LADY CHURCHILL\u2019S ROSEBUD WRISTLET<\/a><\/em><\/strong> #24 aka The One I\u2019m In. Here\u2019s a review of the whole zine, in case the fact that I\u2019m In This One! isn\u2019t enough for you. You can download each issue as an e-book for just $4 each.<\/p>\n First of all, there is kind of a LCRW <\/em>\u201chouse style,\u201d ably demonstrated by this issue. It\u2019s 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\u2019 unique characteristics.<\/p>\n Alexander Lamb, \u201cEleven Orchid Street\u201d<\/strong>: Very creepy parable of (it seemed to me) class and origin, the trap of fatalism and the trap of an embittered imagination. Expanding one\u2019s 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\u2013a very lightly sketched Clockwork-Orangey<\/em> place. Definitely my favorite story.<\/p>\n Liz Williams, \u201cDusking\u201d<\/strong>: Seems like it will be bog-standard Victorian revisionism (modesty and the Bible are evil! Fairies bite!) but has a really <\/em>fun ending. The ending made me very fond of this one, and it\u2019s short enough that you get there before you really get irritated at the protagonist.<\/p>\n Jasmine Hammer, \u201cTornado Juice\u201d<\/strong>: Super-intriguing double premise (every strand of a girl\u2019s 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\u2019t quite pull it off. Still, the images are fun and very fresh.<\/p>\n Alissa Nutting, \u201cLeave the Dead to the Living\u201d<\/strong>: A mortician who smokes his clients\u2019 hair to imbibe their memories. Very Tim Powers in Expiration Date<\/em>. Once again, though, the story felt slighter than the premise.<\/p>\n \u201cA Story Like Mine\u201d<\/strong>: Hey, I\u2019m In This One! Various origin stories of a scar.<\/p>\n Dennis Danvers, \u201cThe Broken Dream Factory\u201d<\/strong>: You know, I\u2019m not sure what to make of this one. For a while it was quite smug (and even if that\u2019s intentional, I don\u2019t find it any more illuminating or pleasant!) about its protagonist\u2019s 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\u2019t make one complex story\u2026 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.)<\/p>\n Anya Groner, \u201cThe Magician\u2019s Keeper\u201d<\/strong>: Stockholm Syndrome parable. I didn\u2019t get much out of this, I have to admit.<\/p>\n Overall, I\u2019d say three stories I didn\u2019t write were good, one really <\/em>good; and even the ones I didn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019s a Joan Aiken collection coming out?!<\/a> Plus lots more neat fantasy collections, weird novels, and magazines.<\/p>\n Get it here!<\/a> Get more here<\/a>! Remember, just $4\/issue for an ebook version!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LADY CHURCHILL\u2019S ROSEBUD WRISTLET #24 aka The One I\u2019m In. Here\u2019s a review of the whole zine, in case the fact that I\u2019m In This One! isn\u2019t 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 \u201chouse style,\u201d ably demonstrated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n