I very much enjoyed this issue of Scottish short fiction magazine Shoreline of Infinity. It’s a Glasgow Worldcon special and Jonathan reports they had an excellent stall in the dealers hall full of beautiful print editions. It has original stories which contain some pretty exciting ideas, combined with first-rate writing, as ever.
David McGillveray – ‘Scars’
First up was David McGillveray’s ‘Scars,’ a human-alien encounter account with beautifully descriptive passages, extra-terrestrials with the most intriguing societal hierarchy, and an unexpected development at the end. A very strong opener which boded well for what was to come.
Andrew Kozma- ‘Intersections of the Species’
Second in line, Andrew Kozma’s ‘Intersections of the Species’, certainly didn’t lower the quality. This is an exploration of selfhood (or the lack of it), through the art of an alien species – a species which have a languid loveliness reminiscent of Octavia Butler’s tentacled creatures. They drift around imparting wisdom and Kozma paints them in delicate prose which is a pleasure to dwell upon. The revelation that comes is a really satisfying twist.
LeeAnn Perry – ‘Transference’
Then we have ‘Transference’ by LeeAnn Perry, which convinces us that the very cells of living creatures retain memories, and can be transferred from generation to generation – at least if you are a worm or an ant; but scientific breakthroughs are, unfortunately, dependent on funding, and if the money runs out at a crucial moment, incredible discoveries may be lost. A quite captivating story that will have you smiling with wonder.
Tim Major – ‘Degrees of Freedom’
With Tim Major’s ‘Degrees of Freedom’, things start to get decidedly bizarre. Statistical and mathematical symbols are the characters, living an internal life of competition, jealousy and rivalry within the minds of, presumably, robots. Thus, we have individuals called, for instance, @@, and -$-, communicating their coded thoughts to each other about the ‘monsters,’ who are no doubt humans. If you want originality, then this is it. If you want something wacky, this is also it. Not to be missed.
M.A.R. Rinaldi – ‘Seed’
M.A.R. Rinaldi’s ‘Seed’ was quite confusing and could have really done with a little more explanation, especially as it was an exciting story about doubles, time slips (I think), and the exploration of a mysterious and dangerous vault. Not to mention the monster inside it. I went away to investigate further but was ultimately disappointed.
Paul McQuade – ‘Forgetting is Their Word for Death’
This issue ends with the winning story from the Cymera festival, ‘Forgetting is Their Word for Death’ by Paul McQuade. A semiotic story about the regeneration of a species from seed, which has a postmodern frisson, but also an effective portrayal of the hollowness of time and language when structural context is missing; also, how memory plays a vital part in maintaining our sense of self. It may sound complex, but it flows nicely as a complete and satisfying story and I can see why it won the Cymera award.
So, a great crop this time round from Shoreline. This issue also contains, as ever, poetry and non-fiction. Do please consider subscribing or purchasing this issue and supporting short speculative fiction.
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