plug for Locus magazine

Locus magazine
01’2011
02’2011
03’2011

I wrote about "Locus" last year, since in the magazine some important changes have been made. The most important of them is that the magazine is now distributed in digital form. Now it's fast and cheap (foreign subscribers receive digital version for free). If earlier you would have to wait for weeks, now the magazine can be read on the first day of sales. The second major change is the interviews. Previously, "Locus" mainly publishes interviews with writers. But fandom is not just writers and, accordingly, readers. It is also artists, critics, editors, podcasters etc etc. All these figures were often unnoticed. Now you can read in a magazine interview, for example, with the editor Sharyn November (02-2011), and in the January issue the main theme is e-books with dozens of interviews in the magazine.

What I always liked in interview in "Locus" is the fact that they were not short-term. Today interview with the author often turns into a way to just make a PR for a book, reduced to combinations of the samequestions. How did you write this book, what are working on now, who you are influenced by - these plus some other questions are compiled, and interview is done. The interviewer will not go deep, and the author does not want to strain (especially if the author after the book is out this month has to give several dozens of interviews). So, what lies deep in the interview - a conversation - disappears, replaced by a quick chat, not binding to anything. In "Locus" a figure of interviewer is generally removed, there are no questions, only a monologue of the interviewee, but in this monologue you can see an interviewer carrying on a conversation. One interview is never like another. Interview in "Locus" is something like an interview in science fiction The Paris Review.

In addition to the interview in the magazine, of course, there are lots of news, obituaries, the results of the year in the February issue, as well as reviews.

"Locus" as it was as remains the most influential magazine in the world of SF and fantasy.

Mineshaft #26

Mineshaft #26

The new issue of the small magazine Mineshaft is better than the previous one. If Mineshaft number 25 suffered from an excess of strange materials, are often so bizarre that it was hard to even understand what it was and for whom it has been written, in this issue the proportion is observed: half of the issue is weird pieces, while the other part is comics - and a very high quality comics.

Definetely, the best material there is a single strip, for some reason, unsigned, titled «Batman and Robin Meet the Great Depression». Batman and Robin are depicted there as a couple of homeless people, who beg, steal, sleep on the benches, and spend money on booze and cigarettes. Incredibly funny.



In his autobiographical comics by Dennis Eichhorn and David Collier «The Geriatric Comic» protagonist is an old stand-up comedian with a cane and a cape, and he is far better than younger comedians. Another comics in this issue, too, is partly autobiographical - «August 1976" by Nina Bunjevac. Her art almost entirely filled with black color accompanies the text between the panels: it’s two letters, first from the father to his wife and daughter, and then from the daughter to her father. This seems to be a quiet story but with high voltage, preparing the reader to something tragic.

A good number, but there is no limit to perfection. We’ll wait what happen in the next issue.

N+1 magazine #8 (Fall 2009)

N+1 magazine
#8 Fall 2009

This issue was published just in the midst of the crisis, and because of that some of the articles were dedicated to it. Now, two years later, these crises materials are outdated, but they reflected two things. Firstly, it is clear that in the midst of the crisis in the U.S. there was serious panic, the world for every American almost tumbled into the abyss. Secondly, the magazine showed his citizenship: its pages splashed with despair, anger and hope in their country.

The best articles of this issue are those to whom the financial crisis did not have relations. Gays are our utopian heroes. So begins the article «On Repressive Sentimentalism», balanced analysis of gay movement and its possible future. What can cause a general lack of any bans on gay marriage? Why do more and more people opt for same-sex unions? How far does sex without consequences determine human behavior in today's world? These and other issues Mark Greif raised in his article.

«So Little To Remember» is an essay by Philip Connors in the form of a diary, which at first I take for a piece of fiction. The author alternates between diary entries that he experiences after the suicide of her brother, with quotations from the books.
Digression into the film industry of Mozambique has been taken by Emily Witt in the «Cinema E Luxo». Mark Roth sees another death of the novel at the peak of so-called neuronovel. In his article «The Rise of the Neurovel» Roth examines the books in which the work of mind is replaced by the work of the brain, then there are novels where the protagonist suffers from any disease of the brain. Among these novels - McEwan with "Saturday" and "Enduring Love", Haddon with "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", Lethem with "Motherless Brooklyn" etc. Roth found an interesting new angle on those books, but his final conclusions are not convincing. End of the novel was predicted for hundreds of times, but the end never came, by the same the total amount of neuronovels is very small to talk about some dominance.

We should also mention fiction component of the magazine. Juan Villoro in «Among Friends» mixes the criminal plot with kidnapping with descriptions of the reportage of Mexico. What immediately gives Villoro a South American, so it's genuine sadness and his sociality. On the cover of a magazine Villoro is named the best untranslated Mexican novelist, after that short story, we can already say that it is no exaggeration.

N +1 is the best source of intelligent reading which I know about.

Stripburger 54

Stripburger 54

If the previous issue of "Stripburger" was a disappointment for me - too many pictures and too little comics - that this, number 54, dedicated to Brazilian authors, is a delight.

In the issue there is an interview with one of the Brazilian artist Marcelo D`Salete. In this interview, D’Salete complains that nobody takes seriously comics in Brazil. Artists do not publish books because there are no comics publishers, readers do not read, because there are no comics and nowhere to learn about them, publishers do not want to hear about comics, making an exception for illustrated books for children. If you like to draw comics and be published - do comics for children. Such a situation recalled the situation in Russia, one to one similar to the Brazilian. If you do comics, just look for the opportunity to be published in the West, at home you could onlu get mockery. D’Salete in an interview remarked that comics in Brazil, made for adult audiences, have social background. His own strip in this issue is one of the strongest stories here. At the heart of D’Salete’s strip is a story about a girl who has lost her mobile phone. On the small number of pages of his work the artist tells us about the social life of Brazil more than we could learn from the Wikipedia articles or from news reports. Unsightly houses, barred windows, open spaces, the dark train, cowboy hats, petty criminals - the author doesn’t focus on this account, the reader himself notes the elements of urban life. D’Salete has lyric black and white art. Alternating panels on people and elements of landscape, the author demonstrates the inextricable link between the inner world of man and the place where he lives. Open ending does not contain harsh sentencing of Brazilian society, leaving hope for the best.

Allan Sieber, also from Brazil, is far less serious. Characters in his strip «Sorry, Olivia» are the couple drawn in the form of cats. The husband has a drinking problem and severe, the wife is tired of suffering. In brutal two-page comic «Car-Boy's Family» by Max Andersson from Sweden children's cruelty finds sometimes bizarre forms and it is aptly portrayed by Andersson.

In Rafael Sica’s works there are a lot of marginals. People in his comics are ugly, miserable, and full of despair. Sica often loops narrative in his short strips, thus speakingyou can not escape from your nature. In the comics of Laura Teixeira the time stops. Artist dispenses with plot, but her art is the story. Teixeira catches not a moment, but what happens between moments.

Art of Mateus Acioli in his comic strip «Prick» seems to have originated in North America, but the story is purely Brazilian, with elements of magical realism. Work of Acioli is about a moment, too, that moment almost doesn’t live and then die at once and it is impossible to capture.

It turns out that Brazil is full of excellent comic authors and «Stripburger» has done a great job to convey to the reader the best of Latin American artists.

Ninth Letter Spring\Summer 2010

Ninth Letter
Spring\Summer 2010
Volume 7, Number 1

Usually the world of literature and world of glossy paper have nothing in common. In Russia, there are thick litmagazines "New World", "Neva", "Banner" (here you can insert two dozen titles) and they are sold in places where not everyone who wants to read them can buy them. And there are magazines Tatler, Harper's Bazaar, Men's Health, and thousands more other titles, they are sold in all the newsstands even in the most remote towns, but they have no relationship with literature. Literary magazines directly relate to the literature, as they print literature on their pages, but they look so conservative and unattractive to the reader and the seller so that if you put "New World" to showcase of the newsstand, a buyer would have thought that a seller just wanted to cement the cracks in the glass case by this blue rectangle.

And so the magazine of the University of Illinois “Ninth Letter” attempted to combine a literary content and design of a glossy monthly magazine. It looks like as a blend of literary magazine with Esquire. 300 pages on excellent white paper, with a block of yellow paper, with a glossy block, with photos, with illustrations between the stories, with art. This hybrid turned out quite attractive, the designers have tried their best.

There is actually also something for a reader. The weakest component in this issue of Ninth Letter to me was poetry. Part of it is elongated in the column of prose pieces, where actually there is no poetry, while another part is something like the worst representatives of poor-written vers libres. From poetry, I would single out two poems by Leslie Adrienne Miller and Carolyne Wright’s poem «Credo in Blue».
Of the five fiction pieces in this issue stand out fragment of «The End of the Fire Cult» by Angela Woodward and Douglas Glover's story «The Sun Lord and the Royal Child». Woodward weaves in her fragments non-fiction, poetry and magical realism. This is a fictional love story against the background of a fictional war, as if written by a poet. Glover's story, too, combines reality and fiction, but the author is much more recessed into reality. «The Sun Lord and the Royal Child» is the story of a fatal mistake by famous archaeologist Nedlinger, his wife, who suffered from the glory of her husband, and another archaeologist who secretly met with Nedlinger’s wife. The author, choosing the heroes of the story archaeologists, finds a good metaphor for a way to show that our past is also the land in which we hide their secrets, but secrets will still become apparent as the exhibits will be found during the excavations.

Essay by T.A. Noonan «The Trouble with Correspondence» is one of the gems in non-fiction section. The author with self-irony argues what witchcraft in the modern world is and whether belief in oneself can change oneself.

In non-fiction part there is also an intriguing project called «National Book Award in 1960, Revisited». Michael Griffith and three other writers of the jury aimed to revision the results of the Nation Book Award 50 years after their results. The jury chose the entire short-list of the award that year by adding five more novels, which represent a decent job, but were not included in the shortlist. After reading all the selected books, the jury should have been vote from 2010. Why such a project was ever realized? Griffith in his introduction explains that the decision of any jury award affects several factors that have no relation to a work of fiction. But what happens if these factors would not exist, the jury would not personally know any of the nominees, the jury will have no interest in pushing a particular book, whether the results would be objective? Choosing one particular novel, we are doing this because at the moment it is very strong work, or we believe in the future, wishing that this or that work will not be forgotten decades later, and without an award, it risks being buried under layers of time?

And if the winner of the National Book Award 1960 was the debut novel by Philip Roth «Goodbye, Columbus», this jury chose the winner of the project Evan Connell’s novel «Mrs. Bridge ». To summarize, each of the writers who were part of the jury, wrote a brief essay on the novel in the short-list, which is most closely to him or her. And each of these essays is written with such love and respect for the chosen author that you wants to immediately read the book about which the essay is written (I especially liked the essay by Michael Griffith on the debut of Updike «The Poorhouse Fair»).

The magazine looks very nice, with interesting fiction and non-fiction sections, but I was disappointed by poetry.

Stripburger 53

Stripburger 53

Sometimes there are cases that one or other graphics work is well watching if it’s divided into separate images, which individually would be of some interest. But in the aggregate, as a single story, often such work does not make absolutely no impression. Lack of plot has a bad effect on the general message of the graphic stories. This will not name comics and the picture, too.

In "Stripburger", comics magazine, published in Slovenia, part of the works described above suffers from the disease. Each piece of the story of Alexandar Zograf is a good picture in an interesting black and white technique, but as a comic it does not work. The same can be said about Paul Ashley Brown, Coco (he has two stories on the Harms), Domen Finzgar. Maya Veselinovic’s «The Bridge Has to be Beautiful» seems to be a good story, with interesting style, but it is too much sentiment, dissolving all impression of the comic strip on an emotional level. In this issue two graphic stories truly stand out and are remembered. Alessandro Tota’s is about two friends who go to the store for beer and cigarettes, but when they pass one of the houses, they have noticed in one window a rope tied to the ceiling: someone is going to hang himself. It’s touching, simple-painted story about lightness of being. If Tota is realist, Spanish cartoonist Alberto Vasquez is a fantasist. The protagonist here is a shadow demon with a beak-nose. He robs the poor, eats the chicks from the nest, and hangs on tree the mice babies. Fairness, of course, will prevail in this wonderful story with an optimistic ending.

And yes, this magazine has an incredibly funny cover.

n+1 magazine (number nine)

n+1 #9 Spring 2010

n+1 is an intellectual magazine of more than 200 pages, published twice a year. Much of it has given over to non-fiction, but fiction can outdo all the non-fiction at once: this is a snippet of the novel «The Ask» by Sam Lipsyte. It is a pity that this is only a fragment, not a separate story, but it is still phenomenally funny: makes sense that Lipsyte is one of the best living writers.

Coverage of topics in non-fiction section ranges from the zombie renaissance to the avant-garde food. What impresses in all articles, is the fact that, whatever painful topic for the society (not just the U.S.) are not covered, the authors dispense with the tantrums, blaming everyone and everything, but approach to writing, on the contrary, with irony.

We will know what webism is and how it became a social movement. Will know is whether in fact full employment in terms of practice and theory. From the report «Miami Party Boom» by Emily Witt we soon learn about Witt, than about the boom of partying. This, however, does not hurt the report. Terrible things are described in the section «Magazines of the Americas». Those who live in Russia, already accustomed to incessant terror in parts of the country. In Mexico, such terror covers the whole country completely. Two articles in this section are more calls for help than the weighted notes, but it's worth reading: terrible things happen in Mexico. The article by Mark Greif «Octomom, One Year Later» is a detailed account of how contemporary American society reacted to Nadya Suleman, who in January of 2009, gave birth to eight babies, and what Nadya experienced within the year since the birth of children. The reviews section has not only books reviews (explanatory analysis of recent books about zombies and attempt to comprehend their success with the readers from Mark McGurl), but also food review. Molly Young tried three so-called "miracle fruit". The highlight of this issue in my opinion is the second part (easy to read in isolation from the first) of travel writing by Elif Batuman «Summer in Samarkand» about author’s travel to Uzbekistan. It seems so easy to write a funny piece about how people of a civilized nation has visited Uzbekistan, but Batuman easily coped with this problem, incidentally also raised a number of important themes: the differences and similarities of people, understanding, how selective our memories are.

In general, as they say on the internet, plus one to this journal. Great read.

Mineshaft #25

Mineshaft #25

"Mineshaft" is a small magazine (only 52 pages), which is a sort of mix between a comic book and a literary magazine. Despite the fact that this is rather fanzine than a professional publication, "Mineshaft" is known because in every issue Robert Crumb’s works appear, and the cover of this issue is decorated with self-portrait of Crumb's daughter, Sophie. The Crumb family in this issue presented skits, small sketches, and Robert Crumb’s excerpts from his diary of dreams. It is surprising that in 2004 Crumb had a dream that he was Nicholas II and captured by the Bolsheviks, who, however, are not going to shot him.

The issue is opened by touching letters from fans of the magazine, underground artists. A short sketch of Pat Moriarty, dedicated to global warming, is well drawn, but too filled with the words, hence the loss of part of the charm of the picture. Jay Lunch’s "Eggwhites and Nehi" is a funny story, which does not aspire to any literary. A detailed critique of Crumb’s "The Book of Genesis" by Kim Deitch is interesting not only from the perspective of a comic critics, but also allows you to see the effect of Crumb on contemporary authors of graphic works, as well as works that have influenced Crumb himself, who now regarded the States perhaps the greatest comics underground author.

Simon Deitch in "The Devil’s Chicken "finds the roots of the Dodo bird, which appeared in Lewis Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland ". Despite the obvious humor of the article, the author accompanies the text of various illustrations explaining the origin of the birds. The beginning of Elizabeth Koenig’s comics «Dark Grounds» rooted in social problems within the family. Unfortunately, four pages of the beginning don’t allow saying how well the author completed the story. The issue completes with the told in dark colors comics "The Procedure" by Nina Bunjevac. The social aspect of the story - a pregnant woman eats and drinks too much - does not let me completely fall in love with this comic.

This is a noteworthy magazine, which has two flaws: it ends too quickly, first, and second: the texts are less successful than the comics, so I would like more comics.

Black Static #16

Black Static #16
TTA Press


Jonathan McCalmont, reviewing this issue of British magazine devoted to horror in all its aspects, tries in a few paragraphs to disguise the fact that one can say just two words: all the stories in this issue are crap. Clearly, McCalmont does not want to offend the creators of the magazine, that`s why he invents numerous theories that justify its reluctance to call a spade a spade.

Have read the issue, I can not agree with McCalmont: stories, consisting the number, are not shit (well, OK, one of them is really is), but really pretty good.
Before we start with the prose, there is worth saying a few kind words to non-fiction section. Peter Tennant and Tony Lee are as always inclusive, generous in word and accurate in the estimates.

The issue is opened with one of the most powerful stories, «The Overseer» by Tim Casson. In his story, coincidence faces fate, despair faces faith in the best and the ability to watch faces the ability to see. Darius, who could become rich and not work until the end of his days, did not listen to wise advice of his father, wanted to commit suicide, but eventually had enough to eat pills and drank whiskey and passed out. After waking up there is no question about any wealth: for a living, he and several of his friends work in a kind of plant under the supervision of a mysterious man in a mask of a jackal.

The described time and place may resemble the early twentieth century London, but if the capital of the United Kingdom in the story is mentioned, we can only guess about the time. The atmosphere in the story is very gothic, dark, ominous. The main character feels doomed long before something happens with him. Due to the unforgettable atmosphere Casson managed to create a strong story about that is not horrible when you are watched, but it`s more terrible when you watch himself.
The story by M. J. Preston is much weaker. His «Extreme Latitude» is a diary of one of the scientists at the station, located near the North Pole. He feels lonely - and tends to become more self-absorbed. He almost can not go from the station and, eventually, begins to hear a strange noise.

This story is too cold, like the scene of action, and scientists are too plastic to empathize at least someone in the story, it`s like a diary written not by man, but cookies auto-filler.

«One Last Wild Waltz» by Mike O`Driscoll could won, put the author the fantastic element aside at all. The narrator's brother dies and he goes to brother`s funeral, but rather because he wants to see the wife of the deceased, since a youthful years he didn`t lost love to her. But even after the death the deceased shows his bad character, not giving lovers to live peacefully. Characters are described with affection and precision, but because of the horror element of conjecture at the end of the story, the whole composition seems rather far-fetched. It spoils the story, but not enough to just admit his failure.

Alison Littlewood`s story turned out lyrical and persuasive one. In her «The Empty Spaces» protagonists, two widower, live in their old age years in one house. One of them, Laurie, at the doctor says that he saw Marilyn Monroe in his room. His neighbor and the doctor suggest that Laurie has Charles Bonnet Syndrome: when due to poor eyesight brain itself fills the rest of the picture his eyes do not see. Laurie does not agree: it seems to him he really sees things that are actually there.
Despite the fact that one hero of the story has poor eyesight and the other - hard of hearing, the author`s hearing and vision is good: Littlewood wrote quite an original story which has almost the perfect rhythm and a very smooth writing. The best story of the issue.

The issue turned out good, if we assume that more than half of the stories in it is successful.

Lady Churchill`s Rosebud Wristlet #24

Lady Churchill`s Rosebud Wristlet #24

The 24th issue of this small press magazine doesn`t seem to taste hard science fiction fans: in this issue they will not see any spaceships or time travels or people of our time in world of 5-headed lizards. Epic\s&s fantasy fans`ll throw up their hands (or winkle their noses): the descendants of Conan and the royal families can not be found in the issue as well. The authors of the magazine write strange and ordinary (but not trivial-and-boring) prose at the same time (we call it so to avoid the word “mainstream”), but with the addition of the fantastic - more fantasy - elements. Even if you read the story about the other world - it's like our world.
I called the magazine small wittingly: stories, filling the magazine, are too small in size. There are, unfortunately, weak stories, mainly flawed by the fragmentary, incomplete, and there are those that are good, like jokes, but to call them stories is difficult.

Among the unequivocal successes is «Dusking» by Liz Williams. Light and elusive tale, like a moth, which fill this story. The girl, who lives with his aunt, dreams about dusking, but her aunt is strict to her and she does not allow the girl much. But here comes a young man from the family friend, who can be trusted to go with her niece at the evening, and the aunt can enable her to go dusking. But this is a little girl, she wants to know the unknown. Amazingly beautiful - and somewhat terrifying - story about what happens if a person is a long time to be kept in captivity.

In quite another way, but with the same emotional, Jasmine Hammer works. She showed itself in the story «Tornado Juice» not only like a wonderful teller, but also an original humorist. The girlfriend of the protagonist of the story Kaiko has the most beautiful hair in the world. With this the narrator begins his story. More than that - with their help, wrapped a lock of hair around his head, he can travel between the worlds. Worlds, however, are all somehow a bad lot: in one of the worlds people are squat and hairy, with their very long hair trailing on the ground. In the second world there are no people, whereas in the third winds constantly blow and tornadoes occur. The habit of the protagonist to lock himself in the toilet comes to travel to other worlds, but as well can lead to not the best consequences for him. Briskly written narrative, which to the original idea adds more thoughts about the complexity of human relationships.

Weaker than these two, but, nevertheless, also a good story «Superfather» by J. W. M. Morgan continues the issue. The story, as true as indicated by the title, is dedicated to the father of the family. Dad is really an odd one: participate with a set of sculptures in the exhibition "World Peace", offers his plan how to survive after a nuclear winter to the president, can not talk to family members for months, and then for some reason makes the refuge in his workshop. The son of superfather watches extinction of his father, but do seem to do nothing. A sad story about fathers and children, and that not everything can change, and whether you want to change that?

This LCRW issue is worth reading at least because of these three stories.

Locus

Locus

January, February, March 2010

Actually Locus needs no introduction, anyone who has even a very superficial knowledge of science fiction knows that this is one of the oldest magazines devoted to science fiction, but its content is not fiction, but non-fiction. So once again pronounce the obvious and known to all is necessary.

In each issue of the magazine there are two interviews, one is represented to the front page (very rich and interesting interview with Delany and Crowley in January and March issues), the second is more modest (depending on the author). Sometimes, instead of one interview there is some discussion, seminar etc. Interviews are very detailed, something like the rules of life in Esquire, it has no questions, only answers. Not all of them are equally interesting, but it depends on the author, too.
As the saying goes, meat of the issue is reviews. Reviewers all can (and should) be read. Books between reviewers divide this way: Rich Horton and Gardner Dozois write about short prose, Gary K. Wolfe writes about the best books, Faren Miller is about the fantasy in its pure form (for the hardcore fans of fantasy, although I am not saying that choosing books are the bad ones), Paul Witcover writes about fiction on border (too often it is fantasy), special section Reviews by Divers Hands (there often Tim Pratt and Stefan Dziemianowicz write) is devoted mostly to horror. I like most Rich Horton (I love him for trying to find something new) and Gary K. Wolfe (whose second book of reviews from Locus is out, I hope to write about it soon). Publishers make a lot of books every month, for that many reviewers need to. Everyone will find a favorite reviewer not only by the choice of reviewed books, but also by how the chosen one wrote a review. Reviews is of very high quality.

Reports from conventions, somewhere from Japan, Greece or the Czech Republic, remain me indifferent. But what curious to read is the business news: who sold the new novel, who finished the book, also obituaries section.

Lists of received books and magazines is a useful thing for those readers who either read a lot, or have a few favorite of prolific writers, to make sure that all their books are already in his own library. Sometimes it's funny to dig something unfamiliar to eye out, but most often it is purely bibliophilic quirk. And how much space is killed, eh.

Well, lists of forthcoming books. Also on about 10 pages. I am a person rarely giving (given?) attention to new books and reading basically that ones unsold on the shelves, I only recently realized the usefulness of such lists for yourself. In the U.S. everything is very clear: the February issue had already given list of forthcoming books until December. There is, of course, mainly the most notable things, and from large publishing houses, but it is useful in any case.

Locus is worth subscribing for both international and US readers.

One Story magazine

One Story

“Snow Men”

by Naomi Williams (Issue #131 January 30, 2010)

“Bomb Jockey”

by Terese Svoboda (Issue #130 January 8, 2010)

One Story is a magazine that fully justifies its name. He did publish in each issue only one story and mailed to subscribers every three weeks. On the one hand it is not burdensome for the reader: if the modern reader weary of the volume, then 20 pages will be just afforded. On the other hand: for someone who reads a lot, this volume is clearly small. Also, subscribing to the magazine is kind of game of roulette: getting only one story in on one issue, you can not browse to the next story, if you do not like previous. It turns out the wasted money it is.

For that two issues, which were the subject of review, fortunately, failure did not happen. In "Snow Men” the story of the contact of seamen from the expedition of the Comte de La Perouse to the tribe, who live in the Lituya Bay is told by the young girl Eskimo. Actually the whole point lies in the fact that the contact did not take place. Naomi Williams in an interview at the One-Story website said she had tried to convey in the story thinking and language rights, which is very much different from civilized people. The author has succeeded in that, although the young narrator still seems smarter than relatives of her community (that, in principle, does not negate the fact that she really could be smarter than them).

Fans of science fiction will find this story attractive, too: have not put Williams just under the title the date and place of action, the reader is left to guess where and when the events described take place - in the XVIII century on the Earth or in the XXIII century and somewhere in a distant galaxy on god forgotten planet. People from the expedition reminiscent of an advanced race, coming to the race behind. To tell the truth, the stranger were no need, the carnage did not happen (fortunately for the reader).

"Bomb Jokey" by Terese Svoboda is much richer in language, though perhaps less organic. To avoid being just another story about the environment, the author, as she says in an interview on the website of the journal, adds to the short story a love story between one of the workers in the Black Hills Army Depot and daughter of a local politician. Barbed prose is accompanied by difficult relations between the couple. However, Svoboda seems to undecide what the story is about: about poisoning the land or poisoned life. It is certainly the story worth reading, where the environmental side of it seems unnecessary.

Black Static #15

Black Static #15
(TTA Press)


British magazine Black Static continues to print high quality stories, adding to the fiction section a solid non-fiction one. Book reviews by Peter Tennant have breadth and versatility, and the Tony Lee section about latest movie releases on DVD and Blu-ray wins over both the quality and quantity. A little frustrating thing is that a sufficient number of low-budget films mentioned in the review is only available for British film fans.

The main part of the magazine is fiction. 5 stories of different levels authors, from the already those who have a few published books, and those who have never before been published. The beginning of this issue is James Cooper with the brutal novelette «Eight Small Men» from his forthcoming book. The two brothers who had grown up (one of them is the narrator) are going after so many years to visit the house of his stepfather to remember that they have experienced many years ago. This "memory of the past" method does not add anything to the story but helps to set pauses in the right places in the strained narrative. Cooper is able to catch up with horror, accurate in psychology, he has a good style. Brutal-viscous prose is the meat, which makes the story tasty and juicy. However, the «Eight Small Men» is more naturalistic mainstream story than horror. The ending, only in which horror element does occur, is somewhat far-fetched, and eight small men - it is still deus ex machine. However, such turn does not disappoint. Everything defines the atmosphere and the tone. (Review of the coming out soon in Atomic Fez book by James Cooper «The Beautiful Red», which includes the «Eight Small Men», will be soon.)

«Maximum Darkness» by the newcomer Alan Scott Laney is not a bad sketch about the power of books over people and obsession. The author has the ability to construct the plot, write proper atmosphere, but the heroes of the story, the brother and the sister, are stilted to details, and the writer fails to draw on the story on the heroes, already not too original. This is a weak story by the author which later seems to be able to write better.

«Babylon's Burning» by Daniel Kaysen is a great example of humor and horror in one bottle (just horror and humor, not humorous horror). The elder brother who works in an office with doubtful activities related to witchcraft calls young one to the party. He was stubborn at first, but then, after learning about the opportunity to have sex with girls working in the company, agrees. With one of them, Evelyn, they look circus show with cutting off hands, but it is more terrible: hand cut off for real.
Kaysen mixes black humor, ancient curses, the elements of noir in the proportions that make the story is a good entertainment.

The ending of the issue is «Death By Water» by Sarah Singleton. Succeeding in creating an atmosphere of despair, the author seems to have forgotten to diversify the plot, making it a mere formality. Ian, who lost a year ago his wife, is looking for a medium that could give him a chance to have last talk with his wife. Ian should pass three mediums, each of them carefully and lovingly written out, eclipsing the narrator. However, except for throwing and suffering of the hero, we do not see more in the story. Ian would still be able to talk to his wife, but in the title there is the word “water” for a purpose - at the end of the story too much of it, so that the effect of neatly written out the characters and a dark embankment unfortunately washed away.

We should watch for further works by James Cooper and Daniel Kaysen.

Edison`s Frankenstein: Postscripts 20\21

Edison`s Frankenstein: Postscripts 20\21
(Edited by Peter Crowther & Nick Gevers)

Postscripts is no more a magazine, now it`s a bi-annual anthology but it will have the same goal is publish high quality science fiction and fantasy.
The double issue of the magazine (published in the late 2009) consists 26 stories from already established writers, as well as relatively newcomers. To write a review on an collection like this with making focus on each story is long, tiresome and unnecessary work, the more important is to point the most impressive ones out. Pieces of fiction by well-known writers somehow will get readers who will love that if even a reviewer didn`t find any memorable and striking places in those stories. Opening story «Edison`s Frankenstein» by Chris Roberson is, perhaps, the strongest piece in this issue (the subtitle of the issue has the same name). Alternative history in Roberson`s story is based on the seemingly small difference from our reality: instead of electricity people use prometheic energy. James Clark Ross, an explorer, returned from an expedition to the South Seas and brought a piece of some broken automaton created by an alien culture. Thus, electricity is pushed aside, and people everywhere are using prometheum. Roberson puts murder in the story but mystery and investigation moves into the background , by the way all is obvious enough (although the author hid something by the end ). The author doesn`t confined himself by just a description of America, industry of which is based on prometheum , although the way he draws the features of Chicago, its large exhibitions, that both areas, and shelter for all sorts of migrants from all over the world, is delighted, and sometimes even makes to forget about the plot, which, basically, develops slow.
Melancholic and nostalgic, Algerian Shaban, translator and bodyguard for his boss, who took Shaban in their teens to the States, is the point Roberson has succeeded in. Shaban remembers how he had lived there, over the ocean, and in his memoirs seems to slip the memory of how might have been looked the world where the electricity dominates, and prometheum were never found.
Edison and Frankenstein in the title are mentioned on purpose: they are two guns on the wall that possible to shoot at the end of the story.
Some more exhibitions appear in an elegant story of Alex Irwin «The Dream Curator».
His exhibition is a collection of strange dreams, and diffident man yearning for a girl from sleep is in charge of the exhibition. Irwin weaves verbal lace in the story not worse than the curator does their exhibition.
«Vampire Electric» by Tony Ballantyne operates two already pretty bored topics: vampires and rock music. A rock band, a pretty lady-vampire (V - so they are called there), the enslavement of people - Ballantyne mixes the cocktail with blood, which is still not too thirsty, however the writer is trying to refresh the vampire problem.
In her «Denny» Keet Reed is trying to show the situation with the murders of the parents by their children from all sides: the father`s, the mother`s and the son`s, Denny. Reed masterfully portrays a complex situation, when no one understands no one, but everyone thinks they do. The only thing that is not entirely clear with this story is its science fiction elements. It differs from a mainstream story with only some hints of not entirely explainable epidemic of the teenage aggression, otherwise it is a great psychological prose.
«Unreasonable Doubt» by Simon Strantzas is initially exciting story about once known candidate for mayor returning to his native town. He is nowhere to go, and he seeks shelter at his old friend Dr. Reilley. However, the middle of the story is not well-written, the characters are behaving abnormally, and the ending crosses everything: ghost story is too made by GOST {State Standard in Russia}.
“Snowman's Chance in Hell” from newcomer Robert T. Jeschonek is a funny story about how people began to sculpt snowmen. Stuck in the memory, but not required reading.
Lavie Tidhar, in his “The Love-Craft” wrote a short script about people abduction by aliens. Cruel, but little interest story.
Another significant story in the magazine is "Tests" by Robert Reed. A chamber story, which nearly consists of conversations only, played on the border between banality about contacts with UFOs and a sad story about how lonely one can be and how important is to believe in the possibility of meeting stranger to each other minds.
Reed is not very well in describing people, but he is master in creation of the situation. Paul Park gave an amazingly light, tricky story to this issue of the magazine.
In “The Persistence of Memory, Or, This Space For Sale” Park made the writer a hero of the story, to whom he gave his own name and add to that some embellishment by his nearly autobiographical details. Everything starts with an auction, where the narrator of the story, science fiction writer, exposes a couple of lots, have won them one can become the character of Park has not yet written story. Flawless humor, charming hero, an unexpected ending makes the story undoubtedly one of the best in the collection. And if it comes to literary games, then do not forget, you can expect anything.
Very short horror story "Time Changes" by David T. Wilbanks is pleasant, unhorror-y and funny, but it could have been in the issue or could not: the detachment would not notice the loss of a fighter.
The story about a trip to Eden length in 10 years, told by Lisa Tuttle in her "Ragged Claws", echoes the old story by Stephen King's, “The Jaunt”.
Really, the flight in King`s story lasted a moment, but if people do not fall asleep at the time of the jaunt, then it lasted for decades, and the traveller during that time even can turn gray (besides, it remains unknown what one sees during the flight). The narrator of the story is a man who tested these flights. During the trip the man lives in a certain box and has the unlimited possibilities within his own consciousness. At the bar, he meets young people: two young men and a girl, and tells them about all that he experienced during the flight. A strong story about the desires and the nature of man.
"Number One Fan" by Eric Schaller is another story that has similarities with the work of King, as if in explanation of his father King`s son, Joe Hill, wrote. Science fiction writer comes to the godforsaken convention, where there is no soul, and his only listener is just a fan number one. Exciting story, which may particularly appeal to those who goes to all kinds of convention.
The culmination of this issue has become yet another alternative history, based, like the story of Chris Roberson, on the change of energy sources, “The Phoebean Egg” by Stephen Baxter. Young man Cedric Stout comes to study in some semblance of Cadet College, the Imperial Academy of the UK in XIX century. Britain, thanks to technology Anti-ice, has a distinct advantage over the world and almost became the ruling power around the globe. Cedric and his friend Merrell and the girl Verity Fletcher suddenly grasp the essence of a conspiracy involving Phoebean egg and beginning a new war. England is though shown here as a global hegemon, yet not cause undue comparisons with the Nazi Germany. Young heroes are smart, passionate and resourceful. Baxter, in addition to well-developed details of the Anti-ice, and even touched on the gender topic: Verity Fletcher in the Academy plays the role of a servant, while only boys can learn and be a mainstay and hope of the nation. But Verity's not a simpleton, and shows itself in the knowledge and ability to fight and achieve the desired even greater than boys .
Definitely a strong collection of short prose, in which everyone will find something to one`s taste, and a few stories from there are worth to including in year`s best anthologies.