Postscripts # 1 spring 2004
01/08/2004 . Source: Sue Davies 

pub: PS Publishing. 170 page magazine. Price: £ 6.00 (UK), $ 10.00 (US). ISBN: 1-902-880-83-8.

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Ooh, a new magazine that doesn't feature the latest celebrity fawning over their kitchen in their best clothes. This time it's a magazine for grown-ups to read.

This is the first issue of a quarterly tome published by PS Publishing who, it seems, are determined to get quality fiction to us at all costs.

Contents are three non-fiction pieces including an extensive interview with author Jim Blaylock and a poem by Ray Bradbury no less. There are also thirteen short stories included in this first edition.

The non-fiction content is plenty long enough for me and I was quite surprised to be interested as I prefer fiction. However the piece by Christopher Fowler about his life-long addiction to horror films, comic books and how his desire to write has nothing to do with what is currently fashionable hit the spot with me and is also very funny.

The majority of pages are, however, dedicated to fiction and that suits me just fine. There is not a bad story among them and those that stand out for me are because they suit my general choice of reading but the variety overall is very good and reflects how carefully each story has been considered as part of the collection.

'A Choice Of Eternities' by Eric Brown contemplates the nature of 'renewal' by aliens versus faith in a deity who will provide true eternal live. 'Original Sin' by Lawrence Gordon Clark is an inventive and grim tale looking at what happens when humanity gets a boost from an unknown intelligence. But the prize for my personal favourite creepy tale goes 'Restraint' by Stephen Gallagher, which begins like an episode of 'Casualty' and becomes, by degrees, much darker.

A great combination of stories that can be read in one go or savoured over a longer period, this magazine would make great reading for anyone who is bored by mainstream fiction. There aren't too many spaceships or aliens to put off the new reader either. It is a great way to sample authors who also produce longer works as well.

I would heartily recommend 'Postscripts' as an antidote to the magazines that are produced for our consumption and would really like to find this in my dentist's waiting room.

Sue Davies