Interzone, Issue 217: August 2008
There's a quality bunch of stories in this issue of Britain's longest-running science fiction magazine. I liked all six of them, but to pick out three in particular:
'Comus of Central Park'. by M.K. Hobson: a plan to take revenge on a horrid New York socialite goes wrong, leaving a faun moving through her social circle and, er, 'livening up' a few parties. Very funny indeed.
'The Two-Headed Girl' by Paul G. Tremblay: Veronica, as the title suggests, has two heads; what's more, the second one keeps changing into the heads of famous characters (real and fictional). The girl has been driven out of school by bullying, and is now feeling stifled. This story pulls off the neat balancing act of being both strange and moving, without compromising on either.
'Africa' by Karen Fishler: the two Guardians are faced with a request to visit the planet by the last members of Expelled humanity -- but the Guardians' very purpose is to prevent the Expelled from ever repopulating Earth. Though set in the far future, this is very much about the relationship between a father and son, and what happens when a woman comes between them.
'Comus of Central Park'. by M.K. Hobson: a plan to take revenge on a horrid New York socialite goes wrong, leaving a faun moving through her social circle and, er, 'livening up' a few parties. Very funny indeed.
'The Two-Headed Girl' by Paul G. Tremblay: Veronica, as the title suggests, has two heads; what's more, the second one keeps changing into the heads of famous characters (real and fictional). The girl has been driven out of school by bullying, and is now feeling stifled. This story pulls off the neat balancing act of being both strange and moving, without compromising on either.
'Africa' by Karen Fishler: the two Guardians are faced with a request to visit the planet by the last members of Expelled humanity -- but the Guardians' very purpose is to prevent the Expelled from ever repopulating Earth. Though set in the far future, this is very much about the relationship between a father and son, and what happens when a woman comes between them.