Andy Cox

I was a regular reader of Interzone magazine back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, along with Asimov’s, Analog and F&SF on occasion. The publication introduced me to some fine writers, many of whom went on to great things (or were already well-established and I had simply not come across them before).

I stumbled upon it again recently, pleased to find that the magazine is still going - now published by TTA press, having replaced their periodical The Third Alternative, rather than [a:John show more Clute|16910|John Clute|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1208190893p2/16910.jpg] and [a:David Pringle|27149|David Pringle|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png] - and decided, on a whim, to take out a subscription. I’m glad I did.

Although in a smaller, glossier format than it used to be, much is as it was those years ago; a wide range of book reviews, Nick Lowe’s Mutant Popcorn film coverage and the great [a:David Langford|19443|David Langford|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-09ae6e5eb554f8a5ab0515c05488ea34.png]’s Ansible Link, a round-up of SF news, gossip and too many obituaries. And, of course, the stories.

I had heard of none of the writers in issue 252 before now, but will definitely be seeking several of them out in the future. The opening main feature, The Posset Pot by [a:Neil Williamson|1440127|Neil Williamson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1402000230p2/1440127.jpg] is classic Interzone fodder; a weird, bleak post-apocalypse set story about loss and holding on to hope, little more than a vignette but enough to interest me, along with the interview with Williamson, to interest me in his new novel, [b:The Moon King|22019410|The Moon King|Neil Williamson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400165376s/22019410.jpg|41335684].

The Mortuaries by Katherine E. K. Duckett is likewise bleak, in a US where despite overpopulation due to the rising sea levels and dwindling resources, the dead are preserved and displayed a la Gunther von Hagens. Deliberate references to [b:Make Room! Make Room!|473850|Make Room! Make Room!|Harry Harrison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345057490s/473850.jpg|639744] its movie, Soylent Green.

[a:Val Nolan|8065522|Val Nolan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]’s Diving Into The Wreck is similarly about preserving the past at the expense of looking toward the future, this time about the search for the lunar module that still sits somewhere in the dusty regolith.

Sleepers by the superbly named Bonnie-Jo Stufflebeam is odd and melancholy (definitely a theme here), the narrator keeping watch over her dying father while strange half-seen creatures run through the night and fascinate and terrify everybody.

The two stand out stories are the barely (if at all) SF A Brief Light by [a:Claire Humphrey|5372462|Claire Humphrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1370434757p2/5372462.jpg] about a family dealing with loss and the funny and indescribable Two Truths and a Lie from [a:Oliver Buckram|6519367|Oliver Buckram|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png] where a relationship that may or may not be with an alien is plotted out over instants taken from a year, each described with the titular two truths and a lie.

As this is the first taste of my return to Interzone I'm not sure whether the downbeat, somber tone struck by the majority of the stories is typical, although I do remember that was often the case before - leavened by glints of hope and humour, to be sure, but Interzone always seemed to revel in its rather bleak reputation. Regardless, I am enjoying again an Interzone reader and am looking forward to the invention and quirkiness and independence that its semi-prozine status always allowed it to cultivate. And I'm sure I shall, once again, discover many great writers herein. show less

3.5 stars

A very mixed bag, this issue contains some excellent horror fiction and the others, while not duds, were of the sort of horror/weird fiction that didn't engage me.



The good:

Scarecrow, Alyssa Wong

A truly creepy and scary tale of transformation, loss and guilt. Weird, but weird with a point and not just for the sake of it.



Goat Eyes, David D. Levine

An excellent modern-day vampire tale - no romance or sparkles, but a truly engaging tale of violence and its residue, along with the harmful show more effects of fear and hatred and stereotyping



December Skin, Kristi DeMeester

An affecting tale, again of transformation and violence, and of fraternal love



Middling:

The Bury Line, Stephen Hargadon

The second story I've read from Hargadon (the first being a couple of issues previously), he writes about ordinary, modern life with an odd, dark, almost Tales of the Unexpected twist. The Bury Line is about the slow death of wage-slavery and a faster alternative.



Be Light, Be Pure, Be Close To Heaven, Sara Saab

A good, affecting story about a religion that makes strange, personal sacrifices. I think it's saying something about the mutilating effect of religion.



Other:

What Happened to Marly and Lanna, Noah Wareness

and

Patrimony, Matthew Cheney


Both of these tales fell short, for me. They each had a mix of weirdness and ambiguity and symbolism that didn't hang together. WHtMaL is laden with symbolism, a story of childhood illness (possibly?) with a nod toward Stephen King's Pet Sematary and an unsettling ambiguity. Patrimony is a downright nasty little tale of post-apocalyptic rape and a Furey-like revenge. The closing paragraph, I think, tries to go for menace and ambiguity but just comes off as lazy. show less

Some good tales in issue 255 of the venerable SF magazine, and no real duds. I really liked Thana Niveau's 'The Calling of Night's Ocean', about a researcher trying to communicate with a dolphin and the unexpected consequences when this is achieved, and 'Mind the Gap' by Jennifer Dornan-Fish, also a story about communication with an AI given consciousness by use of an artificial sensorium but still unsure whether it is truly conscious. 'Oubliette' from E. Catherine Toblar is beautifully show more written but rather opaque of meaning, a small poem of a story. show less

Crimewave Eleven: Ghosts features fourteen stories from an assorted bunch of talented authors culled from the magazine ‘Crimewave’, which is put out by the same publisher that does the Science Fiction and fantasy magazine ‘Interzone’. That should tell you what sort of mood to expect. A varied bunch of stories, some of them very good and with no real duffers.
I don’t know why this collection has the sub-title ‘Ghosts’. There are few ghosts in it unless you count the spirits of show more all the people murdered. ‘Killers’ would have been more apt. It’s well-written and sufficiently Grim Dark to please fans of that genre. I’m not a real aficionado but some stories here are good in an evil way and, as tastes vary, other readers might like the ones I didn’t. For full review see
https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/crimewave-eleven-ghosts-crimewave-short-story-colle... show less