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Interzone #201 - December 2005
01/02/2006 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
bi-monthly magazine: UK publisher/editor address: Andy Cox, TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 2LB. Price: £ 3.50 (UK) $ 6.00(US). ISSN: 0264-3596. Buy Interzone in the USA - or Buy Interzone in the UK  check out website: www.ttapress.com
On seeing the cover by German graphic artist Fahrija Velic, I was immediately reminded of 'The Fighting Temeraire' by J.M.W. Turner. Coincidence perhaps but it would be nice to think Velic composed this as a tribute to the old master. Looking at Velic's other works, it seems to be the case that he is extremely talented and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.
Of principal interest in the editorial is the news that two new websites will be opened in the near future, one for the magazine itself and a separate site for readers. This is a welcome change from the TTA site which is now past its sell-by-date and is further evidence of the impetus and energy put into 'Interzone' over the last two years.
Issue 201 continues the recently adopted all colour approach to the magazine's appearance. Packed full of fiction, it represents good value for money if only on a word per cent/penny basis. I'm hoping that the management team bring out an on-line version sometime in the not too distant future. There are many outlets on the net these days where it could be sold as an addition to the existing paper magazine.
There seems to be a preponderance of genetic engineering stories at the moment. A sign of the times perhaps, this issue has its share but the story I would like to discuss first is an 'old-fashioned virtual reality within the web' affair which initially made me yawn with boredom. Happily I soon woke up with interest and finished with a satisfied nod of approval. 'Sheila' by Lauren McLaughlin and illustrated by Kenn Brown tells of a search engine called Edward who has ideas above his station.
I hazard a guess that there's a little Richard Dawkins evolutionary theory rooted in this story as regards the genes and memes approach. The web entities have evolved to be rather contemptuous of humans, referring to them as meat, but we aren't told why they evolved except from the suggestion that, much as in 'Hitchhiker', the web will produce the answer to everything...or so humans think!
There is a strange, all-powerful entity called Sheila running things within the web. She acts in mysterious ways, oh my god, and of the few who know of her existence, they only experience a presence, a menacing spirit, capable of ending their existence at the flick of a switch so to speak.
I thought 'Sheila' to be somewhat incomplete but the reason became clear on looking at the author's website, www.LaurenMcLaughlin.net , which explains that this is part of a much larger opus, an opera even. Her work looks promising.
Paul Di Filippo's 'Harsh Oases' is a very basic story with a whole lot of cyberpunk rubbish thrown in. Does everyone think our future lies in creatures with genes derived from humans and animals or from genes which have been artificially mutated? The basic story was a fight for survival. I couldn't see the relevance of other aspects to the story but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough for hidden messages.
I'm not even sure about the science to this. Do we need to be sure anyway? The main character is a cross between human and horse with a percentage of each involved. However, which genes make a horse a horse and a human an idiot? Most genes of both species are the same regardless and a horse and a jockey don't differ greatly in gene percentage. I've seen many jockeys who resemble their horses! What we have is a contrived attempt to make a story out of nonsense.
'Boy 12' by Jessica Reisman is an interesting enough story but, here we go again, it's full of genetic engineering gimcrackery. Virtue has distanced herself from her powerful brother and tries to go against the grain of her engineered genes which make her want to kill people - an assassin no less. Are there assassin genes? Her brother wants her to come back to the family (some family!!) and sends clones of her former boyfriend, one after the other, to make her realise her place in society. Her present occupation of fishing for deadly underwater species on another world wouldn't appeal to any young man but the poor sods don't know much and the 12th is as dim and useless as the rest. This story is a conflict between brother, sister and patsy but one would have thought that after eleven failures the brother would have given up? An entertaining story nonetheless.
Elizabeth Bear gives us 'Wax' which isn't about genetically engineered bees as you might think, it's about witches in an alternative reality New Amsterdam (now New York. Groan!) and the title refers to the moon's phase which has something to do with witches. Where to start with this? Well, there's no Dutchmen about it, flying on broomsticks or otherwise.
I think calling the city New Amsterdam was an attempt to be smart which maybe doesn't work. New England better fits the bill. The main idea of a witch detective is OK but I felt myself being pulled into a Harry Potter world against my wishes. In this whodunit, I found myself getting to the stage where I couldn't care whodunit!
Why bother to involve an alternative reality? The answer is that you can get away with less work! You can write any old rubbish in an alternative reality story and nobody can argue otherwise about facts, places or events. On the other hand, write a detective story about a middle-aged brother investigator or well - togaed Roman sleuth in Herculaneum and you'll have to do your homework or some nerd will pull you up on minor details. Tons of research required!
'After The Party (Part 1)' By Richard Calder is a tale about vampires and associated horrors. It did leave me with a desire to read on. I'll have to wait for the next issue and, like any painting, it shouldn't be judged until finished. Likewise, I shall leave my readers waiting in anticipation for my review. A sigh of relief echoes across the world.
The fiction in #201 was, in my humble opinion, not up to the usual standard of the partaking authors or the magazine. The editors should look for more self-contained stories which are not extracted from larger works or a continuation of a theme from elsewhere. In doing so, they shouldn't adopt the literary short story style because 'Interzone' isn't a literary short story magazine. Many of the stories in this issue struggled to convey a message and while fiction doesn't necessarily need to make a point, it shouldn't be formless either, especially in a commercial magazine designed to be sold in shops.
Hopefully 202 will be better.
Rod MacDonald
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