Retrospectives: 2005
Realms of Fantasy: December 2005 (Issue 68)
Part sixty-eight 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 I around I’ll be dissecting the December 2005 issue.
The cover to this one is an illustration by Joel Spector. It 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. 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. Art to this one was provided by Thomas Kidd.
Next up we have “Empty Places” by Richard Parks, which marks his 18th appearance in the magazine. 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. Art to this one was provided by MIchael Komarck, which marks his second illustration in the magazine.
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. Art to this one was provided by Dave Leri, which marks his fifth illustration in the magazine.
Following this we have “A Knot of Toads” by Jane Yolen, which marks her sixth appearance in the magazine. 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. Art to this one is provided by Eric Dinyer, which marks his seventh illustration in the magazine.
And finally we have “Lavender’s Blue, Lavender’s Green” by Patrick Samphire, which marks his fourth appearance in the magazine. 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. Art to this one was provided by Melissa Ferreira, which marks her fifth illustration in the magazine.
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 …
Realms of Fantasy: October 2005 (Issue 67)
Part sixty-seven 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 ruminating on the October 2005 issue, which marks the 11th year of the magazine.
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. 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 the Escape Pod website under its 12/8/05 entry. Art to this one was provided by Peter Ferguson, which marks his third illustration in the magazine.
Next up we have “At the Queen’s Hotel” by Kate Reidel, which marks her sixth appearance 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. Art to this one was provided by Web Bryant, which marks his 21st illustration in the magazine.
Then we have “At the Top of the Black Stairs” by Darrell Schweitzer, which marks his third appearance 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. Art to this one was provided by Paul Lee, which marks his twelfth illustration in the magazine.
Following this we have “Dead Wolf in a Hat” by Graham Edwards, which marks his second appearance 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. Art to this one was provided by Ken Meyer, Jr., and marks his second illustration in the magazine.
After this we have “The Ecology of Fairie” by David Levine, which marks his second appearance 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. Art to this one was provided by Andrea Wicklund, which marks her third illustration in the magazine.
And finally we have “The Rain God” by Way Jeng. 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. Art to this one was provided by Joe Kovach, which marks his second illustration in the magazine.
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 give the nod to the cover by Victoria Francis. Next time around I’ll put a cap on 2005 when I discuss the December 2005 issue.
Until then …
Realms of Fantasy: August 2005 (Issue 66)
Part sixty-six in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction to the back issues of Realms of Fantasy, right up to the present. This time around I’ll be slicing and dicing the August 2005 issue.
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. 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. Art to this one was provided by Randy Gallegos.
Next up we have “A Statement in the Case” by Theodora Goss, which marks her third appearance in the magazine. 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. Art to this one was provided by Andrea Wicklund, which marks her second illustration in the magazine.
Then we have “The Queen’s Wood” by Josh Rountree, which marks his second 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. Art to this one was provided by Mike Kerr, which marks his eighth appearance in the magazine.
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. 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. Artwork is provided by Eric Dinyer, which marks his sixth illustration in the magazine.
Then we have “Countless Screaming Argonauts” by Chris Lawson. 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. Artwork to this one was provided by Allen Douglas, which marks his sixth appearance in the magazine.
Finally we have “When the Dragon Falls” by Patrick Samphire, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. 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. Artwork to this one was provided by Josh Bradigan.
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 …
Realms of Fantasy: June 2005 (Issue 65)
Part sixty-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 June 2005 issue.
This marks the first retrospective I’m doing since Warren Lapine bought the magazine and I subsequently received my promotions to nonfiction editor and art director. 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 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 2000 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). This marks the magazine’s seventh movie cover and its ninth media cover.
Although I came aboard to replace Carina, she was still a part of this issue and is listed in the masthead.
A rundown of this issue’s nonfiction is as follows:
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. According to Carina’s old slush site (which is now defunct), 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. Art to this one was provided by Heather Hudson, which marks her second illustration in the magazine.
Next up we have “Deliverance” by Jim C. Hines. 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! Art to this one was provided by Patrick Arrasmith, which marks his fourteenth illustration in the magazine.
Then we have “Foxtails” by Richard Parks, which marks his sixteenth 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. Art to this one was provided by Paul Lee, which marks his eleventh illustration in the magazine.
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. Art to this one was provided by Ken Meyer Jr.
Next up is “Moments of Grace” by Aaron Shutz. 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. Art to this one was provided by Joe Kovach.
Finally we have “Stones in Winter” by Karen D. Fishler, which marks her 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. Art to this one was provided by Eric Deschamps, which marks his second illustration in the magazine.
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 will be shorter when I discuss the August 2005 issue.
Until then …
Realms of Fantasy: April 2005 (Issue 64)
Part sixty-four 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 current issue. This time around I’ll be discussing the April 2005 issue.
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 these/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, let’s go to it.
The cover to this one is by Kinuko Craft, which marks her second illustration in the magazine. It depicts Eleanor of Aquitaine.
A rundown of this issue’s nonfiction is as follows:
In the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers the TV series, Lost; in the folkroots column, Kristen McDermott discusses superstition in Western theater; in the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews The Book of Ballads, illustrated by Charles Vess, The Dry Salvages by Caitlin R. Kiernan, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Seventeenth Annual Collected, edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin Grant, Bad Magic by Stephan Zielinski, and Paul Witcover reviews The Wizard, Book Two of the Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe, and Shadowmarch, Volume 1 by Tad Williams; in the artist gallery, Karen Haber covers the art of Gary Gianni; and in the games section, Eric T. Baker reviews Bloodlinesfor the PC, DOA Ultimate for the Xbox, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for the the PS2, the MMORPG, World of Warcraft, the MMORPG, Everquest II, and the Dungeons & Dragons Eberron campaign source book Sharn: City of Towers.
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. Art to this one was provided by J.K. Potter, which marks his eighth illustration in Realms.
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? Art to this one was provided by Michael Komarch.
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. Art to this one was provided by Scott Grimando, which marks his tenth illustration in the magazine.
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. Art to this one was provided by Eric Dinyer, which marks his fifth illustration in the magazine.
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. Art to this one was provided by Eric Deschamps.
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. Art to this one was provided by Matt Tisdale, which marks his second illustration in the magazine.
Finally we have “Christmas Apples” by Margaret Ronald. According to her old (and now defunct) 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. Art to this one was provided by Chris Cocozza, which marks his fourth illustration in the magazine.
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. And my favorite artwork? Michael Komarch’s illustration to “The Wooden Baby” by Graham Edwards. Next time around I’ll discuss the June 2005 issue.
Until then …
Realms of Fantasy: February 2005 (Issue 63)
Part sixty-three in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction to the back issues of Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I’ll be discussing the February 2005 issue.
I know it’s been a while since the last time I posted one of these. After I read the last issue, 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 to 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 this 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. This one is by Matt Stewart. It’s another Elric cover, the third of its kind. It was also nominated for a 2006 Chesley Award for Cover Illustration, Magazine.
A rundown of this issue’s nonfiction is as follows:
In the movie/TV column, Resa Nelson covers the Elektra movie; in the folkroots column, Terri Windling discusses James M. Barrie; in the adult books column, Gahan Wilson reviews In the Night Room by Peter Straub, Sticks and Stones by Peter Kuper, The Fear Planet and Other Unusual Destinations (The Reader’s Bloch, Volume One), volume one in a series collecting Robert Bloch stories, and Paul Witcover reviews Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark, The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes, and In Lands That Never Were: Tales of Sword and Sorcery from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder; in the artist gallery, Ari Berk discusses the Duirwaigh Gallery; and in the games column, Eric T. Baker reviews Fable for the Xbox, the board game, Settlers of Catan, Star Wars Battlefront for the PC, Xbox, and PS2, the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Eberron, Blood Will Tell for the PS2, and Gungrave: Overdrive for the PS2.
On to the fiction …
The lead story is “Returning My Sister’s Face” by Eugie Foster. According to her old slush site (which is now defunct), 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. This one was podcasted on the Pseudopod website under its 9/22/06 entry. Art to this one was provided by Allen Douglas, which marks his fifth illustration in the magazine.
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 costumes. But on the night of Samhain there are dark forces about. Things can return from the dead …from the depths …including malevolent fish? Perhaps. Art to this one was provided by Michael Kerr, which marks his sixth illustration in the magazine.
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 inBest 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.” Art to this one was provided by John Picacio, which marks his sixth illustration in the magazine.
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. It was also podcasted on the Pseudopod website under its 9/22/06 entry. Art to this one was provided by Melissa Ferreira, which marks her fourth illustration in the magazine.
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. Art to this one was provided by Web Bryant, which marks his twentieth illustration in the magazine. This makes him the first artist to have twenty illustration in the magazine.
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.” Art to this one was provided by Peter Ferguson, which marks his second illustration in the magazine.
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! And my favorite artwork? Matt Stewart’s cover illustration. Next time around I’ll slice and dice the April 2005 issue.
Until then …
