"Joey's Machine" by Daniel J. Maines
"Cindy" by James S. Dorr
"Cloning Jesus" by S.C. Bryce
"Lifeforce" by Edo van Belkom
"Sensory Destruction" by Edward J. McFadden III
"Karuna, Inc." by Paul Di Filippo
The Spring 2001 issue of Fantastic contains an interesting mix of genre stories of varying quality, anchored by a terrific novella. The artwork and layout is attractive throughout and overall I found the issue nicely produced, quite an improvement from the previous one.
Leading the way this time is "Joey's Machine" by Daniel J. Maines, perhaps the weakest offering here, the tale of a motorcycle mechanic who encounters a suspicious stranger. The stranger hires him to build a machine that will produce an amazing new lubricant. The narrative voice is somewhat unique for a genre fiction character but unfortunately the plot and SF premise are pretty predictable.
Next up is "Cindy" by James S. Dorr, an enjoyable, sideways retelling of Cinderella which brings to mind, for me anyway, the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Told from the point of view of a supporting character, it playfully lays out the secret backstage events that ostensibly propel the surface drama of the famed story upon which it is based. The execution is just weird enough to give what is essentially a silly story a rather fun edge, even if it resolves into a real groaner of a final sentence.
"Cloning Jesus" by S.C. Bryce, while a smooth read, failed to win me over completely. A bit meatier than most of the issue's short stuff, the story concerns exactly what its title suggests: a lawyer's stray comment to his scientist friend sets into motion a chain of events that leads to a controversial Second Coming. The premise is rife with possibility but I'm not sure I found the treatment here all that convincing. The prose, while certainly well written, was a bit too far removed from the action–too much tell and not enough show. Also, the motives of the characters didn't seem strong enough to justify their actions. Still, while the story may succeed less than some of the others in this issue, it also tries more.
The next story creates an effective atmosphere but also feels a bit predictable. "Lifeforce" by Edo van Belkom tells of the dark existence of an elderly man named Carlo, living a grim subterranean life and depressed by his inability to grow crops in his garden. The only thing that keeps him going is the love of his wonderful wife, Flora, who ultimately changes his fortune in a way he doesn't expect. The story really telegraphs its plot punches but I found the writing solid and the dark, unexplained setting evocative.
"Sensory Destruction" is a reprint by Fantastic editor Edward J. McFadden III, a familiar-feeling but effective virtual reality vignette that depicts a frighteningly wired future. The protagonist, an enormous man who has grown up in "the chair," is motivated by events to break away from his online existence and experience reality for a change. The point, while not all that original, is effectively made with some good imagery.
Worth the price of the issue itself is the closing novella by Paul Di Filippo, "Karuna, Inc." It opens with a quote from Philip K. Dick's The Divine Invasion, and the set-up here certainly recalls Dick's work, the classic multi-protagonist structure wherein the meek Everyman and his lively love interest are pitted against the malicious powers-that-be. While there is clearly a feel of homage to this story, ultimately Di Filippo adds his own twists and unmistakeable literary cadences, resulting in a piece that falls squarely into his own unique subgenre of associational quasi-SF that might include his wonderful novel Ciphers.
Thurman Swan is a former Gulf War demolitions expert, now horribly ill as a result of a chemical explosion from his combat experiences. Shenda Moore is the woman of his dreams, the president of an unusual corporation of linked independent businesses, its primary goals not motivated by the bottom line so much as the happiness and health of its employees and customers. And then there's Marmaduke Twigg, leader of the evil Phineas Gage League, an underground cadre of modern-day robber barons representing evil corporate interests. Twigg's plan to force his insidious new soft drink into Shenda's businesses leads to an inevitable confrontation of good and evil, which of course drags the hapless but good-hearted Swan into the line of fire.
As the story progresses, the unconventional genre elements begin to appear–for example, the spiritual magic of Shenda's past, and the fact that Twigg and his evil comrades have had the "ethical nuclei" of their brains surgically removed to improve their cut-throat capitalist instincts–exactly the kind of wild, check-your-disbelief-at-the-door ideas that make Di Filippo's work so unconventional and fun. The story is also topical, satirizing the cultural climate of powerful corporate interests that seem to prey upon local business, intent on creeping into the lives of every last consumer–a phenomenon that only seems more and more pervasive with each passing day.
"Karuna, Inc." may be a bit strange for SF purists, but frankly I wouldn't mind seeing more of this kind of strangeness find its way into the SF mainstream. I'm certainly glad that Fantastic made room for this very entertaining work in its pages.
Christopher East lives in Iowa City. His fiction has appeared in Aboriginal SF, Talebones, Terra Incognita, and The Third Alternative, and he has written a number of reviews for Tangent Online.