Black Static 29

[Jason Whittle]

A strongish set of stories with a real creature feature vibe. Not hugely impressed with the horse and bug stories, but I thought Tim Lees and Nina Allan did well with their alternate riffs on the vampire legend, with my only minor quibble being the inclusion of the line "I detest the word 'vampire'" in Nina Allan's story. It should have been perfectly obvious to any Black Static reader what she was alluding to, and it would been much better to have gotten through the whole story without once using the v-word.

Without wishing to show bias to a Dark Minds 2 contributor, I think Ray Cluley really stole the show. Black Static can sometimes be a little too ponderous for my liking so this story, fast-paced and funny, laced with in-jokes and told in an endearing conversational style, made a refreshing change.

The other thing to comment on is the new format; it's more like a little book than a mere magazine, isn't it? It has a much more permanent feel to it - of course I've kept all of my other back issues, but only in a carrier bag inside the old TV stand cabinet up in the loft. Whereas this copy (once I've finished sniffing it, and running my fingers over the cover, spine and pages) will take pride of place alongside all my novels and novellas, to be joined by future Black Static issues.

We're gonna need a bigger bookcase.

[Ray]

Thank you, Jason - I'm really glad you liked the story. I thought I was taking a bit of a risk with it but it seems to have paid off.

I really like the new look (and smell) of the magazine. At the moment I have a stack on the shelf, but now I can stand them upright alongside. (Is it sad that I'm so pleased by such a thing??)

Bigger bookcase indeed! ;D

[benedictjjones]

loving the new look as well. haven't had a chance to start it yet left it at work =O( - i'll be checking your story first, ray.