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's cover art is by Reiko Murakami, illustrating an original science fiction story by A. Merc Rustad and Ada Hoffman ("I Sing Against the Silent Sun"). We also have an original SF piece by Lina Rather ("A Pilgrim's Guide to the Lighthouse of Quvenle the Seer"), along with SF reprints by Russell Nichols ("Tie Goes to the Runner") and James Cambias ("Contractual Obligation"). Plus, we have original fantasy by Ashok K. Banker ("The Quiltbag") and Emma Törzs ("From the Root"), and fantasy reprints by Micah Dean Hicks ("The Carpenter and the Beast of Teeth") and Courtney Bird ("The Diamond Girl"). All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns. For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive reprint of the fantasy novella "There's a Hole in October" by Todd McAulty. We also have excerpts from MEET ME IN THE STRANGE, a new novel by Leander Watts, and the novel THE ROBOTS OF GOTHAM by Todd McAulty.