INTERACTION

What Roy said, other than that I didn't mind "The Village". On the other hand I consider "Lady in the Water" an abomination, made even worse as when I saw it at the cinema they had the wrong lens on the camera or something, so every scene got distorted and there were boom mikes showing in some. With hindsight that may have been the best thing about it. Sorry Ray.

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

I liked them as harking back to other films, but never really saw him as the new big thing as some did (including himself). Unbreakable I liked a lot, and aspects of The Village. Sixth Sense is over-rated though and obvious to anyone remotely familiar with the genre already.

I don't judge films as critically as I do writing - I treat them as a time-out, so I may let more slip by and give more credit than is due! (That isn't to say I see film as a lesser genre at all, just don't want to murder to dissect).

Brief but very positive review of issue 19 at Skull Salad.

That review by Cate Gardner btw.

Just realised after I posted about BS#20 that I never posted about BS#19. So here we go:

Again, the columns and reviews were exemplarly. Always thoughtful, always informative.

Onto the stories:

Chain Reaction - Must admit I struggled with this one. Nothing particularly pulled me through in terms of 'story'. Knowing that we're moving from one vehicle to another just lowers the expectation of each new vehicle. The second person narration kept me distant rather than involved.

Beachcombing - In comparison, this story contained all that the previous one lacked: subtlety, a depth of feeling, believeable characters. Even though the ending was fairly obvious, the delivery was note perfect and pulled at the heart. Great stuff!

The Sleep Mask - Loved this too - the distinction between reality and dreams effectively and metaphorically torn into shreds.

They Will Not Rest - Storming story - utterly believeable, intelligent, thoughtful, and creepy. Ended perfectly.

The Wound Dresser - Enjoyed the writing here, but the story seemed to be following a well-trodden path of inevitability. I wanted something just a little bit off-centre than what was provided.

Overall, though, a very good issue indeed.

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www.andrew-hook.com

Review at the SF Site:-

http://www.sfsite.com/03a/bs339.htm

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http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/casenotesblog/

I've just uploaded Black Static 19 to Fictionwise but it will not be judged until Nov 1st and will not appear on their site until at least Nov 7, assuming I've made no bad errors. Iz 231 is now up on F'wise and Smashwords.

Got it wrong again. I did make an error but more may be lurking. See above. Fictionwise judgement begins 18 Oct and the verdict should be delivered 24 Oct.

Just uploaded Black Static 19 to Smashwords and some kind reader purchased a copy before I could get version 2 up with some minor corrections. I still can't fully control the page breaks. Sometimes they work and sometimes not. The story art is included but the book/DVD review images are not. The F'wise version is similar.

Black Static 19 the E book version is now live at last at Fictionwise and Smashwords.

And you can hear 'Beachcombing' at The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine. They've added music, sound effects, and some nice 'extra' bits.

http://dunesteef.com/

Nice - I've downloaded it for later.

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http://www.alisonlittlewood.co.uk

Hope you enjoy it. I got quite a kick out of hearing it performed, even with an american accent!

Try it for free - we've reset the price for Black Static #19 on Smashwords so that you can get it for free or select the price you consider worthwhile.
You can try it and then download it again and pay then if you feel guilty about not paying the first time.
That issue contains Peter Tennant's massive anthology, and Steve Jones, special review section and the fiction is 'Chain Reaction' - Steve Rasnic Tem, 'Beachcombing' - Ray Cluley , 'The Sleep Mask' - Joel Lane, 'They Will Not - Rest' - Simon Clark & 'The Wound Dresser' - by Lavie Tidhar.

I had some comments on the Black Static #19 Smashwords E book edition so I've made some changes in the hope that I have improved matters. It's a free, or pay what you consider fair, download from Smashwords and please let us know what you think of it. That version will not be on other retail sites, like Apple, for another 2 or 3 weeks. Don't forget the free Interzone 230 is also there to be downloaded from Smashwords