Ideomancer 9.1
Mar. 8th, 2010 09:09 pmI decided to take a break from the Locus Recommended Reading List this week and check out the newest edition of Ideomancer, especially since they rolled out a beautiful and dynamic new layout with Volume 9, Issue 1.
(Many kudos to![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cristalia and zhai and everyone else involved with Ideomancer!)
Each piece of fiction chosen for this issue had a strong thematic element of isolation and a healthy, riveting dose of the bizarre. I found "Future Perfect" by LaShawn M. Wanak to be far and away the strongest piece: her story is hardcore awful and I love it. Concerning decisions and moments in time, and how one slight change can snowball into countless parallel scenarios, "Future Perfect" is an unflinching glimpse of obsession with imaginary perfection instead of real-life work and engagement. As some of the best fiction is, this story is an uncomfortable thought exercise and wholly captivating. If you read nothing else in this issue of Ideomancer, please read Wanak's "Future Perfect."
I found the remaining two stories to be much weaker in comparison. "Sunshine, Sunshine" by Autumn Christian was beautiful and demented by turns, cobwebbed with macabre joy. However, it just didn't come together in the end, feeling largely incohesive. My favorite part is actually that this piece was set in the South, down in Louisiana, in swamp-land, and this makes me incredibly happy; there's not enough contemporary fantasy set in the South. Nicole J. LeBoeuf's "The Day the Sidewalks Melted is notable for its bizarre premise (which is right there in the title), but it's too vague to really resonate emotionally. LeBoeuf used some excellent imagery, though.
The first two poetry selections did nothing for me, unfortunately: Rachel Swirsky's "Mundane" is remarkably self-descriptive, lacking in poetic fire, and "Voyager 2, Upon Arrival" by Chris Flowers has some nice images but is not really my cup of tea. However, the latter two!
Upon finishing Liz Bourke's "Autocannibalism: Not a Love Poem," all I could do was utter "Ouch" in an admiring tone. This poem is lovely and painful, hitting all the best notes of pathos in cosmic imagery. "Lunar Parable" by Shef Reynolds likewise captivated me, leaving me drunk on words and imagery and wishing for a poetry discussion group. Seriously, this poem invites re-reading and discussion. Anyone want to take me up on that?
Overall, this was a solid issue of Ideomancer and, considering it was my first issue read in full, leaves me excited to comb through their archives to discover more excellent fiction and poetry.
What did you think?
This entry was originally posted at Livejournal on March 5th, 2010. You can comment here or there.
(Many kudos to
cristalia and zhai and everyone else involved with Ideomancer!) Each piece of fiction chosen for this issue had a strong thematic element of isolation and a healthy, riveting dose of the bizarre. I found "Future Perfect" by LaShawn M. Wanak to be far and away the strongest piece: her story is hardcore awful and I love it. Concerning decisions and moments in time, and how one slight change can snowball into countless parallel scenarios, "Future Perfect" is an unflinching glimpse of obsession with imaginary perfection instead of real-life work and engagement. As some of the best fiction is, this story is an uncomfortable thought exercise and wholly captivating. If you read nothing else in this issue of Ideomancer, please read Wanak's "Future Perfect."
I found the remaining two stories to be much weaker in comparison. "Sunshine, Sunshine" by Autumn Christian was beautiful and demented by turns, cobwebbed with macabre joy. However, it just didn't come together in the end, feeling largely incohesive. My favorite part is actually that this piece was set in the South, down in Louisiana, in swamp-land, and this makes me incredibly happy; there's not enough contemporary fantasy set in the South. Nicole J. LeBoeuf's "The Day the Sidewalks Melted is notable for its bizarre premise (which is right there in the title), but it's too vague to really resonate emotionally. LeBoeuf used some excellent imagery, though.
The first two poetry selections did nothing for me, unfortunately: Rachel Swirsky's "Mundane" is remarkably self-descriptive, lacking in poetic fire, and "Voyager 2, Upon Arrival" by Chris Flowers has some nice images but is not really my cup of tea. However, the latter two!
Upon finishing Liz Bourke's "Autocannibalism: Not a Love Poem," all I could do was utter "Ouch" in an admiring tone. This poem is lovely and painful, hitting all the best notes of pathos in cosmic imagery. "Lunar Parable" by Shef Reynolds likewise captivated me, leaving me drunk on words and imagery and wishing for a poetry discussion group. Seriously, this poem invites re-reading and discussion. Anyone want to take me up on that?
Overall, this was a solid issue of Ideomancer and, considering it was my first issue read in full, leaves me excited to comb through their archives to discover more excellent fiction and poetry.
What did you think?
This entry was originally posted at Livejournal on March 5th, 2010. You can comment here or there.
