Interzone 223 (July/August)
Covert art is by Adam Tredowski
Dominic Green:
Butterfly Bomb
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey
Old Krishna was walking home from a solid afternoon’s work removing acid tares from the downhill greengarden when he saw the drive flare dropping through the clouds. It was reversed, on braking burn. Whoever’s hull it was, it was also glowing red hot, canted at an extreme angle for maximum drag, maximum deceleration, minimum time in atmosphere. The pilot had a job to do which he imagined might get him shot at by the planetary inhabitants. As Old Krishna was, as far as he was aware, the only planetary inhabitant, this did not bode well.
Coat of Many Colours
illustrated by Daniel Bristow-Bailey
The road to the Ugly Farm was a gauntlet of fierce bad temper. People from the neighbouring shanty towns – estância workers who had lost their livelihoods in the dust bowl, displaced rain forest tribesmen only a generation out of the jungle – crowded the way in on both sides, hurling insults in Portuguese, Nheengatu, Yanomamo, Talian and German. Comissão para a Recriminação troopers stood between the limousine and the mob, armed like New Age gladiators with plexiglass shields and shock batons. Far more effective in holding the crowd back, however, was the public knowledge that the Comissão troopers were there to keep in as well as to keep out. The Ugly Farm was under investigation, and investigation in today’s Brazil could lead to a spell in the sort of prison mediaeval manuscripts barely touched on. There were no rich men’s jails in Rio any longer. The Comissão had declared both that all criminals must be treated equally, and that criminals who had destroyed the Green Gold Of The State were more despicable than any mere murderer.
Glister
illustrated by Daniel Bristow Bailey
It was one s.i. hour after dawn. Although the deceptive marshmallow carpet filling in Hell’s Point was glowing brilliant white in the steadily rising sun, Midas’s primary was still well under the horizon. I knew this, because I had been standing out in the open for over two hours, and I was still not dead.
Each story is introduced by the author and illustrator.
Magpies and Ravens
Dominic Green interviewed by Andrew Hedgecock
"In the event of Britain having an interstellar colony, it would be a bit crap, things wouldn't work very well, and we would end up sponging off the Americans."
Plus Roy Gray on Dominic's history with Interzone and a bibliography.
Other Stories:
The Transmigration of Aishwarya Desai by Eric Gregory
illustrated by Arthur Wang
Every summer, Ganesha Colony invited a major scholar to spend a month on their outrageously monied premises, six jumps from Earth on a planet that only the wealthy could love. There were lectures and workshops, reading groups and research, and at the end of the month there was a twist. This year, Simon Trung was the major scholar. I was the twist.
Silence and Roses by Suzanne Palmer
illustrated by LeMat
Button-4-Circle-Peach was tending to the roses when word came: Thomas had fallen silent. “I will assist,” he said. With efficiency and care he cleaned the dirt from his trowel, put it away, then rose to his feet and went to go find his charge.
Features:
Ansible Link by David Langford
news
BookZone by Jim Steel and the team
books reviews including Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie (review and interview by Maureen Kincaid-Speller, plus free copies of Best Served Cold and the complete First Law Trilogy), Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn (reviewed by Lawrence Osborn), Canary Fever: Reviews by John Clute (reviewed by Paul Kincaid), Prospero Lost by J. Jagi Lamplighter (reviewed by Duncan Lunan), Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve (reviewed by Paul Cockburn), Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai (reviewed by Peter Loftus), Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (reviewed by Sandy Auden), Offworld by Robin Parrish (reviewed by Ian Sales)
Laser Fodder by Tony Lee
DVD and Blu-ray reviews including Cutie Honey, Battlestar Galactica, Franklyn (win a copy), ReGenesis, 20th Century Boys, Goto L'ile D'Amour, The Cell 2, John From Cincinnati, S. Darko, Knowing, Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Dumbland
Mutant Popcorn by Nick Lowe
film reviews including Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Dragonball Evolution, Race to Witch Mountain, Night at the Museum 2, 17 Again, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Synecdoche New York, Monsters vs Aliens, Coraline, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, Outlander
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