LIGHTSPEED is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF--and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.

This month, we have original science fiction by A. Merc Rustad ("Longing for Stars Once Lost," with an original cover illustration by Reiko Murakami) and Adam-Troy Castro ("What I Told My Little Girl About The Aliens Preparing to Grind Us Into Hamburgers"), along with SF reprints by Hugh Howey ("The Walk Up Nameless Ridge") and Aliette de Bodard ("Crossing the Midday Gate"). We're enjoying a change of pace in our fantasy department as we serialize an original novella (in two parts) from Jeremiah Tolbert ("The Dragon of Dread Peak"). We'll also have fantasy reprints by Sofia Samatar ("The Tale of Mahliya and Mauhub and the White-Footed Gazelle") and Rachel Swirksy ("Becoming"). All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns, and a feature interview with Tade Thompson.