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Aeon Magazine # 14
01/07/2008 . Source: Kelly Jensen 
pub: Quintamid Publishing. E-mag: 91 pages. Price: $ 5.00 (US). check out website: www.aeonmagazine.com
This is the first copy of 'Aeon Magazine' I've had the pleasure of reading. Surely it will not be the last. In addition to columns by regularly featured writers Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dr. Rob Furey, 'Aeon Magazine' also delivers six short stories and one poem. I could not discern a unifying theme or element to the stories and articles selected for this issue. Offered instead is a diverse range of speculative fiction and scientific comment.
'Aeon Magazine' begins with an editorial piece from Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A frequent contributor to 'Aeon Magazine', Rusch is no stranger to the field of short fiction publishing. Among her writing credits, which include award-winning and nominated novels and stories, is a five year stint as editor of the prestigious 'Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction'.
Her column, 'Signals', is a look at the current Science Fiction market. Spurred on by the complaint that current Science Fiction feels 'retro', Rusch explores possible reasons for the return of current authors to the near future Science Fiction novel. A visit to Kennedy Space Centre and the website of NASA confirms her theory that the 'future looks dated'. With the bulk of displays given over to the glory days of NASA's exploration and little reference to the new Constellation Project, Rusch laments the lack excitement surrounding the current space program and calls for a new look at the skies.
Next up is a story by a new contributor to the magazine, Davin Ireland. Previous writing credits include several print magazines and the anthologies 'The Year's Best Fantasy And Horror' edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant. His story, 'The March Wind', is about second chances and how things might change, not necessarily for the better.
Based in part on his own experience, this story is saved from being a depressing lament for a love affair that has wound down to a stop and is slowly regressing beyond the point of redemption by a sinister near future setting which includes aliens, impending apocalypse and a device that can reverse time. I found it an interesting read which would prompt me to look for the author's name in other publications and anthologies.
The second story featured was one I really enjoyed. I have not read anything by Ryan Neal Myers before, but I'm an instant fan. A previous contributor to 'Aeon Magazine', Myers professes to write everything from cyberpunk to children's fantasy. His story, 'The Diesel Mnemonic', is about a recovered memory. The theme actually tied in nicely with the first story in the magazine, being about second chances...however there the similarity ends. 'The Diesel Mnemonic' is a fast-paced story that invites the reader to wonder if a painful memory is best remembered or sold...
Jay Lake is well known to me as a contributor to many print magazines and author of a new book, 'Mainspring'. A frequent contributor also to 'Aeon Magazine', his story 'Sweet Rocket' is described as a 'Digital Campfire Tale'. I spent the first part of this story trying (unsuccessfully) to picture anthropomorphic plumbing supplies until I realised 'Grampy Pressure Hose' was a nickname based in part on the profession of said character, and on Lake's desire to tell a ghost story of the future. He succeeds somewhat, though the tale of a ghost ship powered by Hope was not scary, it was cute. Perfect for little 'oxygen sinks' gathered about a campfire. (Bang!?!)
I really enjoyed 'Wild Among Hares' by Sarah L. Edwards, a previous contributor to 'Aeon Magazine'. Her story is a sequel of sorts to 'The Butterfly Man' which appeared in 'Aeon # 12'. 'Wild Among Hares' follows the adventure of a wild woman who can hear the thoughts of and project her own onto hares. Thinking she is alone in the world and uncomfortable around people, she has become a mid-wife and wanders in the company of hares looking for women who can use her unique talents. Her time alone finally comes to an end when she meets another wild woman. Edwards' writing style was effortless and much suited to the subtleties of the tale she tells.
A poem by Marcie Lynn Tentchoff follows, 'Your Fairy Gothmother'. She is also previous contributor to 'Aeon Magazine' and several other publications. Tentchoff's artful prose describes a fairy godmother bearing gifts and talents unique to a more teenage audience, with their 'Kohl-stained eyes' and 'death rock bands'. Not exactly to the taste of me and my six year old 'Disney-fied' daughter...
The second column is 'Parallax' by Dr. Rob Furey. I was interested to note in his author profile that Dr. Furey is very much into spiders and that he is part of the charter faculty at Harrisburg University in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is a mere seventy miles from where I sit in the Pocono Mountains and I have some very interesting spiders living around here, including the weird black shiny one that now lies crushed against the side of my daughter's swing set...but 'Parallax' is not about spiders, it is about bacteria. I started this article, dauntingly entitled 'Archaea And Alien Real Estate-Or-Envelopes Of Unusual Size' with one browser window pointed to Wikipedia and a dictionary open in my lap.
However, after clarifying two or three scientific terms, I was able to follow the science to a point where the article made sense and became quite thought-provoking. I have heard this argument before, but will describe it briefly and less eloquently than Dr. Furey: Given the extreme conditions in which bacteria can survive on our own planet (deep sea trenches and Chile's Atacama Desert), there is a great precedence for life existing elsewhere in the universe and not only on what we consider habitable planets.
'Hard Rain At The Fortean Café' was an engrossing and amusing read. Seeing as I still had a browser pointed to Wikipedia I made good use of the encyclopaedia while reading this story about myth and urban legend. Marilyn Monroe keeps turning up dead across America, some decades after her 'official' death. That's not the strangest thing going on. I think the story can be neatly summed up by a line in the author's own prologue, 'Things happen in America that are just not possible in the rest of the world.'
'Hard Rain' is written by Lavie Tidhar, another previous and frequent contributor to 'Aeon Magazine'. His short stories have also appeared in other magazines and anthologies including 'The Del Rey Book Of Science Fiction And Fantasy'.
Rounding out this varied selection of stories, articles and poems, the last contribution is 'The Diadem' by Mikal Trimm. A previous contributor, his work can be found in various other publications including 'Black Gate'. I'm not sure if this happens every morning, but between the weird costumes of her parents, the impossible stack of pancakes and the 'daydream' imparted by the plastic and foil crown her father entices her to try on, this girls life seems weird enough without the usual teen-age melodrama. This unique short, short story serves as an enticement or appetiser to the main event, which hopefully is yet to come.
Kelly Jensen
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