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As magazines go, this one has been available for many years, some might joke for millennia, though more seriously it is one of the best around which is a pure showcase for literary talent in the field of fantasy and science fiction writing. It brings their individual material into the publication. It is one that likes to go against the grain with the themes of the stories. The writers Matthew Hughes, Terry Bisson and Kit Reed make such an impact with their deep and meaningful stories.

The fantasy side of things in this issue has a decent chance of being strange enough and one, in particular, jumps right out of the pages full of humour. Matthew Hughes's "Hell of a Fix," accompanied by the cover art painted by artist Kent Bash has the two most unexpected characters in it. A human and a demon, mistakenly summoned it has to return to Hell, unhappy that he never got his soul. The story is funny and holds the reader right till the end.

Known for its fair mix of short stories, news in the fantasy and science fiction community, it is one of those magazines that has stood the test of time, while changing its look to suit newer readers who want to find out more online on the contents and their respective web sites. It has lost none of its early appeal that made it a popular read when it first came out as it has just gone from strength to strength.

The covers are as always striking as is this issue's appears to be. Further art is between the pages in the form of cartoons that will easily tickle to funny bone with the minimum of effort on the part of the artist.

There are also two columns of interest in this digest size magazine, "Books to Look For" by Charles de Lint and "Books" by James Sallis. Both take a look at the latest novels to come out, yet they bear different and unique opinions. To show its pedigree, Fantasy & Science Fiction has featured works by some of the most renowned writers in the world today; Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Damon Knight, Ursula K. Le Guin and Ray Bradbury. There are more but it would take far too long to list them here.

This existing talent has provided a reason for other budding writers to submit their stories to a reputable bi-monthly magazine such as this, plus it does mean more exciting reading material for the readers.

Sandra is currently enjoying the Twilight series of novels, and wonders when she will ever get to the end of them in between writing for Active Anime, The Chronicle magazine, and FantasyBookReview.