Murky Depths #4
Murky Depths, for those who don’t yet know, is a strong up-and-coming speculative fiction magazine that blends killer art, dark short stories, and graphic strips into a combination comic book/fiction magazine that’s pure candy for both the mind and eyes.
Issue #4 starts with installment 3 of Luke Cooper’s “The Dark Gospel,” a chiaroscuro graphic strip […]
Dark Distortions: Volume 1, edited by Molly Feese and C.D. Allen
An impressively heavy volume, Dark Distortions, edited by Molly Feese and C.D. Allen, is the premiere title from Scotopia Press, designed to be a compendium of dark creative work from poetry to novellas.
First up is “Last Word” by Daniel L. Naden, an “Interview with a Ghost” tale about a reporter who finds a bit […]
Apex Digest #12
Issue 12 is Apex Digest’s first “Double Issue,” packing a wallop of names from Apex regulars Cherie Priest to Brian Keene and the conclusion of Geoffrey Girard’s “Cain XP11.”
First up is “Death Comes for All” by Brian Keene and Steven L. Shrewsbury, the castaway tale of two Nordic-inspired sailors whose latest adventure is being shipwrecked […]
Murky Depths #3
With the third issue of Murky Depths, it appears that the editorial team has hit its stride. The art is great, the pieces resonate better with each other, and the editorial hiccups have vanished.
Issue #3 starts out with a backwoods monster tale, “What’s Yours Is Mine” by Pike Stephenson, that opens with Tarantino flare. […]
Unwelcome Bodies by Jennifer Pelland
Jennifer Pelland’s first collection, Unwelcome Bodies, is a compendium of dark tales that are truly speculative. Each one embraces a cosmic “what if”—many of the same questions we ask ourselves today—but in Pelland’s stories, we can see the outcome.
The first tale, “For the Plague Thereof Was Exceedingly Great,” starts with a terrible future where HIV […]
No Further Messages by Brett Alexander Savory
Brett Alexander Savory’s style comes through from word one in No Further Messages, his new collection of twenty-one short stories from Delirium Books. The first tale, “Messages,” is an immediately collection-defining one, about a woman who recovers manuscripts written by people in fugue states which supposedly contain messages from some higher power. Whether she is […]
Continue ReadingMurky Depths #2
It should be noted before reviewing an issue of Murky Depths that the presentation is different from most other print magazines. Even the short fiction is heavily infused with moody, graphic novel stylings. From the author and illustrator biography boxes to spikes of graphic strips between some of the stories, Murky Depths is much more […]
Continue ReadingPostscripts #13, Winter 2007
The Winter 2007 issue of Postscripts opens with “The Twilight Express” by Christopher Fowler, a sad tale about Billy, a small town boy who wants to escape his small town for something bigger and better, if only he hadn’t gotten his girlfriend pregnant. He doesn’t want her hurt, but he does scheme his way […]
Continue ReadingLone Star Stories #24, December 2007
The first story in the December 2007 issue of Lone Star Stories, “Dragon Hunt” by Sarah Prineas, is a short tale with a lot to it. King Kenneret earned his position by killing the last dragon, or so the legend goes. But when a village head comes to a feast, begging the king to help […]
Continue ReadingApex Digest #11
Apex Digest is quickly building a reputation as a strong publication in the small press arena. Issue 11 opens with “Blackboard Sky” by Gary A. Braunbeck, a tale that proves that it’s possible to do hard science fiction with strong characterization well. Several stories in one, almost a mini-novel in scope, “Blackboard Sky” follows […]
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