Part forty-six in my ongoing retrospective as I read the fiction to the back issues of Realms of Fantasy and offer my thoughts, right up to the present. This time around I'll be discussing the April 2002 issue.
This retrospective marks one of those milestone issues for the magazine, at least to me. Why? Well, we have a couple of firsts, and a couple of lasts this issue that are worth mentioning. Let's start with the lasts. This issue marks the last editorial we ran. It also marks the last issue Rebecca McCabe appears in the masthead as Assistant Editor. Fittingly then, the last editorial is written by none other Rebecca McCabe, which was her third editorial in the magazine. In it, she addresses the rumors of missing manuscripts that had been directed toward her, and defends herself and her work over the course of almost eight years as assistant editor. I found this goodbye to be both thoughtful and eloquent.
Now let's talk about the firsts. This marks the first issue that my direct predecessor, Carina Gonzalez, appears in the masthead. While she took over for Rebecca, and I in turn took over for Carina, Rebecca and I were and are listed as Assistant Editors (Rebecca started off as Editorial Assistant before being given the sexier title of Assistant Editor), Carina is listed as Editorial Intern. Why this is, I don't know, but her responsibilities were similar to ours. Either way, this issue marks an official passing of the torch. What it also marks is the first time there has been a significant change in the editorial fiction department.
To me, this is very important, which is why I feel compelled to go on at some length. Shawna is the editor, and since the fiction is arguably the most important feature of the magazine, this magazine is a reflection of her tastes more than anyone else's. But let's not forget that it was and is her tireless assistants who wade through the slush, and what we pass along from the slush is a reflection of our tastes. What Shawna takes from our selections for publication isn't only what she considers worthy of the magazine, it's also where her tastes and ours intersect. Those intersections can be viewed as glimpses into the tastes of her assistants. And since no two people share the exact same tastes, the kinds of stories we've passed (and will pass) along to Shawna will sometimes differ. I couldn't tell you all of Rebecca's slush survivors, but if I read an author bio and it mentions this is the author's first publication, or that before this publication the author only had small press credits, it's quite likely these authors were slush survivors. Same thing goes for authors from Carina's era, and I've read a number of her slush survivor tales before I started these retrospectives. And having read these tales, I can tell both Rebecca and Carina's tastes are somewhat different than my own. Not better or worse, just different. What this means (to me anyway) is that when these editorial changes take place, while the vision of the magazine remains Shawna's, subtle shifts in some of the fiction we publish will take place. I mean, how can they not? If Rebecca, Carina, and I all have somewhat different tastes, it stands to reason that Shawna's tastes will intersect with ours in different ways. This in turn will lead to some different types of slush survivors being published, which will lead to a slight shift in the the flavor of the magazine. Let me reiterate that these changes would be subtle. Everything remains a story that Shawna likes, but a different assistant editor means that sometimes a different kind of story is being brought to her attention. Let me be very clear here, as what I'm discussing can be a touchy subject if minterpreted. I'm not talking about the abilities of the various editors, nor am I talking about the merits of the various stories we've passed along to Shawna that have been published. I'm just talking about how different stories will ring the bells of different readers, and how this could influence the personality of a magazine. It's certainly so for editors, so I don't see why it wouldn't be the case to a lesser extent regarding assistant editors. As to who is better at their job and who pulled out the best slush survivors, well, you may feel free to debate such things among yourselves, but for the purposes of these retrospectives I have no interest in going down that road. The last tidbit I'll mention before moving along (finally!) is that any subtle shifts in the magazine's personality probably wouldn't show up for some issues yet, since we always have stuff in inventory.
One other change I'll note is that in the masthead, Ryan Costa's brief run as Graphic Designer is over. Replacing him is Jennifer Schneider.
Now, on to the fiction ...
The lead story is "Kallisti" by Richard Parks, which marks his eleventh appearance in the magazine. This one is a piece of Greek mythology that deals with some of the key events leading up to the Trojan War, revolving most notably around Paris, Eris, and the Apple of Discord. We also witness a chunk of the fallout based on Richard's ideas, and it leads to a twist ending that left me nodding my head. I was expecting it, but was pleased nonetheless, since it struck me as the best possible ending and I was hoping the author would go here.
Following this we have "Hubris" by James Patrick Kelly. This also deals with Greek mythology and at the same time is a cross with metafiction, as it becomes a cross between modern literature and a man's encounter with the Greek Muse. Saying more would give too much of this one away.
After this we have "Honeysuckle Flowers" by Katya Reimann, a high fantasy tale set in the same universe as her trilogy of novels known as the Tielmaran Chronicles. This one revolves around the tale of two lovers, and the woman is a witch. The princess of their homeland is going to be married soon, and the lovers' lives are thrown into chaos by the arrival of her husband-to-be, who foolishly wishes to hunt in the Changing Lands, a magical land where no one returns from. And his appointed guide into these lands is the witch's lover. Things are made even more complicated by the fact that the witch has been summoned to attend the princess, which would force her to leave her lover. Everything finally comes to a head in the Changing Lands in unexpected fashion.
Then we have "The Rose in Twelve Petals" by Theodora Goss. I actually attended the Odyssey Writing Workshop the same year as Theodora (or Dora, as many of us call her), back in 2000. I believe that she is the first Odyssean to crack the pages of Realms of Fantasy. There have been a ton of Clarionites (Clarioners?) published in the magazine, but the Clarion workshop is far older than Odyssey. So this is kind of cool for Odyssey, as it was less than ten years old at the time. Of course, you deserve the whole story behind this one. Dora did indeed attend Odyssey, but she also attended Clarion in 2001. In fact, if memory serves correctly, Shawna actually discovered this story while teaching at Clarion that summer. She read Dora's story and liked it so much she decided to take it for the magazine. This was her first published story, so it's a pretty good way to break in! But it gets better. "The Rose in Twelve Petals" was also selected for inclusion in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 16, edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling. Dora has certainly been one of the magazine's biggest discoveries, as she's since gone on to publish a host of short stories, and she's been nominated for both the Nebula and World Fantasy Award. As to the story itself (he said, treating it like an afterthought!), it's a very unusal retelling of Sleeping Beauty. As you might expect, it's told in 12 parts, and the rose plays an important part.
Next up we have "Field of Angels" by Lauren Halkon, a bizarre high fantasy tale that deals with warring factions striving for the possession of various angels. It's a tough one to describe beyond that, so I'll simply steal Shawna's editorial caption for this one: "Is it a fair trade--the food of the spirit for the hunger of the soul?"
Now we turn our attention to "The Djinn Who Lives Between Night and Day" by Bruce Holland Rogers, which marks his third appearance in the magazine. This one is a short tale, and there isn't much to say about it except that it deals with a djinn whose actions are so ambiguous he might be evil, or he might be good. It's really left to the reader to decide.
Finally we have "The Veil Beyond the Veil" by William Shunn, which marks his second appearance in the magazine. This one takes an unusual look at the afterlife, as a woman finds herself being reincarnated again and again. But usually the greatest changes is that she keeps coming to life in different worlds. Wild stuff.
So that wraps up this issue. And my favorite story? I'm a big fan of Homer's Illiad, so I'm going with "Kallisti" by Richard Parks. Next time I'll get into the June 2002 issue. Until then ...
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livelongnmarry, which contains a boatload of accessories for the book and which starts at a mere $10 USD!
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