Each month, I supplement my full magazine reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus with Magazine Minis, in which I read a handful of intriguing stories from a couple magazines, despite not reading them cover-to-cover. To open 2026, I’ll be looking at the year’s first issues of Asimov’s and Kaleidotrope. Asimov’s Three stories immediately stood out to… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Asimov’s and Kaleidotrope
It’s a new year, and I’m excited to get started with reviews of both of my regular sci-fi/fantasy magazines, as GigaNotoSaurus returns from hiatus and Clarkesworld keeps chugging along. Let’s take a look. Clarkesworld The opening Clarkesworld issue of 2026 features five short stories bookending a pair of novelettes. It opens with The Stars You… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (January 2026)
For my last Magazine Minis of 2025, I’ll be taking a look at a handful of stories from the year’s final issues of Apex and Uncanny. Apex Apex almost always has something that catches my attention, but the editors enjoy body horror far too much for me to read it cover-to-cover. But they closed 2025… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Apex and Uncanny
With GigaNotoSaurus on hiatus for one last month, I’m closing out 2025 with a review of the December 2025 issue of Clarkesworld. Clarkesworld The final Clarkesworld of the year features five short stories interrupted by a pair of extended novelettes. It opens with a trim sci-fi parenting story, Tomorrow. Today. by R.T. Ester, in which… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (December 2025)
GigaNotoSaurus is back on hiatus for the remainder of the year, and my best wishes go to LaShawn Wanak and her team in closing a difficult year and trying to shore up the foundation for 2026. I’ve been pretty impressed with their published fiction this year, but I know the finished product is only the… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (November 2025)
It’s been a bit of an unusual reading month, with a little bit less novel-shaped reading time than usual but quite a bit more places to carve out some short fiction. Between that and my attempt to free up the holiday season posting schedule, this month’s Magazine Minis is my biggest ever, with a blitz… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Five-Zine Blitz (October 2025)
GigaNotoSaurus is back, and my monthly magazine reading is once again at two. So let’s take a look at the October issues of it and Clarkesworld! Clarkesworld It’s always exciting to see a Table of Contents with a bunch of authors you’ve five-starred in the past, and so as much as I appreciate Clarkesworld platforming… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine (or Two): Reviews of Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus (October 2025)
My September short fiction reviews are coming out of order because of some travel early in the month, and GigaNotoSaurus remains on a two-month hiatus, so let’s do a rare late-month, single-issue review and take a look at the September 2025 issue of Clarkesworld. Clarkesworld This issue of Clarkesworld features five short stories and two… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (September 2025)
Early September travel has thrown off my usual reading schedule and has me swapping the order of my regular short fiction reviews. So we’ll save the monthly Clarkesworld review for later and start with Magazine Minis: short reviews of selected stories from the same magazine issues. Today, I’ll be looking at tales that caught my… Continue reading Tar Vol’s Magazine Minis: Asimov’s, khōréō, and Translunar Travelers Lounge
GigaNotoSaurus has announced a two-month hiatus—and my best wishes go to the staff as they navigate whatever it is that is demanding their attention—so in August and September, my monthly read of two magazines will be reduced to just one. So let’s take a look at Clarkesworld. Clarkesworld This month’s issue includes seven stories: five… Continue reading Tar Vol Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (August 2025)
