AntipodeanSF 161 Now Online!

Issue 161 of the Australian Flash SF online magazine is now ready for downloading.

Here is a list of the stories:

Worst Ending Ever By Kevin J. Phyland
Distant Signals By Scott James Smith
A Taste Of Real Earth By David Brookes
Carrion By Holly Day
Brother By Jason Butterfield
The Patriot By Shaun A. Saunders
The Strike Team By Rachael Ryan
Alice & The Rabbit Hole By David Shanahan
The Black Flower By Damien Conn
Time Trip By Barbara J. Holten

Link to AntipodeanSF

Antipodean SF August 2011 issue, #158

From SF Scope online magazine is a listing of Antipodean SF online flash fiction magazine

Antipodean SF has posted its August 2011 issue, #158. The magazine's focus is Australian science/speculative fiction, and they publish mostly short-short stories.

This issue, the fiction includes:

"Mother Heart" by Ray O'Brien (horror)
"Re-Life" by Mark Tremble (science fiction)
"Grim Love Bus" by Matt Stephens (science fiction)
"Time Enough" by Steve Carter (science fiction)
"Fly Eyes" by Pen Clements (horror)
"Murmurs" by Shaun A. Saunders (fantasy)
"The Cinema Attendant" by J.L. Cooper (horror)
"A Light-Bulb Moment" by Shelley Ontis (science fiction)
"Catharsis" by Kevin J. Phyland (horror)
"A Spot of Tea" by M.L. Sawyer (fantasy)

Antipodean issue 152 now online!

Editor Ion of the flash fiction online magazine Antipodean issue 152 is now online at Antisf.com

Here is a table of contents for this month's magazine.

Welcome Home, Johnny Ace By Onil Lad

Drinking Stories By Marie Hodgkinson

Episode 4.5 By Michael Frissore

Ninja Nemesis By Crisetta Macleod

The Storms By Steve Duffy

An Accident Going Somewhere To Happen By Shaun A. Saunders

Damned Humanists By Wes Parish

Sweet Dreams By Nicole Rendall

Synaesthesia By Kevin J. Phyland

Blame Games By Gitte Christensen


I have read this month's stories and this is certainly a keeper. I hope you enjoy it!

AntipodeanSF Issue 149 is now online

AntipodeanSF editor that issue 149 is indeed online, he was just a bit behind getting the mail out to let us know. Well considering the great lineup this month ION has nothing to apologize about! Here is a run down of this month's issue.

• Women By Guy Hasson
• What Is Your Destiny? By Scott James Smith
• The Last Australian Hero By Natalie Sutherland
• The Bucket By Eleni Konstantine
• Lost By Michael Schaper
• Idiot Servant By Shaun A. Saunders
• Invasion By Giulio Zambon
• Little Frustrations of Daily Life By Julie Wornan
• Giant Mushroom Envelops Small WA Town By Sean Monaghan
• Unanswered Questions By Kevin J. Phyland

Another great lineup of flash fiction, for AntipodeaSF

Issue 149 here

RIP: Bob Guccione

Any fan of the defunct but much loved OMNI magazine will take this news as a body blow. Magazine founder Bob Guccione has died of cancer Wednesday in a Plano, Texas hospital.

Boing Boing blog writes:

• A Rolling Stone profile from 2004 is worth a revisit: Bob Guccione profile here.

Of course those that think they know what they are talking about will call to less vaunted projects, but if one is to be judged by the influence you had on a genre, then Guccione deserves his 15 minutes in the sun.

Wikipedia entry here Boing Boing article here

AntipodeanSF online magazine # 148 is online!

Antipodean editor Ion writes to tell us that issue 148 of the online Aussie flash fiction magazine is now available here

I have read most of the stories and so far so good! This month has some great flash fiction. Check it out!


Private Jones By Jack Horne

If I Cry By Kevin J. Phyland

The Sceptic By Francis Conaty

Dangerous Journey By David Scholes

At Point Of Darkness By Jeanie Laherty

Keeping Up Appearances By Shaun A. Saunders

Starry Eyed Trio: The Seven Sisters By David Kernot

Through The Door Another World By Steve Duffy

The Handshake By Owen Roberts

Tinnitus By Cecilia Clark

Abandoned Towers Magazine #6 now available!

I was just reading on the Abandoned Towers blog that issue six of the Abandoned Towers Magazine is now available! What really caught my interest is the featured story is from none other than Cat Rambo! The description from the blog is enough to peak anyone's interest. Here is the description from the bl0g:

• Issue #6 features a marvelous story from Cat Rambo called Magnificent pigs. A heart-warming story of a small girl dying of cancer and her big brother.

Unless you're made of stone, you got to admit that it sounds interesting.

You can find the print magazine's page here

Antipodean SF issue 146 is online!

Antipodean editor Ion sends us a note to let us know that our favorite online flash fiction magazine is online and available! Here is the stories in this months issue.

Switch By Jamie Richter

Second Hand By Pavelle Wesser

Starry Eyed Trio: Herschel By David Kernot

The Previously Unknown Kingdom Of The North Saxons By Wes Parish

iWorld By Robert N. Stephenson

Right Of Way By Shaun A. Saunders

Boogie Fear By Lynda Young

A Civil Servant's Diary By Susan Partridge

Reflections Of A Doctor By Cameron R. D. Laird

Bad Form By J. S. Breukelaar

I have read them all and as usual the editing is suburb and the stories fine! Here is the link to issue 146

AntipodeanSF Issue 142 is now Online!

AntipodeanSF editor Ion writes to tell us that issue 142 is now available online. Here is the table of contents.


Next - Simon Petrie

A Man, A Plan, A Shattered World - By Wes Parish

Colourblind - By Dr. Michael Schaper

Paradigm Shift - By Gitte Christensen

I Close My Eyes For You To Sleep - By Jacinta Lodge

Prevention Is The Best Cure - By Shaun A. Saunders

The Socks - By Julie Wornan

Strangers In The Night - By Garry Dean

When One Cries, The Other Tastes Salt - By Threasa Meads

Wilderness - By Rob Bleckly

You can find issue 142 by logging to AntipodeanSF

AntipodeanSF Issue 141 is now Online!

Editor Ion tells me that the newest issue of the Australian online flash fiction site AntipodeanSF has posted their newest issue, number 141 and can be accessed here

AntipodeanSF magazine

Here is a list of the stories available this month, but there is so much more. Check it out!

The Cats By Julie Cohen Wornan

Otis Regrets By Morva Shepley

The Heresy of Darren Wexmouth By Brendan D. Carson

All In Time By Chris Castle

Cobweb Walking By Jan Napier

Waste Not By Matt Cowens

A Very Exclusive Club By Shaun A. Saunders

Meeting By Chance By Darren Lipnicki

Soul Mates By Matthew James

Happily Until Their Deaths By Monica Carroll

Abadoned Towers Magazine issue #5 - look what's coming!

Issue #5 goes on sale on March 1.

Here's a little taste of what's you'll miss if you don't get a copy:

Table of Contents
Zap Zachary Returns by Stoney M. Setzer
Gold by Arthur Mackeown
Ray Guns by Doug Hilton
Othan, Debtor by Kurt Magnus
The Horrors of War by Chris Silva
Mindforms by Dal Jeanis
Jeffrey’s Story by Guy Belleranti
Final Score by Brad Sinor
Riding to Hounds by Thomas Canfield
Copper-bottom’s Downfall by Arthur Mackeown
The Last True Gunslinger by Y.B. Cats
The Empty Chair by Malcolm Laughton
‘ware the power by Jack Mulcahy
Call of the Northern Seas by Norman A. Rubin
Across the Plains by Lou Antonelli
Hobocop by Kevin Bennett
The Grave of Armond Balosteros by E.W. Bonadio
The Last Saguaro by Doug Hilton
Odds Are by Kevin Brown
Grief, father dead, bathroom adrift with manta rays of green towels by Harry Calhoun 33
Black Bird by Thom Olausson 2009
Searching for my Dream by John William Rice
Proudly Stupid by Christopher D. York.
Night Walk Demise by Carl Scharwath
Dimuendo’s by Thom Olausson
Android Attack coloring pagey by Richard H. Fay
Interview with Poet and author, Alex Ness
The Man-Thing by Eric S Brown
Fantasy Artist Johnney Perkins
Nexus Point Recipes by Jalea Clegg

Artists in this issue
Cover Art -Zap Zacary Returns by Richard Svensson

Illustrations -
T. A. Markitan
Copper Bottoms Downfall
Riding to Hounds
Gold

Aidana Willowraven
Othan Debtor
Last Saguaro

Brad Foster
Deep into the Core
Hobo cop
Black Bird

Hugh Howey
The Horrors of War

Anna Repp
Mindforms


Now here are a few excerpts:

Zap Zachary Returns

By Stoney M. Setzer



Clint Adamson wanted to throw the cell phone across the room. “You can’t drop me!”

“Look, I’ve tried everything,” Phil Jeffers countered. “Movies, TV, reality shows, even commercials, but nobody’s interested. I warned you that you’d get typecast!”

“But you’re my agent! You get paid to find me work!”

“I get a ten percent commission, but only if I find you work. Last time I was in a math class, ten percent of nothing equals nothing. I hate doing this to you, but the standards of my profession dictate that I have to devote my time to clients who can actually make money. I’ve got bills to pay!”

Clint nervously ran his hand through his hair. “But I’ve got bills, too! What am I supposed to do now?”

Phil released a deep sigh on the other end. “Man, I don’t know what to tell you. I just wish you would have listened to me and not done Zap Zachary for five seasons.”

“I kept telling you, that was the role I was born to play!” Clint looked at the décor of the studio apartment, which consisted almost entirely of Zap Zachary memorabilia, from posters and photos to toys and models. He had been a huge fan of the comics as a kid, and once he had been cast to play him on television, the fervor was rekindled anew.

At least, he thought he had been a fan of the comics. He was slightly unsettled to find his childhood recollections were suddenly a bit hazy.

“Even if you had only branched out a little, taken a movie role here or there, we’d both be much better off right now. Look at your old co-stars!”

Ouch. During the show’s five years, the entire cast had taken other acting jobs on the side, and all of them were still working now. At the time, Clint had thought that all of them were disloyal to the roles that were bringing them fame, almost as if they were cheating on their characters. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, he could see Phil’s point only too clearly.

========

The Last True Gunslinger

By Y.B. Cats

Gunslinger Red Bandana stepped into the street, accompanied by the ting-ting from his spurs and a dry desert wind. Sunset orange tinted the town’s storefronts and softened their boxy angles; in this hue the town could deny its bloodlust and dress up in romantic lore, if it wanted. Alas, Rio de Roja did not favor romance, only blood, gore, and glory. No respectable townsperson would admit it, but they lived for a chance to see gunslingers felled by each other’s bullets. Even now, “good” townsfolk hid behind cover that allowed a glimpse into the street.

“I’m gonna make sure everyone sees yer ugly face, Red! I bet under that bandana, you’re so ugly even yer mama won’t stand fer it!” Gummy McGee cawed like a carrion-eater from street’s end. He twirled his pistols – slick, flashy silvers – and dropped them back into their holsters. Red pictured Gummy’s tombstone – Here lies Gummy: who picked a fight with Red Bandana, because he was a dummy. Rio de Roja’s undertaker fancied himself a poet.

The only problem was, Red couldn’t see. Gummy made sure he took the street end where he could stand with his back to the sun. The big orange ball glared as it slipped behind the western horizon, and a squint didn’t help. Here lies Red Bandana: done in because he couldn’t see, the fool before him, Gummy McGee.

“Red,” a water barrel in Red’s peripheral vision tried to get his attention. It wasn’t the water barrel, but someone cowered behind it. “Before you git mad, I just want you to know, I have ’em right here.”

“What, Justus?”

“The bullets,” Justus replied. “The bullets I forgot to put back in yer gun after I cleaned it, like Susanna told me.” Red Bandana didn’t sweat at gunfights. Icy rivers coursed through his veins. He didn’t taunt, he didn’t gloat, he pulled his pistol faster than any man in the west, and everyone knew it. At his brother’s confession, though, a hot itch tickled his armpits.
====

Mindforms

by Dal Jeanis



1. Arrival at Zard



Since they believe they’re all the same, I approach the first Zard I see, a big and squishy lump resting under a volcanic rock formation. His flock scatters at my approach, mostly fat little greenfish and striped zoupies, but then they drift back to hover around us. He extends an eyestalk in my general direction and emits a typically slouchy query.

“Thalen, as Ambassador,” I answer crisply, but I allow the sense of my long journey, curiosity about my predecessor, and my interest in the Ancient ruins to enter the water as well. ‘Ambassador’ is the agreed-upon translation, since these soft cousins wouldn’t understand the scientific term for what I do. The gentle current blows our thoughts downstream to our left, and I see another slug begin to react to the conversation.

The herder’s flaccid posture is difficult to read, but the scent of his amused curiosity washes across me. Apparently he wonders why I am punished this way. He wouldn’t possibly believe I volunteered, unless I told him in full memory. His disbelief heightens my awareness of the supplies and mind pods strapped across my back and between my rear legs, my last links to the sanity of my prior life. I plant all six legs, wide and relaxed, and open my vents to breathe deeply.

“If my presence would be disruptive, I could return later?” I add the obvious sense that the disruptions could be mutual.

“You smell smarter than that, crab. Proceed.” He produces a courier sack from under his body and contorts it into place on the vent between his limp first and second legs. The sack inflates with his memory of the conversation, which he hands to me. “Give it to anyone who asks. He’ll replace it.”

The drag of the sack comforts me as I climb over the formation, picking my way through edible anemones, and approach the oldest buildings in the world.

They loom many bodies high, an artificial ravine in the amazing stiff and square construction that I and my colleagues have not been able to reproduce. The tops fairly glow from the daylight filtering through several meters of clear water, but the bases have a more comfortable level of illumination.

According to the claim of the slugs, their ancestors created this cubic grotto. I can neither accept nor refute the idea. The ancients lived in close proximity to one another, hundreds of individuals, just like the slugs now weeding away plant sprouts and feathery animals from the smooth skin of the buildings.

The constant low smell of slug thoughts lies like silt over the scene. But Zard remembers nothing of methods or means, sciences or symbols. The contradiction will not resolve.

I savor the moment, clarify it, condense it, and put it into a pod for later analysis.

AntipodeanSF # 139 is ready for your reading pleasure!

Ion, editor of AntipodeanSF online flash fiction magazine sends in a note:

• Just a quick reminder to you all that AntipodeanSF, Issue 139 is now available for your reading enjoyment online. AntipodeanSF is at the usual URL:
• Http://www.antisf.com.au

I went over to see what's up and wow, looks like one of the best issues yet! Here is a list of stories:

• Aloha Or Bust By Jamie Richter
• Upgrade By Aidan Doyle
• Cloned By Chris Castle
• Pod 5534 By Michael Cooper
• Fabcola: 'Tis The Season By Shaun A. Saunders
• Killing In The Name Of By Joe McNamara
• Diagnosis By Pavelle Wesser
• Useful Stuff By Gitte Christensen
• One In One Out By Alice Robinson
• Hourglass By Liam Thorpe
  

I haven't read them all yet, but about half and I would have to say not a bad one in the bunch. Kudos ION!

AntipodeanSF issue #138 sneak peak!

******UPDATE*****
I didn't realize that issue 138 was having a problem, until Ion wrote and gave us the low down.
Here is the gist of his letter:

• Hi all,
• Just a short note to remind you that AntipodeanSF Issue 138 is now finally (after some extensive delays getting our broadband functional after a move) online. You'll find AntipodeanSF at the usual URL: www.antisf.com.au
  

Nuke, Editor of the really entertaining Antipodean online flash fiction magazine has given us a heads up on the upcoming issue 138 and I can just look at this TOC and see this is going to be a great issue, how? well Suzanne Sykora? Shaun Saunders? Jamie Richter?! Yep Nuke... has a winner this issue!

"Apocalypse Hotel" by Marcelo Rinesi
"It Was A Monster" by Giovanni Piccolo
"Let Us Prey" by Suzanne Sykora
"A Matter of Perspective" by Shaun A Saunders
"Taken" by Christopher Elston
"Zombie Picnic" by Scott Wilson
"Forever War" by Timothy Miller
"Dog-E" by Jamie Richter
"A Quarter to Oblivion" by Adi Gibb
"Mirrors" by Kevin J. Phyland

Check it out this weekend on Antipodean SF

AntipodeanSF, #135 now online!

Ion, editor of AntipodeanSF the online flash fiction magazine, writes to tell us some good news!:

• Just a short note to say that the latest issue of AntipodeanSF, #135 is now published on the net for your enjoyment.
• You'll find AntipodeanSF at the usual address:
• www.antisf.com.au
  

Good news indeed. I took the initive to go over and get a short description of some of the stories available in this month's issue. Check it out!



Figment By Matt Tighe

When Bob woke a tree was growing in the corner of his bedroom. The carpet around it had turned from white to green, and it sported large green leaves that turned the sunlight into shadow patterns on the bedspread. At its base was a small wooden door.

A small man stepped out. "Ah," he said. "You're awake."



Robotron Strikes Again By Jake Wickenhofer and Greg Wickenhofer

"Remind me again what we are doing," Robotron said. "It's some kind of human bonding ritual, right?"

"Sure." I said, handing Robotron the jacket.

"This garb is positively ridiculous."



Traitor By Gitte Christensen

JazJay packed his things with a heavy heart. Music thumped out an invigorating beat threaded with life-affirming lyrics (messages mixed by Gr8Boy12 specifically to blast sense into his defeatist friend), and the tribe buzzed about him.

"Don't let those fascists win," urged GoChas, "Fight the good fight."



Dark Past Midnight By Jan Napier

"Bad blood," my mother winced, extracting my milk teeth from her ankle. I think not!

I was too young to tender an explanation to the woman — a mere foster parent, and not my natural parent at all. However, if she persisted in lurking around corners then jumping out at me, there could only be one result. For one of my race it is a typical reaction.



Demonstration By Shaun A. Saunders

"So you'd like to stage a 'demonstration', is that correct?"

I nodded. Yes. It is my right after all, living in a democracy.

"All right," said the court clerk, "please fill out this application form."



Perimeter By Ashley Hibbert

I looked up from the mangled bulkhead and into the distance between the ripped hull.

It was some explosion that had created the gap, yet the Brigand's sensors hadn't worked out what had caused it. Our mission. Yet the team's presence and purpose had ceased to be of any importance.



The Day They Won By Lee Giminez

"Mr. Smith? We need a decision today."

Smith stared at his assistant. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "I know..."

It was just the two of them in the board room: NASA Administrator Michael Smith and his assistant, Andy Stevens.



Teslar's Wonderful Electric Incapacitation Pistol By Liam Thorpe

For as long as me or mine can remember, the Bobbies 'round London had walked the beat with nowt but twelve inch of Bully Stick at their side. But since the Great Exhibition they've got a little something extra up their sleeves.

I were told some Russian bloke, name of Teslar, went and invented a pistol. Called it the Wonderful Electric Incapacitation Pistol.



Some Things Never Change By Stephen L Thompson

Standing on the bottom step, Kyle Cooper took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Ever so slowly he lifted his right foot, inched it forward, and set his spacesuit boot down into the red dust. With his eyes still closed he said, "I've taken a small step into a giant future."



Time To Sign Off By Francis Conaty

Assessor Williams disliked his job. The rigid rules under which he worked made it impossible to offer these people any hope for the future. Williams returned his attention to his present applicant. "You must remember, Mr. Sanjay, that when this country accepted you as an environmental refugee the conditions of that acceptance were clearly conveyed to you."

"Of course I remember. It is not every day that one is sterilized.

AntipodeanSF Issue 133 now online!

Editor ION writes to tell us that AntipodeanSF Issue 133 is now online.

You can find the new issue at: www.antisf.com.au


This month's issue features:

A Death Worse Than Fate By Jackie Hosking

Curing Cancer By Kevin Phyland

Duty By Rodney J. Smith

Warrior By Rachel Holkner

Information Theory By Julie Wornan

Never Trust A Stranger By Jake Wickenhofer

Piece of Mind By Mark Farrugia

Secret Of The Cattle Mutilations By Stephen James Elgrove

Census Day Shaun A. Saunders

The Launch By Gregor MacNamara

AntipodeanSF June issue #132 is online!

Nuke, editor and chief of the Australian online flash fiction magazine write to tell the readers/listeners of BMU that the newest issue (June #132) is online and ready for your enjoyment!

Here is a list of the TOC plus short selections of the stories:

Squatters By Dean Grondo

The aliens were tall, bug-eyed bipeds with a strange irregular morphology. We studied them from orbit, amazed at the extensiveness of their presence on the water world. Almost every island on the planet was filled with them, and they'd built towering metropolises out of
stone that spread out over huge areas, baffling the imagination.


Postcard From Castle Khozi By Jan Napier

Dear Vilma,We are home safely, but only just. The idiot captain of the liner almost rammed it into a snoozing sea serpent, (I think it was Spotty, but I didn't really get a good look), just because Grandma smiled at him. Well, you know how she is. She likes talking to people.


The Wood Moths By David Kernot

"Corin, wait!" "No," she said, walking away from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of it," said Arin. "Don't go." "Idiot. How could you be so cruel?"


The Monk By Ray O'Brien

Drew saw The Monk when he crested the dune, saw the red robe flutter in the breeze half-way down the slope. There sat the Monk, waiting.


Icarus Rising By Alison Pearce

Icarus was the ancestor of my ancestor's ancestors. He lived and died before the Sumerians ploughed their first field.


A Matter of Choice By Shaun A. Saunders

The district court judge allowed a puzzled frown. "Could the defendant please explain how he could walk out of a supermarket without purchasing anything?" he asked.


Edison & Earth By Jonathan Gillen

A short tale from the Southern Hemisphere. Darren Boyle grew up under the care of his grandparents on an outback desert cattle station, literally hundreds of miles from the nearest small country town, and he had always admired the virtually infinite stars of the Milky Way that shone through the planet's thin atmosphere.


A Future For Despair By Nicolas Sheppard

Do you wish you were dead, but wonder who will provide for your family when you're gone?


The Couch By Karen Maric

The couch appeared on the footpath outside the pub one morning, lying on its side in the summer glare. Looking back, I s'pose someone must've dumped it there.


April By David Such

I slammed the steering wheel with my fist. "Un-bloody-believable!" I was still angry with my wife and the traffic was shit-house. I keep replaying the conversation.


Click here for these stories and much more

AntipodeanSF - Issue 131 online!

Editor Ion of AntipodeanSF writes to tell us that issue 131 is online and available. He writes:

• This month's magazine features ten fantastic pieces of flash SF fiction from around the world.
  

• This month's stories are:

• The Tragedy of La Luna By Kieran Salsone
• "Do you remember when it happened? Most people have seen the horrifying and
  
• often catastrophically beautiful images of La Luna plummeting towards mother Earth."
• 
  
• Three Strikes By Tom Williams
• "Strike 1! It all started when the nation's commercial airline pilots went on strike to secure a pay rise."
• 
  
• The Visit By David Scholes
• "The energy configuration paused in its long journey. A small, blue-green world caught
  
• its attention."
• 
  
• Time On Our Side By Mark Farrugia
• "I was but ten years of age when the statues first appeared. They sprung up overnight in t
• he big cities — LA, London, Bangkok, and Dubai."
• 
  
• A Family That Plays Together By Shaun A. Saunders
• "Hello again, Mrs Kay," said Karen, confused at finding her best-friend Sally's mother
  
• at home instead of pulling another seventy-two hour shift at the local FabCola
  
• Family Restaurant. "What are you doing here?"
• 
  
• Interrogation 8 By Jamie Richter
• "Interrogation #8 Prisoner: Captain James Trummel. Interrogator: Mk-IV
  
• Android #KDM-32813-3."
• 
  
• Cliché By Scott Wilson
• "I am a Computerised Living Individual Clone Helping Environment, better known as
  
• a CLICHE. Yeah, I know, I know — not very original in any sense of the word — but t
• hat's what our maker chose to call us."
• 
  
• Carousel of Death By Jan Napier
• "An anorexic spruiker, wrapped in enshrouding cloak and hood, croaks, "Around the
  
• painted ponies go, where will you be when next they slow?" He splits his bony features in a
• ghastly rictus."
• 
  
• Bodysurfing By Simon Petrie
• "Uh, no. Not this one. It doesn't feel right. Of course I realise it'll feel different, I'm not
  
• an idiot. Different is what I'm after. But the movement feels too ... restricted. Not
  
• enough flexibility in the limbs. Who else do you have?"
• 
  
• Circadian Rhythms By Mika F. Cella
• I leaned out of my thirty-third-floor window and breathed out a big smoky sigh as I
  
• devoured yet another cigarette and drained a bottle of moonshine. Humorously, we all like
  
• to call it that up here.

You can find AntipodeanSF at: <www.antisf.com.au>

New this May at Abandoned Towers

Crystalwizard sent me a note to let us know that May has brought all kinds of new goodies to Abandoned Towers.

To start off, reviewer Oddcube takes a run at RPG gaming - old style. you know, the kind with dice, paper, pencils etc....

The final part of Eric S. Brown's series, The History of Speed.

New items include:

• Call of the Northern Seas retold by Norman A. Rubin in the General Fiction section
• The Realm of the Big Sandbox by Michael H. Hanson in Kid Stuff
• A Burning Question by A.K. Sykora in the General Fiction section
• New poetry by George Moore
• New poetry by Nora Weston
• Several new stories from Doug Hilton in the sci-fi, the fantasy, and the Western's catagories.
  

And starting May 5th, Towers has a new serial starting up. Clock Work by Erin Bassett. A mystery that will have you biting your fingernails and sitting on the edge of your seat. What is that mysterious thing Ester keeps seeing? Who is Holon and why is he important?

AntipodeanSF issue 130 is online

Editor Ion of Antipodean SF writes to tell me that even though it is a little late, AntipodeanSF online magazine issue 130 is now available - here.

This month's collection of flash fiction are:

Weapons  By S. A. Harris

Outside my room, from along the passageway, came the sounds of my parents watching the Spectravision — making loud comments that disturbed my poetical concentration. On the desk in front of me lay the poem, "Weapons" by the little-known turn-of-the-century poet S. A. Harris.


They Called Her Larry  By Steve Duffy

They called her Larry, they always had. It was the only name she'd ever known. But somewhere, deep down, she knew it didn't belong to her. It belonged to someone else, someone not her. She knew, in that same deep down place, that she had another name, must have another name.


Terminal Illness By Alan Baxter

Mary sat at her son's bedside, hands clasped in desperation, eyes dark. She stared — trying to cure him by willpower alone.


Jack Austin - Xeno Hunter By Jamie Richter

"So what happened to your last cameraman, Jack?" the bespectacled technician queried, hammering the seventh and final backpack-sized transmitter into the black, alkaline soil of Marius-2. "And don't spare any detail."


The Buck Stops - At Woop Woop By Shaun A. Saunders

Life made sense, mostly, until the following email arrived: "Hello, I hurry writing you this message cos i don't,have much time on the pc here,so i have to brief


Ménage à Trois By Mark Farrugia

Through a tear-bubbled eye, and drug-induced comfort, Sandy stares up at me as though it's in my power to save her.  Hell, I wish it was.


Snayk By Felicity Dowker


Lucas was dreaming, and the dream was bad. Something alien and savage crept into his brain and put down roots there. It grew, spreading its loathsome way down his spine and into his belly, where it writhed through his intestines in slimy abandon.


Pirate Music By Alan Richard

Ah crap, I'm in trouble this time. Jowal whined something well above my hearing range.


Blood By David Such

There are two theories about how to win an argument with a woman. Neither one works. Sam Blood considered his next statement carefully: "You don't think we should go through the front?"  "Do I look like an idiot?"


Field of Dreams By Dr. Brendan D. Carson

"You ready?" said Nightshayde.  Sebastyan nodded. He had smears of black hair-dye on his face, because he hadn't been able to find boot-polish.  "Once we're over the wire, we have to be quick."

Those stories and other features in this month's issue. 

AntipodeanSF

Abandoned Towers revamps Online Site

Abandoned Towers head honcho Crystalwizard writes that there has been a total redesign of the website. The reason for the redesign were that a lot of the areas were not being visited. So, as Crystalwizard puts it:

• I revamped the home page, making it easier to find all the comic strips we publish, as well as all the various content areas.

Abandoned Towers' content is constantly being updated with a wide range of interesting material. Everything from classic and public domain material to brand new stuff. One of the items that Crystalwizard is most happy about is their on-going serials, which really are worth checking out. And of course the very cool review column Odd reviews by Oddcube.

The new home page is really chock full of links and interesting material. Well worth taking a trip over and checking out the wares.

Abandoned Towers