{"id":223,"date":"2011-10-01T23:40:15","date_gmt":"2011-10-01T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=223"},"modified":"2013-01-11T15:51:18","modified_gmt":"2013-01-11T05:51:18","slug":"andromeda-spaceways-inflight-magazine-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwebb.name\/?p=223","title":{"rendered":"Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #51 – review"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This is the first issue<\/a> of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine<\/a> (ASIM) that I’ve read, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I think I’m going to have to stop saying things like “it was a bit of a mixed bag” in these discussions on magazines – that is true of every one of them.<\/p>\n

In this particular issue, I quite liked Basil Hawthorne and the Cliff Tomb <\/em>by E Catherine Tobler, which describes an old fashioned adventurer and his brush with the spirit of Hatshepsut in one of her tombs. I liked the style of the writing it was a short piece but well rendered. I liked that almost Indiana Jones feel to a bit of swashbuckling adventure.<\/p>\n

A Mirror, Darkly<\/em>\u00a0by Keith Stevenson struck a chord for different reasons. It is set around where I live, so the references to places I’m familiar with was both cool and a bit distracting. It is a horror story and well written. This kind of story isn’t my usual cup of tea, but I found myself intrigued right through to the (somewhat grisly) end.<\/p>\n

I also enjoyed Children of War <\/em>by Rachel Zakuta. This story, describing some of the aftermath of humanities rebellion against alien overlords, was interesting. I didn’t feel a strong connection with any of the characters, but I thought it described the detail of the universe well in a very short period of time. The end was a little unsatisfying, but did fit in with the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

Now you won’t hear me say this often about poetry, but I actually liked Lacking an Adequate Metaphor for the Human Brain<\/em>\u00a0by Darrell Schweitzer. The layout of the poem was cool, the content was witty and the subject matter interesting. I like the thought of hyper intelligent but zen like goldfish.<\/p>\n

Merchant’s Run<\/em>\u00a0by Calie Voorhis was a fun story to read, describing the adventures of Merchant and her ship Old Maid’s Mercy <\/em>in the far future, and in particular the perils of dealing with bubbles in the pirate trade economy. I liked the style of the writing and it was consistently amusing all the way through.<\/p>\n

Nessa 1944 <\/em>by Ellen C Glass was an enjoyable tale about the evolution of an AI told from the point of view of a high tech cleaner she befriends. The character of Robbie was well realised.<\/p>\n

This is a quarterly magazine and there were a boatload of other stories\/poems\/articles, including:<\/p>\n