Eliot Fintushel, "Izzy and the Father of Terror" (Asimov's 7/97) Dazzling, extravagant tale about motel manager Izzy Molson in a battle of aliens from across time and space.

Tony Daniel, "Black Canoes" (Asimov's 7/97) A potter and an anthropologist journey by canoe to an inverse world where Plains Indians provide a necessary ritual of rebirth.

Greg Egan, "Reasons to Be Cheerful" (Interzone 4/97) Brain chemistry determines one's outlook on life: unsettling hard SF about finding a balance between meaningless happiness and meaningless despair.

Esther M. Friesner, "Miss Thing" (F&SF 5/97) Performers at a club featuring drag shows take in a street urchin whose true nature surprises even them.

Terry McGarry, "Mindchild" (Terra Incognita Spring/97) A pregnant teenager escapes a repressive US to a Canadian hospital, where she becomes part of an experimental treatment in curing Alzheimer's.

S. N. Dyer, "Sins of the Mothers" (F&SF 5/97) A middle-aged earth mother becomes host for her rock star son's clone.

Tanith Lee, "After I Killed Her" (Asimov's 7/97) A successful dragon-fighter contemplates the self-centeredness of humanity and changes his ways.

Robert Silverberg, "The Church at Monte Saturno" (Realms of Fantasy 4/97) A western art historian is unsettled by evidence of ancient demons at a ruined church in Sicily.

Batya Swift Yasgur & Barry N. Malzberg, "Blessing the Last Family" (Realms of Fantasy 4/97) Uriel the good angel and Ashmodai the bad angel vie for dominance over the harmony of the Davidson household.