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Aeon Speculative Fiction # 3
01/06/2005 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
e-mag download. $ 5.00 (US). check out: www.aeonmagazine.com
Issue 2, which I reviewed last month, had the common theme of gods and religion running through most of the stories and while this may be OK for some, it's a big turn off for those not of this persuasion. A wasted issue, to put it one way, but with the magazine only just born into the vicious world of on-line publication, it's a dangerous game to play.
At first glance, I thought issue 3 had gone the same way with stories about the sub-continent but thankfully there were only two, 'The Garuda Bird' by Tom Doyle and Dev Agarwal's 'Angels Of War'. It's not that I've got anything against stories about or from this area, it's just the fact that to so devote the entire issue would be a mistake.
The first mentioned didn't really grab me at all. It was just too much Bollywood for my liking. While Indian cricket with its specialisation in spin bowling of all types, Indian tea in all its varieties and Indian railways of all lines are of interest to me to various degrees, its film industry and stories written in the same vein seem flatulent and tedious.
On the other hand, 'Angels Of War' was totally different. The Salusa are genetically modified humans who rebelled against their creators and started a protracted war. This story is one of several that the author has written within the same scenario and while there is nothing new about the general idea, his writing has a fast and compelling pace which makes it stand out from others. It will be interesting to see if the editors select more of his work in the future. I think they should.
There was also a little story called 'Just Chutney' from E. Sedia. I'm not particularly keen on chutney and a story that reads like a recipe, while a good idea, wasn't of interest to me. However, I'm sure there are many cooks and kitchen enthusiasts out there who will lap up this stuff. This is for them.
'The Henry And The Martha' by Ken Rand made me groan when I first began to read it. Not another zoo story where humans are the exhibits and aliens are the visitors! The editors must have thought the same but perseverance has its reward because this turned out to be an excellent story. While it's true that a human couple are incarcerated within a zoo, the telling of the story from the point of view of technologically advanced reptilian creatures with scaly skin produced a totally different concept of events.
This was Earth in the future. The only remaining humans, a man and a woman, have become so popular that reptiles come from other planets just to see them. Toy dolls are sold amongst the other merchandise. While the aliens fail to understand human behaviour, we the readers know otherwise. When the man kills the woman and goes into an extremely withdrawn state, we know why but the aliens don't. Perplexed at the demise of their exhibition, the reptiles use technology to activate the bodies through their own nervous systems. The crowd isn't disappointed but I think the reader will be saddened when learning of the disparity between the reptilian conclusion for the murderer's motive and our own. A very good story.
Of the rest, I would like to mention the non-fiction, 'Space Invaders' by Dr. Rob Furey. This was an intelligent piece about what could happen when, based on evolutionary behaviour, humans meet aliens. My only complaint was that it was too short. We learn about behaviour of various species on Earth and how this may be extrapolated to explain human reactions when THEY arrive from outer space. Another few pages to advance the final conclusions could have helped but maybe there was a word limitation on his work.
While I think issue 3 is definitely better than issue 2, the sense of identity which I mentioned in the last review hasn't yet been established. I think it could be on the way so hopefully by issue 4 and beyond the magazine will be more recognisable as a unique creation.
Rod MacDonald
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