Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 18, No. 9 [August 1994]

Six stories in this issue, a novella, two novelettes and 3 short stories. Plus poems, illustrations, and essays. Nothing dreadful in this issue, but there are two noteworthy stories. The opening novella Cilia-of-Gold by Stephen Baxter concerns the exploration of Venus and the exploration and discovery of life. The story alternates between the sentient lifeforms who are unaware of humans on the surface, and the less interesting story of the explorers on the surface. The two parts intersect at the end. This is apparently part of Baxter's Xeelee series.

The other notable story is by Gregory Benford, a novella that takes up a large portion of the magazine, called "Soon Comes the Night". The intro to the story states it is part of what show more became Benford's Galactic Center series that began with [In the ocean of night]. The events in the story link the first two books in the series with a sixth volume being written (which became [Sailing Bright Eternity]). So this story should be noteworthy to fans of that series. I have read Benford's short stories over the years but not his novels, so I can't judge how it fit in. I am not a big fan of Benford's writing style but I still appreciated this story.

from isfdb:
4 • Reflections • essay by Robert Silverberg
10 • Cilia-of-Gold • [Xeelee] • novelette by Stephen Baxter
10 •  Cilia-of-Gold • interior artwork by Ron Chironna
38 • Soft Rain • short story by Valerie J. Freireich
38 •  Soft Rain • interior artwork by Christopher Bing
52 • Crescent Moon • poem by Lawrence Schimel
54 • Dead Men Rise Up Never • short story by Rob Chilson
54 •  Dead Men Rise Up Never • interior artwork by Steve Cavallo
64 • Bernie • novelette by Ian McDowell
64 •  Bernie • interior artwork by Gary Freeman
80 • Moon Canoes • poem by Wendy Rathbone
82 • Living It • short story by Steven Utley
82 •  Living It • interior artwork by Gina Mohr LoParo
92 • Soon Comes Night • novella by Gregory Benford
92 •  Soon Comes Night • interior artwork by Bob Eggleton
158 • The Vampire Sings • poem by William John Watkins
160 • On Books: State of the Art • essay by Norman Spinrad
160 •   Review: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nicholls • review by Norman Spinrad
164 •   Review: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler • review by Norman Spinrad
166 •   Review: Beautiful Soup: A Novel for the 21st Century by Harvey Jacobs • review by Norman Spinrad
167 •   Review: Sandman, Sleep by Herbert Lieberman • review by Norman Spinrad
169 •   Review: Virtual Light by William Gibson • review by Norman Spinrad
171 •   Review: Hard Landing by Algis Budrys • review by Norman Spinrad
172 •   Review: Forests of the Night by S. Andrew Swann • review by Norman Spinrad show less