Interzone #301

Rating: 3/5

An average issue with some weird stories. The ones I enjoyed were by Philip Fracassi and David Cleden.

“Orange Slab” by Ashley Stokes: a weird fiction piece about moving a large piece of orange slab from the house of a person who believes in conspiracies. Only this time, the purpose and place where the slab, which feels alive, is to be moved too might not be a conspiracy this time.
“The Astral Key” by Philip Fracassi: a group of people wake up in an unfamiliar place, to be told that their consciousness have to ‘projected’ into a game, and only one of them may find the key to win and escape, while the rest lost and may die. A ‘cheat’ happens at the end of the game and, the eventual winner may not have won the expected prize.
“Dawnies How the World Is (Dictated)” by Rachael Cupp: on interpreting the words of a girl who misses the world after the apocalypse.
“Learning to Fall” by David Cleden: a person selected to climb a very tall construction hides a fear from his fellow climbers. But when an unexpected event happens during the climb, he may have no choice but to overcome his fear.
“Mirrored” by Corey Jae White: an influencer suddenly discovers online posts by him in places where he’s never been. He is determined to find out who is taking over his online life. But the answer may not please him, unless he can find a new life to lead.

Magazine read from 2025/02/17 to 2025/02/21