Letter from the Editors
Dear Reader,
We are turning the corner into December, and finally winter, at least here in Colorado where snow has been harder to find than usual! If the weather outside wherever you happen to be is frightful, we have some cozy, fireside reading for you -- at least, as cozy as you can get in the speculative fiction category!
Okay, maybe none of it is actually that cozy. But every one of these tales will thrill and entertain -- and will certainly make better holiday conversation than politics!
This quarter's selection is a little bit of the past, a little bit of the future, and a lot of fantasy in between...
The little bit of the past starts with Lenin's Nurse. Chris Barnham weaves a whole new character into Russia's revolution and beyond with his excellent story. We encourage you to check out his blog post on how much is real history and how much is not.
For the little bit of the future, Morgan Crooks brings us the highly imaginative character Tama Bell, The Yuru-Chara of Hector, NY. If you know kids who are begging for Hatchimals or Furbies for the holidays, or any other toy with some artificial intelligence attached, you might consider young Samantha's adventures with Tama Bell first.
In the realm of fantasy, Chris Walker brings us Mered's Lament, a traditional knight-hunts-dragon story that rapidly upends the genre. Hint: it's a rare day these days to find a damsel in distress.
If you can't wait for The Dark Tower movie, coming next summer, Childe Roland by Sidney Blaylock, Jr. might just tide you over with his creative take on the Robert Browning poem.
And if, after loading up on these two fantasy stories, you find yourself wishing you could be magically transported to a fantasy realm, you should read Karen Osborne's Gazer first -- a warning about what can happen if you surrender to temptation of the wishing sort, especially when alien fantasy realms are involved.
In Editors' Corner we have a fun excerpt from Lesley L. Smith's novel The Quantum Cop. We also have a fun interview of author/editor Grayson Towler.
And with that, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we do. Thank you one again for being our loyal readers!
The Electric Spec Team
