INTERACTION

Andy, my copy of Black Static 15 still hasn't turned up

I think I've been the victim of the crappy postal system up here again.... any idea when I should be expecting it?

Thanks !

Rich.

I'm mostly enjoying this issue.
But is it possible to get Black Static into colour like Interzone?

Review by Jonathan McCalmont at SF Signal:-

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/0 ... static-15/

_________________
http://trumpetville.wordpress.com
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/

I wonder if anyone can help (maybe Pete, the moderator?).

I still haven't received my subscription copy of Black Static 15. Either it's gone missing in the mail, or there is a problem with my subscription.

I've emailed Andy Cox directly, and I've also emailed via the ttapresss online contact form, and a week later I have yet to have an acknowledgement or response.

I'm guessing that this means Andy and co. are on holiday or something... which is fine, except that I'm worried that by the time I get a response it'll be too late and there will be no copied of BS15 left to send me

Can anyone at ttapress help by either contacting Andy, or by putting me aside a copy of BS15 please ? I *love* this magazine and I will be totally gutted if I miss out on an issue...

Many thanks,

Rich Dodgin.

Can't help you directly Rich, but as you've had no acknowledgement then I'd guess there's some sort of glitch in the technology.

I'll give Andy a poke.

_________________
http://trumpetville.wordpress.com
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/

There are enough BS 15's left for me to take some to WHC 2010 so don't worry on that score.

Really liked 'The Knitted Child' in this issue - very well done.

_________________
My fiction

Got mine four days ago in Split, Croatia. Knitted Child is indeed great story.

SPOILER WARNING:
My favourite in the issue is "Death by Water", a gritty and lyrical take on the selkie story that avoids the romanticism that often attends this myth (ie the guy doesn't walk away uplifted by the knowledge that she's happily cavorting with her seal-folk, he's still grieving). Never mind the zombies, I think mer-folk could be the next big thing - I read somewhere that Neil Jordan has a film along these lines coming out.

I also liked "Eight Small Men", though I thought that Aubrey's role in the past needed to be developed more. Maybe I just missed something, but I still wasn't sure exactly who he is and why the two brothers were visiting him in the present.

And "The Knitted Child" was very effective.

You're thinking of "Ondine" Rosanne, starring Colin Farrell and out last week. Trailer here:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn7AQe8SqVA

_________________
http://trumpetville.wordpress.com
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/

Hmmm.... Could be good, could be schmaltzfest! But I usually like Jorgan's films. We'll see...

My favourite was 'Death by Water' too. The protagonist didn't know what he was doing, the backdrop was very finely sketched and the ending was awesome. It felt like the end of 'The Prince of Darkness' by John Carpenter.

Nick Cato reviews Black Statics 14 and 15 in the Odds & Ends section of The Horror Fiction Review.

Here's my take on Black Static #15.

As always, all the non-fiction is fantastic. Pete and Tony make a formidable book/dvd reviewing pair, and in many cases reading them is probably more enjoyable than reading/watching some of the stuff they're reviewing. The columns were also excellent as usual.

Onto the fiction:

"Eight Small Men" - Thoroughly enjoyed this. There's a timeless feel to Cooper's work which is also bang up to date. If there were a few loose ends, then that added rather than subtracted for me. A multi-layered story which reflects the complexity of life, rather than focussing on single incidents which some fiction tends to do and lacks something because of it. Nothing lacking here.

"The Knitted Child" - Must be something wrong with me, because unlike everyone else who seems to have read this story this did nothing for me at all. I couldn't get any emotional involvement with the characters (perhaps because they were nameless), and the knitted child irritated the hell out of me. Possibly didn't help that I kept thinking of Harry Hill's knitted character either, but this didn't grab me at all.

"Maximum Darkness" also seemed a little weak, yet there's something about it which drew me in - and, similar to the Cooper, evoked a world larger than the one on the page. I enjoyed it.

"Babylon's Burning" - Kaysen has had some great stuff published in Black Static, and if Elastic Press were still running I'd be headhunting him for a collection. This is excellent - belief/disbelief is well-balanced, and the inevitability and casualness of his decisions work well together. A highlight.

"Death by Water" - another strong story, well-plotted, if just a little by-the-numbers in terms of going from one strange medium to another. Yet the ambiguous nature of the ending saves this piece and adds to it. The non-resolution of grief is palpable and genuine.

Overall, another good issue, with a couple of patchy stories. Always hungry for more.

_________________
www.andrew-hook.com

We have a review from a Russion reader here andhis translation here.
Ray Garraty is his pen name and the review contains spoilers.