Welcome to Issue 44 of IGMS, an issue that has a strong theme of family running throughout.

Our cover story is "The Oath-Breaker's Daemon" by Rob Steiner, a tale about a man separated from family and friends, betrayed and stranded in ancient Rome from an alternate timeline than the one we know, a timeline where magic is real. His first and obvious goal is to get home again, and just when it appears he's on the verge of getting there, the equation changes significantly and difficult choices must be made. This is the first of two stories scheduled for IGMS featuring this compelling new character, and we hope you enjoy it and look forward to more -- because the next one is coming your way next issue.

"Look After Your Brother " by Hollian Kim provides us a look into the life of a Sneak Lord, a glorified prison rat who watches his fellow prisoners through the eyes of his wolves -- eyes that have been replaced with magical stones and link directly to his mind. When one of those wolves catches sight of his niece, and his brother comes to rescue her, the Sneak Lord must decide what price he's willing to pay to follows his mother's admonishment to "look after his brother."

"Broodmother," written by Jakob Drud (from Denmark -- we love our international authors) is a story about a family traveling across the galaxy aboard an enormous living space ship, where they are effectively surviving as nothing more than comfortable parasites. But when it turns out that turnabout is fair play and the ship uses one of their kids as a host to grow its own offspring, the dynamic becomes a lot less comfortable.

Andrea's G. Stewart's story "A Good Mother" puts us on a small island, possibly the last one left in this magical world, where human's lives are extended by consuming the spiritual essences of magical creatures they share the island with. The resulting overpopulation is unsustainable, but one small girl's choice to look after the family she's chosen over the family she was born into may just save them all.

In the mood for something a little longer? The novelette, "The Crow's Word," by Stephen Case, is an absorbing exploration of one man's journey through the surreal, in search of love. With help from an unusual collection of friends and confidants, he travels in and out of The Blur, discovering that love was looking for him, even as he was looking for it.

This issue's audio production is "The Last HammerSong," written by Edmund R. Schubert (yes, me, editor-guy Ed) and read by award-winning performer Emily Rankin. It's the story of an alien world, some of whose inhabitants have a decidedly alien way of looking at family relationships -- others of whom are prepared to take matters into their own hands to change things for the better.

This subject of Darrell Schweitzer's InterGalactic Interview is Myke Cole, who provides us with not just a look into his thought process on a wide range of subjects, but a short story as well: "A Place For Heroes," reprinted from that venerated old magazine, Weird Tales.

And be sure not to miss "At The Picture Show: Extended Cut," where our movie critic Chris Bellamy discusses the upcoming Alien sequel, questioning the wisdom of resurrecting dormant franchises.

Plus, it's time again for the results of this year's annual Reader's Poll. Readers voted for their favorite stories and favorite artwork; top vote-getting stories and illustrations receive an extra cash prize. And the winners are:

Stories:

1st place - "The Sound of Distant Thunder" by Mike Barretta
2nd place - "The Golem of Deneb Seven" by Alex Shvartsman
3rd place (tie) - "Until We Find Better Magic" by H.G. Parry
3rd place (tie) - "High-Tech Fairies and the Pandora Perplexity" by Alex Shvartsman

Cover Art:

1st place - "Elsa's Spheres" by R.L. Carter

Interior Art:

1st place - "High-Tech Fairies and the Pandora Perplexity" by Andres Mossa
2nd place (tie) - "Underwater Restorations " by M. Wayne Miller
2nd place (tie) - "Seven Tips to Enjoy Your Time in the Unreal Forest" by Nick Greenwood

Congratulations to all our winners, and many thanks to all our readers who voted.

Edmund R. Schubert
Editor, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show

P.S. As usual, we've collected essays from the authors in this issue and will post them here on IGMS along with our other free columns. Feel free to drop by and catch The Story Behind The Stories, where the authors talk about the creation of their tales.