The December 2008 issue of Jim Baen’s Universe (Volume 3, Issue 4) is the online quarterly magazine of fantasy and science fiction created by the late great editor and publisher Jim Baen. As envisioned by Jim Baen, the magazine offers unpublished, professional quality fiction and nonfiction for free, but with the belief that this odd business model can be made to turn a profit through the voluntary contributions of the readers. While I can’t comment on the financial success of the endeavor, I can vouch for the high quality of the fiction offered.

“Moon Race” by Ben Bova is reminiscent of wonder stories crafted by Asimov, Clarke and Heinlein during their prime years. Harry and Taylor have built an experimental moon buggy and entered it in a race across the lunar surface. This race has more at stake for Taylor, the driver, than fame and glory, as his status as a legal resident on the moon is very much dependent on establishing a career. The unemployed are not tolerated there because of the limited resources. Taylor uses his vehicle’s unique qualities to win the day, but is scratched on a technicality. Still his pluck and resourcefulness do not go unrewarded. The tale, and especially the ending, took me back to my own youth and the stories I thrilled to.

“Pumpkin” by Bud Sparhawk is another tale modeled after the adventure tales of the great masters. Jake is a “miner” who seeks rare materials in the winds of the atmosphere of Jupiter with his dirigible mining vessel. These colony space stations are too far from home to rely on Earth for materials, so Jake and his fellows probe the violent winds of Jupiter much like the gold miners of California in 1849, seeking that big strike that will make them rich. An interesting tale told from Jake’s POV, it juxtaposes Jake’s obsession to find that motherlode that will make him wealthy against his desire to marry and live a normal life. While this is an overlong tale that really doesn’t arrive at any hard conclusions at the end, it entertains well along the way.

“Loki’s Net” by Marissa Lingen is a long, meandering tale that toys with the implications of memory implants on demand. Nora is an actress/storyteller who performs great roles live on TV for a living. For reasons not made clear, she takes an experimental drug that inserts the memories of another into her own to improve her “craft”, allowing her to “become” the other after a fashion. She becomes obsessed with the memories she receives, and goes on a quest to track down the owner, the reluctant inventor of this pill we learn. When she meets Reece, however, the tale ends without much fanfare. He has been in hiding, but I never understand why, nor how such an extreme experiment could go forward so causally.

“Some Events at the Templar Radiant” by Fred Saberhagen is another overlong, meandering tale that offered some fascinating ideas at the beginning that are never explored properly. Sabel the Cleric is a scientist/priest working for the religious government that rules a deep space habitat/fortress built in a space rock. Decades earlier, the habitat was invaded and conquered by the robot berserkers whose sole purpose apparently is to destroy all biological life. The colonists were later led to victor by the now-Saint Helen. Sadly I ran into my first disappointment here, as the berserkers’ origins and goals are never revealed. Nor are Saint Helen’s heroic actions much discussed either.

Although Sabel knows the destructive powers of the battle robots, he tracks down the few that are still buried in the tunnels of the habitat, damaged and inactive after battle, and seeks to repair them enough to learn their secrets. As the government strictly prohibits this incredibly dangerous conduct, he engages in elaborate ruses to cover his actions. But there are other players in the game with divergent motives. Agents for the government are aware of Sabel’s experiments, but so are a shadowy group of humans who are for the berserkers (think American Nazi Party just prior top WW II). In the end, the government agents sweep in to arrest everyone, but perhaps too late as Sabel has managed to repair and reactivate one of the dread berserker robots. And there the tale ends.

Overall, this tale was overloaded with interesting ideas (space stations run but theocratic leaders, man versus machine conflicts, spy versus spy plotting in deep space), but never develops any to a satisfying degree. Any one would have made a fine adventure tale. Lumped together, I was not pleased. Perhaps in a novel length work?

“The Gossamer Mage: Intended Words” by Julie Czerneda is one of the two fantasy tales in this Issue. We follow two wizards in world were words have magical power, at least in the hands of those trained in the art. But casting a spell, which involves writing words on a page while drawing magical power, saps the life force of the wizard. The result is that wizards age rapidly, dying at what normally would be middle age. The tale itself follows two wizards, each on a mission. One is a teacher at the school of wizards sent out to track down a rogue magician who is killing whole villages with magic. The other is on a quest to break free from the terrible constraints placed on wizards by the goddess who empowers them. As much a travelogue as a tale, we meander across this land without purpose. As written the tale reads as an opening chapter to a longer work. Well and good, but that is not what was presented here.

“A Very Formal Affair: A Harry the Book Story” by Mike Resnick is a wonderful bit of nonsense well worth your time. Harry is a bookie in a world that is a cross between the dark gritty cities drawn by noir detective writer Dashiell Hammett and the magical land of Harry Potter. Harry is forced to take a bet from a local gangster on the upcoming dance competition. But Harry soon learn the fix is in, and he is facing ruin because of the long odds he has offered on the bet. From there the tale rolls along with absolutely no pretense of serious intent, until Harry wins the day, and saves his skin, with fast thinking and pluck. This is the best tale in this edition, IMHO.

“In the Light of the Hunger Moon” by Kevin J. Cheek is one of two tales by new authors, a regular feature of this venue. Lorgash the troll lives in northern Europe during the age of the Vikings. Relations between troll folk and human folk are contentious at best, and small pox stalks the winter-shrouded land, killing whole populations of human and troll indiscriminately. Lorgash finds shelter in the home of a half-troll woman and her son just when the local human warlord arrives seeking vengeance against the woman’s recently deceased husband. Not having the man to kill, the warlord is happy to visit his wrath on the wife and son. At least until Lorgash intervenes. With raw courage and wit, he tricks the humans, and troll warriors who soon appear, into conflict allowing the woman and boy to escape. Well told and set in a very different land, the tale provides a wonderful read.

“Johnny Plays `Round Saturn’s Rings” by Jason K. Chapman, the other story by a new author, is a predictable tale about a nine year old boy living on a habitat orbiting Mars. The issue presented is Johnny’s abhorrence to being placed in the care of Mi, a “mandroid”, while his father is ill. The mandroid is a cyborg, a human brain implanted in a machine body, and the folks here consider mandroids an abomination, feared and loathed as unnatural. But Mi works hard to overcome Johnny’s prejudices and succeeds when she saves his life. In the end we learn the ulterior motives of Johnny’s family for forcing him to interact with Mi. For me it was no surprise, but I won’t spoil it for you.

In addition to these tale, each edition of Jim Baen’s Universe contains classic tales being represented, serial tales, and columns by well-known authors like Mike Resnick, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ben Bova and Barry Malzberg. If you haven’t visited before now, you should. If you find something worth your while, don’t forget to contribute something to the cause. Until next time, enjoy.