Arrant Nonsense

in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers, the August 2009 issue of "Realms of Fantasy." And now that I've had the chance to sit down and actually read the stories herein, my reaction.

First of all, I was a little surprised at how little fiction is actually in the magazine. This issue only has four stories in it (although I understand that they're going to do five per issue going forward), and one of them is only a page long. And I didn't understand that one. The point sailed right over my head over multiple readings. Whether this is a failure on my part or the author's, I don't know.

I've already posted my reaction to the Mermaid Cover of Controversy-ness and the wank it caused. My opinion hasn't changed--I think it's pretty. As is the rest of the interior art. I especially like the featured artist, Michael Hague. Fabulous work, there, just amazingly detailed.

As for the rest of the fiction--the best one, by far, was "Healing Benjamin" by Dennis Danvers. It's funny, and poignant, and features a cat. This being me, I bet you can guess why it's my favorite. Although it doesn't get an auto-pass just because there's a cat named "Ben" in it--the story is great. It's about a guy who brings his cat back to life. Wackiness, as they say, ensues, as Kitty then proceeds to never die. Try explaining your forty-year-old cat to people. Yeah.

One thing I did notice was quite a few typos, more than I would have expected, honestly. But this might just be me being picky--stuff like that jumps out at me like a giant red flag of doom. The other thing I noticed was the ads. They're PRETTY. There are books I want to read in them! *eyes Teetering Stack* ...later.

The non-fiction...didn't really turn my crank. I know I'm supposed to care about Harry Potter, but I don't, although the movies column would normally have had me reading that first, if it hadn't been about HP. The book reviews would have been interesting--if I didn't have the aforementioned Teetering Stack. And I don't game.

The magazine is slick. It's pretty. I hope it makes it and is around for a good long time. And I hope to someday be in it. :)

ETA: Because I didn't want my own review to be tainted by the views of others, I have now gone and looked at what they've said--and to find that it's not just me on the flash fiction piece is something of a relief.

Yes. Yes, I can.

In other news, remember the blogging deal F&SF runs occasionally? Sometimes they have extra copies, they post on their website that they have them, and bloggers can have freebies if they promise to write about the issue? I am holding, in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers, the July 2008 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I haven't actually dug into it just yet, other than one story (which was delightful), but as soon as I'm done reading it, you'll hear about it.

Also, they sent me a link to a special subscription offer for bloggers, which they said to feel free to pass around, so this is me, passing it around. $27.97 for a year, which is $7 off the normal subscription price. And the normal subscription price saves you $16 off the newsstand price already, so...yeah. I sort of jumped on that with both feet, because (a) I enjoy the magazine, and (b) it's always a good idea to see what a market you're subbing to on a regular basis is actually buying.