I think we should combine the four largest sf/f magazines in the world into a new one; how about “Asimov’s Interzonal Fantasy and Analog Science fiction with some Facts”?(This idea is mentally copyrighted(Sorry))

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I still consider myself a SF n00b — having been trained as an insufferable literature snob, I’m just now discovering the joys of SF. Thank you Escape Pod for these splendid little introductions, and I’ll see if I can find a copy of the mentioned magazines for more.

I discovered Asimov’s when I was 9, in 1981. Read a great Zelazny story about a man who played chess with a unicorn, with the stakes being the future of the world. Sparked my interest in the magazine and the genre– I’ve read almost every issue published since. (I finally subscribed to Analog last year after picking up most issues at the newsstand for the last ten). Asimov’s tone has changed over the last 25 years, but one constant I love is how they’ve always presented good fiction by both established and new writers. As the industry has filled up with TV novels and schlock, they’ve kept the quality strong.

Bravo to Escape Pod for championing the short story – the gem of the genre. And bravo for recognizing the role of these classic magazines in doing the same for many more years prior.

As for SF magazines–SF has always been a big staple at our household. When I was a kid, I always thought that “analog” was just the name of a magazine that my dad subscribed to. Sadly, all of the issues I used to smuggle into my room to read were destroyed in a move along with over 2000 books and (thank god) one of the ugliest couches in history. Your plug for magazines reminded me of all the stories my dad tells us about, stories we never got to read after the books and magazines were lost, and the fact that he no longer has a subscription to fiction magazines. Nor, for that matter, do I. So, maybe now’s a good time to start (again.)

As for sagging subscriptions to the science fiction magazines, I think could do well by subscribing to one or more. Ever since last October, I’ve challenged myself to read a short story a day from various genres and it rarely takes more than ten or fifteen minutes. It has been rather easy once I got into the habit. While I do occasionally fall behind for one reason or another, I can usually catch-up by reading two or more in the same day. Ultimately, I’d like to “read” 500 stories this year: 365 Daily + 52 Escapepod + 52 Pseudopod + 31 Other Audio or Text stores.

But in terms of the storytelling, I thought it was well-done.

However, am staying up late to go to Amazon.com and subscribe to both Asimov’s and Analog. I hadn’t realized how bad the circulation numbers had gotten. 4k copies? That makes a _comic_book_, a dying industry, look positively wonderful.

I don’t know if we _need_ SF magazines, but I sure _want_ them. Even if I don’t have time to read them–I never seem to–I can always store them and go back at award nomination time and read the nominees.

Folks, go vote with your wallets if you want these magazines to live.

Great story, great reading otherwise!

cheers

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