I'm really pleased with this issue. The lead story, Jason Sanford's The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicolais a wonderful blend of science fiction and contemporary fantasy-- it's emblematic of what good speculative fiction should be. I confess I loved it from the first paragraph to the end.
Other strong stories this go-round: Jens Rushing's The Vicksburg Dead<, about the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi in the Civil War; Sympathy of a Gun by Gary Closter takes a look at the future of a humanity, where most of us have been exterminated "for our own good." Erin Cashier's Beneath the Shadow of the Dragon takes on mother-daughter-nanotechnology issues on a distant planet; and Bruce Worden's The American gives us a nudie pic. Er... That is, it deals with the advent of transhumanism from the perspective of a family of Polish farmers.
Bonus stories (Merry Christmas, you yahoos!):
Maureen Power brings us a tale of a Miracle on Massachusetts Avenue involving roller skates, birthdays, and banshee.
Orson Scott Card endangers his Christian soul with a speculative retelling of the Nativity. Boy Howdy! Get your lightning bolts here, folks, limited time only. Half-price for Wise Men.
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