{"id":188,"date":"2011-09-28T23:35:52","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T13:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=188"},"modified":"2013-01-02T08:30:26","modified_gmt":"2013-01-01T22:30:26","slug":"aurealis-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=188","title":{"rendered":"Aurealis #44 – review"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I subscribed to the magazine in mid-2011 and they recently sent out a copy of issue #44.\u00a0This edition was published in 2010 and afterwards the magazine went into an extended hiatus (I believe the editor, Stuart Mayne, retired). According to the Aurealis website <\/a>the next edition should be out in late 2011\/early 2012. I hope so, this was a good read.<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed gunning for a tinker man<\/em> by Jason Fischer<\/a>, a story based in a post-apocalyptic world where the main character, Lanyard, is a fallen “jesusman” (a caste of warrior priest types who can kill the ‘witches’ that prey on the remnants of the human race). I also enjoyed for the want of a jesusman<\/em>\u00a0that I heard on the Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction<\/a> podcast (number 18) set in the same world. The characters are not clean cut hero types and I enjoyed the way the world was described and realised. Fairly gritty and violent in places – not for the faint of heart or those that like a neat happy ending. I understand from Mr Fischer’s website<\/a> that he is working on a full novel set in the same world, which I am now very much looking forward to reading.<\/p>\n

I also particularly enjoyed\u00a0Storm in a T-Suit<\/em> by Simon Petrie (a good rescue story based in an interesting depiction of the frontiers of colonisation of the solar system),\u00a0The Death of Skandar Taranisaii<\/em> by K J Taylor (love a bit of swords and sandals action) and\u00a0A Billion Tiny Lights <\/em>by Adam Ford (I am quite fond of the flash fiction format at the moment).<\/p>\n

The other stories in the edition were fine stories, overall I liked the magazine a lot.<\/p>\n