Earlier this week I summarized the results of the annual Locus Awards vote for Best Magazine, as reported in the July issue of Locus magazine. I was very proud to see that Black Gate came in at #8 (out of 27 magazines). I was also surprised to see that Tor.com had placed #2 on the list, beating out magazines like Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and Analog. Locus readers tend to favor the fiction magazines over media sites and online blogs…. but then again, Tor.com has gradually become one of the top sites on the internet for genre fiction.

Witness the month of May and early June at Tor.com, which featured brand new fiction from Genevieve Valentine, Brian Hodge, Nisi Shawl, and many others. There’s plenty here for adventure fantasy fans, including “Orphan Pirates of the Spanish Main” by Dennis Danvers, an SF tale featuring Stan and Ollie, orphans who receive a mysterious postcard from their father, who disappeared decades ago into the deadly Abyss in New Mexico; P. Djeli Clark’s “A Dead Djinn in Cairo,” in which Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi, in an alternate 1912 Egypt, faces rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, and clockwork angels in the ancient ruins beneath Cairo; and Theodora Goss’s “Red as Blood and White as Bone,” a dark fantasy about a kitchen girl who lets a ragged woman into the castle during a raging storm, certain she is more than what she appears to be.

Links and brief descriptions for May-June fiction at Tor.com are below.

“La beauté sans vertu” by Genevieve Valentine
Wed Apr 27, 2016
edited by Ellen Datlow
Science Fiction || “La beauté sans vertu” by Genevieve Valentine is a vicious little swipe at the fashion industry as certain disturbing trends are amplified in the future and a famous fashion House prepares for an important show.

“Red as Blood and White as Bone” by Theodora Goss
Wed May 4, 2016
edited by Ellen Datlow
Dark Fantasy, Fantasy || “Red as Blood and White as Bone” by Theodora Goss is a dark fantasy about a kitchen girl obsessed with fairy tales, who upon discovering a ragged woman outside the castle during a storm, takes her in–certain she’s a princess in disguise.

“The Pigeon Summer” by Brit Mandelo
Wed May 11, 2016
edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Dark Fantasy, Horror || Talking to ghosts has its dangers — and its rewards.

“A Dead Djinn in Cairo” by P. Djeli Clark
Wed May 18, 2016
edited by Diana Pho
Alternate History, Science Fiction || Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and a plot that could unravel time itself.

“Those Who Watch” by Ruthanna Emrys
Tue May 24, 2016 9:00am
Reprinted from The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu
Lovecraftian || A librarian finds herself literally marked by a strange book in this tale of cosmic horror. Reprinted from The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu, an anthology of original stories inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

“Orphan Pirates of the Spanish Main” by Dennis Danvers
Wed May 25, 2016
edited by Ellen Datlow
Science Fiction || “Orphan Pirates of the Spanish Main” by Dennis Danvers is a science-fiction novelette that follows Stan and his brother Ollie, children of alien (or crazy) parents who receive a mysterious postcard from their father, who with their mother, disappeared decades earlier into the “Abyss” in New Mexico.

“The Weight of the Dead” by Brian Hodge
Wed Jun 1, 2016
edited by Ellen Datlow
Dystopian, Science Fiction || “The Weight of the Dead” by Brian Hodge is a dystopian science fiction novelette taking place years after all electronics have been fried by the sun. Two siblings live in an enclave with their father, who’s about to be punished for a crime, sparking fierce but secret rebellion by the daughter.

“The Mighty Phin” by Nisi Shawl
Mon Jun 6, 2016 9:05am
Reprinted from Cyber World

We last covered Tor.com with their April fiction. See the complete fiction catalog at Tor.com here.

See our July Fantasy Magazine Rack here, and all of our recent Magazine coverage here.