I think the most amazing thing for me was seeing the literary quality of this magazine. I don't have much experience with what's available in magazines now--my early years of checking out Cosmopolitan, the one slick mag I purchased on occasion, versus, older reading when romance story magazines were the rage, on newspaper-quality paper, remember? Well, you get the idea that I'm not a magazine reader to any great extent...
However, I found that not only the entire layout, editing, and art was being exceptionally done, but that the contributing writers were, apparently, well known as well as published in the genre. Not knowing a genre's writers and contributors does not stop me from knowing quality when I see it... And not knowing the genre as well as many of you, did not stop me from appreciating the stories...albeit some more than others. Those I'm going to give an overview review so you'll know more on some of the ones I really liked...
Take for instance, the 3rd Weird Story...
Fae For a Day
By Teet James Glenn
Sure, everybody knows that the Irish are known for keeping the Fairy Folk (Fae), the little people happy... I guess they've learn they'd better??? For this author tells us that some of them, mostly living in the West Village have a bad rep with the cops. Robin Flannigan had been working that beat for 8 years when, on Halloween night, one of their precinct cars was stolen! Flannigan had been stupid brave by trying to stop them by standing in front of the car and shooting!
Now Flannigan was on disability with little likelihood that he'd ever be back... Well, there was always his favorite cop pub where the drinks ran continuously and the stories were shared, so he was always in the loop, at least. But he tried something different this night, Robin was there...and it was Halloween...again!
"So I drank. A lot.
"That was why I was in that weird bar on Halloween as a patron.
"The watering hole was called the "Phantom o the Opera Club" on Seventh Avenue sould of Christopher Street and Sheridan Square. It was a tourist trap. To me, booze is booze. They had beer from thirty countries so I could do a lot of world traveling in a night without leaving my barstool.
"The bouncer was a big black dude named Marvin who was the size of a house, gay as Tuesday and the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Just don't cross him. |
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"I was almost to Fiji via Melbourne when there was a commotion at the door. Two bridge and tunnel jerks dressed as Jason and Freddy Krueger respectively with cheap store bought masks were arguing hotly with Marvin because he didn't want to admit anyone with "weapons." Jason's machete looked too real for the bouncer's taste and I'd swear Freddy in the movie didn't carry a baseball bat..."
"I was going to get up and offer at least moral support when this strangely dressed dude stepped right up between the three of them and everything stopped dead cold..."
~~~
Now any of us who have seen Freddy or Jason in action knows that a guy who looked like a Regency Dandy didn't have a chance, right?
"The golden giant moved like he had stepped out of an Errol Flynn film. He avoided the bat with a deft sidestep, spinning in the process to slice the blade upward along the underside of Freddy's left arm. A thin red line appeared along the entire arm, pit to wrist and Freddy let out a scream...
"Jason came in swinging his wooden sword with hard overhand. The dandy nimbly danced away, turned and yelled "Elah!" and did a perfect old movie lunge that put the sword point directly through Jason's left bicep and continued the thrust until the blade went through the right, connecting the two arms. Then the gold-haired gent stepped back leaving the sword piercing the touch guy's arms..."
But this wasn't just a man dressed up for Halloween in fancy clothes... Robin of course went over to introduce himself and discovered who had really been fighting...
"My name is Oberon, "King of the Fairies, he said as I started to tilt over again. I managed to say, "Sure thing," before I pitched forward out cold... I came to, convinced I had been carried into a Halloween party. All around me were characters that looked like the cast party for Lord of the Rings except that the armor didn't look plastic and I had no way in hell to explain the guy with the goat legs and horns sticking out of his forehead. "Hey, hey," goat guy said to me, "I hear we have the same name. I'm Robin Goodfellow." He was clean-shaven and had almost a child's features though his body was definitely "fully developed" based on the size of his sch****. Yes, he was "naked" save for his fuzzy legs. "Hi," was all I could manage. I mimed a drinking motion and almost magically the satyr had a huge tankard in his hand. I managed to sit up enough to take a swig and wow! Grade A stuff..."Looking for Obi?" Robin horn-head asked. I looked at him with an expression that must have looked as puzzled as I felt. "I call him that because he hates it so much. I mean Oberon..."
~~~
About that time Robin remembered the golden guy Dandy and began to wonder exactly where he was and who was who...and, more importantly, what?! Suddenly he realized that OMG, he was in the land of the Fae and every story that his beloved grandmother had told him came back to him...
What was going to happen next?!!!
Now, here's where it really gets weird, and I'm going to close so you can prepare for Halloween, but I will give you one little tidbit of gossip...What happened to Jason and Freddie? Why, they were placed under a spell and now were madly in love with each other! LOL, but...true... and... Robin? Well, here's a hint... Ohhhhh, My!
But now, he's only Fae just every once in awhile...
Enjoy this weird adventure story, just as much as I did, in Issue 361!
Have a Happy Halloween, and if you happen to heard the Overture to the Phantom of the Opera...
Please...RUN!
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