Asimovs Science Fiction

This is specifically a review of Jay O'Connell's splendid novella, "What We Hold Onto," not the Asimov's issue as a whole.... "What We Hold Onto" presents a layered and evocative vision of the future. Differences between our world and the story's future are unobtrusively threaded into the narrative. Some differences are large (climate change has already taken place); some medium (people can modify their bodies so that their skin displays images); some small (pet insurance has become hugely expensive). This mixture, together with the richness of the details, makes the world very real. More importantly, the characters are real, and the themes are human and heartfelt. The story speaks about loneliness, friendship, death, about being a parent and about watching your parents age, about holding onto the past and letting it go. The narrator's relationship with her two college-age sons particularly moved me. There is also a strong romance element, which I very much enjoyed. I didn't know why the man was so drawn to the narrator, perhaps because the narrator herself didn't know, but I cared about both of them, and willed them on toward what I hoped would be a happy ending. An excellent story.

Having read SF for years and, having collected many collections of SF, I am thoroughly enjoying not only accessing some of the latest stories and essays about the genre, but as the newsprint is super light, I throw it in my bag or briefcase or satchel and it adds only a negligible amount weight which becomes a delicious break-time plunge into different worlds and visions and the urgency demanded of some people to share their dreams. I use digital media almost all day every day, thus having in my hands the feel of paper, the sound and texture of turning pages is an absolute treat and restful for the eyes.BTW, the soy ink used to print does not bleed or smear as traditional ink does in from newspapers.

Almost wish this was monthly but that would add to the price. Plenty in each edition but it goes pretty fast. Seems like a nice mix/balance of stories and you can always skip one if its not to your taste. No advertising to wade through. I use an old kindle and prefer the "text view."

Asimov’s Science Fiction has always shined for excellence. It is a well paved road into possible futures (making even the most improbable appeared workable). A beacon of hope in the dark that nowadays gathers around us compromising too many aspects of our life. Silverberg’s reflections are always a real pleasure delving, as they often do, into the nook and crannies of past works that would otherwise remain, very likely, forgotten not to mention his personal, and enriching, experiences which he shares with us the readers. The “On Books” keeps abreast with what the field has to offer encompassing its multiple facets and branching into science itself besides. And the fans find in the “SF Conventional Calendar” the right arena to satisfy their desire to mingle and, whenever possible, meet the authors.

Having fun with the May/June issue. Short stories, novellas, poetry, lots of stuff. I recognized an author who wrote some of my favorite novels in high school. A few odd breaks where I think it hasn't been digitized correctly is the only reason I'm giving 4 stars. Fair deal on pricing for days or weeks of reading material.

The magazine is great, plenty of stories, worth the price ( but not in the Kindle format ) very difficult to use with Kindle ) one false move on your part and you spend a good amount of time trying to find your place. Does work much better with tablet format. Unable to use with kindle app on laptop.

Some very good stories inside, no issue here. But guys, seriously, it’s 2020. This is not how you distribute e-books. I get the long traditions of the journal, I do, but this not paper. This is read on the user’s device, and you don’t know the screen size or your reader’s preferences in advance.For example, I could only guess that this would be unreadable on the phone, which is how many people read nowadays. I read on my iPad, but even for me this is problematic. The fact that you hardcode linebreaks means that the text can only be displayed in thin columns, 2 in portrait and 3 (!) in landscape orientation. And if it’s true what people say in other comments, and the older issues simply get deleted from your reader’s library, than this is just ridiculous.I’m torn in regards to the grade I’m supposed to give here. 5 stars for the stories, 1 star for usability and giving a damn about your reader? An average of 3, I guess?

I very much enjoyed having new stories to read. The online format allows me to enlarge the print to a size which is comfortable to read. The editorials are informative, the book reviews are interesting, and both are well written. They continue to place science fiction in the context of current events as well as the history of the genre.

This magazine is great. I've gotten to know some authors new to me & read some brilliant stories. Occasionally I come across a story I don't like but this issue I really enjoyed.

Love the e-mag. Great content, value for money. The only downside is its format. With poor eyesight I have to enlarge the pages, which means constantly moving page back and forth to read each line, giving me eye strain. Tried landscaping the pages, but you can't enlarge print in that direction. That is my only concern about the magazine, but it's a major setback in its pleasure. But because it's so good, well worth preserving.

great stories from brilliant authors in an excellent science fiction magazine.

It's Asimov centred. Nuff said!

For the price, you get nine short stories and three longer works. Really good value, and a great variety of stories in this issue.