Uncanny Magazine # 3 March/April 2015 (emag review).

Maybe a slight hint of panic in the editorial of ‘Uncanny Magazine’ regarding future funding but otherwise this new magazine seems to be going along quite well. With the third issue, ‘Uncanny’ has probably established its own identity and there are no problems in attracting submissions, so much so that they have been closed until next year. According to what they say, the main problem is of a financial nature. They want more funds from subscriptions!

An interesting selection of stories and articles, it’s worth mentioning Kat Howard’s ‘Translatio Corporis’, which tells the tale of the construction of a city from the point of view of a child. It starts with a fountain and ends up the same way but a lot happens in between. Maybe the ending was a bit predictable but it was very well described. Atmospheric with feeling, it’s a story that resides in the mists of time.

I like the podcast available which included some poetry, a piece entitled ‘Deep Bitch’ by CSE Cooney. Not only did it give an audio version, quite well narrated, it also had an interview with the author. This adds an extra dimension to the magazine, an interesting and positive asset which is much appreciated. It would be good if other magazines could do the same.

The stories were all intriguing with a wide variety of subjects and themes. ‘In the House Of The Seven Librarians’ by Ellen Klages was my favourite from this issue. It tells the story of the old Carnegie Library where seven librarians spent their time cataloguing all the books. One day, a baby is left in a basket, seemingly payment for an overdue book from 1938 so it seems. The librarians take it upon themselves to bring up the baby and, as you would imagine, the little girl had an enormous wealth of language at her disposal and also seven parents and teachers combined. The story is excellently delivered with perfect timing and a generous amount of humour. It’s definitely one to relish.

There are many stories to read, too many to mention, but there are also articles. ‘Cushing In Space’ by LM Myles was a splendid contribution concerning the Science Fiction work of that great actor, Peter Cushing. Having always liked his films, it was good to read an informative article mentioning ‘Star Wars’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Dracula’ and so on. You could write several books on Cushing but this is an article where parts of his career were highlighted to stimulate interest and entice further reading.

For some reason, all the work in this edition of ‘Uncanny’ was written by female authors. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that and I’m certainly not complaining but I was wondering if it was a deliberate policy to make it thus. All 19 contributions, which included stories, articles and poetry were all written by women. Some of the work was taken from the slush pile and the rest were requested from authors so it does seem likely that this is a deliberate editorial policy. The question is will future editions be the same?

All in all, this is a good magazine which is literary in style and interesting to read. The people behind it are obviously enthusiastic and no doubt wish to make a bold statement. They require more readers and subscribers in order to survive and, in a world where survival is difficult, they probably need all the help they can get. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a look at their website to see what they are about. Let’s hope they are successful.

Rod MacDonald

March 2015

(pub: Uncanny Magazine. Price: $ 3.99 (US), £: 2.50 (UK))

check out website: www.uncannymagazine.com