There is a Newford story by Charles de Lint. "Big City Littles" begins with Sheri Piper waking up to a little man sitting on her pillow. Jenky Wood is a member of the Traveling Littles. His people want her assistance to regain magic to become birds. Sheri is just a writer and doesn't know how to work magic. She gets help from another character that has appeared in these stories before. This is a wonderful tale of Urban Fantasy with likable characters and subtle magic.
Another interesting story is "Limnery is Cursive" by Terry McGarry. The story takes place in a city where mages are branded if they perform magic. Luriel is a young mage woman who befriends a scribe of the king. Seblik comes to her aunt and uncle's house for a purpose. Luriel's and Seblik's story unfolds in this descriptive tale of exiled mages and forbidden magic. This story is a prequel to the author's novel Illumination (just published).
Karin is a talented artist in "A Hole in Her Head" by Maya Kathryn Bohnhoff. She paints fantastical pictures, but has a problem; terrible headaches make her collapse when she finishes a painting. Doctors discover a tumor is her brain and she must decide what to do. This is a strong tale about artists and their inspiration. The characters are understandable and sympathetic.
"The Sea of Time and Space" by Liz Williams is a slightly dark, vivid story of redemption. The visionary William Blake is the main character. He wakes up to find a monstrous creature sipping blood from his wrist. Blake tries to give the monster other blood, but fails. The creature is a man that once craved human blood in any form and was punished by the gods for his indiscretions. Ms. Williams creates a moving story, set in a past age, where the character tries to help the tortured man. It is a powerful story about the human soul.
This issue of Realms of Fantasy has many stories that are entertaining and vivid. These and other stories make the issue worth reading. Most of the regular features are present except the Editorial and Folkroots columns. It is an issue full of many adventures into imaginative Fantasy worlds.
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