Interzone #297

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Rating: 3/5

A better than average issue of Interzone, with interesting stories by Paul E. Franz, James Sallis and Cécile Cristofari.

• “Drink The Kombucha!” by Daniel Bennett: a home-made kombucha brew gives the brewer an urge to go out and pass the drink on to others. It is only later does he realize there may be a reason for the urge.
• “The Baby Spoon” by Ivy Grimes: a young man is mysteriously asked to investigate the murder of a former schoolmate whom he barely knows. The discovery of a personal baby spoon near the scene of the crime would lead to a sequence of events that might unconsciously connect him to the murder.
• “Lights of the New World” by Paul E. Franz: in a future where an unknown event caused most of the population of the world to die, a small farming community attempts to keep on living. In a parallel tale, a person from the community leaves on a journey to discover what has happened to the rest of the world and learn what caused the disaster, which may be linked to her late grandfather, a researcher in nanotechnology for healing people.
• “Are You a Bad Girl? (Cosmo Quiz, November 1982)” by Rachael Cupp: a series of essays written by a girl who wonders whether she is ‘bad’ for having thoughts about boys, kissing and sex as she huddles in a bomb shelter.
• “Escobar Medina Plays God” by Dante Luiz: a story told in a series of interviews and social media posts about a person and woman who decide to have a child created and grown in a way that makes people of the uncomfortable.
• “In the Pines” by Jennifer R. Donohue: a fascinating fantasy tale of a young girl who goes out into the world to find her lost mother. But she has to beware of the pine trees in a forest, who may have other plans for them as they travel through it to get back home.
• “Settlers” by James Sallis: a story of a man who lives through a time when nation states have collapsed due to mistrusts among its citizens, leaving people to create and manage their own affairs. But even then, coups and insurgencies still occur among the many smaller states that emerge.
• “Wesley Not-There” by Tim Major: a waitress discovers that food going missing. When she investigates, she discovers a person who is not-there. She attempts to befriend the person, but her efforts may not have the effect she hopes.
• “Breathe Me a Breeze, Paint Me a Sea” by Cécile Cristofari: in a café, a mother encounters a former inmate with intricate tattoos. An old man then tells her the story of the inmate who created the tattoos while incarcerated in an attempt to escape his prison, which leads to the disturbing idea that perhaps she herself is part of his artwork.

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