One or two issues of F&SF leave me cold every year, and this issue was one of them. My favorite story in the issue was Cowdrey's, but it wasn't even one of my favorite Cowdrey stories. I also like the Goldstein but I recognize some of that is my quirk for non-traditional format stories. The others were all well-written by gifted writers, but I just didn't connect with them. It could be me.
My favorite issues this year so far are January, June, and September. January has "Pride and Prometheus," which is John Kessel's smart, funny, moving tribute to Jane Austin and Mary Shelley. June has Ted Kosmatka's "The Art of Alchemy," which is next-wave accessible near-future SF. The September issue has Carolyn Ives Gilman's novella "Arkfall," which I read as exploration/colonization from a feminist perspective with a different and perceptive view of human interactions. Those are the three exceptional stories for me this year, and all three issues also had other stories in the good to very good range.
So my guess is maybe you hit the off-issue for you, rather than the magazine's off. I think you'd like the Kessel or Gilman stories especially.
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My favorite issues this year so far are January, June, and September. January has "Pride and Prometheus," which is John Kessel's smart, funny, moving tribute to Jane Austin and Mary Shelley. June has Ted Kosmatka's "The Art of Alchemy," which is next-wave accessible near-future SF. The September issue has Carolyn Ives Gilman's novella "Arkfall," which I read as exploration/colonization from a feminist perspective with a different and perceptive view of human interactions. Those are the three exceptional stories for me this year, and all three issues also had other stories in the good to very good range.
So my guess is maybe you hit the off-issue for you, rather than the magazine's off. I think you'd like the Kessel or Gilman stories especially.