LADY CHURCHILL’S ROSEBUD WRISTLET #24 aka The One I’m In. Here’s a review of the whole zine, in case the fact that I’m In This One! isn’t enough for you. You can download each issue as an e-book for just $4 each.

First of all, there is kind of a LCRW “house style,” ably demonstrated by this issue. It’s hard to describe fully, but some elements include lush prose, a mysterious and troubling atmosphere, and direct references to and subversions of various well-known fantasy genres. A strong premise with unusual, surrealist imagery. Since my story has all these elements (I mean, I hope the premise is strong!), rest assured I have nothing against this stuff; but devouring the whole magazine at once may not be the best way to bring out the stories’ unique characteristics.

Alexander Lamb, “Eleven Orchid Street”: Very creepy parable of (it seemed to me) class and origin, the trap of fatalism and the trap of an embittered imagination. Expanding one’s experiences can lead to the feeling that the old experiences have been drained of substance and meaning, rather than giving them renewed meaning. The kill-your-television stuff at first felt cliched, but was done so spookily that I ended up on board. The futuristic atmosphere worked too–a very lightly sketched Clockwork-Orangey place. Definitely my favorite story.

Liz Williams, “Dusking”: Seems like it will be bog-standard Victorian revisionism (modesty and the Bible are evil! Fairies bite!) but has a really fun ending. The ending made me very fond of this one, and it’s short enough that you get there before you really get irritated at the protagonist.

Jasmine Hammer, “Tornado Juice”: Super-intriguing double premise (every strand of a girl’s hair contains a world + people living inside a tornado), but ultimately this felt like a slight story which was trying to be dark but (for me) didn’t quite pull it off. Still, the images are fun and very fresh.

Alissa Nutting, “Leave the Dead to the Living”: A mortician who smokes his clients’ hair to imbibe their memories. Very Tim Powers in Expiration Date. Once again, though, the story felt slighter than the premise.

“A Story Like Mine”: Hey, I’m In This One! Various origin stories of a scar.

Dennis Danvers, “The Broken Dream Factory”: You know, I’m not sure what to make of this one. For a while it was quite smug (and even if that’s intentional, I don’t find it any more illuminating or pleasant!) about its protagonist’s commitment to producing broken dreams in an America which prefers banal happiness. Then it twisted into a really odd reworking of the Orpheus myth. I still think colliding two over-easy stories doesn’t make one complex story… but I could be wrong about that. If any of you all read this issue, let me know what you thought! (And of course about the other stories, too.)

Anya Groner, “The Magician’s Keeper”: Stockholm Syndrome parable. I didn’t get much out of this, I have to admit.

Overall, I’d say three stories I didn’t write were good, one really good; and even the ones I didn’t care for had intriguing premises and imagery. Given how easy it is for fantasy to feel played-out, a twelfth-generation xerox, that seems like an accomplishment to me. I didn’t grok the poetry or comic well enough to comment on them, but I will note that part of the fun of a zine like this is the ads: Did you know there’s a Joan Aiken collection coming out?! Plus lots more neat fantasy collections, weird novels, and magazines.

Get it here! Get more here! Remember, just $4/issue for an ebook version!