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As usual, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for July 2007 does not disappoint. In fact, it's got an exceptional, Hugo quality story in "Car 17" by P.E. Cunningham! The other stories by Lucius Shepard, Lawrence C. Connolly, Ray Vukevich and M.K. Hobson are all thoroughly enjoyable and well worth reading.

I hoped that the July 2007 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction would produce some quality stories and I was not disappointed. The best of them, and one I'd consider for Hugo nominations next year, is "Car 17" by P.E. Cunningham. It's the story of a heroic cop named Officer Will and his police car, Car 17. The story reads like great myth, telling us that Car 17 is more than just an automobile. The author makes the small town setting and the people seem real. It's one of those perfect little stories that come around very rarely.

The rest of the issue is a lot of fun, too. The lead novella is Lucius Shepard's "Stars Seen Through Stone". It's set in a small town in Pennsylvania called Black William and focuses on Vernon, a small-time but successful promoter of musicians. He winds up making a success of a talented lowlife named Joe Stanky. There is something else going on in the town. Odd phenomena occur near the statue of the town's namesake. People suddenly exhibit great talent. All this leads to an exciting conclusion. "Daughter's of Prime" by Lawrence Connolly tells us of Cara Gamma, one in a series of women observing a remote planet. She is discovered and must figure a way to help the planet's people. What's especially clever is the way Connolly uses the few words we know of the native's language to present us with a solution to Cara's problem.

The two short stories are light but fun and both deal with very intelligent machines. "Cold Comfort" by Ray Vukevich features an intelligent refrigerator and what may be a human or another intelligent machine.

M.K. Hobson's "PowerSuit™" is about a future corporate world where people rely on intelligent machines to stay ahead. In this one, the machine is very clever indeed!

So, once again, I strongly recommend that you buy or subscribe to this great magazine.