Interzone #296

A good issue of Interzone. Hopefully a sign that the magazine's new editor, Gareth Jelley, is now hitting his stride. Stories I particularly enjoyed were those by Alex Penland, Sloane Leong, and a fabulous one by Marie Brennan.

• "0x11 Scenarios to Stop the Train" by Jon Lasser: a story about the various 'what might happen' scenarios if Anna Karenina had access to Siri and asked it what to do (elope or stay with her partner). Many of the scenarios involve a train.

• "Sfumato" by Alexander Glass: the Mona Lisa has been stolen, and a former thief turned detective is on the trail. Readers might be able to guess that the robbery and some of the characters involved in the story are not from that time period in Paris.

• "We Are Only Ourselves" by Alex Penland: a man returns home to find his wife has turned back into a man. The story then proceeds to tell the tale of their initial friendship, which became more than just friendship, the apparent divine intervention that turned him into a woman, and what their future may be for them and their daughters, for the family can also divine the future, and what they see is darkness for their land and for themselves.

• "Our Lady of the Void" by Hesper Leveret: a researcher goes on a trip to deep space to study the culture of the people making such journeys. But what she learns about the superstitious and religious beliefs of the crew would put the crew, and herself, in danger.

• "Another Country" by Rachael Cupp: a nurse struggles to take care of a notable senile person, while in the background the world is apparently tethering on the edge of a conflict.

• "With the Blade as Witness" by Sloane Leong: a fascinating story set on a world where people live in tribes, each guarded by large biomechanical guardians with a living heart housing a person who controls them. Now, one such person has to seal a proposed merger with another tribe, but in doing so, learns more about herself, her potential partner, and what effects the guardians can have on the people housed in them for too long.

• "999 Swords" by Marie Brennan: a fabulous story set in a feudal-like Japan, where a master swordsman and his monk-warrior servant wait for their deaths from a traitorous enemy. To pass the time, the monk-warrior tells the story of his life, leading up to becoming a servant for the swordsman, which contains a twist at the end that would involve the swordsman's teacher.