Realms of Fantasy: October 2010 (Issue 96)
Part ninety-six in my comprehensive retrospective as I read the fiction in Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the final issue. This time around I’ll take a whack at the October 2010 issue.
It was while this issue was out that I learned from Warren Lapine that the December 2010 issue would be the final issue under Tir Na Nog Press. Warren had plans to put the magazine up for sale, but being as it had suffered one death already back in 2009, neither Shawna nor myself were expecting much to result from this. I’ll get into this more with the December 2010 issue, but for now we’ll keep the focus on October.
The cover to this one is a reprint of an illustration by John Jude Palencar. Two things I’ll always remember when I think of this cover: first is that when I emailed John about acquiring reprint rights of this illustration, he emailed me his phone number so we could talk, and he proved quite generous with his time, far more than you would expect from someone so successful (not to say there aren’t other folks in the industry like this, just that you never expect it). And second, while I’ll refrain from mentioning names, I’ll always remember how a certain literary critic referred to this as a “BDSM cover” when reviewing this issue. I wonder what s/he would say if s/he were to learn this illustration originally appeared on the cover of a YA novel? But never mind that: apparently magical tattoos equal kinky sex. Who knew? J
In the masthead, the only change to report is that the Folkroots editor is no longer listed. Ari Berk and Kristen McDermott finished their run with the last issue. I had already hired Theodora Goss to take over the column, but if memory serves correctly, while she was interested, during that time was working on a thesis paper for her PhD. So our solution was that I would oversee the column on an interim basis, and Theodora would take over with the February 2011 issue.
A number of candidates were considered to take over Folkroots-all of them quite good-but the truth is that when I learned that Ari and Kristen were stepping down, Theodora’s name immediately came to mind as their replacement. The reasons for this are myriad, and Theodora had enough ties to the magazine on different levels that is actually worth sharing my thinking here. First, I had known Theodora since we both attended the Odyssey Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing Workshop, all the way back in 2000. Both of us were newbies to the professional scene at this point, without a writing or editorial credit to our respective names. This workshop runs six weeks, so during this time I got a pretty good deal for a number of interests, which led me to believe in 2010 she would be an excellent fit for Folkroots.
Of course, this is just the beginning of Dora’s connections to the magazine. A year later in 2001, she attended the Clarion Writing Workshop. Shawna McCarthy, the magazine’s longtime and founding editor, was one of the teachers that year, and she actually decided to purchase one of Dora’s workshop stories for the magazine, which resulted in Dora’s first sale. (That story was “The Rose in Twelve Petals” in the April 2002 issue.) She ended up selling three more stories to us, so in addition to being to her being a known quantity to both Shawna and myself, this also made her a known quantity to the magazine’s readers. She also wrote a Folkroots article as a guest columnist in an earlier issue, providing further proof she would be a good fit for the position.
And if all this wasn’t enough, she also had a connection to our publisher at the time, Warren Lapine. When Dora applied for the Odyssey Workshop back in 2000, Warren wrote a recommendation for her, as she had submitted to the magazines at his old DNA Publications several times. While Warren hadn’t bought anything from her, he was familiar enough with her writing that he was comfortable writing said recommendation. Put all this together and despite the other excellent candidates Dora and the Folkroots column was clearly a match made in heaven.
Moving on, a rundown of this issue’s nonfiction is as follows:
In the Movie/TV section, Resa Nelson provides a rundown of the fall movies; in the Artists Gallery, Karen Haber covers the work of Tiffany Prothero; in Folkroots, SatyrPhil Brucato writes about the androgyne lover in fantastical fiction; in the Books column, Paul Witcover reviews The Bird of the River by Kage Baker, The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer, Blood of the Mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Office of Shadow by Matthew Sturges, and Matt Staggs reviews Pariah by Bob Fingerman, Metrophilias by Brendan Connell, and Our Lady of the Absolute by Resa Nelson; in the Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy books column, Elizabeth Bears reviews Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner, Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts, White Cat by Holly Black, and Discord’s Apple by Carrie Vaughn; in Young Adult Books, Michael Jones reviews The Boneshaker by Kate Milford, Passing Strange by Daniel Waters, Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev, The Mermaid’s Mirror by L.K. Madigan, and For the Win by Cory Doctorow.
Andrew Wheeler’s Graphic Novel column was moved to the website for this issue, and he reviewed Graphic Classics, Volume 1: Edgar Allen Poe, and Melvin Monster; and in the Games column, Matt Staggs reviews Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! The Shumanti Hills for the iPhone, Contagion Infected Human Zombie Cards, the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Strategy Guide, and Tony Sims reviews Prince of Persia of Persia: The Forgotten Sands for the Xbox 360, Legio for the PC, and Darkness Within 2:The Dark Lineage for the PC.
This issue also marked the last one for columnists Matt Staggs and Tony Sims. Matt was with the magazine since the April 2009 issue, a run of eight issues as a book columnist, and a run of seven issues as a gaming columnist. Tony was with the magazine since the April 2010 issue, a run of four issues.
On to the fiction …
The lead story this issue is “Cutter in the Underverse” by Daniel Hood, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one is an urban fantasy about the Underverse of NYC, a place of memories, ghosts, and monsters. Detective Cutter is one of the few from the real world that is able to visit the Underverse without complications, but in this story he ends up going there somewhat against his will when someone from the Underverse buys up all his gambling markers in the real world. The buyer turns out to be the ghost of Arnold Rothstein, a criminal figure out of history best known as the man who fixed the 1919 World Series. He wants Cutter to do him a favor, but as you might imagine when dealing with such a shady character, all is not as straightforward as it seems. Art to this one was provided by John Kaiine, which marks his third illustration in the magazine.
Next up we have “Middle” by Eilis O’Neal. This one feels like magic realism to me, and it deals with the classically neglected middle family, only her family is a bit extraordinary, as her older perfect sister has fallen asleep and won’t wake up while her dreams remain visible in a kind of cloud above her while she sleeps. Meanwhile, her younger brilliant brother has a pretend llama for a pet that might not be so pretend. Nothing fantastical seems to be going on with the middle child, which of course would only add to the classic neglect …and also lead to a cry for attention in rather spectacular fashion. Art to this one was provided by Kurt Huggins and Zelda Devon, which marks their third illustration in the magazine.
Then we have “The Fall of the Moon” by Jay Lake, which marks his tenth appearance in the magazine. This one is quirky high fantasy tale about a man who builds a boat with the bones of his dead grandfather so he might sail the Sea of Murmurs and live forever. Along the way, he must overcome obstacles such as monsters, neighbors, and family. Art to this one was provided by Allen Douglas, which marks his tenth illustration in the magazine.
Next up is “Saint’s-Paw” by Alan Smale, which marks his fifth appearance in the magazine. This one takes place in a medieval Europe that portrays an adolescent girl on the run after curiosity led to her dissecting her dead father, which in turn led to accusations of witchcraft. When she takes shelter in a church housing the hand of St. Stephan while fleeing some vengeful soldiers, we learn that the hand is not what-or who-it seems to be. Art to this one was provided by Alan M. Clark, which marks his third illustration in the magazine.
Finally we have “Halloween: Comprising a Cautionary Acrostic of Nine Bedtime Stories for Reading to the Tiresome or Disobedient Child” by Euan Harvey, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine. Euan is also hereby given the unofficial award for longest fiction title to ever appear in the magazine. Right before the story begins, Euan included the following note: “To Jack Slay, Jr., with respect. (And apologies.) A quick search online revealed that Jack Slay, Jr. had a story appear in the magazine Cemetery Dance called “Halloween: An Acrostic of Little Horrors.” So presumably Euan took his inspiration from this story, and perhaps followed a somewhat narrative structure. As to that structure, it features nine loosely connected flash fiction pieces about kids in the same neighborhood on or around the day of Halloween, with each kid’s name beginning with a different letter from the word Halloween. (For example, the first flash piece begins with “H is for Hugh …”) Art to this one was provided by Jill Bauman, which marks her second illustration in the magazine.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? Euan’s Halloween Acrostic tale. And my favorite artwork? Jill Bauman’s illustration to the same story. Next time around I’ll put a cap on the 2010 publishing year, as well as the era of Tir Na Nog as publisher.
Until then …