It’s been a while since the last issue of ‘Midnight Street’, but it’s back faithfully, with another fine selection of stories and some fabulous sketches by Marge Ballif Simon to accompany many of them. The magazine also has a relatively large proportion of reviews, interviews and articles to make a nicely varied publication.
Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.
It’s been a
while since the last issue of ‘Midnight Street’, but it’s back faithfully, with
another fine selection of stories and some fabulous sketches by Marge Ballif
Simon to accompany many of them. The magazine also has a relatively large
proportion of reviews, interviews and articles to make a nicely varied
publication.
‘The Crows’ are gathering ominously in
Tony Richards’ story where the news keeps on getting worse and a small
countryside village doesn’t provide a peaceful retirement. The story is told
from the viewpoint of a retiree who just wants a quiet life and it builds up an
air of unease and expectation that make it very effective.
The longest story of the magazine,
David Gullen’s ‘The Cabaret At The World’s End’ is told in various strands from
unusual viewpoints. Half of the story is told by a walrus, and the other main
viewpoint character is a bar owner overlooking the walrus’ beach who is hosting
a cabaret of drag queens. Reports of strange happenings filter through the
beginning of the story until the menace arrives in their remote Alaskan town.
The sections told from the drag queen’s viewpoint cleverly show the dichotomy between
their stage personas and their real lives. It’s a gripping story that unfolds
rapidly into drama and tragedy.
In ‘The Last Gallery’ Joel Lane
describes in painful detail the tedious life of a self-harmer who is looking
for something more. It’s a short story but atmospherically described, making
for an uncomfortable tale that leaves you with a shiver.
I have a soft spot for Victorian
stories and William Mitchell’s ‘The Turning of the Screw’ is written in
suitable Conan-Doyle style, describing the bizarre and frightening in very
proper, stiff-upper-lipped English. The title refers to a circus
sword-swallowing that draws a crowd for all the wrong reasons. Mitchell’s
Victorian gentleman is an enjoyable narrator for this classic story.
Marion Arnott’s ‘The Persistence Of
Memory’ is the story of an old woman who relives the terrors of the war as her
mind shies away from the worries of modern life. It might be a touching tale,
except that it’s narrated by a
great-nephew who has very little patience for her eccentricities and
only humours her in the hopes of being included in her will. It’s an effective
story that portrays both the horror of warfare and the equally depressing fate
of the old lady who had survived so much.
In ‘Waving, Not Drowning’ Allen Ashley
describes an ironic future where the nanny state has put fresh broccoli stalls
on every street corner and has the King as Prime Minister. While working off a
conviction doing public works in a seaside town, one man attempts to resist the
inertia of society but finds himself swept along with events. It’s a
deliciously satirical story full of little quirks like the ladette sirens who
live just off shore and it kept my face twitching into a series of smiles right
to the end.
‘The Man Who Came To Dinner’ is Carl
Barker’s first published story and he does an excellent job of capturing the
occasion of a dinner party and the mysterious visitor who arrives unannounced.
The man is uncomfortable in his surroundings and through his eyes the dinner
party becomes a strange and incomprehensible ritual. It’s an impressive debut.
This has been my favourite issue of
Midnight Street so far. I enjoyed the selection of stories which all came
across well and displayed a greater spread of style and genre than previous
issues. I hope now that I don’t have to wait too long for the next issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment