Another fine addition to the small press magazine market, Jason Champion’s All Possible Worlds hits the streets running on (al)most all cylinders. For the spectacular price of $20.00 per year, subscribers will receive 4 issues of 100+ pages in a 5 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ glossy covered, glue-bound format. An appealing appearance and – at least for Issue #1 – filled from cover to cover with nothing but the stories and information on the authors, the artists, and the editors.
Readers are immediately caught by the great product presentation and good introductions to the editor and the cover artist. Acknowledged on the last page are the two interior artists and the one author who provided his own works of art for his story. Taking nothing away from the other artists and conceding that he may have had a more biased approach to his art than they, John N. Baker’s artwork for “Nithhad: The Lonely Valley” was by far the best in the book.
On to the stories themselves. I shall be brief, as possible, since there are ten of them.
“Save a Dance for the Plowman”(SF) – Justin Stanchfield: The protagonist of this tale never grew on me, so I never cared for him or his concerns, resulting in a rather boring read for me. This was actually a worrisome beginning to the magazine.
“Sleep Magic”(F) – Daniel Ausema: Ausema creates a concept both unique and interesting, yet ultimately delivers a resolution lacking in power. Stronger than the first tale, but still continuing the rather underwhelming opening to APW.
“Nithhad: The Lonely Valley”(F) – John N. Baker: The first good tale in the magazine (my 3rd favorite), it was also, unbeknownst to me, the last of the fantasy tales. A good, intriguing beginning and terrifically appropriate artwork set a strong tone that carried the story far, past an overwhelming dependence upon adverbs and some rather illogical leaps in continuity, but not far enough – eventually succumbing to an extremely disappointing resolution that did not seem to mesh with the rest of the tale.
“High Concept”(SF) – John B. Rosenman {Insert Personal Disclaimer: I don’t read much Science Fiction and short story Sci-Fi even less than novel length}: This is a great – and fun – story of comeuppance. One of the better ones I’ve ever read. This is my 2nd favorite story in the magazine.
“A Snowball’s Chance”(SF) – Kurt Kirchmeier {Repeat above disclaimer}: My personal favorite, this is a great story with a very cool opening that had me hooked from the get-go. I loved it! These back-to-back great SF stories were almost enough to convince me I should be reading more of them. APW has redeemed itself by this point.
“Iron Man”(SF) – Greg Jenkins: This is what I imagine rednecked hillbilly Sci-Fi would be like. An interesting slice-of-life piece that eventually poses far more questions than it answers, leaving the reader slightly befuddled as to what – and why – he’d just read.
“Penny Royalty for the Pound Mob”(SF) – Gene Stewart: A rather surreal tale basically about a bar fight. The music-centric first person works but is not endearing. In fact, it becomes slightly grating, making the story memorable only for this sensation.
“Prizes”(SF) – Edward Muller: A rather ho-hum story, this is the one tale in the whole magazine I can never remember what it is about. It is no where near the caliber story Howard Andrew Jones chose for the 4th issue of Flashing Swords.
“The Apocryphist“(SF or F) - Bruce Golden: This is one of those tales that could take place in any world, reached by means either fantastical or scientific: setting matters not. I found it to be a very interesting tale about who establishes both the history and the future of a people and how this is done. Written in an okay first person, its fault lies in its ending – a sort of “Here-I-am” type meander. Still earns an Honorable Mention from me.
“Whitening”(SF) – Michael A. Pignatella: I liked the story idea and the new start in life resolution, but not the telling of the tale. Delivered in a disconcerting juxtaposition of third person past and present tenses in all their glories of simple, perfect, and progressive, I found it a rather jarring read.
So there you have it, the ten opening stories in a new speculative fiction magazine. While content in this issue scored less than .500*, I’m hap
py with the product, the price, and the proposed direction of future issues. Only time will tell if I am right or wrong, but would I recommend All Possible Worlds edited by Jason Champion to my friends? Yes.
Now a personal request: Please get some more fantasy tales in those next issues!
You can also find this review on the SFReader.com Speculative Fiction Book Reviews and More.
*6/30/07: Using my newly created won-loss-tie calculation to define stories as memorable-regrettable-average, this issue stacks up as 4-3-3, or 55% – above my originally determined .500.
*October 2007: Unfortunately, APW has announced the ceasing of its publication with the release of Issue 2. I have received my copy and refunded monies – I will still review the first and I’ve already subscribed to Black Gate with the other. No more little guys for me – I’m going straight to the top!
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Howard,
Just a technical note. The coloured titles look nice on a black background, but more and more people are using Feed Readers these day (which almost universally use white background). I use google reader myself, and the titles are unreadable against the white.
Ah. So my delightfully colorful commentary must become dull and lifeless, surviving solely upon its eloquence rather than its visual appeal? Whatever shall I do.
Thank you for the info, Jordan; I shall ponder on this quandry for a bit.
In the by-and-by, what thinkest thou of this review and of the Grendelsong one previously rendered more palatable . . . to you?
Howard,
They were both quite good. Very in-depth. I love that you actually tell it like it is–no sugarcoating even with authors you know personally. I trust you more as a reviewer because you’re openly distainful of pieces you don’t like.
You really need a “subscribe to comments” option. You notice that it’s checked automatically at Without Really Trying?
When I leave a comment on a piece and you respond in comments, often I don’t get it because I forget to check the post again!
PS The black background was nice, but the white IS easier to read
While I do “tell it like it is” – at least for me – I sure have tried to NOT be distainful about it. I have tried very hard to be straightforward (which to me means not misleading), revealing my gut reactions as I stated I would.
Those reading my reviews should, I hope, have perused my favorites and understand where it is I am coming from. In doing so, they will know what I hold in high regard, to what I compare everything I read.
Despite my disappointment in or even dislike of a story, I have always agonized over the wordings of my reviews. I am a member of several critique groups and have witnessed and received both helpful and hurtful remarks. Those, most often, have been uttered and can thus be forgotten over time.
My written words do not disappear so easily. So I try to be as bluntly honest as possible while still remembering there is a person on the other side of my comments; a person who invested a bit of themself in something they were brave enough to share with the world.
With the acquisitions editing I’ve now added to my plate, I have discovered an interesting thing. There are differences, sometimes subtle but still there, between offering feedback in critique, review, and editing. While I was accustomed to the first two, I’m still feeling my way through the last. And let me tell you, it’s not very easy telling people you know that their story isn’t good enough for publication.
I’m still a newborn at this phase, and I often question my own evaluation, simply by wondering “But who am I to make such an opinion?” Yes, I don’t take my comments lightly, but sometimes they weigh most heavily on me.
Oh, and Jordan – I’d love to add a “subscribe to comments” feature but there doesn’t seem to be one in Blogger. Any ideas?
(Wait till you see my plans for the WebRing I’ve added to the site.)
LOL! Totally forgot about this thread because of the lack of subscribe to comments. I’ll look around and see if I can find something that works on Blogger
Hey! Nice shot across the bows there, man! I’m still trying to figure out the last thing you found for me, but I’ll find something and get it on here. That is a great feature to have, so it really surprises me Blogger doesn’t have it.