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A review by scottishben
Uncanny Magazine Issue 1: November/December 2014 by Michael Damian Thomas, Lynne M. Thomas, Michi Trota
3.0
A solid first issue although not one which leaves me with a clear impression of exactly what Uncanny Magazine is or why it exists. For the non-fiction it was all entertaining enough other than a dull roundtable only of interest to people interested in running conventions however it all felt either just as unneccisary as that except for the Tansy article which felt far to undercooked to be worth reading (hadn't read or thought enough about the issue to say anything very interesting). Still I was entertained and would read the rest of the non-fiction in any future issue of Uncanny I buy. The best article was one about some good free SF films which you can see online but this very short article was really more of a blog article and would work better read as such where you can click and save on links for anything interesting.
As for the poetry - I just dont get why SF poetry is published in SF magazines. I like poetry and I like SF and I sometimes like SF in my poetry but I have yet to read any poetry published in SF sources that I have felt was any good. And when you see how little people get paid for SF poetry I can see why. It is a labour of love but it is just like if someone spend ages renovating a model train set - its love for which i am at best mildly curious and a love I dont share. None of the poetry in this collection left a lasting impression on me.
As for the fiction there was nothing bad here but nothing that I loved. The tone was all lightish and the each story was very readable. The Beamer was a pleasant surprise and was very good, Time travel done in a fresh and fun way and the Liu felt a little like Tongtongs summer which he translated for Upgraded but was efficiently told and well written.
As for the poetry - I just dont get why SF poetry is published in SF magazines. I like poetry and I like SF and I sometimes like SF in my poetry but I have yet to read any poetry published in SF sources that I have felt was any good. And when you see how little people get paid for SF poetry I can see why. It is a labour of love but it is just like if someone spend ages renovating a model train set - its love for which i am at best mildly curious and a love I dont share. None of the poetry in this collection left a lasting impression on me.
As for the fiction there was nothing bad here but nothing that I loved. The tone was all lightish and the each story was very readable. The Beamer was a pleasant surprise and was very good, Time travel done in a fresh and fun way and the Liu felt a little like Tongtongs summer which he translated for Upgraded but was efficiently told and well written.