Gabino Iglesias)
Palumbo, Suzan • Skin Thief: Stories (Alex Brown)
Parker, K. J. • Saevus Corax Captures the Castle (Gary K. Wolfe)
Parker, K. J. • Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead (Gary K. Wolfe)
Pearsall, Kate • Bittersweet in the Hollow (Alexandra Pierce)
Pladek, B. • Dry Land (Archita Mittra)
Pokwatka, Aimee • The Parliament (Alexandra Pierce)
Pokwatka, Aimee • The Parliament (Colleen Mondor)
Ryman, Geoff • Him (Ian Mond)
Schwab, V. E. • The Fragile Threads of Power (Adrienne Martini)
Scott, Melissa • Fallen (Liz Bourke)
Shawl, Nisi • Kinning (Gary K. Wolfe)
Sridhar, Priya • Understudies (Charles Payseur)
Sylvaine, Angela • Frost Bite (Alex Brown)
Tsamaase, Tlotlo • Womb City (Ian Mond)
Weismann, Brad • Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope (Alvaro Zinos-Amaro)
Wolfe, Gene • The Wolfe at the Door (Ian Mond)
