Shimmer, Autumn 2005 | |||||
A review by Amal El-Mohtar
Shimmer is a glossy, perfect-bound quarterly magazine devoted to speculative short fiction. The first issue,
released in the autumn of 2005, features stories by J. Albert Bell, Mel Cameron, Dario Ciriello, Edward Cox, Richard S.
Crawford, Stephen M. Dare, Kuzhali Manickavel, Michael Mathews, and Jeremiah Swanson; it also showcases artwork by Sam
Tsohonis (the man responsible for the stunning cover), Mary Robinette Kowal, Chrissy Ellsworth and Stephanie
Rodriguez. There's a very enjoyable review of Twelve Hawks' The Traveler, by John Joseph Adams, as well as a letter
from Beth Wodzinski that welcomes the reader to the magazine's debut, and lays out her reasons for the undertaking.
"There is a single, important reason we wanted to do this: for the stories. We like a particular kind of short
story -- the combination of a strange and original idea, a well-developed plot and characters, delivered with
exquisite writing" (2). Fairly standard desires for the consumer of speculative fiction in general -- but from the
gist of the magazine (and the submission guidelines on their web site), Shimmer is particularly interested
in publishing healthy specimens of dark urban fantasy. That being said, I never felt like I was reading more of the
same; there's a really admirable variety to the stories, both in terms of structure and plot. I don't hesitate to
say that I thought many of the stories in Shimmer to be worthy of publication in something like
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror -- and indeed, the winter issue features an interview with Ellen Datlow.
The first story, "Sour Hands," by Kuzhali Manickavel, is a deft, blackly funny piece, opening with what I think is one
of the best lines in the magazine: "Ezhil was betrayed by a mango when she was seven years old." Other highlights
include "Nobody's Fool" by Edward Cox, which I dub my favourite story of the issue, since I have a weakness for stories
about doomed and desperate writers; "White Burn" by Stephen M. Dare, which is stylistically excellent and builds great
atmosphere; and "A Convocation of Clowns" by Mel Cameron, a very creepy flash piece that is adequately summed up by
its title. The artwork consists mainly of illustrations for the stories, with the exception of Chrissy Ellworth's
stand-alone "Lucy," the coolness of which I won't even attempt to describe, except to say that it smacks of some
twisted dalliance between Tim Burton and a younger Nick Park.
The only criticism I would offer is that some of the pieces, while still good in themselves, felt like they'd been
truncated into short stories, leaving me with the feeling that I'd much rather see them expanded into something of
novella length. "Valley of the Shadow" by Dario Ciriello, and "And Death Will Seize the Doctor, Too" by Jeremiah
Swanson were both well-written and compelling, but I found the central idea in each could have stood further
development -- not because they were confusing or unclear, but because the stories came off feeling slightly
uneven. I did also find one story to be significantly inferior to the rest; "An Interrupted Nap," by Richard
Crawford, was amusingly written, but didn't come together for me at all as a story, and while it seemed to be
going for light silliness, it felt more awkward by the end of it than anything else.
Just in case I didn't make it clear enough, by the way, the magazine is beautiful. Besides the cover, the layout
is well-done, and the inside art is great. On the whole, Shimmer was a delight to read, and I look forward to
seeing more from Beth Wodzinksi's editorial team. If you enjoy short fiction in the style of Charles de Lint and
Will Shetterly, chances are you'll enjoy this.
Amal has a history of reading anything with pages. Now, she reads stuff online, too. She sometimes does other things, but that's mainly it. |
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