11 • Knock, Knock Said the Ship • 17 pages by Rati Mehrotra Good/VG. Deenu is a survivor of a conflict on Luna. Saved by Kaalratri she is now in debt to the ship with little chance of paying it off any time soon. She happens to be on the bridge when they are boarded. Why would the Peace Force want to board them? The first name in the first knock knock joke should be "Yul." Written as "You'll" the pun is lost. "Knock, Knock." "Who's There?" "Red." "Red who?" "Read any good sci-fi mags lately?"28...

Great selection of stories. Some to make you laugh, others to make you cry, others to make you think.

I only listened to "Madre Nuestra, Que Estas en Maracaibo" by Ana Hurtado from this collection through the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. Yesenia is a put-upon mother from Venezuela who moves back to her parent's home to care for her dying grandmother. Her marriage is ending, her children aren't obedient, she left her unsatisfying career as a lawyer, plus then her parents heap more expectations upon her. Yesenia's devout grandmother has always prayed for those at risk of purgatory, but when she is

A better than average issue, with fascinating stories by James Morrow, David Erik Nelson, Brian Trent and a hilarious story by Madeleine Robins exploring a fantastic version of "My Fair Lady" that probably deserves to be made into a play too.- "Knock Knock Said the Ship" by Rati Mehrotra: on a spaceship that tries to tell 'Knock Knock' jokes, a former Lunar refugee working off her debt is thrown into conflict when the ship is taken over by attackers also from Lunar, who did so to get supplies fo...

This was a strong issue. "Knock, Knock said the Ship" by Rati Mehrotra had a very classic feel as it is essentially about space pirates taking over a former hospital ship. It is elevated beyond this simple action-oriented plotline by the fact that both the pirates, and Deenu, the main character, are survivors of the civil war on Luna, so Deenu has to pick a side. All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal is a nice, gonzo story about a pizza oven that serves as a gateway to the netherwo...

A great edition, lots of good stories, none out of place. My favorites in order were:- “Knock, Knock Said the Ship” by Rati Mehrotra- “The Monsters of Olympus Mons” by Brian Trent- “The Shape of Gifts” by Natalia Theodoridou- “Omonculus” by Madeleine Robins- “Last Night at the Fair” by M. Rickert- “Spirit Level” by John Kessel- “All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal” by David Erik Nelson- “A Bridge from Sea to Sky” by Bennett North

Favorite stories: “All Hail The Pizza King And Bless His Reign Eternal,” David Erik Nelson; “‘Omunculus,” Madeleine Robins; “Crawfather,” Mel Kassel; “The Staircase,” Stephanie Feldman.

Great stuff, as always. Hard to pick up a favorite story, but I specially enjoyed “The Shape of Gifts” by Natalia Theorodirou - a message of hope than manages to be exhilarating, dark and intoxicating, all at the same time. A story of a difficult relationship in troubled times (aren’t they all?), with the background of climate change. Other good stories in this issue: “Madre Nuestra, Que Estás en Maracaibo” by Ana Hurtado, a promising F&SF debut. A peculiar ghost story delving into the unsettlin...

Knock, Knock Said The Ship - Rati Mehrotra ***An indentured crewmember of a smuggling ship tries to defend it from pirates with the idiosyncratic AI that runs it. Fairly light for the most part, develops some depth towards the end given the shared background as refugees between the main character and the pirates. Last Night At The Fair - M Rickert ***Anne-Marie remembers a magical night at the fair with the boy who would become her husband. Has a sweet innocence. Bible Stories For Adults No 37:

"All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal" by David Erik Nelson is both chilling, exciting, hilarious, and all-round fun: Nelson has one of the most fun voices in weird writing, and he shows the best of both imagination and humor here, much as he did with his other F&SF novella, "There was a Crooked Man, who sold a Crooked House" (He wuz nominated but Robbed by big awards: they don't have any humor. hehehe ). Love his protagonist "from the Appalachicola River basin" ( therefore near m...

About this magazine.After reading it from front to back I am impressed with the quality of short stories, and the articles. I'm specifically drawn to the magazine because of the stories. It's nice to pick up and read a story when I am busy and can't commit to a longer novel. It is well worth a subscription!

A collection of pretty good stories (and a very good poem), with nothing too bad at all.Charles Coleman Finlay - Editorial - 4 stars - A discussion of the effects of the pandemic on F&SF quickly changes to a discussion of the concept of unintended consequences and the various instances of it which have been observed during the pandemic. Interesting.Rati Mehrotra - Knock, Knock Said the Ship - 4 stars - A refugee from one disaster ends up working on a spaceship which is subjected to a pirate atta...

Episode 78 of Levar Burton Reads, Madre Nuestra, Que Estás En Maracaibo, by Ana Hurtado

Faves were "Crawfather" and "A Bridge From Sea to Sky"

I’m being petty and counting this as one of my books for this year. There were some really cool stories in this, my favorite being “Crawfather.” With how poorly I’ve been able to focus lately, I am cutting myself some slack and counting it. Take that, perfectionism!

One of the best issues in quite a while--a wide variety of stories and almost all got a good hold of me. Here are my favorites:- Editorial by Charles Coleman Finlay. A heartfelt time capsule from the dim and distant past of April 2020. Like reading the 1897 Sears catalogue.- Knock Knock Said the Ship by Rati Mehrotra. When your loyalty is divided, hop over the rock, slip past the hard place, and find an unexpected punchline.- Last Night at the Fair by M. Rickert. A larger than life overnight adv...

Lot of fun, varied stories in this issues. The ones that stood out for me were "The Shape of Gifts" by Natalia Theodoridou, "Last Night at the Fair" by M. Rickert, "The Staircase" by Stephanie Feldman, "Madre Nuestra, Que Estas en Maracaibo" by Ana Hurtado, and "Spirit Level" by John Kessel. I've been a fan of Kessel's ever since I read the original "Pride and Prometheus" in F&SF years ago--and wow, does "Spirit Level" hit close to home.

A satisfying collection of stories spanning the breadth of its territory. Some light and humorous, some deep and sombre. All well written. Since I prefer action/adventure fiction my favorites lean in that direction; those by David Erik Nelson, Bennett North, Madeleine Robins, and Brian Trent. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the balance. Taken as a collection, the variety adds to the overall strength and enjoyment of the issue.

Several interesting stories, some on themes around nature and the environment.

No really great stories but plenty of good and okay stories.The best is "Knock, Knock Said the Ship" by Rati Mehrotra. A hijacked spaceship, a cool AI and a main character with conflicting agendas.Noteworthy is also "All Hail the Pizza King and Bless His Reign Eternal" by David Erik Nelson with its somewhat macabre humor and interesting twists. I also enjoyed "'Omunculus" by Madeleine Robins. Funny steam punk story about a "robot" that is a little too smart.Didn't care much for the rest of the s...