What’s in Issue 111

to Bewildering Stories news: Briefs

Novel	Tala Bar’s new foursome — Dar, Zik, Nim and Nunez — regroups in various combinations and, as winter approaches, searches for a way off the volcano island. On the way they are greeted by a mysterious woman who is impervious to cold and who appears and disappears mysteriously: Gaia, chapter 7: The Range, part I, installment 1; conclusion of part I.
Novellas	Inspector Parker and Madelyne Dawes have to escape from the Sristi, but they’re completely surrounded. The cavalry is nowhere in sight; in fact, none is expected: Wallace W. Cass, Vessel, conclusion. A song summons the Bridge folk to head for home. And it’s none too soon: when the authorities discover that a lot of corpses are unaccountably missing, Lockly orders the Navy to open fire on remaining Bridge pillars: euhal allen, The Bridge, part VI, installment 1. New contributor Jonathan M. Sweet begins the story of newspaperman Xavier Harold Stafford, who desperately needs glasses for his work. He can afford only a cheap pair, but they work magically well. Sometimes you get what you pay for; only we have an idea how dearly Harry is going to pay for what he gets: The Kestron Lenses, part 1.
Serials	Moonshadow captain Martin Horvath learns a lot about Michelle from Percy. Then a bomb goes off, and Martin finds himself talking to an Elf, one of the people from whom he and Eric had heisted a whole lot of gold so long ago: Michael J A Tyzuk, Through a Glass, Darkly, part 3. Ásgrímur Hartmannsson introduces us to the twin sister of Michael J A Tyzuk’s character Tamara Tomson. Is Lada Samara Tamara’s lighter or darker side? Officer Tyzuk gets Lada’s goat, but she really needs him to get her a goat. Weekender, part 1 adds a whole new multimedia extravaganza to the parental admonition “Clean up your room!”
Short Stories	Michael Hanson follows up on Jonathan Sweet’s theme of vision and leads off another theme: the vicissitudes of technical writing. Rub your eyes and you may see between the words the White Veins of the demon Draal-Nakk. Sean Hower takes the theme of technical writing from tragedy to comedy. But the tension is still there: the writer needs expertise to understand his work, stamina to meet deadlines, and the coolth of a double-O agent to confront Developer No.
Future History	Thomas R. sends us an occasional piece in time for the summer Olympic games. It’s a news report from 92 years in the future, but at the rate things are going we may be hearing it a lot sooner: What’s New at the 2096 Olympics.
Essays	We all use dictionaries, but what is one, really? G. David Schwartz gives us a thoughtful and sometimes truly Bewildering Review of the Idea of the Dictionary. Let’s see... is “Draal-Nakk” under “D” or “N”? Steven Utley concludes this issue’s theme of extreme writing by examining its subcutaneal versions. As usual, Steven is right: sometimes a Tattoo is something only a maughther could love.

Departments

Welcome	Bewildering Stories welcomes G. David Schwartz and Jonathan M. Sweet.
Challenge	Challenge 111 reopens Mark Koerner’s question about Free and Scarce Goods in light of Omar Vega’s recent story.
The Reading Room	Jerry Wright reviews Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Consequences.
Editorial	What Do We Think We’re Reading?

In Times to Come

Issue 112 will introduce another new contributor from South America. Meanwhile, a reminder: our next issue also brings you the conclusion of euhal allen’s “The Bridge.” The author invites alternate endings, and some are scheduled for issue 113. Everybody crank up your keyboards and send us yours. We’ll continue them as long as they come in. Suggestions can be found in Challenge 108.

Readers’ reactions are always welcome.
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