One of the two great Australian journals of speculative fiction (the other, of course, being Aurealis), Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine is unique in that it uses a blind reading process. All submitted stories are judged on merit, not the byline attached to them. This makes it egalitarian but no easier a market to crack for that; it is one of the 25 most challenging according to the Duotrope website, with an acceptance rate around 2 per cent.
Managing, after nearly a decade of submissions, to appear in its pages ('Teething Problems', issue #63 if you're interested), I thought it appropriate to give something back. One thing small-press authors crave but rarely seem to receive is critical review. So I bought a copy of ASIM #62 – because only losers review the issue in which they appear – and got down to reading it. As you'll see, I enjoyed myself a great deal. Editor Amy Gordon did a fine job in selecting these stories.
South Adelaide Are a Bunch of Fairies by D. C. White
A young man named Trevor is driving to a regional AFL match in the Adelaide Hills when he hits a kangaroo and totals his van. Largely unhurt, he goes to inspect the dead roo and hears an Irish voice scolding him. It turns out there is a leprechaun in the kangaroo’s pouch. Trevor helps the leprechaun get out of the pouch, thereby putting the little creature in his debt. The leprechaun is on holiday and is on his way to see the footy match where Trevor is supposed to be selling merchandise. The leprechaun grants him a wish – he fixes the van – and they drive to the ground together. Things only get stranger from there.
This is an unmistakably Australian tale, with typically dry and wry Aussie humour running through it. I liked it very much until the ending; the inferred twist never arrives and the internal logic, which serves it well up to that point, begins to falter. It also loses some impact if you’re not au fait with early AFL history (as I’m not), and I found the improperly punctuated dialogue rather distracting – a failing for which writer and editor should share blame. By and large, though, I had a good time. 3/5
Kraken Quatrain by Ada Hoffmann
My kind of poetry – short and to the point. It’s evocative, if not profound or original. 3/5
The Adventures of Lady Mariner: Loyalty by M. K. Layden
Steampunk meets chick lit in this story of deep sea divers who find themselves battling a nefarious character who wants to steal their state-of-the-art technology. It is hard to fault the writing, and I must admit I laughed out loud at the name of the Get Kraken, but the plot is a little ho-hum and the narrative doesn’t develop much tension. 2.5/5
Nixed by Danielle Davis
A shapeshifting creature with an affinity for water assumes human form and insinuates himself into a college house party to hunt his unassuming prey, as he has done for decades. But when he pursues a redhead as a “challenge”, he begins to wonder if he has met his match.
Elegant writing and a compelling situation make ‘Nixed’ addictive reading. I picked the twist early on, but, if I’ve properly understood what the climax implies, the twist is more significant than it might first appear. 4/5
Pan by Christopher Ruz
I believe it was Stephen King who noted that there was a dark edge to Peter Pan, something hedonistic and “woodsy wild” about a boy who never grows up. Christopher Ruz uses this theme to excellent effect in ‘Pan’. I won’t say any more, for fear of spoiling the plot, but the writing is superb and the story makes a strong point about the difference between myth and truth. 4.5/5
Frank Discussions With Your Genie by Aimee Picchi
Imagine 'The Monkey's Paw' written from the perspective of a video-game obsessed teenager in the 1980s and you will have some idea what to expect from this short – one might say cute – story that puts me in mind of those off-the-wall arthouse movies with text interstitials between scenes. 3.5/5
Danse Macabre (aka Pas de Ewwwwww) by C. L. Clickard
A jovial rhyming poem that marries ballet with the undead. 4/5
(Un)limited Power by Dustin Adams
This one starts out a little flat, with some forgettable writing (if I never see the phrase 'vise-like grip' again, it will be too soon), and promises to be just another 'having superpowers is a double-edged sword' story. But then the narrative builds momentum and finally dumps a high-impact, thematically-charged twist on the reader. 4/5
Mall-Crossed Love by David Steffen
A neat concept in which a shopping centre becomes an Elizabethan microcosm and the shop-owners warring families. Amid this absurdist milieu, a young man from a 'techie' family falls in love with a redhead from the stationery shop across the way. Comes with a tidy and satisfying, if somewhat saccharine, ending. 4/5
Marked Man by Donald S. Crankshaw
The Wild West meets the occult in this story about a drifter with special powers who moseys into the town of Holden and into a heap of trouble. The central idea is sound enough, but the plot is rather pedestrian; little more than a vessel to deliver the hero's origin story. The dialogue didn't do a heck of a lot for me, either. 2.5/5
A Woman of the Old School by Hugh J. O'Donnell
The titular woman works on an orchard in an unspecified future. She is visited by an agent from 'the Company', a representative from the 'new school' world she so dislikes. To offer more would be to indulge in spoilers, but there are twists ahead. This story has a pleasant authorial voice, and weaves together hackneyed concepts from two different genres to unexpectedly good effect. 3.5/5
Saturday Night Genocide by Dominic Dulley
This scathing if somewhat preachy satire, reminiscent of The Running Man, calls into question the morality of both reality TV and and interfering with the space/time continuum.
"What the hell do those idiots at home want?" asks the hero at one point. "We create an entirely new quantum universe for them every Saturday night, and usually end up destroying it in the same show. Isn’t that enough for them?” One point off for the muddled and abrupt character arc. 4/5
The Transition of Toby the Twitch by Scott R. Jones
I like me some alliteration in a title, so this one gets two thumbs up. It alludes to Toby, an advertising executive for whom coffee is almost a religion. Eventually he drinks so much of it that... well, I won't spoil the ending, but that totally terrific T-riddled title offers a clue. Good pulpy fun, even if some of the dialogue is T for Terrible. 3/5
Cold Salvage by Shona Husk
A woman of the Peroxi people attempts a dangerous ice planet salvage so she can raise enough money to rescue her sister from indentured corporate servitude. But the cargo she and her crew discover will throw up a dilemma that could cost them dearly.
This is hard sci-fi compared to most of the other stories in this issue of ASIM and feels a little emotionally cold as a result. It doesn't help, either, that it reads like an excerpt from a novel rather than a self-contained story. It's far from a weak piece of work, but it it doesn't compare favourably in a collection that otherwise brims with humanism and thematic depth. (Kudos for the title's double meaning, though.) 2.5/5
Joe's Brother's Dog by Tom Bordonaro
A man housesits for his brother while he is away with his wife and discovers the family labradoodle can talk. He freaks out and locks himself in the bathroom. The dog tries to calm him down and get him to come out so he can explain the situation.
This one is played for laughs and, while it's not as funny as it wants to be, it ties in nicely with 'South Adelaide' to give the magazine humorous bookends. And any story that contains a Seinfeld reference can't be all bad. 3/5
Final thoughts
None of these stories was hard going or a drudge; 'fun' was the recurring word as I wrote the reviews. On the whole, this collection represents what Andromeda Spaceways has always excelled at – high concepts and potent themes delivered in an entertaining and accessible fashion.