Browsing my local Barnes and Noble’s magazine section I found Interzone (July/August 2013 issue) hidden behind other magazines. I couldn’t pass on this one, so I quickly grabbed it to enjoy some British Sci-Fi once I arrived at home. Quick review.
“The Pursuit of the Whole is Called Love” by L.S. Johnson. I mean, seriously? This is going to win the award of “Worst Story I Read – 2013 Edition”. This story is just a meatloaf of concepts. For some reason it reminded me of movies directed by Cronenberg. Sadly, this story is not as nearly as good as the movies I had in my mind. Cam and Jess are two beings that become one when they go back to their nest until the two stop understanding each other. I had to check Lois Tilton’s review to be sure I wasn’t missing a great piece of literature. Apparently, I wasn’t. Only good thing is the delicate Cabernet Sauvignon I was drinking while reading this piece.
“Automatic Diamante” by Philip Suggars is an enjoyable work about an AI with PTSD or something like that.
“Just as Good” by Jacob A. Boyd is certainly the second best story in this magazine. The Exchange is a monstrous entity that simply… exchanges stuff in people’s lives. At first it removes items from houses and replaces them with others. Then, when there's nothing more to swap it starts with people. Unfortunately, the exchange includes the main character’s mom who’s replaced with a new one. Sad.
“The Cloud Cartographer” by V.H.Leslie is my favorite piece in this issue. Ahren is on the payroll of a powerful company that sent him to map the cloudsphere. He believes he is the only human there, until he finds a fresh body. Nice adventure in a strange land.
“Futile the Winds” by Rebecca Schwarz. Curiously, V.H. Leslie’s story contains a reference to my favorite poem by Emily Dickinson… and so does the title of this story! A lone couple is sent to Mars, with the hope of colonizing it. So far, every other mission failed and everyone else that attempted to survive on the Red Planet simply died. Enjoyable enough.
“The Frog King’s Daughter” by Russ Colson. Arnie is the CEO of a very powerful company. Unfortunately, he is also a frog. Even more, he and his daughter have many enemies. Awful.
Final Comment: the fiction is absolutely not worth the cover price.
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