Nice appreciation

John DeNardo at SF Signal posted his review of the April issue of Baen's Universe on June 10. He was very complimentary of the magazine:

"The April 2008 issue of Jim Baen's Universe (Issue #12, also known as Volume 2, Number 6) closes out their second year of publication with 12 pieces of short fiction and a handful of articles. Particular standouts in this issue are "Manumission" by Tobias S. Buckell and "Honorable Enemies" by Mike Resnick. Both stories take place in worlds I've visited before, and it was fun to return to them again.

"Before I get to the reviews, a few words about the magazine itself. I've been reading this bi-monthly magazine for the past year, missing only one of those issues due to time constraints. On the whole, it's been a very positive experience. Being electronic, I can access it from anywhere. The multiple formats make it easy to read on a PC or handheld device. The caliber of talent they get is consistently impressive making each magazine worthy of the price of admission. They also showcase new talent besides seasoned authors making it an attractive venue for writers in any stage of their careers. They also offer a decent mix of science fiction and fantasy and, although the fantasy stories are less suited to my particular sf-leaning tastes, I must admit that some of them impressed me quite a bit. The worst thing I can say about Jim Baen's Universe is that the artwork is a bit amateur for a professionally published magazine. One could successfully argue that their budget is being spent on high-quality fiction instead of the visuals and that the magazine is better for it. You'll get no argument from me. If I had to choose, I'll choose the better fiction every time."

As for his appreciation of "The Witch of Waxahachie":

"The Witch of Waxahachie" is a quick-moving parallel world story by Lou Antonelli. A group of Texans accidentally open a portal to a parallel world that fostered magic instead of technology around the time of the Industrial Revolution. There's not much more than that basic plot nor does there need to be. Well, maybe more characterization would have been welcome. In the end, the story makes for an interesting sf/fantasy hybrid that nicely avoids my usual indifference towards fantasy and makes for a fun read."

"A fun read"! Yep, that's what I try for. Thanks, John!