Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 154 (March 2023)

LIGHTSPEED is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF-and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.

Welcome to issue 154 of LIGHTSPEED! If you discovered a way to pull material from other versions of our world, what would you want to grab? Cash? Treasure? Board games? Well, we have an original science fiction story by Daniel H. Wilson-"Crystalline"-with just that situation. You'll have to read it to find out what the characters go looking for! We're happy to have Peter Watts return with a new short story called "Contracting Iris." If you like your SF with a side of unsettling epidemiology, this story will definitely tickle your fancy. We also have two terrific flash pieces: "One Pinch, Two Pinch" from Beth Goder and "Four Years Minus Twelve Days" by Samantha Murray. Oyedotun Damilola Muees brings us a climate fantasy story ("The Chosen Six") rich with original solutions for our planet's biggest troubles. We also have a new short story from Benjamin Peek ("The Ministry of Saturn"), which features an organization specializing in the strange and supernatural. We also have a flash story ("Every Little Change") from Aimee Ogden, and another ("Our Exquisite Delights") from Megan Chee. All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with book reviews from our terrific review team.