And we have to admit the occasional twinge of pride when we consider the variety of themes, subgenres, settings, tropes, techniques, symbols, storytelling styles and voices we’ve been able to include over the past fifty issues. For example, Interzone #242 included ‘Strigoi’, Lavie Tidhar’s tale of interracial alienation in the spaceways, and ‘Needlepoint’, Priya Sharma’s subtle but edgy story set in an alternative Albion. Both tales are admirably idiosyncratic: one has clearly identifiable science fictional elements, while the other skitters along in the debatable lands between fantasy and history. But that’s enough about the pleasures of working on Interzone in its 30th year. What about the frustrations and failures? A major source of disappointment is however eclectic the taste of the editors and however determined we are to be flexible, it’s inevitable we are going to reject some elegantly structured, linguistically complex and strikingly imaginative stories simply because they have no valid and defensible fit with the genres of sf, fantasy, horror or crime.
What do You think about Interzone #244 Jan - Feb 2013?