"Counting Sheep" by George Brereton
"Thief" by Matthew Frank
"Vocal Concern" by Duncan B. Barlow
"A Time to Stay" by Werner A. Lind
"The Last Raid" by R. E. B. Tongue
Transfinite is a new PDF zine from Britain. In addition to fiction, it has articles and essays. And the "cover" art for issue #1 is first rate.
The fiction opens with the action packed "Counting Sheep" by George Brereton. "Counting Sheep" is being published in two parts. The first half of this story is engagingly written and the action holds the attention with its tale of attack on a mine and factory in an unknown setting. But you never really learn what this story is about, why things are taking place. The second half of the story is in Transfinite #2.
Matthew Frank is next with "Thief," a story about identity theft. The first half of the story is relatively strong. However, "Thief" goes astray from its main thrust with strange diversions that have little to do with the rest of the story. The ending is an attempt to bring the story back on point, but it ultimately fails after the strange ramblings that took the story adrift.
Another story about concept of identity, "Vocal Concern" by Duncan B. Barlow details the story of a man confronted with himself. Barlow's effort succeeds in the meat of it, but the setting of the story is very esotericthe world of music recording. If you can get past the setting to the conflict, you will find a story that has the power to engage. However, I did find the end of the story a little weak, and rather predictable.
"A Time to Stay" is the weakest story of this issue. Werner A. Lind writes an unengaging time travel story that doesn't have any real conflict, nor has it anything to really hold the interest. It's a relatively uninspired character study wrapped around a strange plot device and provides nothing new to the time travel genre. Indeed, the story ends before it really even had begun.
The final story is the contribution of Transfinite editor, R. E. B. Tongue. "The Last Raid" is a reimagining of manned spaceflight, with Britain making the first manned flight. It's fairly well written, but fails to answer the important questions that one would imagine would arise from such an alternate history. This would be the second story in the issue that fails to tell the whole story but stops at the setup.
I rather enjoyed Brereton's "Counting Sheep," but I am rather disappointed that the decision was made to publish this story over two issues, especially given that I found at least some of the remaining fiction lacking.