"Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" by Alex Popkin

"Servant of the Manthycore: A Tale of the Ancient Near-East" by Michael Ehart

"One Wish" by Valerie Frankel

"From Drì Anem To Deřvinâss" by Matthew Wuertz

"Clowns" by Marshall Payne is an eccentric story of Jojo and his pregnant wife, two clowns working for a traveling circus. They have just been let go by their boss, and before Jojo can decide what to do next his wife goes into labor. The first child they tried to have died prematurely; Jojo hopes things will turn out better this time.

The story, while at first intriguing in all its oddity, is not without its faults. Repetitive dialogue, throwaway characters, and the lack of a substantial, solid plot bring to question the purpose of "Clowns." The ending is left open, which makes me wonder why Payne didn’t tell the rest of the story, the one where we learn how these clowns actually conquer their bad times and not just accept them.

Alex Popkin‘s "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" is a humorous and quirky glimpse into the future of dieting and home appliances. Laura Pazlo is having a bit of a problem with her refrigerator. She keeps placing an order for a jar of mayo—because "I just can’t live without my mayonnaise"—but the machine declines every time in lieu of the higher priority of losing weight. When Laura and her husband plan for a large guest party with friends, the appliances begin to voice their programmed opinions.

Light-hearted yet eerily ominous of what a future for our society might be like, Popkins succeeds at presenting a feasible world where the machines end up controlling us. The ending came too soon, as I would have liked to have seen what Laura’s life was like after her rash actions toward the arrogant microwave. Nevertheless, a fun read.

"Servant of the Manthycore: A Tale of the Ancient Near-East" by Michael Ehart follows a female protagonist, the servant of the Manthycore, as she discovers a scene of murder and destruction by a desert oasis. Waiting there for her is Ananth, a goddess of death, ready to offer her a chance for freedom from the beast of sorcery she serves.

Reminiscent of the classic sword and sorcery tales by Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Ehart’s yarn of servitude and choice is finely crafted. A vivid setting, a strong, intelligent heroine, a moody atmosphere, and a battle with the undead, make this the best entry of the issue. The ending is wickedly fun.

In "One Wish" by Valerie Frankel (reprinted from the Fall 2000 issue of Spellbound), Jasper knows that by stealing the girdle of a mermaid, she is forced to grant him a wish. When he gets his chance, he learns that though he has thought about his wish for years, he can’t decided on the right one. To make it worse, the mermaid counters all his desires with better ones she’s thought of.

"One Wish" is styled after old fashioned fairytales where the hero or heroine, through greed and gluttony, learns a bigger lesson. The trick ending worked well here although the dialogue between the mermaids contained too much exposition. Also, a better editing sweep might have helped to tighten Frankel’s story.

"From Drì Anem To Deřvinâss" by Matthew Wuertz is the third of a three-part serial, the prior stories being "First Son" in Issue 11 and "Becoming the Warrior" in Issue 12.

Dwarves are taking humans as slaves, going from town to town and stealing them away in their caravans. Narith manages to escape, but then finds his family has been captured. Not knowing what else to do, he must turn to the elves for help. Within their sylvan home, he is trained daily, taught their ways, and welcomed as one of their own. But the dwarven situation is getting out of hand and the mountainfolk are breaking their land treaties with the elves. War is inevitable, and Narith soon finds himself in the center of it, still searching for his family.

Stocked with elements from a sterotypical epic fantasy—elves, flowery language, and large scale battles—Wuertz’s story of a boy raised by stoic elves feels a bit dated. The worldbuilding, like that of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Lord of the Rings or Terry Brooks‘s The Sword of Shannara, is done well, but the linear plot and cardboard characters did little to stand out. The third part, "From Drì Anem To Deřvinâss," is the strongest as it shows that Wuertz can write detailed, action-packed battle scenes without getting lost in all the chaos, but I hoped for a more original idea. Recommended for fans of epic fantasy, but only then if you’re not looking for anything too challenging.