The 3rd Alternative #40 and Interzone #196
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
With this issue, The 3rd Alternative celebrates ten years of publication. It is an auspicious
anniversary, because the magazine has survived longer than might have been expected for a periodical publishing stories that
don't always fit into neat genre categories, stories that struggle to mix the fantastic and mundane in new and profound
ways. Because it is one of only a few places where such stories can really be at home, The 3rd Alternative is
a truly necessary magazine.
Interzone #194 and The 3rd Alternative #39
reviewed by David Soyka
As most of you know now, David Pringle has transferred editorship of Interzone
magazine to Andy Cox, publisher of The 3rd Alternative. Welcome news that the longstanding British SF
magazine wasn't folding, but also worrying if Interzone can be the same without Pringle.
Well, of course, it won't. Arguably, some fresh perspective was overdue. However, the more immediate concern is whether
Cox has a vision of Interzone distinct from that of The 3rd Alternative.
The 3rd Alternative #38
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
The summer issue contains a variety of non-fiction, six short stories, and some excellent
artwork and design. It's all by and about men, so the casual observer might be excused for thinking this issue aspires to be a
British version of Maxim, particularly given how so many of the male characters in the stories yearn to be loved, but
this is more than a magazine for the lost, lonely, and lustful. The mix of non-fiction is vastly more interesting than any I've seen
in other SF magazines.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #33
reviewed by David Soyka
Oddly, M. John Harrison's "Guest Editorial" in Issue 33 of the magazine is guilty of precisely
what he wants everyone to stop doing -- it's just more bitching about the by-the-numbers fat fantasy factory as if it were
actually Tolkien's evil plan for world book domination. Moreover, it's preaching to the choir, which is reading the magazine
precisely because its contents strive towards being "something new."
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The 3rd Alternative #32
reviewed by Martin Lewis
The first thing you notice is how beautiful the magazine is. Between silky, rigid covers, it is
copiously illustrated to a standard unheard of in most genre publications. This commitment to design is reflected in the fact
that the illustrators receive as prominent acknowledgement as the writers. The writers, in turn, maintain
the high standards of their colleagues.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #30
reviewed by David Soyka
Besides its very cool illustrations and graphical layout, one way to figure out whether you're likely to enjoy the kind of
stuff that appears here -- a British mag edited by Andy Cox -- is whether you can swallow the premise
of Robert Wexler's "Tales of the Golden Legend" that loaves of bread can talk and certain people can hear them.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #25
reviewed by Rich Horton
Highlights of this issue include Tim Lees' "Everybody's Crazy in the West" wherein a fading writer is forced to take a job writing
a "Making of..." book about a movie, "Contracting Iris" by Sten Westgard and Conrad Williams' "Excuse the Unusual
Approach." Features include an article about avant-garde filmmaker Jan Svankmajer and interviews with China Miéville
and Nicholas Royle.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #23
reviewed by Rich Horton
This is an ultra-stylish English magazine, focussing on science fiction in that mode
often called slipstream, and also on contemporary horror, with or without any supernatural component.
Andy Cox, the editor, is clearly publishing what he likes, and he does not compromise quality of
prose or smoothness of presentation.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #20
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
If you're tired of a steady diet of the American take on the genre, here's a care package from the
U.K. Take a break from the status quo and give The 3rd Alternative a whirl.
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