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| SFReader Forums > Book, Magazine, and eZine Publishers > Flashing Swords > Issue 9 is out the gate! | Forum Quick Jump
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crystalwizard
Forum Moderator
      
Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5002
| Posted 2/18/2008 11:42 PM (GMT -5) |   | | | |
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tchernabyelo
Acolyte
Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 457
| Posted 2/20/2008 7:06 AM (GMT -5) | | I only just got my issue, since I've been on vacation for two weeks, and I'm still reading through it.
Thanks to those who commented on mine. And TA, yes, the illo worked fine for me - many thanks.
Brian Dolton
Yi Qin stories:
"The Box Of Beautiful Things" - IGMS#3
"The Man Who Was Never Afraid" - Abyss and Apex #20
"At Blue Crane Falls" - Abyss and Apex #25 "Where No Wind Blows" - Staffs & Starships #2 (forthcoming)
"What The Sea Refuses" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"What The Heart Bears" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
Other Land Of Wind And Ghosts stories:
"The Dragon Path" - Fictitious Force (forthcoming)
"Three Out Of Four" - Sorcerous Signals Feb-Apr 08 (forthcoming)
Stories in other settings:
"The Unicorn Hunter" - OG's Speculative Fiction #8
"Call Centre" - Necrotic Tissue #1
"When Winter Came" - ASIM #32 (forthcoming)
"Cold Fire" - Flashing Swords #9 (forthcoming) | | Back to Top | | |
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crystalwizard
Forum Moderator
Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5002
| Posted 2/23/2008 5:14 AM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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Chris Willrich
Goblin Librarian
Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 25
| Posted 2/26/2008 3:00 PM (GMT -5) | | Hi -- I enjoyed reading Flashing Swords 9. The standouts for me were "Mightier Than the Sword" by Bill Ward, which had the flavor of one of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser's capers gone awry, "The Night of the Meld," by Bruce Durham, which zipped along with lots of good action and creepy adversaries, and "The Plague Ship," by Liane Whittier, with its vivid atmosphere of high seas horror. Also, a special nod to "And the Wind Sang," by Bradley H. Sinor, for taking a character concept I wouldn't have believed would work (I'll avoid spoilers) and getting me hooked with the story, and to "Like Ink in Rain," by Elizabeth Barrette, for its effectiveness in a short space. I've tried to write very short stories and mostly suck at it, so it's always interesting to see ones that work.
Those are the ones I liked best, but there was lots of inventiveness in all the pieces here, and I look forward to reading the next issue. | | Back to Top | | |
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Bruce Durham
Crom's Administrator & Drinking Buddy
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 625
| Posted 2/26/2008 3:25 PM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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crystalwizard
Forum Moderator
Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5002
| Posted 2/26/2008 9:10 PM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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Charles Gramlich
Acolyte
Date Joined Aug 2007
Total Posts : 269
| Posted 2/26/2008 11:08 PM (GMT -5) | | I’ve finished issue 9 now so here are my comments on the remaining stories:
“Zeerembuk,” by Steve Goble is a nice twist on the summoned demon tale. I liked the ending, which was a twist that surprised me.
“The Porvov Switch,” by Seth Skorkowsky, has an excellent setting. I liked how the heroes turned the tables on the villains here. Knowing something about saintly relics, I liked that element of the story quite a lot.
“Death’s Head” by Joseph A. McCullough V was a simple but effective tale. I thought the main character, “Bowis,” reminded me of David Gemmell’s “The Jerusalem Man. I very much liked the point about how angels and demons might be hard to tell apart.
“Tyler’s Bed and Breakfast” by Lyn Perry is a very nice short short. I figured it out before I got to the end but it was still a nice tight twist at the end.
“Cold Fire,” by Brian Dolton was, in my opinion, one of the best written stories in the magazine as far as prose style goes. Although I might be biased by the fact that I really enjoy the “northern thing.” I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the primary character, Moonjari.
“Like Ink in Rain,” by Elizabeth Barrette was a fine vignette. I like having a mix of these very short pieces with the longer pieces. This had elements of a prose poem.
“The Night of the Meld” by Bruce Durham. I can see why this was the featured story. The characters were well developed and likable, and there was nice conflict. The “monster” in the tale was well done. I might have liked to see a bit more about the “imp” but I understand the concern with length. This piece could have been longer.
I also think that “And the Wind Sang” could have benefited from some expansion, particularly with the battle scenes.
For the interviews, I enjoyed both. Not much more that I can say there. I think this is an excellent feature of the magazine, though.
“The British Redcoat in Zululand” by Joseph A. McCullough was a good reference piece. It was well written and informative, although honestly it seemed a bit out of place given the fantasy settings for the stories.
As for the poetry, poetry is so subjective that it’s hard to judge. I enjoyed the pieces featured here. My favorite piece was probably “Offering” by Aurelio Rico Lopez III.
Charles Gramlich
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tchernabyelo
Acolyte
Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 457
| Posted 2/27/2008 6:33 AM (GMT -5) | | Thanks from me too, Charles.
I've got another Modnjari story doing the rounds at the moment, but the main intention is to actually complete "Lord of The Red Hall", which is the backstory alluded to in "Cold Fire" - and is novel-length. There's 30,000 words of first draft written but I have some major reappraisal to do with POV and adding a parallel plotline (it's too simplistic as it stands).
She wasn't intended to be the main character (the novel was intended as an ensemble piece) but as I was writing it she sort of stood out as someone significantly more interesting than the two leads...
Brian Dolton
Yi Qin stories:
"The Box Of Beautiful Things" - IGMS#3
"The Man Who Was Never Afraid" - Abyss and Apex #20
"At Blue Crane Falls" - Abyss and Apex #25 "Where No Wind Blows" - Staffs & Starships #2 (forthcoming)
"What The Sea Refuses" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"What The Heart Bears" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
Other Land Of Wind And Ghosts stories:
"The Dragon Path" - Fictitious Force (forthcoming)
"Three Out Of Four" - Sorcerous Signals Feb-Apr 08
Stories in other settings:
"The Unicorn Hunter" - OG's Speculative Fiction #8
"Call Centre" - Necrotic Tissue #1
"When Winter Came" - ASIM #32
"Cold Fire" - Flashing Swords #9
"St. Saviour And The Devil's Dandy" - Flashing Swords (forthcoming) | | Back to Top | | |
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Jack Mackenzie
Neophyte
Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 109
| Posted 2/28/2008 12:46 PM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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Seth Skorkowsky
Stablehand
Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 14
| Posted 3/12/2008 11:18 AM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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Firlefanz
Sage
Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 1246
| Posted 3/12/2008 4:53 PM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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