Fiction returns with its 2nd issue, this time with a glossy cover to improve its air of professionalism, and the same informal, enthusiastic mix of reviews and comments. The fiction this time maintains or even improves the high standard set by issue #1.
Read my review at
UK SF Review.
UK SF Review is no longer available. The review is now republished here:
Fiction returns
with its 2nd issue, this time with a glossy cover to improve its air
of professionalism, and the same informal, enthusiastic mix of reviews and
comments. The fiction this time
maintains or even improves the high standard set by issue #1.
The Gate is a
fabulous story by Rhian Chapman. It’s
the emotive story of a star ship pilot who uses wormhole-type gates to
transport cargo across the galaxy. The
transit is beautifully described and the emotional highs and lows of the life
of a pilot are truly involving.
Noah Chin’s Last Wave
on the Shore is an excellent piece of ironic story telling. In the far future composers struggle to write
any music that hasn’t been heard before, and it’s left to two disillusioned men
to give the bad news after analysing each submission. There are hints of well developed backdrop to
the story that give it a nice perspective.
I don’t really read horror, so I’m not a good judge of
Steven Deighan’s Feels Like Stephen
King. It starts in familiar
territory though – an aspiring writer receiving his manuscript back in the
post. In this case the publisher is more
creepy than the manuscript; perhaps a salutary lesson for us all!
Unusually there are two stories by the same author in this
issue. Noah Chin’s second offering is Echoes, a futuristic war story where the
jaded soldiers discover what life could be like. Again the irony comes through, and like his
first story the prose is excellent.
Finally, the longest and most riveting story of the issue:
Russ Jackson’s City of Flesh. It’s told in the first person, which confused
me when the viewpoint shifted in the 2nd section. It’s a classic ‘aliens walk among us’
conspiracy, and the various protagonists offer different slices of insight into
what’s happening. The Day of the Triffids came to mind among other things, and I was
gripped to the end.
Fiction is now
promising to be bimonthly, but still with plans to go monthly at some
point. If the fiction maintains the same
high standard it will certainly be a magazine to look out for.
End.
2 comments:
So my story "Sam" didn't float your boat in Issue #1 of Fiction?
My review said:
'The eponymous Sam is a mysterious old man who befriends and adopts an orphan boy. The two obviously have some kind of connection, and Sam is more than he seems, but while several years are briefly condensed there is still a good feel for the relationship that develops between them. What Sam wants out of the relationship and who he actually is are not startling when revealed, but the story comes across with a warmth and a sense of history that make it a pleasant read.'
The only problem was due to the editors, who had introduced it as a 'vampirish' tale, so the ending wasn't a surprise because they'd given it away.
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