Reviews
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Ah, these one story issues of Hub are perfect for reading and reviewing in your lunchbreak. Issue 87’s story in Nightlife by Dean Grondo. Wow, that’s disturbing. I think I’m actually horrified. This is a snippet of an insight into the mind of a serial killer. There’s no attempt to construct a narrative or give…
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Issue 5 of Crossed Genres is sci-fi/fantasy crossed with humour. There are five stories. The first is Archimedes Nesselrode by Justine Graykin. The start of this put me off. I think perhaps this information could have been worked into the story as part of the narrative, rather than as an introductory scene. The setting is…
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I am now reviewing Hub in the same month of its publication. I’m giddy. The story in Issue 85 is Old Clothes by Chris Cyr. I didn’t like this. It’s a ghost story and is the experience of a woman’s spirit after her death. Old clothes are used to hang old memories on and tell…
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Special treats in Issue 83 of Hub. There’s a poem as well as a story. Story first, as usual, and it’s Mother Sponge by Mur Lafferty. This is really good. Exposition is handled in great dialogue and adds to the story rather than slowing it down. It builds from a strong start into a gripping…
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My Dad’s Idea by Llinos Cathryn Thomas is kind of fun. It’s a tongue in cheek solution to resource exhaustion and its impact on the human race. It’s worth a read. On an aside, and as I don’t have much to say about the story in Issue 84 of Hub, I recently watched a few…
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Once upon a time, I thought I was catching up but this is real life and there’s no happily ever after. Which sounds more depressing than I mean. There are endings and many of them are happy and then the story keeps on going. Much like my quest to catch up on my reading. Oh…
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Still struggling to get used to the new blocky design of Hub‘s website. And still struggling to catch up with all the things I want to read. Anyway, Issue 81. The story is Gifted by Philip Palmer. Wow. This is fantastic. The very sad tale of a lonely boy who wastes the gifts he has,…
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Yikes, Hub‘s had another redesign. I’m not so keen on this version; it hurts my eyes a little and seems a bit old-fashioned. Still, what it looks like is less important than what’s in it. On to Issue 80 and Hush a Bye by Beverly Allen. This story starts off well. Allen takes a mundance…
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The story in Issue 79 of Hub is another that plays with format. SBIR Proposal by Richard K Lyon takes the well used guise of a letter from one organisation to another. There is quite a lot of back story early on that I think would be unlikely to form part of the content of…
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OK, I’m steadily catching up. We’re on to Issue 78 of Hub, only five issues behind now. The story is Gravestones by Mari Ness and it’s a real treat. I’m really interested in structure and the impact it has on a story. The same tale structured in different ways can be so different. I like…
Boudica Marginalia 