Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine # 61 (emagazine review)

Maybe a bit late in coming out, the new issue of ‘Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine’ (ASIM) is nevertheless welcome. Anyway, wouldn’t it be a bit boring otherwise, like having the same thing for dinner each day of the week, roast beef on Sunday, spaghetti on Tuesday and fish on Friday, so at least this way its arrival is a pleasant surprise. If you don’t know, ‘Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine’ is crazy, zany and refreshingly interesting. Now having reached the age of 61, it’s also mature, well-established and, damnably, a good read.

Fred Coppersmith kicked off proceedings with an instantly catching story entitled ‘When Jean Was Nine’. At that age, she was eaten by a shark. Later, she did other things, like catching a ghost and it progressed thereafter in a spiral of curiosity. Where would it end?

Sinthia Higgin-Bottom’s (I sometimes wonder if some of the names are real, apologies if they are) story, ‘The First Of His Kind’, was a bit intriguing, especially when it involves the production of a clone. William was a fawn and there were elves involved but, pixies notwithstanding, maybe the humans would also get a look in. A well-written story with plenty of interest.

Sean Monaghan’s ‘Double Team’ reminded me a bit of ‘Taken’ with Liam Neeson. Despite the up-to-date technology, it also struck me as being somewhat old-fashioned but in a good way. Jim Grant was on a stake-out and, at the same time, his daughter was in trouble. In an escalation of action, he had to somehow see to them both, discovering simultaneously that the two events were interlinked. Exciting stuff!

Mark Bondurant’s ‘Dry Run’ started off with somebody smoking a fag. Seem to be lots of stories about smokers in this magazine? Maybe the lounge on the starship is full of smoke? Maybe not. Anyway, it was a fairy who was smoking and it was in the Mojave Desert. Meeting up with some young adults, the fairy began to learn about the intricacies of human life, including cluster bombs. This begins a journey which becomes more and more idiosyncratic, showing up the illogical nature of our species.

If you like cats then AJ Fitzwater’s and this is the title, ‘Long’s Confandabulous Clockwork Circus And Carnival, And Cats Of Many Persuasions’, is just right for you. I will not even try attempt to explain it. A long story, it’s intriguing and it does have moggies in it but there’s also lots of other goodies as well. Who gets the last laugh? I bet it’s a cat!

David Barber has a poem entitled ‘A Critic Reviews Pioneer 10’. This was the first probe to leave the solar system and it is heading for Aldebaran. What would the people who receive the probe, in long distant future, think about its origins?

These are only some of offerings within the 170 pages. 11 stories, excellent artwork, poetry, an article and book reviews make up the content which as usual is varied and interesting. I don’t really like to mention the Australian origin because, in truth, it’s an international magazine, an interstellar magazine in fact and the people who put the pages together are to be found everywhere. If you haven’t read ASIM before or not even heard of it, where have you been? Is definitely recommended.

Rod MacDonald

November 2015

(pub: Andromeda Spaceways. 170 page quarterly A5 magazine. $ 4.95 (AUS) PDF copy online, hardcopy: $12.95 (AUS). Subscription six issues $ 27.00 (AUS))

check out website: www.andromedaspaceways.com