Publication Reviews

I had heard very good things about Murky Depths and, having now seen an issue for myself, I can only back up what everyone is saying. This quarterly anthology is something very special indeed and is going to cause some long running fiction magazines to start sweating in fear.

What I love most about this publication is the way it embraces storytelling in all its forms, an eclectic collection of styles, genres and presentation sealed inside one of the most professional packages I have had the pleasure to hold in my hands.

C.S. MacCarth’s “Casting Sin” is cast in the same vein as Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” Hedea’s town has turned against her, using her age as the reason to make her the target in a classic scapegoat ritual. If she can survive a walk through the length of the town while the people, who have taken everything from her—from her loom to her home—pelt her with objects that symbolize and mystically transfer their sins to her, they’ll let her live as an exile.

Short and startling
By LAURIE MASON

If you're like most readers, the last time you willingly purchased an anthology you were in college, it weighed a ton, and some guy Norton's name was on the cover.

That's a shame, because anthologies - particularly those published by small presses - are a treasure trove of new stories to fit every literary taste, each short enough to finish during an afternoon at the shore.

Of the dozens of new anthologies crowding bookstore shelves this season, my favorite by far is "Clockwork Phoenix."

I would have bought this book for its mysteriously gorgeous cover art alone, but the stellar lineup of contributing writers sold me completely.