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On Spec: The Canadian Magazine Of The Fantastic vol 17 no. 4 # 63 Winter 2005
01/05/2006 . Source: Donna Jones 
Magazine: Copper Pig Writers Society. Price: $ 5.95 (CAN). ISSN: 0843-476X. Distributed in Canada by CMPA and the UK by BAR. Buy On Spec in the USA - or Buy On Spec in the UK  check out website: www.onspec.ca
I'm going to do a wild and crazy thing. Brace yourselves because this is revolutionary! I'm starting this 'On Spec' review with...the front cover! Believe it or not, the 'On Spec' look is a diverse and intriguing thing which does not deserve to be overlooked. This edition's front cover very nearly took my reading time of the actual magazine!
It's entitled 'Rocket Packs' by Kazu Kibuishi. Hordes of men marching with rocket packs strapped to their backs and caps with goggles in place over their eyes, save for one. In the distance, dozens of them shooting up into a skyscraper filled horizon. We're not interested in that though! Walking against the flow of men is a boy in a tin hat that doubles as a colander or is it the other way round? He has little boots and a very determined look on his face as he balls his fists and pouts so much his nose reaches up to touch his colander come hat. The most striking part though is his rocket pack...It's a sail!
When I first took off the plastic seal of this 'On Spec', I smiled. Curiously, I frowned at the front cover and then I laughed because this frontage just says everything you need to know about the 'On Spec' name. 'The Canadian Magazine Of The Fantastic'. It says it all really.
Inside, I wasn't surprised to find the usual intelligent smattering of stories. There is not so much poetry this quarter, but that is because there are so many wonderfully written short stories that your attention is fully pulled by those.
Opening up the proceedings Douglas Smith tells us the 'Memories Of A Dead Man', a post-apocalyptic story about survival and the means by which you need to insure it. I liked the style and subtleties of the storytelling that kept me sat firmly on the edge of my seat. It doesn't pull any punches this story and from the off, you get the feeling that the future isn't so bright. It's kind of blood-stained and dirty. The characters were what really impressed me, though, by a few lines into meeting each one you had a clear and definable presence in your mind, which is always a good thing with short stories.
This is where I have to cut you short, from taking the route usually travelled to skipping over most of it in one bound. I have to tell you about the last story in this edition, 'Ticker Hounds' by Shawn Peters was about a disease that seemed to take your memories and then turn your body into a mechanised oil for blood existence. People start to tick from their chests and then they start to creak. Tears come out black and blackness dribbles down their chins when clear saliva should. The characters aren't really what makes this story. It is the character of the illness that keeps you riveted to the spot.
'Playing Games' by Susan Forest is about a little girl who liked to go on adventures to find the Tooth Fairy and other fantastical creatures. She fully intends to find out where Santa's elves come from. Her informant tells her that he is an agent in the North Pole and will happily oblige her request. It all seems an innocent game that she plays chasing the Easter Bunny down rabbit warrens and other childish games, but this time it's no game. This tale follows the Grimm and Dahl method of child storytelling, giving them exactly what they hope for!
'Ice Cream Doors' by Alan R. Barclay was a future time we could all find ourselves. Dark and miserable, where life is strictly controlled and working hours have soared above the extreme. Joe finds himself meeting with people who threaten to change this world of despair and imprisoned thought. The results were not quite what I expected, which made this story one of the most surprising of all. Passing through ice cream doors to find a new world that has a myriad of possibilities.
A super edition of 'On Spec', can't be put down for love, money or the basic needs in life to function!
Donna Jones
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