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Challenging Destiny #19
01/02/2005 . Source: G.W. Thomas 
pub: Crystalline Sphere Publishing. e-magazine. Price: $ 5.00 (US). check out website: http://home.golden.net/~csp/
Challenging Destiny #19 is a wonderful mix of Science Fiction and fantasy. It has a few warts that I will point out in time but overall it's an entertaining and well-written magazine and well worth picking up a copy. The cover art by Matt Stawicki is a great piece in the Michael Whelan vein, though unrelated to any of the stories inside.
The fiction starts with 'Tickling The Siroko's Chin' by E.L. Chen, a Japanese fantasy tale with a delicate touch between sadness and hope. Isemi is a woman living with the slow destruction of her family. Her stepmother, Kimabe, and her baby have disappeared in the sea while Isemi's father grows steadily closer to death. Isemi decides the only way to save her father is to steal a pearl from the dread Siroko, a water-monster living in the sea. The end is lyrical and satisfying.
'Granvort The Discount Wizard' by R.E. Mendel is a humorous fantasy tale. Personally, I despise this genre and am a poor judge of such. The plot follows Granvort, a poorly skilled wizard as he tries to impress his employer by creating a dragon for the queen's birthday, and all the fall-out from there. I found some genuine chuckles: 'THE ENCHANTED FOREST: BEWARE ALL WHO ENTER-DANGERS BEYOND IMAGINATION EXIST HERE - NO CAMPING', but could not transcend my prejudices. If you like self-referential humour you may find this to your taste.
'An Interview With Peter Watts' by James Schellenberg and David M. Switzer is a refreshingly interesting interview. It's not the usual collection of 'Where do you get your ideas?' kind of questions. Peter Watts is a marine scientist who writes Science Fiction. He sparks off ideas left and right while being candid about his writing experiences.
'Last Request' by Steven Mohan Jr. is a gritty picture of the future, not really cyberpunk but a dark SF of days not too long into the future. Katya watches her friend Amy on a slow course to self-destruction. Mohan saves what would be an ultra-bummer story from losing all hope in the sub-plot about Katya and a radical who just might save the world from its impeding doom.
'Dirt Roads And Robots' by Will McIntosh is a wonderful idea chased to the very limit. What would happen if self-replicating robots couldn't stop making more and more copies of themselves? What makes this tale so much fun is that McIntosh tells it from the point of view of trailer trash, not scientists. Scenes of more and more robots filling up the yard and crowding into the house are reminiscent of zombie movies but a lot more fun. My only minor quibble with the science of this story is where do the robots get the material for self-replication?
'The SF Of Ursula K. LeGuin' by James Schellenberg is a lengthy and scholarly essay on LeGuin's later work like 'The Dispossessed', 'Always Coming Home' and 'The Telling'. Since I haven't read these works by LeGuin, preferring her 'Earthsea' and 'Hainish' books, I found the article informative. If the point of such a piece is to make me want to read these books, then it succeeds.
'Ex Libris' by S. Evans is my favourite story in this issue. This shouldn't be surprising since it's an occult investigator story. Told in the Raymond Chandler first person style, the story tells of the occult investigator William Littlejohn's search for a magical library. This collection of books is disguised by magic and can be anything. I would purchase future issues of 'Challenging Destiny' just to read more stories about this character.
'Anna's Implants' by Marissa K. Lingen sounds like it's going to be about breast implants but it's actually a look at cybernetic implants that create a kind of schizo-culture where artistic people have the minds of great artists tagging along inside their heads. Lingen finds an upbeat way of getting around the system.
My biggest complaint about this issue is the editorial by David M. Switzer, entitled 'How Do You Get the Job You Want?' This is basically a review of 'What Color Is My Parachute' by Richard N. Bolles. Switzer's work isn't flawed, only misplaced. What is an editorial about job-hunting doing in an SF/F magazine? Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I prefer some discussion of genre fiction, films or art.
G.W. Thomas
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