Editorial – November 2020

This issue is a bit thin on the book reviews. There are a variety of reasons for that. I’m still reading books for Wizard’s Tower purposes, and obviously can’t review those. I have been somewhat distracted by the US election and by Trans Day of Remembrance. And Freshwater was not an easy read for me.

Mostly, though, I think I need a holiday. I’ve been in more-or-less isolation for 9 months now. I have plenty of work, which is good, and having three different jobs does create variety. But, after 9 months of mostly not leaving home for more than an hour a week, I appear to be getting a bit of cabin fever. Sitting at home reading doesn’t hold the sort of attraction you might think.

So for this issue I have read only two books. I did read Yoon Ha Lee’s “Beyond the Dragon’s Gate” as well, but that turned out to be a short story and not easily reviewable. I have cheated a little by reprinting my review of Hav by Jan Morris as a tribute following her death, at the fine old age of 94, earlier this month. You will be hard-pressed to find a better piece of speculative fiction anywhere, so I make no apology.

I also spent a bit of time thinking about the schedule. I could have skipped this month, but it didn’t seem fair to do that without any warning. More to the point, there are better months to skip if I need a break. So as of next year I am going to do 10 issues a year. There will be nothing in February, because I am usually run ragged by LGBT History Month and the Historical Fiction Research Network conference. And conveniently 6 months later I will skip August, because I expect Worldcon to continue to be a major influence on my life even if I can’t normally attend in person.

This does mean that I have committed myself to December and January issues, so I’d better get this issue posted and some more books read.