Letter to the Editor

I recently discovered The Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index, which has an entry for my publications.

Amazingly, it includes the long-forgotten fact that I had a letter to the editor published in issue #97 of Interzone magazine, back in July 1995 - my earliest appearance in print!

Latest Magazines

I have a small collection of paper magazines to look forward to reading over the next couple of weeks:

Jupiter XXXII
Interzone 233
Murky Depths #16

All three generaly contain stories that I enjoy and I've been reading them for quite a few issues now.

Meanwhile, in other UK based genre 'zine news:

AltHist #2 is in the works, with stories also accepted for #3.
CossMass Infinities is up to podcast #11, but that was put on line in November.
Dark Fiction Magazine podcast #7 is available. I don't know if it's just my computer, but I can barely read the light blue font. :o(
Spectra magazine is on issue #2, but is now on hiatus due to some technicality that I don't understand.
Singularity will be available for download 'in the coming weeks'.
Midnight Street #14 has been available for a while, now in electronic format.
The Winter 2010 edition of Estronomicon is still available to download.
Hub magazine is up to issue #139, rather impressively.

That should be enough short fiction for anyone.

Magazine Review: Interzone #232

A new year, and a new style of artwork graces the cover of Interzone, following on from last year’s continuing sequence. This issue also includes the voting form for last year’s best story – a reminder of how quick last year has gone. Already in this issue are some fabulous stories that may well feature on my personal next list of year’s favourites.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Favourite Stories of 2010

It's time to look back over a year's worth of reviews and a collection of other magazines I read during the year to see which were my favourite stories of the year. Here's the result, in alphabetical order:

A Clown in Apus – Gary Budgen – Jupiter XXVIII
Agents of Repair – Rosie Oliver – Jupiter XXIX
Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life - Rochita Luenen-Ruiz – Interzone 229
Frogs on my Doorstep - Annette Reader - Albedo One 39
Ishin – Madelin Ashby – Shine
Over Water – Jon Ingold – Interzone 228
Plague Birds – Jason Sanford – Interzone 228
Served - Rauri MacInnes – Murky Depths 11
Spare Change – Jay Eales - Murky Depths 12
The Bottle Garden – Mike Wood – Jupiter XXIX
The Cloth from which she is Cut – Gareth Owens – Fun with Rainbows
The Shipmaker – Aliette De Bodard – Interzone 231
The Shoe Factory - Matthew Cook – Interzone 231
The Story of Andrew Haddock, Part 2 - Dave Barnett – Murky Depths 11

Magazine Review: Interzone #231

Over the past couple of years, Jason Stanford’s stories in Interzone have proven very popular, and have been among my favourite. He receives his own special issues this time, with three stories and an in-depth interview.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #230

The latest issue of Interzone celebrates 25 years of Nick Lowe’s film review column ‘Mutant Popcorn’ with a reprint of the very first column, and an interview with the man himself. It’s an impressive feat for any genre magazine to have reached the stage of being able to celebrate a quarter century in its existence. Of course to go with this feature there is the usual fair-sized selection of book, film and DVD reviews, plus five stories.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #229

Interzone seems to be giving more attention to artwork recently, with big full-page or even double page illustrations to accompany each story. As ever there is news from the world of SF, courtesy of David Langford’s ‘Ansible Link’ as well as a selection of book and film reviews and an in-depth interview, this time with Jeff Vandermeer.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #228

Read my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #227

Last year all of the Interzone covers were by a single artist and the same is true this year. The added twist this time is that all of Warwick Fraser-Combs' pictures can be combined into one larger piece at the end of the year. Typically, now I have the second issue of the year I can’t find the previous magazine to put the two together. Ah well, inside to the fiction then.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #226

Issue #226 of Interzone presents the opportunity to vote for the favourite stories of last year. As if to remind you, three of last year’s well-know contributors are back for this issue.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #225

Adam Tredowski’s run of cover art comes to an end with issue #225 of Interzone. Once again he portrays a scene of fabulous technology imbued with an aura of mystic grandeur. It’s a picture of intricate detail and complexity that bears lengthy scrutiny. Inside the glossy covers the fiction continues to live up to the high standard set in recent issues, with such perennial favourites as Jason Sanford and Lavie Tidhar making welcome appearances.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #224

Interzone #224 boasts another fabulous cover this time, again by Adam Tredowski whose work artwork has impressed me on previous issues. Internal artwork is also becoming more prominent, with full-page or even double-page spreads to accompany most stories. And what of those stories?

read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Note: This review should have appeared in last month's SF Crowsnest, but the email was lost. :o(

Not Writing

I haven't written any fiction for a week or more. A new job and attempting to finish refurbishing my new house have left me with no time or brain power.

I have managed to finish reading Charles Stross' collection Wireless and written a review for SF Crowsnest. I'm now reading Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles - The Complete Edition (750 pages!). Lined up next I have Interzone #224 and Philip Palmer's Red Claw, plus the latest re-issue of the Hitchhiker trilogy (in 5 parts).

Hopefully, normal writing service will resume shortly...

Magazine Review: Interzone #223

Following on from the Chris Beckett special a few issues back, issue #223 of ‘Interzone’ focuses on long-serving contributor Dominic Green. He features in the editorial, an interview and bibliography along with three of his stories. I think this is a nice feature, focusing on authors who have become a part of ‘Interzone’ history and I hope to see others featured in the future.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #222

There’s a whimsical air to this edition of ‘Interzone’, the stories have a more fairy-tale feel than usual and there’s a distinct absence of hard sci-fi. This feeling arises from Adam Tredowski’s cover onwards, where a small crowd watches on as a magnificent structure is assembled from the sky. Inside there’s an enjoyable interview with Paul DiFilippo and Jim Woodring, along with the usual collection of reviews and news. So, what of the fiction?

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Brittany

Aliette De Bodard’s story Ys in Interzone #222 is set in Brittany, an area I’ve visited on holiday several times. It starts off in Quimper, a town that made me smile at the memory of trying to follow the signposts to a place that everyone was pronouncing differently.



The story includes a poem in Breton, the celtic language of Brittany that’s closely related to Cornish. My short story The Gondolier has been translated into Breton and I thought I’d found a market for it at one point. That fell through so I may post it here instead.

Interzone Readers Poll

The new issue of Interzone includes the results of the readers poll, a list that pretty much agreed with my own assessment. Four of the top ten also feature in my list of 2008 favourite stories, and the other six were all ones I enjoyed too.

Congratulations to everyone who featured in the poll.

Magazine Review: Interzone #221

You could spend an awfully long time looking at the cover of Interzone #221. The detail in Adam Tredowski’s illustration is amazing. There’s a variety of artwork inside too, of which I particularly liked Lisa Konrad’s illustration that beautifully reflects the spirit of Alaya Johnson’s story ‘Far and Deep’. As for the fiction, a wide and interesting variety again.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #220

Issue # 220 of 'Interzone' comes complete with a particularly stylish cover by Adam Tredowski that's probably the most memorable for some time. Maybe it's the odd angle of the landscape, but I had to keep flicking back to look at it again. There is as usual a decent selection of reviews, interviews and columns to read between the fiction, of which the lengths of both the stories and their titles are unusually varied.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: Interzone #219

The new issue arrived with its customary selection of articles and interviews, a huge book review section and a variety of striking pictures to accompany the fiction. I was pleased to note the return of Jason Sanford and Mercurio Rivera whose stories I enjoyed earlier in the year. In truth, I haven't been disappointed by any 'Interzone' stories this year, unlike previous years when I seemed to be on a different wavelength.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.