The Newsletter of
The Council for the Literature of the Fantastic
Volume 1, Number 4 (1997)
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Fantastic Worlds: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror

Volume 1/Number 1, edited by Scott A. Becker,
1644 South 11th West Missoula MT 59801,
8 1/2 x 11, 48 pages, $5.00 single issue (postage paid),
$15.00/3; $28.00/6; foreign, add $1.00 per issue.

Reviewed by Sarah Holmes.
Copyright 1996 Sarah Holmes

One only has to look at the cover--a prodigious one-eyed alien hovering over a spacecraft--to realize that imaginativeness awaits.one in the premiere issue of Fantastic Worlds. We'll look at such details first before examining the less exciting sides of this magazine.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of FW is the hard work put into its production. For example, one article makes a fascinating and well-developed connection between SF and Mormonism. Also, for most of the stories there are accompanying illustrations by artists who have been sought out or actually "discovered." Similarly, in the column "Adventures in the Ink Trade," Jeff VanderMeer gives critical attention to a great writer, Stepan Chapman, who has yet to be discovered by a book publisher. Yet, FW goes one better. Not only do they interview him; they tell you where to get his work. And then, if that weren't enough, they excerpt from his book a wonderful story called "Spraying For Bugs."

Unfortunately, however, not all the fiction is as interesting as Chapman's. While some pieces have great premises, they fall short. For example, the final story is about a boy who can be in two places at once, a marvelous premise indeed. However, just when it seems to get interesting, the boy is killed and the story essentially ends. Also, I must note that there are at most two female writers out of the ten represented (it's hard to tell the gender of an abbreviated name), and in the upcoming issues there are at most two women out of fifteen listed. These aspects, in addition to one writer's description of a woman "dressed in skin-tight black leather--a jumpsuit that clings seductively to every curve," make me crave more variety in FW, as well as more polished writing.