Edition 18: KFP By George Sandison
While waiting for his wife to arrive at the hospital, Mr Goldberg finds himself more and more perplexed with the world around him. The goings on in the ward, in his room, are beyond the probable. That’s when he starts to lose it. SY
I dreamt of you last night. You were on the other side of a canyon and walking away from me. It scared me. I don’t want anything to separate us, in sickness or in health. We know that health cannot be valued by something as crass as money. I wish you would see death differently though, take that gamble with me.
It’s an expensive clinic I’m in, for sure; all flashing lights, touch screen surfaces and devices I haven’t seen before. You know that smell people always talk about hospitals having? That clean disinfectant one that gets in your nose even after you’ve gone home? I don’t smell it. It doesn’t smell of anything here, except fried meat. I can see you wrinkling your nose already. Oh Susan, where are you?
They wheel him in on the second day. He’s in a thin-framed wheel chair, tall and lean, perfect physique. I’m eating breakfast, the same anonymous mush they gave me three times yesterday. It tastes fine but, damn it, I don’t know what it is. He’s got a bucket of fried chicken that he’s tearing into. It smells real good to me, I know you’d hate it.
The smell pours out of the red bucket he clutches and I can almost see the grease rolling through the room. He’s made the whole place feel dirty.
Edition 18: Book Review: Difficult Second Album by Simon Petrie
Reviewed by Damien Smith
Disclaimer: I’ve followed Simon’s work for a while. For those with a hard copy of this collection, there is actually an excerpt from an old review of mine on the back cover. Far from prompting any bias from me, I had my extra-critical hat on while reading this because the first collection was such a tough act to follow.
Edition 18: The Calling By John W. Oliver
Josiah has struggled to keep his distance from his family for a long time. But when cousin Zeke abducts Josie’s son, and the woman he loves is on his doorstep begging for his help, he is drawn back in again. A dark and supernatural tale about the dark secrets families keep and what we do to protect those we love. This work has also previously received an Honorable Mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. SY
“Josie! Zeke’s taken Sammy,” Connie banged the screen door of my trailer, just in case I hadn’t heard her.
I opened the inner door and squinted out into the bright Nevada sun. My nostrils flared at her scent. I shoved the roast beef sandwich into my mouth, took a big bite and chewed.
“What do you mean he’s taken the boy?” I asked through my mouthful.
“He said he’s taking him home for his second blooding. Whatever the hell that means.” Connie fought back a sob and gave me a look that demanded an answer. She was caught on the fine edge between breaking down and blowing up.
I swallowed and paused before taking another bite. The force of the calling throbbed through me. I hadn’t stopped eating all day. My mouth watered at the sight of Connie. The Calling always enhanced my hunger, and I did my damnedest not to succumb. I tightened my fist, bread oozing between my fingers, and willed myself to take slow even breaths.
Edition 18: Robert Fairweather and the Wrong Ticket by Mark Rookyard
His battles are long over but still Robert Fairweather feels like a relic and out of step with this new world. One chance encounter and Robert ends up on a train in trouble. In this world of steam, Mark Rookyard conjured up some empathetic characters and a dilemma the judges’ could empathise with to take home third place in this year’s Story Quest Competition. SY
The train whistled and steam billowed, great puffing clouds of it spewing all around Robert and the hundreds of others waiting on the platform. A hiss, more steam gasping out, and the steps wound back inside the doors.
Windows glowed golden through the steam, three stories high, and people waved excitedly from the giant brass contraption, looking out for loved ones on the platform.
Friends and family called out, their voices drowned by the hissing and steaming, and then the train was on its way, its brass length sleek and shining in all its glory.
Testament to the glory of man, testament to the glory of one man. A dead man. A beaten man.
The steam and smoke drifted all around Robert now, as idle and lost as those who had been waving farewell to their loved ones. They too drifted about the platform before slipping away into the crowds.
Edition 18: Film Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Reviewed by Sophie Yorkston
Another year and another J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy with Peter Jackson at the helm draws to a close with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The final film in The Hobbit trilogy has hit silver screens the world over and merchandisers weep into their poor empty hands.
I will admit, that while I have read both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the challenge of The Silmarillion has not been one I have elected to undertake. It is an admission that I am not well-versed on the parts of Tolkien lore that have fleshed out this children’s story (however, I am still a card-carrying fangirl: I have made my pilgrimage to Hobbiton!).
News: 2014 Story Quest Short Story Contest
We are happy to announce the winners and finalists of the 2014 Story Quest Short Story Contest, which was themed for the first time – ‘Punkin’ the Train’. In this contest authors had to submit stories of 3k or less which included trains or train stations in a significant way, and which were written in one of the ***punk sub-genre styles, such as steampunk and dieselpunk.
The winners are:
1st Place (US$100 prize and published in SQ Mag): The Carbonite’s Daughter by Deryn Pittar (New Zealand)
2nd Place (US$50 prize and published in SQ Mag): Like Clockwork by Tim Major (United Kingdom)
3rd Place(US$25 prize and published in SQ Mag): Robert Fairweather And The Wrong Ticket by Mark Rookyard (United Kingdom) Read the rest of this entry
Edition 17: Notes From the Editor
Welcome again all to our November edition and Happy Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve to our northern hemisphere readers. I love this time, caught between the two hemispheres, of all the colour of these stages of life; the bursting forth of the new, ready to begin, and the slow whiling away of the old in a last burst of vivacity into decrepit waste.
Our edition unintentionally came together with a bit of a spooky feel. There’s a psychic who sees ghosts, a portal to the afterlife, a collection of dark and twisted tales reviewed, and another novel assessed with ghosts at its heart. Perhaps the forces of the other side have helped bring it all together for appropriate enjoyment for those still amongst the living…
We are on a bit of a science fiction kick at the moment in our submissions, which is lovely, as it had been lacking for a while there. There’s several stories in this edition to evidence just how versatile a genre it is. It also ties in particularly well with the great 70s and 80s-style sci-fi cover brought to you by the talents of artist and writer Andrew J. McKiernan. Thanks for the nostalgia, Andrew!
Edition 17: Hunting the Sky Gods by Meryl Stenhouse
It’s do or die for Endless Jones: she’s taken a last chance at finding her past and left the only home she’s ever known. This delightful piece by Meryl Stenhouse should ring a true note with any of us that ever felt that we didn’t belong. SY
Endless Jones shifted her grip on the brickwork and very carefully did not look down. The wind tugged at her woollen tunic with icy fingers and whipped dark hair into her eyes, bringing with it the sharp tang of the ocean. She glanced over her left shoulder, towards the east and the high, cold mountains where the Sky Gods came from. Moonlight shone on the bars of the cage she carried on her back.
“Can’t we discuss this in a logical manner?” said the canary from his cage. “Possibly somewhere closer to the ground?”
“No,” said Endless. The howl of marauding wolves and the frantic bleating of sheep drifted up the valley. Endless felt a pang of guilt for abandoning the sheep. But tomorrow was the first day of spring, the day when the Sky Gods would sweep over the valley on their annual cycle, as regular as the seasons. It had to be tonight.
“I mean, I’m all for someone chasing their dreams, but I’m not sure you’ve considered all the consequences—”
“I know what I’m doing, bird. I’ve got a plan.”
“Oh, well, if you’ve got a plan we’re all fine then, aren’t we?”
Edition 17: Serial Fiction: The Morland Basking Plain (Book III of III) by Arthur Davis
The final straits of the charge through the Moreland Plain are taking their toll on both the pursued and pursuer. It’s a death march to the end, and only one will come out victorious. Will Marcos Xzen and the Sartrap finally run down Logan Drewry? SY
SQ Mag 
