What’s in Issue 280

Novel	Slawomir Rapala, The Three Kings The legendary general Aezubah is growing old; a new generation will succeed him. But Aezubah’s successor must first learn whence the old warrior’s greatness came... Prelude: The Colors of War
Novella	Bertil Falk, Under the Green Sun of Slormor Nature is a temple where living pillars Sometimes emit half-heard words; Man travels through its forests of symbols, Which watch him with a hidden smile. — Baudelaire, Correspondances The grandfather and Parvrin emerge from the forests of symbols that are the key to their past and future, but Slormor remains mysteriously real. Chapter 8: Consolation Island in the Lake of Blood, part 1; part 2 Chapter 9: At Home, conclusion
Serials	A lowly spaceship’s porter suvives a crash on an alien planet. To his temporary delight, he finds himself the opposite of Robinson Crusoe: Bill Bowler, Bodkins the Great, part 1; part 2; part 3. New contributor Leona Rigger introduces Allunai, an outcast on a human-occupied world. After rescuing an injured Jerinn, she learns the meaning of “enemy mine”: Marked for Eradication, part 1; part 2.
Short Stories	New contributor Zuku Saki wakes you up like Rip Van Winkle and hands you a bag loaded with money. Now what? Confound Interest, part 1; conclusion. Slaking one’s thirst for vengeance is seldom a good idea. Afterwards you may say “That just wasn’t me...”: Pete Sierra, Letter to a Future Self. ‘That old man river, he must know somethin’...’ And Fred is going to find out what it is, now that the river runs through the basement of his house: Arthur Vibert, The River, part 1; conclusion. What happened to the seventh fish at Christmas dinner? Jerry Vilhotti, Missing Fish.
Flash Fiction	New contributor Lesley Mace takes literally the expression ‘to bottle up one’s feelings’: Broken Glass.
Poetry	Mary B. McArdle, Ocean Voyage John Stocks, Angel
Short Poetry	Michael Lee Johnson, I Trip on My Poems Anna Ruiz, O Poet
Essay	Goddesses play a big part in the abundance of creation myths: Tala Bar, Creation in Myth and Literature.

Departments

Welcome	*Bewildering Stories* welcomes Lesley Mace, Leona Rigger, and Zuku Saki.
Challenge	Challenge 279 Response: David Lipp, “Water Rights” Challenge 280: Angel in the Sand
The Art Gallery	NASA: Endeavour Spacewalk 6 NASA: Picture of the Day
The Reading Room	Danielle L. Parker reviews Simon R. Green, The Man With the Golden Torc.
Editorial	Jerry Wright, xxx

Bewildering Stories News

Moe: Welcome to our new website host, “Moe,” a.k.a. “Ezzie.” We’ll keep a backup on “Laurel” for the time being, but poor “Hardy” seems to have fallen victim first to sharks in the Mediterranean and now to an earthquake in England. Where are you, Britannia, now that we really need you to rule those waves?

Moe started out by eating our departmental menus, but our publisher Jerry Wright has worked server-side magic to retrieve them. Watchit, Moe: there’s always “Larry” and “Curly,” not to mention “Groucho.”

If you’ve ever wondered why we’re called “Bewildering Stories,” now you know.

Randomly selected Bewildering motto:

Randomly selected classic rejection notice:

Bewildering Stories’ official mottoes:

“Poems are not made with ideas; they are made with words.” — Stéphane Mallarmé
Ars longa, vita brevis. Rough translation: “Proofreading never ends.”

To Bewildering Stories’ schedule: In Times to Come

Readers’ reactions are always welcome.
Please write!

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