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Part seventy-one in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction in the back issues of Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I'll be dishing the goods on the June 2006 issue.
The cover to this one is by Luis Royo. It features a sexy albino fairy in some revealing attire. It's not quite a chick in chain mail, but the vibe is similar enough that I'm going to lump this one in with RoF's infamous chick in chain mail covers. This would make it the last chick in chain mail cover published by RoF, at least in the negative sense. If that doesn't make sense, it will in subsequent retrospectives.
There is a change in the masthead worth noting. Christopher D'Amore's run as Managing Editor is over. His replacement is Catherine Sumner.
A rundown of the nonfiction is as follows:
In the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers the Stephen King miniseries, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, based on the book of the same name; in the folkroots column, Kit Whitfield discusses the werewolf in literature; in the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews The Plot Against America by Philip Roth, the short story collection, The Ocean and All Its Devices by William Browning Spencer, Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth, edited by Stephen Jones, The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures by Pierre Dubois, illustrated by Claudine and Roland Sabatier, and Paul Witcover reviews The Thousandfold Thought, The Prince of Nothing, Book Three by R. Scott Bakker, His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, and A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham; in the YA books column, Michael Jones is this time credited as the reviewer, and he reviews Firebirds Rising, edited by Sharyn November, Tempting Fate by Esther Friesner, Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel, When the Beast Ravens by E. Rose Sabin, and Young Warriors, edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman; in the artist gallery, Karen Haber covers the artwork of Rob Alexander; and in the games column, Eric T. Baker reviews Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach, the miniature game, Dream Blade, Kameo: Elements of Power for the Xbox 360, Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360, Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360, and the rpg, World of Darkness Chicago.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story in this one is "Robin of the Green" by A.C. Wise. This is one of my slush survivors (my second to appear in the magazine), so obviously it was bought after I joined the magazine. As you might suspect based on the title, this story deals with Robin Hood. And the author turns a lot of the mythology inside out. For starters, Robin is a fey in this one. And the character of Guy, someone he is normally at odds with, has been friends with him since childhood. At the beginning of the story, Guy is engaged to be married to the famous Maid Marion, and he exacts a promise from Robin that he will cause no problems. Robin agrees, and what follows is a rather interesting love triangle between these three characters, as Robin is unable to help himself when he looks upon Marion for the first time. Throughout the course of the story, there is also the subtle suggestion of another more intimate relationship between Robin and Guy that goes back year. However, being as I don't consider any of the tidbits the author drops to be conclusive on this front, I believe it is for the reader to decide whether any such relationship exists. I also find it interesting that this is the first piece of Robin Hood fiction RoF has ever published. This caught me a little bit by surprise when I learned this, and I admit I'm a little proud that twelve years into the magazine's run I was able to discover a story for the magazine that was a first. Art to this story was provided by Tom Kidd.
Next up we have "Pavel Petrovich" by Daniel Hood. This story was also accepted by the magazine after I joined up. This one is a dark fantasy tale about a man from the deepest wilds of the defunct Soviet Union, "beyond the beyond" as the author puts it. His tribe and his people are rather primitive, so when he is imprisoned, dealing with being locked up becomes something of an additional adjustment for one Pavel Petrovich. A definitive fantastical element in this one doesn't show up until later, but it's made clear rather early on that there's something off about Pavel, something different and strange, even in a prison. There are hints and suggestions of something stranger going on, and the character of Pavel Petrovich and the world of Soviet prisons are so interesting that it keeps you reading until the fantastical elements make themselves known. Art to this one was provided by Chris Cocozza.
The next story is "Undine" by Catherine Krahe. This one was also submitted to the magazine after I joined up. In this one, a gifted swimmer with a chance at the Olympics is getting over a serious injury that nearly cost her leg. Her swimming career is over, and her life has lost all direction. Enter the water-sprite that is trapped in the lake near her home that can offer her a chance to swim again like she used to if they trade places. The device in this story is an old standard, but the execution made this one fresh. Art to this one was provided by Eric Fortune.
Then we have "Sister of the Hedge" by Jim C. Hines, which marks his second story in the magazine. This one was an interesting merger between Christianity and the old Sleeping Beauty tale. In this particular tale, a girl is fleeing her dark past and flees to the Church of the Iron Cross where she takes up service with the others there in tending the Hedge. Inside this Hedge, rests the sleeping princess (who, btw, is never referred to as Sleeping Beauty--I just picked up on the parallel). Also in this enchanted Hedge are the many princes over the years who have come seeking the sleeping princess, only to become trapped by the vines and impaled by their thorns, leaving them in living agony. It falls to the sisters and brothers of the Chruch of the Iron Cross to tend them in all things. I don't want to give too much of this one away, but suffice it to say that all these disparate elements come together quite smoothly when the protagonist's dark past threatens to catch up with her. Art to this one was provided by Eric Deschamps.
After this we have "A Better Place" by Josh Rountree, which marks his third story in the magazine. This one was bought before I joined RoF. This one is a rather short piece about a young boy on a farm who has a chance to leave for "a better place," what sounds like every kid's wonderland. To say more is to give it entirely away. Art to this one was provided by Janet Hamlin.
Next up is "Schwarze Madonna and the Sandalwood Knight" by Jay Lake & Ruth Nestvold. This story was submitted before I joined the magazine, was caught in slush limbo for a while due to the change in assistant editors, and ended up being bought some months afterward. For Jay, it's his fifth appearance in the magazine. For Ruth, it's her second. It's also worth noting this is the first co-written story to appear in the magazine where both authors had previously been published in the magazine with just solo pieces. As to the story itself, this is a high fantasy tale. On the surface, it seems like something you might have heard about before, i.e. the farmer taking up the sword to confront the enemy. But the truth is that this story entirely deconstructs and reconstructs the high fantasy genre. Yes, a farmer takes up a sword, but he behaves as a farmer should and would under these circumstances, and that impacts the entire tale on every single level. And the world is quite original to boot, dripping with details and atmosphere. Kudos to the authors for successfully tackling this one. It's a story of vengeance and especially love, and I'll steal Shawna's editorial tag for this one since it really captures the spirit of the piece, and trying to convey what's going on otherwise would fail to do this one justice: "Love can take many shapes and form and lead lovers to many words and deeds. Some may ultimately be self-destructive, but in the end only time will tell." Art to this one was provided by Michael Komarck.
Finally we have "Ice" by Patrice E. Sarath, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. In this one, an unnamed Canadian city is becoming buried in an endlessly falling snow. Everyone who didn’t flee at the outset is now trapped in the city, including our professional hockey player protagonist. At the beginning of the story he is dealing with an injury just suffered in a game, but it’s clear he’s also dealing with some issues with his wife and a fellow teammate of his. All of these elements begin to build toward a head when he receives a surprising invitation to the ballet and attends, at which point it becomes clear there is something sinister and strange at play. Art to this one was provided by Eric Dinyer.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? “Pavel Petrovich” by Daniel Hood. And my favorite artwork? Eric Fortune’s illustration to “Undine” by Catherine Krahe. Next time around I’ll slice, dice, and make nice with the August 2006 issue, another issue that has a special place in my heart. Until then …
The cover to this one is by Kinuko Craft. It features a woman, who, judging by her arm, is starting to shape-change into a wolf or canine of some sort.
In the last retrospective, I mentioned that this issue holds some special meaning for me. One reason why is the masthead, as it finally lists me as Assistant Editor. We'll get to the other reason once I get to the fiction.
But first a rundown of the nonfiction:
In the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers the video game adapted to the big screen, Silent Hill; in the Folkroots column, Kristen McDermott discussed the connection between fairies and English-speaking dramatic theater; in the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories of Frederick Pohl, and The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (illustrated by Mark Shultz) & The Conquering Sword of Conan (illustrated by Gregory Manchess), both of which collect Robert E. Howard's original tales; and Paul Witcover reviews A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin, The Narrows by Alex Irvine, and Bear Daughter by Judith Berman; in the artist gallery, Karen Haber covers the art of Tom Kidd, and in the games column, Eric T. Baker reviews The Movies for the PC, Quake 4 for the PC and Xbox 360, Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth for the Xbox, Soul Calibur III for the PS2, Lord of the Rings: Tactics for the PSP, and the Whitewolf rpg, The Wurst of Grimtooth's Traps. I should also mention that the YA books column appears to have made its first appearance this issue. I'm assuming Michael Jones--the current YA book columnist--wrote this column, but for some strange reason the columnist isn't listed. Either way, the books reviewed were The Inheritance Trilogy Book 2: Eldest by Christopher Paolini, The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives and The Sister Grimm: The Unusual Suspects, both by Michael Buckley, The Lucy Chronicles: High School Bites by Liza Conrad, Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, and Wizards at War by Diane Duane.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Lady of Ashuelot" by Karen L. Abrahamson. This is the other reason this is a special issue for me, as this story marks my first slush survivor to appear in the magazine. I also take pride in the fact that it's the first piece of slush I ever pulled out from the submissions pile. I suppose it's only fitting that the first issue in which my name appears in the masthead is also the first issue in which one of my slush survivors appeared. As to the story itself, this is a piece of Arthuriana that takes place in modern-day New Hampshire. Guinevere (or Gwen, as she's called in this version) is making a living for herself as a blacksmith, and taking care of the Lady of the Lake, who still has Excalibur. Enter Lancelot, who walks off the Greyhound bus, seeking Excalibur so that Arthur can be awakened from his mystical sleep so that the once and future king can walk again and return Britain to its glory. It sounds good in theory, but Lancelot is only thinking about himself and the love triangle (in this case between Gwen, Lance, and the Lady) complicates things further. This story has something of a feminist take on the mythos, and one of the things that grabbed my attention when reading was far from dainty Gwen was. Giving her a talent for black-smithing goes so against expectations of the iconic princess, just as T.H. White went against expectations in The Once and Future King when he had the guts to make Lancelot ugly. When you can flip everything on its head in this sub-genre, you're doing something interesting. Art to this one was provided by Michael Kerr.
Next up we have "Moon Viewing at Shijo Bridge" by Richard Parks, which marks his 19th appearance in the magazine. If memory serves me correctly, this piece was already in inventory when I joined the magazine. This is the second of Richard's Lord Yamada stories to appear in the magazine, and possibly the one to receive the most attention, as it received a number of positive reviews and was reprinted in Fantasy: Best of the Year 2007, edited by Rich Horton. In this one, Lord Yamada is drawn back to his days at the Imperial Court in feudal Japan when the princess he used to know there sends for him. She is seeking his help as he son's claim to become the future emperor is in jeopardy. What follows is a labyrinthine story of twists and turns as Yamada and his companion seek the truth while providing aid, in what is probably the most politically dominated plot to ever appear in the magazine. At the same time, everything throughout remains completely character-driven, so there's some real nice balance here. Art to this one was provided by Paul Lee.
Then we have "Anywhere There's a Game" by Greg Van Eekhout, which marks his second appearance in the magazine, and his first solo appearance. This one was bought after I joined the magazine. Usually a sports story in fantasy turns out to be about baseball, but this one is a rare basketball fantasy. In this story, a former professional basketball player relates to a reporter various supernatural encounters he's had during the course of his career. The story is really broken down into five shorter pieces, with each one focusing around his encounter with a different position player, i.e. one supernatural story each for the center, power forward, small forward, shooting guard, and point guard. Art to this one was provided by Web Bryant.
Following this we have "Ducks in a Row" by Devon Monk, which marks her seventh appearance in the magazine. Again, if memory serves me correctly, this one was accepted by the magazine before I joined up. This is a short piece about a boy at a carnival who has a somewhat supernatural connection to inanimate objects. And while this does factor into the story, it is not the point of this story. What is the point? Well, there is an underlying secret that's hinted at throughout the story, a dark one. It's easy to miss if you don't pay attention, and pushes the story to an entirely new level once you realize what it is. No, I won't tell you. That would defeat the purpose. You must read it and decipher it for yourself. Art to this one was provided by Yuko Shimizu.
After this we have "Jane. A Story of Manners, Magic, and Romance" by Sarah Prineas, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. It was submitted after I joined RoF. This one is a romantic fantasy piece with a heavy helping of Victorian flavor. In this one, scientists are warlocks dabbling with magic in this world, which is called "the element." And the main character, one Jane, is extraordinarily irresistible to warlocks once they're around her. And just about all warlocks are men. All of this comes to a head when a group of warlocks endeavor to discover why her uncle's home seems to attract so many random storms containing "the element." As the title says, this is a story of manners, magic, and romance. Art to this one was provided by J.K. Potter.
Finally we have "Heart of Ice" by Jena Snyder. This one was submitted while I was with the magazine. With a few touches, this one could easily be high fantasy. As it is, it is dark fantasy piece that takes place at an undetermined time in what I'm deducing to be somewhere in Quebec, Canada. In this piece the author draws on the mythology of the wendigo (or wittigo, as she calls it here), as we meet a woman who long ago was reduced to cannibalism and in a feverish state, she fed her dying child to her husband to save his life during a terrible winter. Only her husband killed himself when he learned what she had done, and she went mad, and has survived in misery for countless years since then while maintaining her youthful beautiful appearance. Enter the requisite young man who is attracted to her. Only it sounds like you're being set up for the classic foolish man/Femme Fatale story. But this isn't the case. The author takes everything in some rather refreshing directions that make reading this more than worthwhile. Art to this one was provided by Craig Elliott.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? Well, from here on out it gets trickier to judge everything fairly whenever there's a slush survivor of mine in one of the issues., but I think I'm up to the task. So my pick this time around is "Anywhere There's a Game" by Greg Van Eekhout. And my favorite artwork? Web Bryant's illustration to "Anywhere There's a Game." Next time around I'll discuss the June 2006 issue. Until then ...
The cover to this one features an illustration by Donato Giancola. It depicts Arthur and Guinevere from the Arthurian legends.
A rundown of this issue's nonfiction is as follows:
In the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews Screaming Science Fiction: Horrors from Outer Space, edited by Brian Lumley, To Charles Fort with Love by Caitlin R. Kiernan, Dark Delicacies, edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb, and Songs and Sonnets Atlantean; the Third Series by Donald Sidney-Fryer, while Paul Witcover reviews A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park, and The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford; in Folkroots, Helen Pilinovsky discusses how goblin markets are the magical marketplaces of fantasy literature; in the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson review's Peter Jackson's King Kong, in the artist gallery, Karen Haber discusses the art of Scott Gustafson; and in the games column, Eric T. Baker reviews MediEvil for the Sony PSP, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes for the Xbox, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 for the PS2, the real-time rpg, Dragonsbard, for the PC, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse for the PC, PS2, Xbox, PSP, and Gamecube, and the James Bond game, From Russia with Love, for the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story in this one is "Messages" by Brett Alexander Savory. Art to this one was provided by Michael Gibbs. This story has the odd distinction of being the first story published in Realms to have a repeat title. Back in the April 2001 issue, the magazine published "Messages" by Rob Vagle. But that's where the similarities end. This one is a rather dark tale set in modern times. It deals with different secret parties, competing to obtain the writings from people who are "fugue writers." Fugue writers are people who are unknowingly channeling the words of a higher power, what might possibly be God. Any such writings are extremely valuable to the most powerful people in the world, as these folks wish to obtain such writings so they can carry out what they believe to be God's will. But here's the twist, and pardon me while I steal Shawna's editorial blurb to this one: "We humans think it's all about us. But what if it's not?" For those curious about this sort of thing, this story was submitted to the magazine after I joined up as assistant editor. It should also be noted that this story was reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2007, 20th edition, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant.
Next up we have "Swansdown" by Deborah Roggie. Art to this one was provided by Scott Grimando. This is a high fantasy tale about a wizard's young wife and her lover who steal the wizard's swanskins, don them, become swans, and flee. The problem? The woman wants to stay in the swanskin, while the man wishes to resume his human form for a time. When a spinster on a farm happens to see him remove his swanskin and change back to a man, the lives of these three individuals becomes inextricably linked ...and even more so, when the wizard comes looking for his wife. This is a tale of love, loss, and change. And for the curious, this one was in inventory before I joined up with the magazine.
Following this we have "The Road's End" by James Van Pelt, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. Art to this one was provided by Craig Elliott. This one is a high fantasy tale about a man who returns home to settle down with his family after many years of traveling and adventure. He thinks that at last he is content, that he can rest after having seen and done so much. But the call of the world proves too strong too resist. This is another piece that was submitted to the magazine after I joined up. I can still remember my main to Shawna about this one, that being that this story's theme is one I haven't seen too often in secondary fantasies for short fiction (still don't). It brought to mind Robert E. Howard's poem, "Solomon Kane's Homecoming." Of course, that's a poem as opposed to prose, but I think it's still worth mentioning, since it was a poem that tells a story, and the bulk of Howard's tales about Solomon Kane were in fact prose. And being as I rather enjoyed Howard's poem, this comparison is also a compliment.
Then we have "Uncle Vernon's Lie" by Patrick Samphire, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. This one was accepted by the magazine before I joined up. Its art was provided by J.K. Potter. This is a middle-grade fantasy tale about a young boy who's so scared of everything that it prevents him enjoying childhood as he should. So in an effort to cure him of his fears, the boy's father has him spend the summer with his Uncle Vernon. Before they part ways, his father issue's a warning, telling Beji that his uncle will tell one lie all summer. Seems simple enough. Except here a few of the things Uncle Vernon tells Benji during his stay: that there are little men living inside the black balls he uses as tea leaves, that there is a spring deep inside the earth that keeps it winding, that every time you shed a tear you're shedding an entire world, and the people inside have until that tear hits the ground to live their entire lives, etc. So figuring out the one lie is not so easy as it seems. It's also not easy to figure out Uncle Vernon. He's an old man, but on the inside he has what you might call at least a partial Peter Pan complex. So while he's taking care of Benji for the summer, he also maintains the imagination of a child, which aids him in overcoming Beji's fears. This is a heartfelt and honest tale that drew me the way few middle-grade pieces can ...and I have to admit the following: when i read the ending, there was a lump in my throat. Kudos to the author. I've read and enjoyed quite a number of Realms stories, many of them sad, but off the top of my head I can of two stories that made the sadness come bubbling up come the end. Goosebumps is another story. But actually leaving me sad for more than a heartbeat? Not too often, I'm afraid. I'm thick-skinned about this kind of stuff, so it's not a reflection on the authors or their stories. But this story broke through the proverbial wall (and I've yet to discuss the other), and I feel that's worth noting.
Following this we have "Dead Letters" by Christopher Barzak, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. Art to this one was provided by Chris Cocozza. This is another story that was submitted to the magazine after I joined up. In this one, we are introduced to a character who used to be imaginary. She was the make-believe childhood friend of a girl named Sarah, and you can gather from the story that Sarah had a rather vivid imagination, and she believed in her friend more than most kids do with theirs. Eventually Sarah moved on as she got older. You would think that would be the end of it. But when Sarah is murdered, her imaginary friend Alice comes to life, looking for Sarah, refusing to believe that she is truly dead. The bulk of the story is told through a series of letters that Alice mails to Sarah's old house. It's a rather surreal and emotional journey for the character, and while the premise may sound a bit far-fetched, the strong writing in this one makes you more than willing to believe what you're reading.
Finally we have "The Land of Reeds" by Patrick Samphire, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine, and his second story in this issue, Art to this one was provided by Allen Douglas. This is another story that was submitted to the magazine after I joined up. Now, in the last issue, Patrick's "Lavender's Blue, Lavender's Green" marked the first story to be published in the magazine that was submitted for consideration after I joined up. In this issue, we've jumped to four out of six stories being submitted to the magazine after I joined up. So you can see that at this point Sovereign Media has burned through most of the inventory from the Carina Gonzalez era. As to the story itself, this one is a piece of Egyptian mythology. When Alexander the Great proclaims himself the pharaoh of Egypt, the god Amon-Re stops walking through the underworld, because Alexander's blood is an outsider claiming to be pharaoh. And so everything is put into doubt as to what will happen to future souls that seek the Land of Reeds, a place they go in the afterlife.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? Wow. I think this is one of the strongest issues I've read. In another issue, I would select just about any of these stories as my favorite in a heartbeat. But I've got to go with "Uncle Vernon's Lie" by Patrick Samphire for pulling on the old heartstrings. And my favorite artwork? I'll go with Allen Douglas' illustration to "The Land of Reeds" by Patrick Samphire. Next time around I'll tackle the April 2006 issue, a very special issue to me for a couple of reasons. Until then ...
The cover to this one is an illustration by Joel Spector. Due to, um, technical difficulties, it'll be a while before I can tell whether certain artists have appeared in the magazine before, or how many times their illustration have graced the magazine's pages. I am taking steps to rectify this, but it'll be a while before I can do anything about it. Sorry. Anyway, this cover features a Harry Potter potter illustration, along with other characters from the books. Having only read the first book, I'm afraid I can't tell which other characters are depicted, sorry.
A rundown of this issues nonfiction is as follows:
For the Movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers the movie version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; in Folkroots, Ari Berk writes about milk, honey, and bread in myth and legend; in Adult Books, Gahan Wilson reviews Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, Looking for Jake, a short story collection by China Mieville, and The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, 18th Annual Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, and Gavin Grant, while Paul Witcover reviews Od Magic by Patricia McKillip, Dreadmaster, Book One of the Storm of Wings Trilogy by Chris Bunch, and The Hidden Family, Book Two of the Merchant Princes, by Charles Stross; in the Artist Gallery, Ari Berk covers Brom and the art of the Plucker; and in the Gaming Column, Eric T. Baker covers Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the PC, Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube, the RPG Serenity, based on the movie, which was spawned from the TV show, Firefly, and also D.I.C.E: DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises, a science fiction game for the PS2, Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2, Sega's Spartan: Total Warrior, Painkiller: Hell Wars for the Xbox, and Rachet: Deadlocked for the PS2.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "En Forest Noire" by Tanith Lee, which marks her thirteenth appearance in the magazine. It also the 400th work of fiction to be published in the magazine. Art to this one is provided by Thomas Kidd. In this story dark fantasy story, we are plunged into medieval France, where a rich tradesman's son is engaged to the daughter of an aristocratic family that has fallen on hard times. It seems like a good match, except the the bride-to-be's brother has taken a distinct disliking toward this commoner that would marry his sister. Things progress to the point where he and his henchman drag off the groom-to-be in a haunted forest to leave him to die, but the ultimate results are somewhat unexpected ...for everyone.
Next up we have "Empty Places" by Richard Parks, which marks his 18th appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Michael Komarch. In this high fantasy tale, a skilled thief is coerced into taking a job by an even more skilled and dangerous magician named Tymon the Black, who has a rather dark reputation that precedes him. Our good thief finds himself forced to break into a royal castle to carry out the magician's will, and he mistrusts the magician each and every step of the way. But as you might expect, all is not quite as it seems with this mission. This story was reprinted in Fantasy: Best of the Year 2006, edited by Rich Horton. It's also worth noting that Richard went on to publish a novel with Five Star Press called The Long Look, which featured the character of Tymon the Black.
Then we have "Mortegarde" by Liz Williams, which marks her ninth appearance in the magazine. Art to this one is provided by Dave Leri. In this story of Norse mythology, a physician's quest to find Mortegarde in the World Tree leads to a confrontation with religious fantatics of another race as science, medicine, religion, and faith collide. Yet despite their many differences, the good doctor learns to his horror that his people and theirs are not so different as he first believed. I should add that this story ended up being reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 6, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.
Following this we have "A Knot of Toads" by Jane Yolen, which marks her sixth appearance in the magazine. Art to this one is provided by Eric Dinyer. In this tale of dark fantasy, a learned woman comes back to her small island home after her father's passing and must confront the dark truth of his arcane dabblings with witchery that led to his death.
And finally we have "Lavender's Blue, Lavender's Green" by Patrick Samphire, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Melissa Ferreira. In this YA fantasy, a man and his daugther go searching for his missing wife, someone he has believed all these years is the Queen of the Fairies. Only his daughter believes otherwise, thinking Dad is gullible. Ultimately, poor old Dad is forced to confront a rather bitter truth, and almost as soon as he does, that bitterness turns into a surprise that turns his entire world inside out. It's also worth noting that this is the first story to be published in Realms that was submitted to the magazine while I was Assistant Editor.
So that wraps up this issue, as well as 2005. And my favorite story? "Lavender's Blue, Lavender's Green" by Patrick Samphire. And my favorite artwork? Thomas Kidd's illustration to "En Foret Noire" by Tanith Lee. Next time around I'll kick off the 2006 publishing year when I discuss the February 2006 issue. Until then ...
The cover to this one is by Victoria Francis. It gives off a decidedly gothic fantasy vibe, depicting a thin woman in a long dress of flowing black.
There are a number of changes to the masthead this issue. First, while the June 2005 issue was the last one for Carina Gonzalez, her name was not removed from the masthead as Editorial Intern until this issue. Strangely enough, my name doesn't show up this issue. You would think it would have by now, not just because I'd been with the magazine three months at this point, but also because this issue Christopher D'Amore is listed as the Managing Editor. In the last issue, he was listed as the Assistant Editor. I remember asking Shawna about this, since it was agreed that Assistant Editor would be my title, and she was as puzzled about this as I was. So while they fixed his title this issue, I was left waiting. There are some other changes worth noting as well. Jesse Guay is no longer listed as Graphic Designer. Indeed, this title has been dropped entirely. But the title of Art Director makes its return this issue, in the form of Mae Ariola. Also, while I never listed Copy Editors in the past (gotta draw the line somewhere with these retrospectives), I'll note that with this issue the title of Copy Editor has also been eliminated from the masthead.
A rundown of this issue's nonfiction is as follows:
For the Movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers The Cave and The Corpse Bride; Terri Windling handles the Folkroots column with an article about tricksters, messengers, and familiars; in the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest (I remember Cherie's editor, Liz Gorinsky, contacted me via email to track down an early review of this), The Book of Renfield--the Gospel of Dracula by Tim Lucas, and Glass Soup by Jonathan Carroll, while Paul Witcover reviews Lord Byron's Novel: the Evening Land by John Crowley, and The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay; in the Artist Gallery, Karen Haber covers artist Jon Foster; and in the Games column, Eric T. Baker reviews Area 51 for the PC, Xbox, and PS2, Arc the Lad: End of Darkness for the PS2, Samurai Western for the PS2, Dungeon Master's Guide II for D&D, and The Secret of Zir'An Core Gamebook from Paragon Games by way of White Wolf.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Robots and Falling Hearts" by Tim Pratt & Greg Van Eekhout. This marks Tim's seventh appearance in the magazine, and Greg's first. Art to this one is provided by Peter Ferguson, which marks his third illustration in the magazine. This one is a zany tale about robots, but it is most definitely a fantasy tale as opposed to science fiction. In this story, a young man who is seeking to unravel the riddle of the plague of robots afflicting mankind stumbles upon the cause of it all, a young woman who can shape reality with her thoughts. This story was reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 6, edited by David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer. It is also available for listening on Escape Pod.
Next up we have "At the Queen's Hotel" by Kate Reidel, which marks her sixth appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Web Bryant, which marks his 20th illustration in the magazine. In this one, we meet a man who has come by a guitar under somewhat dark circumstances. Only this one is no ordinary guitar. It insists on being played, and it's very particular about the sort of venues it wants to be played in. An interesting take on the old blues crossroads story.
Then we have "At the Top of the Black Stairs" by Darrell Schweitzer, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. Art to this one is provided by Paul Lee, which marks his eighth illustration in the magazine. This one reads like a story straight out of the golden age of Weird Tales Magazine, as a great king is brought back from the oblivion of death to carry out the wishes of Death and Time as the two engage in a cosmic game of chess. Who wins the game is another story entirely.
Following this we have "Dead Wolf in a Hat" by Graham Edwards, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. Art is by Ken Meyer, Jr., and marks his second illustration in the magazine. And speaking of seconds, this story also marks the second appearance of Graham's long-running supernatural gumshoe detective tales in RoF. In this one, a wolf in a hat shows up dead on the detective's doorstep, and a dame from his past shows up a little later, and both of them are bringing nothing but trouble. That part is obvious to said detective. Figuring out just what in the world is going on is another matter entirely.
After this we have "The Ecology of Fairie" by David Levine, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Andrea Wicklund, which marks her third illustration in the magazine. In this one, a young teenager's mom is in the hospital fighting for her life due to a case of leukemia, but there are problems at home as well. The local ecology is being thrown out of whack as some tiny but evil fairies are killing the local frogs. The solution to this problem proves to be both elegant and logical.
And finally we have "The Rain God" by Way Jeng. Art to this one is provided by Joe Kovach, which marks his second illustration in the magazine. This one is a rather hilarious tale about a forgotten rain god in modern times who befriends the local Joe Schmo, and the god's somewhat maniac attempts to make a religious comeback by convincing his newfound friend to start worshipping him.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? I'll give the nod to "The Rain God" by Way Jeng. And my favorite art? I'll tap the cover by Victoria Francis. Next time around I'll put a cap on 2005 when I discuss the December 2005 issue. Until then ...
The cover to this one is by Luis Royo, which marks his 13th appearance in the magazine. It depicts a beautiful woman accompanied by what appears to be some sort of spirit dragon.
I joined RoF while the June 2005 issue was out, but my predecessor, Carina Gonzalez, was listed in the masthead, and she was still with the magazine when the issue first came out. So while I've been with the magazine since May of '05, the August '05 issue is the first one to be released in which I was a part of the team (even if Carina is still listed in the masthead instead of yours truly).
A rundown of this issue's nonfiction is as follows: In the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise, and a summer fantasy film preview is provided by Christopher D'Amore, a former managing editor at the magazine. Folkroots is handled by Heinz Insu Fenkl, who writes about fire in mythology. Gahan Wilson & Paul Witcover handle adult book reviews this issue, with Gahan covering The Overnight by Ramsey Campbell, Black Blossom by Boban Knezevic, The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente, and the hoax magazine, Weird Trails. Paul provides additional reviews of The Dark Mirror, Book One of the Bridei Chronicles by Juliet Marillier, The White Mare, Book One of the Dalraida Trilogy by Jules Watson, and Three Hands for Scorpio by Andre Norton. This issue's Artist Gallery features an article by Irene Gallo, Art Director of Tor Books, wherein she discusses how select pieces of art from Spectrum, an annual book collecting the best fantastical art, are on display in at the Society of Illustrators. And in the gaming column, Eric T. Baker reviews Jade Empire for the Xbox, Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade for the Sony PSP,a pair of Japanese strategy RPGs in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana and Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity, the Whitewold RPG, Werewolf of the Forsaken, and the D&D supplement, Races of Destiny.
Onto the fiction ...
The lead story is "The Penultimate Riddle" by Richard Parks, which marks his 17th appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Randy Gallegos. This one draws on Greek mythology as we are introduced to a poet who is seeking more out of life than merely to live. To achieve this goal he decides to court the deadly sphinx.
Next up we have "A Statement in the Case" by Theodora Goss, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Andrea Wicklund, which marks her second illustration in the magaizne. This story was reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 19, edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin Grant. The story itself is set in modern times and draws heavily on Hungarian mythology, as a man tells his story to a detective about a friend of his from the old country and the strange creatures from his homeland that his friend's wife was selling.
Then we have "The Queen's Wood" by Josh Rountree, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. Art is provided by Mike Kerr, which marks his eighth appearance in the magazine. This is a piece of high fantasy, and like Josh's first story in RoF ("The King's Wood"), it is a tale in the world of the creature known as the Turion. In this world, every so often the Turion must be slain to preserve the life of the king, which will allow the land to prosper. It is the Offered who must undertake this task, and afterward spill his own blood ...only this time the Offered is a woman, which has never happened before. As in "The King's Wood," we never actually see the battle with the Turion. Instead, we read about the Offered and the Witness (who always accompanies the Offered) passing through the Queen's Wood on their way to find the Turion. Inside, they must resist the lies and temptations offered by the wood's great enchantress before moving along to their final objective, and matters of faith and tradition are called into great question in the process.
Following this we have "A Bedtime Tale for the Disenchanted" by Amy Beth Forbes. This piece is extremely short and does not have an accompanying illustration. As to the piece itself, it deals with a young woman who tries to manipulate and love to her advantage, only to learn it cannot be controlled.
After this we have "The Secret to Broken Tickers" by Joe Murphy, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. Artwork is provided by Eric Dinyer, which marks his sixth illustration in the magazine. This is another one of Joe's Sprokly tales, which is a young wooden girl given life by her maker. There are certainly some Pinocchio overtones here, but Joe makes this character and world his own, as evidenced by the fact that it was reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 2006, edited by Rich Horton. Anywyay, in this piece Sprokly's real-life (i.e flesh and blood) brother brings a girl home who seems to love him and claims she can get help for Ma's ailing heart, but she is only interested in learning the family secrets, of which there are many (including Sprokly). This story went on to be reprinted in Fantasy: Best of the Year 2006, edited by Rich Horton.
Then we have "Countless Screaming Argonauts" by Chris Lawson. Art is provided by Allen Douglas, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. This is another piece drawing heavily on Greek mythology as well as history, as it takes the Colussus of Rhodes, constructed by the legendary architect Chares, the hero Jason of Golden Fleece fame, and the Cyclops, Polyphemus, blind for some years now thanks to Odysseus, and weaves all three of these seemingly disparate elements into a seamless tale of adventure and mythological heroism.
Finally we have "When the Dragon Falls" by Patrick Samphire, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. Art to this one is provided by Josh Bradigan. This one is a short YA piece about an adolescent whose parents are engaging in affairs, causing him to give up his childhood beliefs, and possibly much more in the bargain.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? I declare our second-ever tie, this time between "The Queen's Wood" by Josh Rountree and "Countless Screaming Argonauts" by Chris Lawson. And my favorite artwork? I'm going with the Luis Royo cover. Next time around I'll discuss the October 2005 issue. Until then ...
This marks the first retrospective I'm doing since Warren Lapine bought the magazine and I subsequently received my promotions. I suppose this is somewhat fitting, since it was while this issue was out that I joined the RoF team, back on May 10, 2005. So I suppose there's a bit of symmetry at work here in the retrospectives. As you might expect, going forward I'll be able to offer more insights about the magazine. Also, I've decided that since I'm now also the Nonfiction Editor and Art Director, when I do these retrospectives I should also discuss the art and the nonfiction a little. In theory, at some point I'd like to go back and address these areas in my previous retrospectives, but I have no idea when (or if) I'll actually get around to doing this. That is a project in and of itself. But if you should stumble upon these retrospectives years from now, and I discuss the nonfiction and artwork in issues 1-64, you'll be surprised to learn when you read installment number sixty-five of this series that I didn't start discussing these areas of the magazine in any detail until now.
Anyway, before I get into the actual issue itself, I thought I'd discuss how I came to work at RoF. Those already familiar with this story should feel free to skip this part, as don't imagine I'll be sharing too much new information. But back in late April of 2005 I was perusing Ralan.com to learn about the latest developments in the short fiction market. Under Realms of Fantasy, I happened to notice that my predecessor, Carina Gonzalez, had stepped down from her position. There was no mention of a replacement. I believe a couple of days went by before I said to myself, "I should apply for that position. I can do that." At this time I was unpublished, and without previous editorial experience. I'd attended the Odyssey Writing Worshop, as well as Orson Scott Card's workshop, and that was pretty much it. But I figured I had nothing to lose, so I fired off an email to Shawna McCarthy that included a cover letter and resume. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from her just hours later about setting up an interview. So we swapped a few additional emails, set up the particulars, and when the day came around, I drove down to her house in NJ (the first and only time I've been there).
I'd say the interview lasted about forty-five minutes. Mostly we discussed the genre of fantasy, the magazine, and her expectations regarding the position. At the end of the interview Shawna decided to bring me aboard on a trial basis. She sent me home with about 100 manuscripts (97 to be exact) and some basic instructions to follow as I started slushing (I remember her telling me to be very picky about what I passed along because there was so much slush!) When I asked her how long I had to get through everything, she laughed and said, "A month."
I should add that I later learned that when I contacted Shawna, Carina was collecting resumes to pass along to her through the now-defunct Rumor Mill site. I had no idea about this at the time, so I guess I accidentally cut in line. When I asked Shawna about this some months later, she told me that she was waiting and waiting for those resumes and all the while the slush was piling up more and more. And then I emailed her, and she really needed someone, so she decided to bring me in for an interview. Gotta love timing. :) I later heard (I forget from who) that this pissed some people off (never learned who), but it was in complete innocence on my part. I wasn't visiting the Rumor Mill at that time. And honestly, I'd do it all again.
But back to those 97 manuscripts. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I finished everything in two weeks. In that first batch, I didn't pluck anything I actually considered slush. I passed along a couple of pieces that these days I probably would consider slush, but at that time I was still figuring out what constituted an automatic pass. Anyway, Shawna must have been happy enough with the job I did, because the next time we met up, she gave me everything else she hadn't passed along last time (plus whatever had built up in the interim) for a grand total of 464 manuscripts. By far, it was the biggest batch I've ever had to deal with. And because I was still very new to my position at this time, my slushing process was much slower.
CONFESSION: I've never even told Shawna about this one. It was a lot of work to get through that batch, and I did it as fast as I could in the hopes of making my life easier going forward. At our next slush transfer, my spirit was almost broken. As Shawna passed along crate after crate of new slush, the thought running through my head over and over was "It's too much! It's too much!" To my untrained eye, it looked like the same amount of slush as before. A big part of me worried that I'd bitten off more than I could chew. But when I got home, much to my relief, I discovered that after I'd sorted and organized everything, this new batch was in fact 301 manuscripts, a difference of 160+. After that I was able to relax, and soon enough we were caught up in terms of our response times. And Shawna and I have been married ever since. :)
Now, finally, let's discuss the June 2005 issue ...
A while back, I mentioned that during my interview with Shawna, she asked me if I'd read any issues of RoF. I said, "A couple," which was true. I'd read the August 1997 issue & the August 200 issue. Shawna wanted me to read some more recent issues, so in addition to sending me off with my 97 manuscripts of slush, she also sent me home with two issues of RoF. One was the April 2004 issue. This was the other issue, which again was the current issue at the time of my interview.
The cover to this one features Orlando Bloom, striking a pose in the movie, Kingdom of Heaven (thumbs down). Although I came aboard to replace Carina, she was still a part of this issue and is listed in the masthead.
The Folkroots column is by Ellen Steiber, dealing with the traditional lore behind gems and precious stones. Movie columnist Resa Nelson discusses The Kingdom of Heaven as well as the fine line between fantasy and horror movies. Adult book reviewer Gahan Wilson reviews the following books: One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Clive Woodall, Shadow Kingdoms: The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1, and Acquainted with the Night, edited by Barbara and Christopher Roden. Adult book reviewer Paul Witcover coves the following: The Warrior Prophet, Book Two in the in The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker, In the Palace of Repose by Holly Phillips, and Banewreaker, Volume One of The Sundering, by Jacqueline Carey. In the Artist Gallery, columnist Karen Haber covers artist Tony DiTerlizzi. And in the Games Column, Eric T. Baker covers a medley of games: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: the Sith Lords, Half Life 2, Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth, The Rise of the Kasai, Ars Magica, and The Masque of the Red Death: Adventures on Gothic Earth.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story in this one is "The Storyteller's Wife" by Eugie Foster, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. The art is by Heather Hudson, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. According to Carina's old slush site, this is one of her slush survivors. However, back in the February 2005 issue, I said "Returning my Sister's Face" by Eugie Foster was a slush survivor. Standard operating procedure at RoF is if your slush story is published in the magazine, you become an automatic pass the next time you submit something. So why is it different here? I don't know exactly. All I can think is that Shawna had both stories in her possession when she did a buying round. Eugie's quote on the site seems to indicate that Carina passed both along. I'm guessing Shawna has forgotten the details behind this one, so it seems only Eugie & Carina know the story behind these stories. Regardless, it seems Eugie is the only author to ever be published in RoF to have two separate slush tales. As to the story itself, this one is about a woman whose parapalegic husband is abducted by the creatures of faerie so that he can spin tales for them to keep their kingdom thriving. Only in their kingdom, he has the use of his legs again. So when his wife follows him out of love in order to bring him home, it creates more dilemmas than she expected.
Next up we have "Deliverance" by Jim C. Hines. Art is by Patrick Arrasmith, which is his thirteenth appearance in the magazine. Carina's old slush site indicates that this is another one of her slush survivors. I've now exhausted all of the slush survivors listed on her site, though I do know about another one we both share (I'll get into that in a future issue). So it seems that Carina left the magazine with a bang. As to Jim's story, this one is about a man who has lost his wife a few years earlier. Only she's still around as a ghost. And as is the case with some ghosts in some stories, this ghost can touch him somewhat. Only Jim decided to take things a little further by making it possible for them to have ghost-sex (for lack of a better term). And at the beginning of the story, we learn that the man's ghost-wife is pregnant. Yikes! Or should I say boo!
Then we have "Foxtails" by Richard Parks, which marks his sixteenth appearance in the magazine. Art is by Paul Lee, which marks his seventh appearance in the magazine. This also marks the first of Richard's popular Lord Yamada tales, a series of tales about a minor lordling named Yamada, who undertakes various strange assignments in medieval Japan. In this particular tale, Yamada is hired by an important nobleman to track down his runaway wife who actually turned out to be a fox-spirit in disguise. And while the lord still loves his fox-spirit wife, what he truly wants back is their son, whom she seems to have absconded with. But all is not as it seems, as Lord Yamada soon discovers ...
After this we have "Midnight Hunt" by Susan Yi. Art is by Ken Meyer, Jr. This one is about a young adolescent who is bullied by his older, bigger, meaner half-brother. His older brother seems to take after their father, who is a stern man that is interested in his inhuman midnight hunts. Eventually the bully gets a dose of his own medicine, but whether this is for the best is a darker more disturbing question.
Next up is "Moments of Grace" by Aaron Shutz. Art is by Joe Kovach. This one is a touching tale about an old man and his Memory Book. This man has been alive a long time, and he uses pages from his Memory Book to help those in need. But each time he uses one of those pages, the memory is lost to him. But there is always one memory he has saved and treasured, and through it all he's managed not to use it. But it just might be that this time around he'll need to use that special memory to help those in need. But can he bring himself to do it? It's one of the more touching tales that's been published in RoF.
Finally we have "Stones in Winter" by Karen D. Fishler, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. Art is by Eric Deschamps, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is a piece of Norse mythology, dealing with the valkyries who come and take the fallen heroes from the battlefield and bring them back to Valhalla. Only they only bring the fallen men back to Valhalla. And this piece, a woman dares defy the laws of valkyries by following them to the halls of Valhalla to bring back her dead love who has recently fallen in battle.
So that waps up this issue, and one of the lengthiest retrospectives to date. And my favorite story? I must give the nod to "Moments of Grace" by Aaron Shutz. And I'll add a new feature as well, with my favorite artwork (covers and interiors only, no Artist Gallery illustrations). This time around I'll give the nod to the illustration to "The Storyteller's Wife" by Heather Hudson. Next time around I pray that my retrospective wil be shorter when I discuss the August 2005 issue. Until then ...
This marks the first retrospective I've done since Sovereign Media announced that RoF was closing up shop. In my last retrospective, I'd mentioned that it had been a while since I'd done one and wanted to change that. (Last time's excuse was I'd finally read every story published in the magazine and had lost some of the fire for/needed a break from the retrospectives.) This was indeed the plan. Then the news broke about RoF. Since then, I haven't really been in the mood to write one of these. But it's been over a month now, and almost two months since my last retrospective. So it's about time I do another. Even though the magazine has ceased publication, I do intend to finish this retrospective series. I've come this far, so why not? I'm not going to hold myself to any sort of timetable, though I'll try to do more than one every two months or so. :)
And with that said, on to the fiction ...
The lead story in this issue is "The Vampire Kiss" by Gene Wolfe, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. It should come as no surprise that Wolfe is bringing his own unique storytelling approach to this tale, meaning there is much that is left for the reader to puzzle out. This was a story I needed to re-read, not just because the details had become rather fuzzy, but also because I didn't fully puzzle it out the first time I read it. I'm happy to say that this time I had a better handle on the tale. Onthe surface, this is tale someone is relating as told to him by a recent orphan. Grief, sadness, and vampiric doings factor in. Seems simple enough. But the last two paragraphs put the story in a very different light (this would be the part I failed to notice the first time), because you come to realize that this is a story about vampires in the world of Oliver Twist.
Next up we have "The Wooden Baby" by Graham Edwards. This one marks the first of a number of tales Graham would publish with us concerning his supernatural detective. The background of the detective is rather mysterious (even his name isn't revealed). He has an office where people seem to find him accidentally, but the reality is that these people are finding him because these are the cases he's supposed to take. He has a medley of supernatural weapons on hand, and also a special coat he uses in this and his future tales; turning it inside out can change its material to suit his purposes. In this particular tale, the detective must solve the case of a human baby who has been replaced by a wooden one. The wooden baby doesn't move or cry or eat or anything else a typical baby does, but it is alive because it has a faint heartbeat and faint breath. Does the detective solve the mystery? Well, do you think Shawna would've kept buying stories about a detective who screws up the case the first time she read about him? :)
Following this we have "Death, the Devil, and the Lady in White" by Richard Parks, which marks his fifteenth appearance in the magazine. The Lady in White in this one is a "beautiful and terrible spirit" who dwells in a pond near the underworld. Each year, she lures a number of unsuspecting men to their demise when they come too close to the pond. One man, John Alby, has fallen in love with the Lady, but he is more practical than most, and hence still alive. He'll approach the lake as close as he dares, hoping to catch a glimpse of his lady love, resigned to the fact that this is what he'll have to settle for. But all this changes when John is approached by a man who claims he's Death. Death claims he has a way for John to win the love of the Lady in White. From here, what seems like one man's unusual quest for love actually ends up being a love triangle between Death, the Devil, and the Lady in White, with John Alby no more than a pawn in a game that has been going on for a very long time.
Then we have "The Language of Moths" by Christopher Barzak, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is a tale about adolescence, love, and the barriers and bridges of language. Eliot is an awkward adolescent who is being dragged off with his family to go camping, so that his entomologist father can search for a new species of moth that glows pink and orange. Also along for the ride is Eliot's older sister Dawn, who is afflicted with a rather unique strain of autism. She never speaks, but when other speak she perceives the words as silvery bubbles. Some of these bubbles she pops for fun. Others she swallows. When the ones she swallows reach her stomach, it fills dawn with music. Early on, we learn that Dawn believes if she swallows enough bubbles she'll be able to understand them one day. Dawn's isolation is rather obvious, but Eliot is also suffering his own brand of isolation, the sort brought on by an adolescence filled with resentment (much of it over having to constantly babysit his sister), uncertainy, and confusion. Over the course of the story, their two stories come to intersect. Eliot meets a boy in town named Roy and discovers his sexuality. Meanwhile, he notices that his sister displays an uncanny ability around insects, seemingly making them do simple tricks. In reality, Dawn is able to communicate with them through her gifts, but for much of the story Eliot is too involved with his feelings and needs to bother puzzling this out. Things continue building to a head, as Eliot discovers his crush on Roy is far from black and white, and Dawn uses her gift to communicate with the moth that her father is searching for. Along the way, these two siblings help bring each other out of their respective isolations. This story was long-listed for the 2006 Locus Award for Best Novelette. It was nominated for the 2007 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and it was the winner of the 2007 Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Short Fiction, making it the first RoF story to win this award.
After this we have "Blackthorn and Nettles" by Liz Williams, which marks her eighth appearance in the magazine. This one is a dark tale, drawing on Welsh lore. Its main thrust is exploring the thin line between love and hate and demonstrating how shackled together these two emotions are. The story revolves around Creirwy, the narrator, her love interest Gwydion, and his sister Arian. Yet while Arian is married and there is something deep and important developing between Creirwy & Gwydion, Arian is none-to-pleased about their relationship. Gradually we learn that Gwyidion and Arian's relationship has an incestuous strain. A rather awkward relationship develops between Creirwy and Arian, one equal parts hate & love. The emotions these two feel toward each other run so deep that it ends up defying all probability by creating life, life not produced through consummation, but rather through the meeting and joining of love & hate.
Next up is "Dancing in the Light" by Jay Lake, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. This piece is a short-short about a young girl experiencing the magic of puberty, some of it the of everyday variety, but also a nice helping of the fantastical sort.
Finally we have "Christmas Apples" by Margaret Ronald. According to her old slush site, this is one of Carina Gonzalez's slush survivors. This one is a contemporary Christmas tale about a woman who is part of a circle of magicians who has grown jaded toward Christmas. When she runs into a strange man who offers to pay her to drive him to a mysterious destination, she agrees. Along the way, we come to learn that her passenger has been seeking this destination for a very long time, and it falls to this woman to help him find it. In the process of doing this, she rediscovers the magic of Christmas.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? A lot of contenders, but I have to give the nod to "The Language of Moths" by Christopher Barzak. It's a beautiful tale. Next time around I'll discuss the June 2005 issue. Until then ...
I know it's been a while since the last time I posted one of these. After I read the last issue of this series, it meant I had read every story we've ever published. Once that happened, I lost a lot of the fire to write the remaining retrospectives, especially knowing that I'd have reread a number of the remaining stories to refresh myself enough to blog about them. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of the remaining stories I must read, but reading them is a serious investment of my time. Having read the previous 62 issues and its 367 stories on top of my slush reading and my own personal reading of novels, non-fiction, blogs, forums, etc., I can say with confidence. But I do want to finish these retrospectives. I promised I would. I think I just needed to get away from them for a little while to recharge the batteries for this final stretch. Reading all the stories was a rewarding if sometimes exhausting experience, but the work still remains. I will finish these retrospectives.
And with that said ...
First, the cover. It's another Elric cover, the fourth of its kind. No other preliminaries worth mentioning, so let's move on to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Returning My Sister's Face" by Eugie Foster. According to her old slush site, this is one of Carina's slush survivors. As to the story, this one is an Asian fantasy dealing with a man whose family has little and is dependent on the kindness of local lord while the protagonist himself serves as one of the lord's soldiers. Bad luck is associated with the family, leaving the protagonist's sister unmarried. However, a stroke of good fortune takes place in this regard, and the family's luck seems to be improving ...until their sickly mother takes a turn for the worse. On her deathbed, she makes her son give his word of honor to return the missing half of his sister's face. His sister's face is fine, but ultimately the two of them decide it will do no harm for him to give his word and let their mother die in some measure of peace. Given the title, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that the harmless promise proves to have great weight, when the protagonist finds his sister horrifically drowned in the river for adultery, her face so bloated and ruined that half of it seems to be missing. And so his promise comes into play as he seeks to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
Following this we have "All Fish and Dracula" by Liz Williams, which marks her seventh appearance in the magazine. In this piece, it is the night of Samhain. As you might expect, people are out in force, many of them dressed in costume. But on the night of Samhain there are dark forces about. Things can return from the dead ...from the depths ...including malovolent fish? Perhaps ...
Then we have "Fir Na Tine" by Sandra McDonald, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This piece starts off with an adolescent girl on vacation with her family. While there, she runs into a boy her own age who has the ability to create bits of flame. This boy--rakish lad that he is--sneaks a kiss from the protagonist before disappearing into the crowds. The sensation delivered by this fiery kiss is so overwhelming that the protagonist ends up spending a good deal of her life searching for this experience again. Her search yields mixed results, but the story did yield a reprint in Best New Paranormal Romance, edited by Paula Guran. I'd also like to take this opportunity to award this story the unofficial title of "Realms of Fantasy's Steamiest Story Ever."
After this we have "Crab Apple" by Patrick Samphire, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is a YA piece about a teenage boy whose father is dying from cancer. At the same time, he finds himself sucked into a strange adventure as he must rescue an odd girl who has eaten a cursed crab apple from a fey living inside a tree. It's quite a blend of the fantastic with grim reality, and it was selected for inclusion in Year's Best Fantasy 6, edited by David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer.
Next up is "The Good Doctor" by Melissa Lee Shaw. This is a piece of horror fiction that deals with vampires in a rather unusual manner. It takes place in a village in Bolivia, where the lone doctor is a vampire ...and everyone knows it ...and everyone is fine with it. In exchange for medical treatment these people can only dream about, the doc merely requires what all vampires do: blood. It's a bargain these people are more than willing to make. But everything becomes threatened when a foreigner receives medical treatment and sees far more than she was supposed to.
Finally we have "Peas and Carrots" by Michael Canfield. This one skirts the line of metafiction as a nameless character without lines in a play dares to want more when he falls in love the female lead. But to make such a dream come true, it involves going against the script. I haven't read too much fiction of this sort, although at times I was reminded of "Six Characters in Search of an Author."
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? Some great choices, but I'm going with "Fir Na Tine." And not just because of the steaminess; it's a solid tale! Next time around I'll slice and dice the April 2005 issue. Until then ...
- Mood:accomplished
The cover is another movie cover for Lord of the Rings, our fourth such cover. Elijah Wood is looking mighty anguished.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story in this one is "The Cardinal's Cats" by Cherith Baldry. This story takes an idea more common to the mystery genre, wherein the story is told through the pov of the lovable feline who pluckiness manages to save the day. Set in sixteenth century France, our feline heroine & company (the company being more cats), set out to thwart the machinations of the Cardinal's nephew and his evil witch lover. Considering that this is a fantasy magazine, I found the idea of telling this from the pov of a cat to be rather refreshing.
After this we have "Sonnets Made of Wood" by Leah Bobet. A glance at the accompanying artwork will bring to mind Robin Hobb's high fantasy trilogy, The Liveship Traders. And while there are indeed some superficial similarities between the two words, this story is entirely Leah's own. As to the story itself, the language carried a dark charm that sucked me right in. It tells the tale of a mermaid who has given up her tail to take a human king for a husband. This part is pretty much standard fare when it comes to many a mermaid tale, but the author takes this one in some rather unusual directions, including a reversal of the standard mythology of the mermaid seducing the unsuspecting human. The climax to this one is both horrific and heartbreaking, as it sheds light on a seemingly innocent riddle presented earlier in the tale.
Next up we have "The Chamber of Forgetting" by Sarah Prineas, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one is a high fantasy tale that starts off by introducing us to a man in excrutiating pain who has no idea who he is. As the tale unfolds, we gradually learn that he is an assassin from an enemy nation, sent to the kill the king. These particular assassin are extremely deadly even for someone of their profession. Their training begins when they're children and they kill their first victim before they turn ten. If they fail at their mission, they're expected to kill themselves. Only this particular assassin was taken prisoner. Besides undergoing some extreme questioning that has left him with scars and mangled fingers, he was also placed in the newly created chamber of forgetting. This chamber causes a loss of memory, and so when we meet the assassin, he's a very different person from the one who tried to kill the king. Instead, he's gentle and unassuming. When negotiations are opened with his home nation, his return is demanded. Everyone knows he'll be killed if he's returned for failing at his mission and not taking his life, and this in turn raises some serious ethical dilemmas: those who placed him in the chamber of forgetting caused this man to change into someone different, with no memories of what he'd done before. Given this, is it right to turn him over for crimes he has no recollection of and no intention of committing when they're the ones who changed him? Good stuff.
Following this we have "The Wild Man" by Caitlin Matthews. This one dips into Arthuriana, but unlike the other tales to appear in this magazine, this one draws on the Mabinogion, which shares the stories of Arthur and his court from the Welsh perspective/interpretation. In this one, Arthur and his companions come upon a man more than half wild, haunted by painful memories form his past. Gradually we learn that the Wild Man was forced to watch various tortures inflicted upon his kin that either killed them or left them as rabid as wolves ...and their torturer was one of Arthur's kin. And so Arthur is forced to decide between family and justice. The author sheds some light on her idea in an afterword. To quote part of it: "This is one of the untold stories hidden with Culhwch and Olwen, that great compendium of lost British Celtic tales, one of the oldest stories in the Mabinogion."
Then we have "The Secret of Making Brains" by Joe Murphy. This one marks the first of Joe's popular Sprokly tales to appear in the pages of ROF. This is also the first continuing series I've come across that was still being published in our pages when I came aboard. In fact, our latest issue at the time I'm writing this (October 2008) includes a story called "The Horned Toad in the Hubcap," which is set in this universe. So it lets you all know that my arrival to the magazine is drawing near. As to the story itself, as I've already made abundantly obvious, we're introduced to Sprokly and her family who live in an abandoned town. Grampser is the head of her family ...except this is no ordinary family. Grampser has learned the secrets of words and symbols and other strange powers, and combined with his amazing technical proficiency, he is able to create manikins and imbue them with life. He has created a number of mechanical animals that are more than just mechanical, including a rather unique species of horned toad. Grampser has taught/is teaching these secrets to other members of his family, including some of the created ones like Sprokly. In this tale, Sprokly is trying to figure out the secret of making brains. It takes place during her thirteenth birthday, which is made all the more interesting when they receive an unwanted human visitor who has come to study the horned toads. Sprokly is fascinated by him, as is her brother, who is a real human. And while Grampser wishes to keep other off his property, he aslo doesn't want anyone leaving. So when Sprokly's brother tries to sneak off with the human visitor, it leads to Sprokly learning the secret of making brains. It also represents the beginning of the end to Sprokly's childhood, as she learns that the world in not entirely black and white.
Finally we have "Talent" by Laura Ann Gilman, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one is a horror tale that takes place in what might be termed as the pool hall, because all the best people and all the up-and-comers frequent this spot. Among this group is someone named Eddie. Back in the day, Eddie was the best. But that was a long time ago. A long time ago. But Eddie refuses to acknowledge his time as king of the hill past, so he clings to an unnatural life (if you can call it that), hardly uttering a word, sitting in the pool hall night after night, watching the pool players come in and out. And when a fourteen-year-old prodigy comes through those doors one night, well, suffice it to say that Eddie isn't pleased.
And with these stories read and my write-up of each of them complete, I am happy to announce that I've now read every single story ever published in Realms of Fantasy. There are still a couple of issues to go before we reach my time, but I had these issues in my possession and had read the stories before I started these retrospectives. So yeah. I've conquered the mountain ...or part of it anyway. I mean, I still have twenty-three (and counting) retrospectives to go. But now that I've read all the stories, I feel like I can take a breath. I mean, it took me over a year to be able to say I've read everything, so it's been quite a project.
As to the rest of the retrospectives, as has been promised at the beginning of almost every single one of them, I will take us all the way to the present for ROF. But there are some things to keep in mind. Even though I've read everything, you shouldn't expect me to spit out twenty-three retrospectives over the next twenty-three days. First, it takes a while to write these, and I doubt I'll have the time or inclination to write them every night. Second, while I may have read everything, for most of the remaining issues it's been somewhere between 1-3+ years since the last time I read their stories. For some of these tales, I won't be comfortable writing about them until I've had the chance to read them again. Other stories I remember perfectly, although I'll admit that I may use these retrospectives as an excuse to reread a few of my favorites. :) Third, now that I've read everything, I expect my urge to write these retrospectives won't be as fierce. Until this point, whenever I read an issue, I tried to write the retrospective asap so that the issues in need of a retrospective didn't accumulate. These retrospectives are often lengthy, so that sort of homework would've been daunting. But now I can approach everything differently, and there isn't that little voice urging me on, telling me to keep reading so that I can say I've read all of the stories in ROF. Lastly, and this just happens to be some coincidental timing, in addition to my work at ROF I'm taking on some new and exciting responsibilities that won't allow me as much time for the retrospectives. But as I said, I will finish this series. I'm just going to be more laid back about it now. In theory, I'd like to do one retrospective each week. Time will tell whether this is a realistic goal. In reality, so long as I manage to do one retrospective each month I'll be ahead of the publication table for the latest issue of ROF, and hence drawing closer to the end of this series. That is definitely manageable. Regardless, I think it's a safe bet that these retrospectives should continue for at least another half a year.
So that wraps up this issue, as well as 2004. And my favorite story? "The Chamber of Forgetting" by Sarah Prineas. Next time around (hopefully in a week or so), I'll kick off the 2005 publishing season when I discuss the February 2005 issue. Until then ...
- Mood:accomplished
There are some tidbits worth noting in this issue's masthead. First, Joe Varda's run as Publisher has drawn to its close. There is no one taking his place in the masthead for this position. Mark Hintz was the publisher before him, and when Joe Varda took over this title, Mark became the Chief Executive Officer. Mark is still the CEO in this issue, and the title of publisher has been dropped from the masthead. Also, Laura Cleveland's long run as Managing Editor has drawn to a close. Taking her place is Christopher D'Amore. For whatever reason, he's listed as the Assistant Editor, but his duties are those of the managing editor. And we're not quite done. Samantha DeTulleo is no longer listed as the Art Director. Strangely, no else is either. That title is also absent from the masthead. These days, Samantha is listed in the masthead in the exact position in question. So I'm uncertain whether she left and later came back to this position, or if she was here all along and title just got dropped from the masthead for a while.
Anyway, on to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Almost (But Not Quite) Heaven" by Tom Gerencer, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is a humorous tale about a man who's visited by a host of different zany gods that you wouldn't expect to be gods, like the god of hors d'oevres and the god of sushi. It's one big party until the god of agnosticism arrives. The whole scenario feels rather Lewis Carollesque.
After this we have "Embers" by Rudi Dornemann. This one marks the first steampunk tale to appear in ROF. The story starts out when a young woman and her father come across a clockwork man in their courtyard in a steam town in a nineteenth America that is starting to develop its railroad systems. Until this point, steam-powered machines have been the prevalent sources of energy and transporation, with things like dirigibles already in existence. The emerging railways are also experimenting with steam, and using the fire of dragons to power many of their devices. I think the presence of the dragons keeps this one from veering too much into the realm of science fiction. Anyway, the clockwork man they discover isn't on, but the woman and her father manage to wake him by placing in a fire and heating his ceramic skin. Of course, this causes quite the brouhaha in town, since the clockwork man is a product of the rail companies, are the emerging rail roads are threatening the business done by steam towns. To complicte matters, the young woman feels an emerging attraction toward the well-spoken and charming clockwork man. Eventually an angry mob shows up, fearing what the clockwork man represents. Mind you, it isn't the theat of machines, but the threat to their livelihood. It all leads up to a poignant climax and ending that deals with the end of childhood, love, loss, and dreams.
Next up we have "There Are Girls, Green Girls" by Ian McDowell. This one is a YA tale about an adolescent Jewish girl growing up in redneck country (this term being how the narrator desribes this region). She is something of an outcast here, even among the other outcasts. Then she makes friends with the new Chinese girl in town, who is also an outcast. Things take a sharp turn when she learns that her new friend's mother was actually a Chinese forest spirit, and the mother wishes to bring her daughter back to the forest. The catch is that so long as she wishes to stay among the humans, she can. But the call is growing ever stronger. Things come to a head when the two friends (and the hot new boyfriend) go to a nighttime party on a secluded hill ...surrounded by the forest.
Then we have "The Old Woman and the Moon" by Stephen Popkes, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. This one draws on Native American mythology. It starts by telling the tale of a magician who falls in love with the moon and devises a spell to bring her down to him so he might take her for his wife. Time passes, so much that the world has forgotten about the moon. A woman eeking out a harsh existence finds herself thrust into the task of returning the moon to her rightful place in the sky, but there is a price to be paid to restore the world to its proper balance, a price that might be too steep to ask of any one person, or as Shawna puts it in her editorial caption: "Sometimes a sacrifice requires you to dig into yourself, but sometimes you have to dig deep into another."
Following this we have "King Orfeigh" by Ruth Nestvold. This one is based on the medieval tale of Sir Orfeo, a mixture of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Celtic folklore. In this one, the King of the Sidhe has charmed away the human king's wife and is taking her back to his kingdom. But the man is in pursuit, hoping to bring her back to him. But all he can rely on the win her heart back is his music. And surely this isn't enough to overcome the many charms of the King of the Sidhe ...surely?
Then we have "The Beast" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his ninth appearance in the magazine. This one is another short-short from Rogers, about a man who captures a strange beast whose saliva has great curative properties. But the only way to get the Beast to give up its saliva is to make it suffer. Once again I'll steal Shawna's editorial caption to sum this one up: "What would you pay for the health--for the life--of your children and family? Is there any price too high?"
Finally we have "In a Glass Casket" by Tim Pratt, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. This one is a horror piece about a young boy who comes across a glass casket in an alley. Locked inside in the glass casket is a teenage girl, but he can't tell whether she's alive ..until he sees the tears leaking from her closed eyes. Uncertain what to do, he leaves the girl and hurries home before he's late. Ever since Billy's father left, the boy's mom likes him to be home where she can keep an eye on him. But when Billy gets home, there is a strange man over, asking his mother questions about a girl that he's looking for. His mother is acting strangely, as if unaware of what's going on. The man asks Billy about the girl, but Billy lies, saying he doesn't know anything. Later, he sneaks out to rescue the girl, using the tools from his father's toolbox. When he finally frees her, we learn the man looking for her is her father. Her father is overly possessive refusing to let the girl go, going so far as to use his magic to cause his daughter pain to keep her from escaping. But his daughter has magic of her own to evade him, and the chase has been going on for quite some time. It all leads up to a rather horrifying conclusion, between the girl and her father ...as well as Billy and his own mother.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? It was a tough choice, but I have to give the honors to "In a Glass Casket" by Tim Pratt. The end of that story sent a serious shudder down my spine that forced me to give the nod to this story. Next time around I'll wrap up this 2004 publishing year when I discuss the December 2004 issue. Until then ...
Part sixty in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction in the back issues of Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I'll be discussing the August 2004 issue.
The cover to this one is another movie cover, featuring Keira Knightley in her role as Guinevere in the movie, King Arthur. For the record, while I thought some of the actors gave strong performances, overall I found this movie rather weak, adding little worthwhile material to Arthurian mythos.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "The Angel's Daughter" by Jay Lake, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is a short-short that delves into Arabian mythology about a brave lad of the desert who manages to capture the heart of an angel's daughter. This piece would be right at home among the tales of Scheherazade's One Thousand and One Nights.
Following this we have "The Smell of Magic" by Mike Lewis. This one is a high fantasy tale about a young man who has been apprenticed to sniff out the magic dwelling in shapeshifters who live among the humans. When I say "sniff" I mean that quite literally. He has an extraordinary sense of smell. If you've ever seen the movie, Perfume, it approaches that level. The test involves the teenagers in a given village who have come "of age" for the testing, presumambly because the smell can now be detected. In this particular tale, the protagonist has returned to his village after a couple of years away, and is reuinited with family, friends, and the requisite village love. The writing is nice enough, but everything struck as rather predicactable and ho-hum ...or so I thought until I reached the end. That made reading this one entirely worthwhile.
Then we have "The Water Castle" by Jay Lake, which marks his third appearance in the magazine and his second story in this issue. Back in the June 2000 issue, Nicola Griffith actually had three stories in one issue. However, those stories were loosely connected, and in that respect it was no surprise to see them all published in the same issue. In Jay's case, "The Water Castle" & "The Angel's Daughter" are not connected at all, except through author. So this would make Jay the first author to have two completely unrelated stories in one issue of ROF. As to the story itself, it's rather rich in detail. We're introduced to a world where humans were once served by small furry creatures called the Pleasant People. However, concerning this servitude, let's just say it wasn't all gumdrops and lollipops. So eventually, when humans gave birth, the Pleasant People developed a method of creating twins of the newborn babies from the afterbirth. These twins became known as the Poison People, and their presence eventually sparked a war that, come the beginning of the story, has left mankind struggling for its survival. The story itself focuses around a woman, starting in childhood with the death of her father, and it follows her through the years as she becomes mankind's greatest hope for survival. Thanks to her father's experiments before his death, the girl knows how to use a crude form of science to tell the Poison People from the real people. This one skirts the line between high fantasy and science-fantasy as the girl rallies humankind through the years. And all the while, she seeks to learn her ultimate destiny, which is somehow connected to a glass egg her father gave to her at his death. I'm leaving lots of juicy details ot here, but I can't help it. Jay packed enough into this world to return here and write a novel if he wants to.
Next up is "Words & Music" by Kate Riedel, which marks her fifth appearance in the magazine. It is also the 350th story to be published in Realms of Fantasy. This features a teenage runaway in need of work. She walks into a bookstore, hoping to sell some textbooks, and ends up accepting a job, complete with a room upstairs. Seems ordinary enough, accept that soon she notices that the bookstore has a habit of having whatever the customer asks for, even if it wasn't on the shelf a moment ago. And of course it makes absolutely no difference if the text has been erased from the face of the earth. There is something cosmic about this bookshop but it's never explained in full. This didn't really bother me, which is a testament to the author. This sort of stuff often drives me nuts. But the people are vehicles to the cosmic function of the bookshop. Those who come looking for these books are meant to find them. Yet while the people serve the will of the bookshop, the employees of the shop seem to pick whom they wish to hire to continue serving. It's all very fascinating, and there's a strong religious undercurrent throughout that kicks this one into another level of thoughtfulness.
Then we have "The Right God" by Richard Parks, which marks his fourteenth appearance in the magazine. This one takes a somewhat lighter approach to religion than the previous story, presenting a world where traditional religion has broken down. Instead, new gods seem to be popping up everywhere. Enter Don Lang, an average divorced guy in his forties ...average except for the god called Rockball that has taken up residence in his mirror and has informed Don that his new vocation is to be Rockbottom's prophet? The problem (if this isn't enough)? Rockbottom has no idea what he's a god of. Things are further complicated when Don meets a woman named Amelia who's basically in the same situation he is, only her god is named Stonemother. Thanks to the meddling of their gods, both of them find themselves out of work. With all this time on their hands, they end up joining forces to figure out what the deal is with these mysterious gods, all the gods in general, and all the while, there is a possible attraction developing between them that is only made more complicated by the presence of their gods.
Following this we have "Elfrither's Ghost" by Kij Johnson, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one is a short-short ghost story that takes place in some ancient Roman ruins. I'll steal Shawna's editorial caption to describe this one: "Ghosts are not made of flesh and blood, but they are often made by flesh and blood."
The penultimate tale in this issue is "The Laily Worm" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. This story is adapted from the story, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea," from the Child's Ballads. As to the Child's Ballad's here is the explanation I stole from Wikipedia: The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. The collection was published as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads between 1882 and 1898 by Houghton Mifflin 10 Volumes. As to the story itself, it deals with a pair of siblings with royal blood. Along with their father and stepmother, they're exiled to an isolated castle in the north that guards against raids from the Norsemen. Everything seems to be going well enough, until the stepmother becomes pregant. Suddenly the children she'd forged such wonderful relationships with have become obstructions to advancing her own blood. So she casts a spell on both children, changing them into their inherent animal forms. The brother becomes a dragon, the sister a macherel. The sister is tossed into the sea and the stepmother forces the brother to guard a mysterious oak tree. The brother is in danger of losing his humanity, until he's visited by his sister, who's learned how to change into human form once each week. When she's there, she cleans her brother and brushes his hair (yup, this dragon has hair), and it brings back memories of his childhood and helps him maintain a semblance of his humanity. The characterization of the dragon is particularly interesting, and everything unfolds rather logically. I've never read the original story, but I get the feeling that Hoffman remained rather true to it, because there's a lot of resonance in this one that strikes the mythic cord deep inside the reader.
Finally we have "Falling With Wings" by Devon Monk, which marks her sixth appearance in the magazine. This one has an interesting premise. Winged beings toss their children from the sky when their still babies or young children and let them fall into the mud around Mount Discard when the children are still wingless. It's believed there is something in the soil that is essential to the children growing their wings when they're older so they can take their place in the sky. Anywho, there is a tribe of sorts at the base of the mountain, featuring everything from babies to adolescents on the verge of adulthood. Most if not all of them were retrieved from the mud by a man named Setham, who is wingless and helps raise the children until they grow their wings and are ready to jump from Mount Discard and put their wings to use. One of the oldest of the tribe is Dawn, who narrates the story. The time is drawing close when Dawn will seek to take her place in the sky. Only she is rather attracted to Setham. The problem? Sethem is wingless and long past the age of sprouting wings. But there is also more to him than meets the eye. But is it enough for love between the two of them to take wing? If you've read the past fifty-nine retrospectives, then you know I'm not going to tell you!
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? Many worthy candidates, but I must give the honors to "The Laily Worm" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Next time around I'll discuss the October 2004 issue. Until then ...
A look at this issue's masthead reveals that Jennifer Schneider's considerable run as Graphic Designer is over. Taking her place is Jesse Guay.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Singing Innocence & Experience" by Sonya Taafe. This one takes place in modern times and revolves around a unicorn that looks like a man. Where the horn should be there is a mark on his forehead. This unicorn has become bonded to a woman in her twenties who is still a virgin. Throughout the story there is a delicate balance between the woman, the unicorn (who has become a roomate of sorts), and the woman's human love interest. At the same time, she finds the unicorn heartbreakingly beautiful. Saying anything would be to reveal how this one plays out, but I did enjoy the concept of the unicorn in human form.
Following this we have "Tiny Bells" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his eighth appearance in the magazine. As with most of his ROF tales, this one is a short-short. These are always the hardest sorts of stories to describe without giving away everything, because they're over in a blink. So I'll leave this one as being about displaced dreams seeking a home and let your imagination do the rest.
Next up we have "Stalking the Leopard" by Tanith Lee, which marks her twelfth appearance in the magazine. This one takes place in a futuristic city at the height of decadence that mixes in just a touch of noir flavor. It focuses around a woman of high society who has become bored with life. All that changes when a rare fire breaks out in the city. When the protagonist and her friends go to investigate, she spots a striking man walking out of the fire unharmed. Avly (the protogonist) becomes quite attracted to him and takes to following him over the ensuing days. And when she discovers that this man is an assassin, it only heightens her attraction. It all builds toward a climax that I'm not about to share with you.
Then we have "On Windhover Down" by Liz Williams, which marks her sixth appearance in the magazine. This one takes place near an alternate London, where strange and decadent gods are worshipped. When a young girl delivers a head to the worshippers of these gods, she becomes embroiled in far more than she bargained for and must turn to ancient and forgotten forces to save her.
After this we have "Country Life" by Karen D. Fishler. Instead of London, we move to outside of Paris during the time Louis XVII, as a tax collector visits an unmapped county that appears to have never paid its taxes. However, he's not on official business, and plans to earn himself a small fortune through his "collecting." But as such stories go, the collector becomes embroiled in far more than he expected, as he meets the beautiful daughter of the imposing countess he hopes to scam, must deal with the beautiful woman's highly protective brother, unravel the mystery of where this county's gold comes from, and all the while there is some strange and monstrous creature eating the local cows at night.
Then we have "The Archer" by Ian Donald Keeling. This one also features a female protagonist who happens to be a virgin, this one at age thirty. This one has never even been on a date. But everything changes when she meets a gorgeous man who turns out to be Cupid from Greek mythology. And of course he fires his love arrow and our loveless protagonist fires love at last. But all is not as it seems. It turns out that once upon a time Cupid defied Zeus and took a mortal woman for his lover that Zeus desired for himself. In his wrath, Zeus decreed that their child would never know love. And Cupid has honored that decree ...until now. And now we're up to that part where I don't tell you how this one plays out. ;)
Finally we have "Charlie the Purple Giraffe Was Acting Strangely" by David D. Levine. According to Carina Gonzalez's old slush site, David is a slush survivor. I have to admit that I'm a little puzzled by this. According to David's bio in this issue, he attended the Clarion West Workshop in 2000. My understanding from multiple sources (including Shawna) is that back during Carina's tenure (and before this as well, I believe), graduates from any of the Clarion workshops were automatic passes to Shawna. This practice was discontinued after I took over as assistant editor, although every so often I still encounter the occasional Clarion student under the impression that his or her story should be passed along to Shawna for this reason alone. Regardless, I have no idea how David both attended Clarion but is also considered to be a slush survivor. As to the story itself, it features comic characters, the principle being Charlie the Purple Giraffe. And the reason Charlie has been acting strangely. Quite simply, he has become aware that there are readers. Of course, none of his fellow comic characters believe him. Most of the characters react to him as you might expect, and while everything unfolds inside your mind like a lighthearted cartoon, there is a disturbing undercurrent that grows stronger as the story moves along. This undercurrent manages to strike a nerve, and perhaps others thought so as well, because this piece was reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 5, edited by David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer. ETA: It has also been reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy, edited by Mike Ashely.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? The possible slush survivor, "Charlie the Purple Giraffe Was Acting Strangely" by David D. Levine. Next time I'll talk about the August 2004 issue. Until then ...
I've read this issue before. When I interviewed with Shawna back in 2005 for the position of Assistant Editor, one of her questions was whether I had read any issues of the magazine. I had read two and have covered both of them in previous retrospectives (August 1997 & August 2000). But when Shawna decided to take me on for a trial period, she also wanted me to familiarize myself with some of the more recent issues. So she grabbed the two closest issues and told me to read the fiction in them. One of these issues was April 2004, which means I first read this one back in May 2005. That's well over three years, so I took the time to read all of these stories again.
So let's discuss them, shall we?
The lead story is "In a Tower High" by Pamela D. Lloyd. I guess the best to describe this one is an anti-fairy tale. This one takes place in modern times, and depicts a working woman in the city. At every turn in the story (which is basically a depiction of her life at the moment), we are introduced to the fairy tale equivalent, or rather the anti-fairy tale equivalent, which go on to demonstrate why this woman's life is no fairy tale. I should add that I don't mean to make it sound like this is a sad tale, or that the protagonist is miserable. Far from it. Her life is just utterly devoid of fairy tale sensibilities.
Next up is "Israbel" by Tanith Lee, which marks her eleventh appearance in the magazine. This time Tanith takes on vampires, setting the story in Paris. One of the common traits is vampires is that they can't see their reflection. So in this one a beautiful vampire hires an artist to paint her portrait, so that she can finally look at herself once more. It's a clever twist, I think, and things only become more twisted when the matter of payment is discussed and the artist wishes to become a vampire. A human wishing to become a vampire isn't exactly knew, but how humans become vampires in this one, along with what happens after he makes his request are both elements that help make this one a worthwhile addition to this crowded area of fantasy/horror.
After this we have "The King's Snow" by Josh Rountree. According to her old slush site, Josh is one of Carina Gonzalez's slush survivors. As to his story, this one is a high fantasy tale taking place in a world whose inhabitants wish to avoid being subjected to the King's Snow, a terrible winter storm from what I gathered. In order to avoid this fate, the king periodically selects a Daggerbearer, basically his chosen champion to once more do battle with and slay the mysterious creature known as the Turion. Each time, the Daggerbearer is accompanied by the Witness, the lone person who accompanies the Daggerbearer on his journey from beginning to end. In this one, the Daggerbearer turns out to be an unwilling hero, a farmer and a devoted father who wants nothing to do with the glory of being a Daggerbearer. Yet he's intent on doing his duty to king and providing his son a future, something that can't happen if he doesn't slay the Turion. Of course, as every high fantasy fan knows, it's traits such as these that help make the protagonist even more of a hero!
Then we have "The Tao of Flynn" by Eric M. Witchey, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one deals with insurance salesmen. Richard is the best salesmen in the office ...until Flynn comes along. Every time Flynn visits a potential customer, he gets the sale. Every single time. No one sells every single time out. Cooper the boss gets suspicious, so he orders Richard to spend the day with Flynn, to make sure that Flynn is with the program, a set of guidelines Cooper expects everyone to follow when seeking a sale. So Richard spends the day with Flynn ...and there's something about this guy. Charming as can be, almost too charming. Almost as if there's something magical about him. Everyone is anxious to hear what Flynn has to say, wants to be his friend, wants to talk to him. And so on. And yet there's nothing sinister going on. Not one bit. Flynn is a good guy, which is why Richard takes to his program (and really, you would too). Cooper doesn't like this one bit, which is why he puts a plan into action to take both Flynn and Richard down. But that Flynn ...oh he's tricky.
Following this we have "Portrait of an Unidentified Angel" by Wendy A. Shaffer. This one takes place during the Rennaisance and features a painter named Michelangelo (but not the Michelangelo) who is gravely ill. He is also in hiding for some of his past crimes, and there are those who dearly love to help rush along the end of his life. But all this is pushed to the side when Michaelangelo is visited by a mysterious angel who wishes him to paint its portrait. Given that he's too weak to travel, flat broke, and the artist in him would love nothing more than to paint this fine specimen, he agrees. But the angel refuses to reveal its identity. Instead, it wishes Michelangelo to guess, promising that if he fails to guess properly, then it will reveal its identity when the portrait is finished. Details about Italy and painting are in abundance in this one, and while I knew what was coming this time around, I still remember the pleasant surprise I encountered the first time I read this one come the story's end.
Finally we have "Calamity Warp" by Gene Wolfe, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. This one is a short but odd tale about the new pet dog that is able to move through space-time. That creates some serious problems when the dog starts fetching things out of space-time. Eventually she brings back a new shadow to her master ...and the shadow decides to stay.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? *Hesitates* I can't choose which one I like more. Therefore, I declare our first tie, between "The Tao of Flynn" by Eric M. Witchey and "Portait of an Unidentified Angel" by Wendy A. Shaffer. Next time I'll get back to discussing stuff I haven't read, with the June 2004 issue. Until then ...
The cover to this one features Orlando Bloom as Legolas from the LOTR movies. Also, I forgot to mention that the cover to last issue features Viggo Mortenson as Argagorn. That makes three LOTR movie covers for ROF, I believe. On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "The One Who Conquers" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his seventh appearance in the magazine. This is a dark fairy tale about a tribe of trolls who are visited by a strange voice that goads to attack the humans on the surface, so that they might take over the humans' towns and have all the comforts they do. The voice provides them all sorts of advice and protection, and everything goes accorrding to plan when the trolls do as their new god tells them. Unfortunately for these trolls, everything is also going according to plan for the voice.
The next story is "Still Man" by William R. Eakin, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. Like his five previous tales in ROF, this one takes place in the town of Redgunk, Mississippi. In this one, there are stories that circulate among the folk of Redgunk about a man they call the Still Man, part of the reason being the special brand of moonshine he makes in his stills. Still Man also happens to be experimenting with AI. For the most part, people give him a wide berth, because of some of the darker rumors surrounding him. But all that changes when a young woman from social services comes to his home, looking for his daughter. When the social worker drinks this special moonshine, primal truths are unlocked in the bargain.
Then we have "Tiny Flowers & Rotten Lace" by Jay Lake. The protagonist in this one is a young boy, but to me this one feels less like middle-grade fantasy and more like horror. In this one, our protagonist has a mother who's gone insane and a cruel father that keeps her locked in the bedroom at all hours. At the beginning of the story, he's being pursued a mysterious brick monster. Given his family situation and how he gets picked on at school, he doesn't really have anyone to turn to. But although he's scared and isolated, gradually he manages to uncover the dark secrets of his family. In the bargain, he learns who true monster is.
After this we have "Rattler" by Gene Wolfe & Brian Hopkins. For Wolfe, it marks his third appearance in the magazine. For Hopkins, I can only assume this is the same Brian Hopkins who co-wrote "The Hounds of Winter" with James Van Pelt back in the August 1999 issue of ROF. That would make this his second appearance in the magazine. This would also make him the first author to co-write stories with two different authors have them published in the magazine. As to the story itself, it's about a car that's inhabited by the spirit of a man's dead dog. Not much more I can say, since this one is all in the telling.
Following this we have "The Flowers of Tekheli" by Liz Williams, which marks her fifth appearance in the magazine. This one takes place in the nation of Kazekhstan. In it, a young woman is in a car accident with her brother and his friends. Her brother's friends are killed, but the woman's brother mysteriously disappears. Eventually it's discovered that he's being held captive by the ancient and vengeful spirit of a young woman. In life, this spirit was a poet, but some young men did something terrible to her, which cost her the ability to use her voice. Since she didn't know how to write, she could no longer perform her poetry. Hence the whole vengeful spirit angle toward young men. It falls to the young woman to rescue her brother while appeasing a spirit that seems inconsolable.
Next up is "Power Sources" by Julia H. West. Depending on how you look at this one, it could be termed science fiction or fantasy. A modern-day woman storyteller has traveled to another planet to learn their methods of storytelling, which involves using living fibers (such as a sample of someone's hair), which in turn draws on the planet's "energies." We're never really told what these energies are, which is fine. But because it remains nebulous, it falls to the reader decide whether these energies are magical, of if there is a more scientific explanation. The protagonist in this one considers it magic, so that could sway some readers to argue this is fantasy. Personally, this read like unexplained science fiction to me, but not to the degree that I'll argue the relevance of it belonging in a fantasy magazine.
Finally we have "Heart's Desires" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one takes place during Halloween. I haven't been keeping track of this particular fact, but it may be our first Halloween story. Anyway, this is a short piece about some trick-or-treaters who visit the house of what turns out to be a witch. When one of the boys has an attack because of his sickness, we're shown how you needn't always fear what you don't understand.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? "The One Who Conquers" by Bruce Holland Rogers. Next time around I'll discuss the April 2004 issue. Until then ...
Part fifty-six in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction to the back issues to Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I'll be discussing the December 2003 issue.
A couple of tidbits about the masthead. Until this issue, Mark Hintz was always listed as the publisher. Starting with this issue, he's now listed as Chief Executive Officer. Also, near the bottom of the masthead Joe Varda was listed as Vice President & Advertising Director. In this issue, he's still listed as such and in the same place. But near the top of the masthead, right underneath Mark's name, he's also listed as the Publisher.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Dancing Day" by Liz Williams, which marks her fourth appearance in the magazine. This one takes the old story of a human possessed by a demon and turns it on its head by telling the story from the demon's perspective and invoking some sympathy in the process.
Following this we have "Of Soil & Climate" by Gene Wolfe, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. Wolfe is somewhat known for writing challenging fiction, and this one is no exception. It's mostly told from the perspective of a modern-day psychiatrist who ends up switching bodies with a warrior in a seconday fantasy world. On the surface, it sounds simple enough, but Wolfe makes this piece complex, because he tells us the bulk of the story from the analytical mind of the psychiatrist and because the reader is expected to figure a lot on his own. This one ended up being selected for inclusion in Year's Best Fantasy 4, edited by David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer.
Next up we have "Divided By Time" by William Shunn, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. In this one, a man enters a magic shop and ends up exchanging one of his great character weaknesses for a device that allows him to travel with a time-bubble surrounding him. The time-bubble allows him to live an entire life of experiences as he journeys across the earth to Jerusalem to find the woman he loves.
Then we have "Romanticore" by Tim Pratt, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. This piece is hard to sum up because there's so much going on. This one is a love story, but it explores the concepts and meaning of love in very unusal ways, reaching as far back as mankind's primal and mythic roots. A man on the rebound becomes involved with a woman, knowing that it will only last a few months, because that's when her longtime partner returns. Along the way, both of them fall in love. And the whole time the man is having strange dreams about being a lion. When the woman's partner returns, even though she has grown to love the protagonist and he hopes they can still see each other, she tells him it's time to end things. From here, things get really weird. It turns out the lion dreams stem back to ancient times, when one of the man's ancestors slept with a lion god. The onset of dreams is happening because of the woman and particularly her partner, whose mythic roots are with the manticore, an ancient enemy to the lion. Obviously they're on a collision course. There are some similarities here to animal totems, but to call it such wouldn't be accurate. I think the real power behind this one is the collision of primal attractions and urges vs. the more modern development of love.
Finally we have "Yamabushi" by Richard Parks, which marks his thirteenth appearance in the magazine. This one is an Asian fantasy about a man seeking enlightenment who crosses paths with a goblin known as a tengu. Tengus exist to trick and tempt holy men from the path of true righteousness. The tengue takes our protagonist to be a yamabushi monk and starts plaguing him. But all is not as it seems, as the man claims he is no monk and seeks to strike a deal with tengu. The tengu agrees to the man's proposal, but still all is not as it seems. Or is it? As Shawna wrote in the editorial caption for this one: "We live in a world of illusion, and things are not always as they seem. But sometimes they are."
So that wraps up this issue, as well as 2003. And my favorite story? "Romanticore" by Tim Pratt. Next time around I'll kick off the 2004 publishing year when I discuss the February 2004 issue. Until then ...
Part fifty-five in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction in the back issues of Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I'll be discussing the October 2003 issue.
This marks the first time my computer gobbled a retrospective post and forced me to rewrite. Of course, it was one of the lengthier ones. *swearing and cursing* So I'm going to rush it this time. This issue puts ROF in its ninth year of publication, and Carina Gonzalez's name has returned in the masthead.
On to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Okra, Sorghum, and Yam" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. This story is a rare African folk tale about a princess who is sent by her father to spend the summer with an old man in order to learn wisdom. As you might expect, there is a twist.
Next up we have "In the Forest of Forgetting" by Theodora Goss, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one is a story about a surreal journey through the forests of one's woman mind as she is dying from cancer. In the last issue, I mentioned that Richard Parks had a story called "Worshipping Small Gods," and that he released a short story collection through Prime Books with the same title. So what a coincidence that Theodora released a short story through Prime Books called In the Forest of Forgetting.
Following this we have "The Doorman Gunner" by Michael Bishop. This one is a rare zombie tale in ROF. I haven't read much in this area, but I love the concept behind this one. It deals with an American soldier who dies in service during the Vietnam War but comes back and continues serving. He keeps his intelligence and memories, and his views are morbid to say the least. Much of the tale is about this doomed soul trying to find his final release, and it's told through the perspective of a medly of characters, including soldiers, a pilot, a priest, and a prostitute.
Then we have "The Day Pietro Coppino Spoke to the Mountain" by William Shunn, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. This one takes place in Italy during the 1800s. The story deals with an eccentric master sculptor who is on the verge of creating his greatest masterpiece, scultped from the purest block of marble he's ever beheld. The sculpture itself is of Pluto from Roman mythology spiriting Persephone away to the underworld. But at the beginning of the story, something is terribly wrong with the sculpture. Persephone's fingers have started to droop. We go on to learn Pietro lost his wife some twenty years earlier in a cave-in at one of the quarries where the marble comes from. Shortly afterward, Pietro & his son took the time to speak to the king mountain, because in this world there is a bit of holy connection between the sculptors and the mountains that provide the marble to sculpt with. But Pietro has continued to bear a grudge about his wife's death, and this is causing the Persephone to wilt. When Pietro's son learns of his father's defiance, he takes him to speak to the mountain once more. There is a story of love vs. forgiveness, or as Shawna puts in her editorial caption honor vs. glory.
After this we have "Runesmith" by Harlan Ellison & Theodore Sturgeon. This marks Ellison's second appearance in the magazine, both of them reprints. For Sturgeon, it marks his first, although it's posthumous, since he passed away in 1985. It should also be noted that this story is dedicated to the memory of Cordwainer Smith. It was originally published in the May 1970 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. As to the story itself, this one is a post-apocaylptic tale about a man who was duped into using black magic to bring about the end of civilization, and now the creatures who tricked him are trying to use him to bring their dark masters into the world. To date, this is the last story to be reprinted in ROF. To date, it's also the oldest story to be reprinted in the magazine,.
After this we have "Deep in the Woods of Grammarie" by Michael Swanwick. This one features seven short-short fairy tales, some of them retellings, such as Jack & the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood. Each story has its own little illustration, and I believe this is the first story to have multiple illustrations.
Finally we have "Strings" by Karen Traviss, which marks her fourth appearance in the magazine. This one delves into Greek mythology, as is a retelling of the story Orpheus & Eurydice. In this version, however, when Eurydice is bitten by the snake, instead of killing her it causes her to go deaf. The deafness renders her immune to the charms of Orpheus' lyre, which allows her to see him for the monster he is. When she eventually does die and goes to the underworld, Orpheus once again goes after her. But this time, instead of a rescue mission its tone is more of an attempted kidnapping.
So that wraps up this issue (again!) And my favorite story? "The Day Pietro Coppino Spoke to the Mountain" by William Shunn. Next time around I'll put a cap on 2003 when I discuss the December issue. Hopefully I'll only have to do it once ...
The cover to this one features a Harry Potter illustration. This is the first issue to feature as many as eight separate works of fiction ...even though the cover notes there being "7 new stories." Doh! A look at the masthead also reveals that Carina Gonzalez's name is once again mysteriously absent.
As to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Worshipping Small Gods" by Richard Parks, which marks his twelfth appearance in the magazine. This one is a short tale about a saint that seeks to serve the will of the buddha by bending a god to his will so that the god will build a bridge from one mountain to the next. Of course, the god has other ideas and a battle of wills and patience ensues. It's also worth noting that in 2007, Richard put out a short story collection through Prime Books called Worshipping Small Gods, presumambly including and named after this tale.
Next up is "Kristen With Caprice" by Alan Smale, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is another shorter tale (when eight stories have to share space in ROF you shouldn't expect too many long ones). Basically, a couple has broken up and when the ex swings by the apartment to pick up the last of his stuff, he finds his former girlfriend has a pair of rather small goats. But these goats are more than they seem, and perhaps enough to mend a relationship seemingly broken beyond repair? Well, I'm not telling.
Following this we have "Does He Take Blood?" by Karen Traviss, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. This one is a light piece taking place in an earth where humans and demons are living side by side. This particular piece focuses on a demon too old to fly who has been put in a retirement home. The conflict in this one stems from the fact that retirement homes are human concepts, and no self-respecting demon would want to spend its last days in such a manner.
Then we have "The Ghost Girls of Rumney Mill" by Sandra McDonald. This one deals with the ghosts of children who for one reason or another have yet to move on from this world. The ghost girls have their place where they dwell, the ghost boys have theirs. With children, this is how it should be. But everything is thrown into question one day when a ghost boy wearing a dress shows up to Rumney Mill, wanting to stay with the girls. Why? Because he honestly believes he was meant to be a girl. What follows is a powerful story of tolerance concerning gender and sexuality, a theme that doesn't seem to be explored too often in speculative literature through children. It should also be noted that this short was on the short list for the 2004 James Tiptree Jr. Award, and was reprinted in the James Tiptree Award Anthology 1: Sex, the Future, and Chocolate Chip Cookies, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith. It was also the first story published in Realms to make the short list for this award.
After this we have "Down With the Lizards and the Bees" by Tim Pratt, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. This delves into Greek mythology by taking the tale of Orpheus & Eurydice and twisting it around utterly, placing it in today's world, and depicting a gay man who travels into the underworld to bring back his lover. There are other clever tweaks of the tale along the way, clever enough that this tale was nominated for the 2004 Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Short Fiction.
This story is followed by "The Brician Saint" by Kage Baker, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. In this one we have a trio of soldiers who have stolen a small but valuable holy statue following a recent battle. As the story unfolds, we are given suggestions that the statue may be more than it seems, and perhaps the god this holy statue depicts is taking vengeance on these man for their outrageous audacity ...or perhaps not. Some men can be skeptical, even to their graves. The story wraps up with a rather nice twist.
The penultimate tale in this one is "Seamstress" by Sarah Prineas. According to Carina Gonzalez's old slush site, this is one of her slush survivors. Going by the list here (and I don't know if it's comprehensive), it may be her first slush survivor, since I'm uncertain if "Lindeman's Life" was pulled from the slush by Carina or her predecessor, Rebecca McCabe. As to the story itself, this one is rather clever look at what goes on behind the fairy tales. To be more specific, have you ever wondered how the Fairy Godmother comes up with these different items that the characters in these tales need? What if instead of that wonderful wave of wand that just makes everything appear out of thin air, the items were produced in what is basically a sweat shop? I'll stick in an observation that is just occurring to me now, as I'm realizing that a lot of the stories excel at turning conventions on their heads. This tale is no exception.
Finally we "Turnings" by Laura Ann Gilman. This one is the shortest tale of the issue. It deals with a woman with sorcerous connections to the earth and a man with sorcerous connections to the air falling in love, and how this love is as two ships passing in the night.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? "The Ghost Girls of Rumney Mill" by Sandra McDonald. Next time around I'll do some literary gnawing upon the October 2003 issue. Until then ...
This marks our first post-Letters Page issue. When I came to this magazine this feature was already defunct, but I'll miss reading the letters in the back issues. Another change this issue is that the Contributors Page has moved from the back of the magazine to the front. Also, I'll note that Carina Gonzalez's name is mysteriously absent from the masthead. Now, on to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Seeds-for-Brains" by David Barr Kirtley, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. It also marks the 300th story to be published in the magazine. This one is a rather fun retelling of the Headless Horseman story, told from the perspective of the Headless Horseman. Over the years Realms of Fantasy has published a quite a number of retellings of fairy tales and legends, but this is the first time the magazine published a retelling of the Headless Horseman. Of course, it should come as no surprise that I'm not going to reveal any more of how this one is different from the traditional tale.
Next up we have "The Man Who Did Nothing" by Karen Traviss, which marks her second appearance in the magazine. This one is a rather rare horror tale to appear in ROF's pages, and much of theme can be gathered from the title. Basically, it's about what happens when good men do nothing while the world goes to pieces around us. In a nutshell, the people in a city are starting to riot because they want a middle-aged man to be evicted. Why? Because they're convinced he's the anti-Christ. As you might expect, the local politicians hardly take this claim seriously, even when things start turning violent. A rather chilling tale, one that was selected for inclusion in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 17, edited by Ellen Datlow & Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.
Following this we have "Crossing Into the Empire" by Robert Silverberg, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. It also marks the second tale of his to be reprinted in the magazine. It was originally published in David Copperfield's anthology, Beyond Imagination, in 1996. This one is an odd but engaging tale about a medieval city that periodically comes unstuck in time and forms a sort of gateway to modern Chicago at regular intervals. Merchants from Chicago then enter the portal with everyday items such as cans of Coke and compasses and trade them for precious jewels, rare volumes, etc. Each side is getting a wonderfully unique item, so both parties are happy. Of course, only a very few people ever go through the portal, because you must be properly prepared to go into this city, meaning you must know the language, the customs, etc. Also, these Chicago merchants are believed to be sorcerers, and so some quarters fear them. Top this off with the fact the portal tends to close after a couple of days, and this trading expedition is every bit as dangerous as it is lucrative. Now imagine you're one of the merchants and a monkey wrench is thrown into this situation, and you'll get an idea of where this story goes.
After this we have "Pinioned" by Gabriel Edson. This one is a magic realism tale about a woman who can transform back and forth between a swan and a human woman through the use of her fabulous feathered cloak. Years back her husband captured her by capturing the cloak and keeping it locked away so she couldn't escape. They've since had a child and have been happily married for years ...or have they? This one is a sad tale about love and obsession can become so easily confused.
Then we have "Alephestra" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. As with many of Rogers' tales in ROF, this one is on the short side. Basically, it's the tale of a goddess who was forgotten because she disappeared among the world of the mortals. Not so much living among the mortals, mind you, but the world. What threw me for a quick loop early was the choice to follow the path of Roman mythology as opposed to Greek mythology. I didn't have a problem with it, I just didn't expect it.
The penultimate story in this is "A Fault Against the Dead" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. This one is an urban fantasy tale about a young woman able to talk to ghosts. But the constant company has her on the breaking point, and everything threatens to blow up when a stalker starts pursuing her ...while the ghost of one of his victims is keeping her company.
Finally we have "The Drowned Mermaid" by Christopher Barzak. This one is a powerful magic realism tale about a world where the mermaids have returned and are enticing the humans "back to the sea where they belong." Enter a married couple whose daughter has run away. One possibility is that she's joined the mermaids, although there's no way to be certain. At the beginning of this story, the mother comes upon an unconscious mermaid that has washed ashore. Although there are procedures for this sort of thing, mom chooses to take the memaid back to her beach house and take care of it. Dad doesn't exactly approve, and this becomes a source of friction between them. Anyway, as Mom takes care of the mermaid we gradually come to understand how fragile she is both emotionally and mentally since the loss of her daughter, and the mermaid, although a different species represents a chance to be Mom again. It's rather sad and tragic tale, something Chis has a knack for (Chris knows me well enough to know that's a compliment!)
Now, normally this is the part where I say, "So that wraps up this issue." But this time I first have to give a shout-out to Chris Barazk for his role in my ROF Retrospectives. I doubt Chris is even aware of this, but an innocent comment on his blog has extended this whole retrospective series by quite a bit. You see, when I first started these retrospectives, it was my intention to do this series up until the April 2005 issue, or the last issue before I came aboard. But early on during this retrospective series I happened to be reading Chris' blog one day, and he mentioned my ROF Retrospectives ...except he mentioned that I was blogging about each issue right up to the present. When I read that I stopped and thought to myself, "You know, that's actually a good idea. I don't know why I didn't decide to do that from the beginning." So I picked up his innocent mistake and ran with it. So if it wasn't for Chis, these retrospectives would be over in another eleven issues. Instead, there are still another thirty-two retrospectives remaining (and counting). So those of you enjoying these retrospectives should thank Chris for extending this series for quite some time yet. I, however, curse the day Mr. Barzak was born, because these retrospectives, while interesting to write, are time-consuming and my own personal albatross. Damn you, Chris! :)
So that does wrap up this issue. And my favorite story? *Grumble, grumble* "The Drowned Mermaid" by Christopher Barzak. Next time around I'll discuss the August 2003 issue. Until then ...
