MONEY, MURDER, AND EMPIRES

Times are perilous for print pubs -- but they are always perilous. This column continues our informal survey of paper pubs by spotlighting a genuine print treasure trove -- one which is currently expanding its readership and content.

Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine (FMAM) is one of the most entertaining and unusual print pubs around. Looking back over the past few issues, I observe how right we were back in our, “Quest for Fiction”, column to award Editor Babs Lakey and her staff our Brand Award for Great Fiction. We’re not the only ones giving out awards to Babs Lakey, however. FMAM’s founding editor was recently honored with the prestigious Minneapolis Award as a Friend of the Arts.

The magazine grows stronger with each number and now, with a newly widened distribution network, FMAM will almost certainly be making an appearance at your local bookstore or newsstand. If it’s not there -- send Babs an email and let her know!

As you can see from the graphic, FMAM’s Spring, “Money Is Murder”, issue is sold out. Lucky me, I have a copy of the issue, compliments of the most generous editorial staff. Lucky you, I have some extra back issues of FMAM that I’d be willing to give away, along with a 3”x4” bookmark/magnet of the “Money Is Murder” issue’s cover to the first person who emails me at firereviews@yahoo.com with a reliable snail mail addy. The back issues I have are “Clergy and Crime”, and “Holidays ‘R Murder” issues. Both are excellent -- and keep in mind, an issue of FMAM sells for $10.95.

The latest issue, “A Taste of Murder”, is a delight from soup to nuts, but with over fifty short stories: crime tales, flash mysteries, dark romances, science fiction, fantasy, plus poems, cartoons, blitz-editorials, columns, and interviews, there’s no way I could hope to cover even a smidgen of what the issue has to offer. Here are a few highlights. Think of them as appetizers and then pick up a copy yourself to savor the full, seven course meal.

Mystery, of course, provides the bulk of the fiction on offer, but there are always provocative SF contributions, as well . “A Taste of Murder” offers four stories ( a thematically linked quartet) under the heading of: “horror, fantasy, science fiction”. In order to fully appreciate these four stories it’s useful to read them as studies in ‘wishing’. As such, they are a very impressive set.

“Who’ll Stop the Rain”, from Robert D. Stephenson, explores the wish for escapism, via an apocalyptic “virtual reality” story. This piece is replete with the usual sinister spawn of merged realities and a globally tragic denoument. You might be tempted to shave some points away from Stephenson for following a too easily suspected plot line. However, that is another quality all four of the stories share: they are ubiquitous or universal wishes, deep and very primitive at source. Stephenson’s story of two college kids getting far more than they bargained for from an outdated cyber toy has some nice comic undertones, is just eccentric enough to be seductive and, hey, who doesn’t want to read about a literal lounge lizard?

Shirley Richardson’s aptly named, “Wish Fulfillment”, provides specific articulation via the title for the quartet’s theme. This alternate history brews up some poetic afterlife justice for Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi war criminal. I found my admiration for this little story deepening as I reread it. I think it is profitable to consider, “Wish Fulfillment” as a cathartic vision for all of us who yearn for a simple, pure Justice.

“The Light”, by Megan Crewe, provides a spirited variation on the “wishing” theme showcasing a wise-cracking, yoga practicing, hoaxer protagonist whose finest hour comes during her lonely exile in a spaceship prison cell. Crewe’s lead character shines behind a series of fantastical machinations, all bent on fulfilling the greatest wish of all -- that of Utopia. The story’s end may not exactly surprise you, nevertheless, “The Light” is a highly readable story that addresses the yearning many feel for alien life to save the earth from its formidable troubles.

The “wish quartet” closes with Karen S. Cook’s, “Broken Glass”, a flash-fantasy, notable not only for its succinct, yet multifarious story -- but for the fact that it is the first story ever submitted by Ms. Cook for publication. Flash can be tricky and often reads more like prose poetry than fiction with deficiencies in plot, character development, crisis and resolution. Cook’s piece is a fully coherent piece of fiction and modulates the “wish fulfillment” fantasy to a tender and disturbing variation. That I wanted to follow the characters beyond the confines of the story is a testimony to Cook’s burgeoning skills as a storyteller -- and a suitable parallel to the plight of the story’s protagonist whose dreams seem to vanish just when they become the most intoxicating. A deceptively simple tale, with a commendable subtext and careful dialogue.

So that’s ten pages -- I’ll say it again, TEN pages -- worth of FMAM. Four stealthily selected stories, none of which, alone, would be as successful as they are here, arranged in an eye catching quartet. Oh yes, there are also illustrations for each story, some dynamite cartoons, a poem, a prose poem, and author bios on those same ten pages.

Great mystery shorts like, “Silky’s Getaway”, by Earl Staggs, “Anybody’s Fool”, by Luann Larsen, have fun with retiree crime busters. Flash pieces like, “Second Helping” from Stephen Rogers, “The Blue Bottle” by Margaret Searles, and “Motive for Murder”, by Guy Belleranti dazzle up the table of contents with mini-puzzle stories. There’s also serial fiction, mainstream stories, “old time radio”, contests, comics, columns, and plenty of unusual gems like Rick Mager’s, “Jesse James’ Radio Caper”, scattered generously throughout the pub.

Finally, you’ll get some outstanding articles like Marcia Kiser’s, “Hitchcock and the MacGuffin”, which should prove as instructive for writers as it is thought provoking for readers at large. Reading through all of this wide ranging content is a breeze due to FMAM’s clever layout and the breezy polish of the non-fiction and fiction selections.

The best advice I can give you about Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine is that you SUBSCRIBE today. Barring that, visit their website and order yourself at least a sample copy. Oh yeah, don’t forget I have two back issues waiting for one lucky reader! Get those emails in ASAP.

For free fiction, this time, check out “The Empire of Ice Cream”, by Jeffrey Ford in SCI FICTION’S archives. I’m quite used to finding brilliant fiction at SCI FICTION, but legendary editor Ellen Datlow has scored a triumphant masterwork with this story.

I won’t review, “The Empire of Ice Cream”, per se, but let me say this: I penned an admonition to Jeff Ford in a past column not to let ubiquitous praise disturb his continuing development as a writer. If my words were meant as a challenge, and I suspect they were, Ford has surpassed the challenge, hands down, with this dynamic and allusive piece.

The Great Fiction Brand Awardthis column goes to Mr. Ford for his brilliant story, with an extra low bow and tip of my starry wizard’s cap. “The Empire of Ice Cream” represents speculative short fiction at its most creative and disciplined level. It is a real pleasure to encounter such a thematically profound and technically inspired work.

Until Next Time,

Daniel E. Blackston

Firebrand Fiction Reviews: all content © 2003, Daniel E. Blackston