Science Fiction
Trails #8 edited by David B. Riley, 2012, $8
The Speculative Edge #1 edited by Shane R. Collins,
2012, $9.99
Interzone #241, 2012, £3.95
Black Static #29, 2012, £3.95
Although the genre magazine era has pretty much passed, there are
still a handful of interesting titles appearing for those who are willing to
look for them. The first of these is thematically consistent, science fiction
stories with settings in the Old West. It’s attractively packaged and very
readable. Several of the stories this time involve alternate histories. Lou
Antonelli and James Wymore have the most interesting contributions. The second
title is new, a digest sized magazine with four stories and a number of poems
and reviews, as well as interviews and articles. The story by D.L. Chance is the
high point of the issue. Although I found much of the nonfiction interesting, I
thought it diluted the magazine substantially. An interesting and potentially
worthwhile addition to the genre but I think it needs a sharper focus. Interzone
is a more predictable and established title, obviously, and has fine stories by
Aliette de Bodard and Sean McMullen, along with quite readable stories by other
writers and associated materials. A slightly better than average issue. Black
Static has less lineage but is well established now and this issue has several
nice stories, although I found it slightly below average. The articles, on the
other hand, were quite good this time around. The magazine world is not healthy
and I don’t expect it ever will be again, but as long as titles like these keep
appearing, it will continue to be worth investigating. 8/17/12 Don D'ammassas's Critical Mass
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