A novella, a novelet and four short stories are found in this issue along with several columns. Of particular note, I found the science column in this issue by Bruce Sterling quite interesting. It is on the Canadian engineer Gerald Bull, who invented and improved long range and very high altitude artillery. The editor has a piece on the significance of the Clarion Writer's workshop as it celebrated it's 25th anniversary in 1992. I have found Algis Budrys nearly impossible to read at times and his book review column in this issue is proof of it for me. This was, however, a much better than average issue of the magazine. The fiction stories are:

"Dogged Persistence" by Kevin J. Anderson
"Ansley's Demons" by James Sallis
"Destination" by Lisa Mason
"The Gift of the Magicians, with Apologies to You Know Who" by Jane Yolen
"The Master of Chan Gen" by Steve Perry
"Seeing" by Andrew Weiner

I thought Kevin Anderson's "Dogged Persistence" was quite good - a look at possible immortality achieved by nanomachines to repair one's body - in this case a black lab. James Sallis' short, "Ansley's Demons" I thought was another very good story, this one a dark fantasy and a sad one. A man loses a woman he loves very much to a chronic illness. I liked this right up until the very end.

I'd call "Destination", by Lisa Mason a science fiction/horror mix, with the horror on a cross country drive, and well done. Nicely drawn characters for such a short piece. Jane Yolen's reimagining of O. Henry didn't interest me much at all.

I quite enjoyed Steve Perry's "The Master of Chan Gen" the story of the life of Wu, from a young boy to Warrior Priest to the Master. Quite wise and touching.

The cover story (art by Bob Eggleton) was Andrew Weiner's novella "Seeing" and was the biggie in this issue, a very good science fiction story. It is all about a near future mission to Mars with some odd stuff going on, and a parallel story about a world famous singer who could see the future. I'm a little surprised this didn't appear in one of the best of the year collections. Must have been a very competitive year is all I can think.

I wonder sometimes why I collect and read these older issues of science fiction magazines, and then stories like "The Master of Chan Gen" and "Seeing" remind me that this is the only place these stories exist. ( )

F&SF (Andrew Weiner; Steve Perry; Kevin J. Anderson; James Sallis; Lisa Mason; J ( )