INTERACTION

Here's my review of BS#16

I enjoyed the columns as usual, and the reviews are always top-notch. As for colour - it looks good, but I would have been equally happy for it to remain as black and white.

In terms of the stories:

"The Overseer" was probably my favourite this issue. I loved the style of the prose (as I have done in Tim's other BS stories), and the ending was perfectly beautiful. It was just the kind of story I love. Not overplayed, but touching on each emotion with a lightness and surety of hand that worked it's way under my skin.

In contrast "Extreme Latitude" didn't do much for me at all. It was 'ok'. The religious aspect did put me off, especially as the shortness of this piece allowed for no depth or contrast. It felt like a version of Solaris by numbers.

"One Wild Last Waltz" was an assured piece, really getting to grips with the characters, and touching the borderline of reality/unreality that Mike does so well.

Second favourite though was "The Empty Spaces". A perfectly formed short story with a perfectly formed concept at its core. Sad and beautiful, with an ending which could signal both horror and relief for the narrator. He really wants to be with Alice and her booming laugh, after all.

"The Moon Would Look Strange" is also damn good. This was a real grower, and the narrator's confusion - at first, presenting itself as an affectation - slowly revealed something 'other' at the heart of the story which was as realistic as it was fantastic. Out of all the stories in this issue, this is the one which I think would add to itself on repeated reading.

The only bad thing about this issue was the slip of paper in the middle reminding me I need to resubscribe. Ah well, it's always worth it.

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www.andrew-hook.com

Thank you for the kind words!

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http://www.alisonlittlewood.co.uk

I enjoyed the whole mag so really I don't want to break it down by story - but rather enjoy it as a whole. Not a single duff page, all of a damn good standard. Honestly, it was nice to have an easily carried anthology of diverse stories for my long journey to London the other weekend. Thinking back now it was the variety that made it good, with each piece part of the greater whole.

Thanks, Ali. Very much.

I haven't read this edition of the mag yet (damn work intruding!) but it seems to be getting overall great feedback.

I suppose I liked the old starkness of the B&W particularly given the title Black Static, however, commercially, colour probably does make the publication look more professional and news-stand worthy. Just don't want it going all Fangoria on me.

I was just wondering if the draw had been made for the competitions yet?

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http://paulwoodward.wordpress.com/

My favourite story this issue was the Empty Spaces.

Funeral horses and things clopping outside totally wicked!

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http://paulwoodward.wordpress.com/

That's really kind, thank you!

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http://www.alisonlittlewood.co.uk

Yes
It was the suggestion of the slightly dysfunctional domestic and the eerie outside

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http://paulwoodward.wordpress.com/

Blog review here:-

http://www.expatpaul.eu/2010/05/crossin ... static-16/

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http://trumpetville.wordpress.com
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/

Very positive review in the June SF Revu.

"Black Static continues to be the premiere magazine of horror. Subscribe!!"

And another in the June HorrorWorld (scroll down).

I tend to be about 3 months behind on my magazine reading but just wanted to offer some thoughts on BS 16, not least because I was delighted to have a story appear in it. The experience was made even more gratifying, given the high quality of the stories by Tim Casson, Alison Littlewood and Lynda Rucker - nice to see another familiar name from TTA appear in these pages. 'The Moon Will Look Strange' was as dark and twisted a piece of work as I've read by Rucker, and Colin's confused desperation and willingness to chase phantoms was expertly conveyed. 'The Overseer' was like an odd fusion of Ligotti (which I think one reviewer noted) and Terry Gilliam. The grim psychodrama of Darius's fall from grace and tentative redemption is is heightened by Casson's use of 1st person, which lends a strange, almost alien feel to what seems familiar. The story is leavened by some apt - though at times violent - touches of black humour, which made it, for me, among the best stories I've read by this author.
Littlewood's 'The Empty Spaces' is the best this issue - an understated, poignant tale of loss and regret, where the key event is made all the more powerful and shocking through its absence. In the same way that apparitions slide into Laurie's flawed vision, and voices play along the edges of Bill's limited hearing, Littlewood has the confidence in her hints and allusions to leave an empty space in her narrative for the reader to fill.
And the move to colour interiors is to be commended. It definitely adds something - depth, a sombre richness - to the accompanying illustrations.

Gosh - thanks Mike.

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http://www.alisonlittlewood.co.uk

Dave Truesdale reviews this issue very positively on Tangent.

And still the reviews keep coming. Nick Cato over at The Horror Fiction Review in August 2010's Odds & Ends:-

http://www.freewebs.com/hfrzine/oddsends.htm

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http://trumpetville.wordpress.com
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/