ParSec – Issue #2 Winter 2021

ParSec is a digital Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror magazine published by PS Publishing and edited by Ian Whates which started publishing in the Autumn of 2021. PS Publishing are well known for their extensive and prestigious line in novels, novellas and anthologies, and Ian Whates is the head of the wonderful indie publisher NewCon Press, so as soon as I heard about this new magazine and the people involved I was sure it would be an exciting venture, and I jumped at the chance to take part in the magazine’s blog tour organized by publicist Tamsin Traves. I chose issue #2 to review because it includes a bunch of stories by some of my favourite writers – Aliya Whiteley, Ramsey Campbell, Neil Williamson and Angela Slatter. None of these stories disappointed, and I was pleased to discover that the other stories included, many by writers I had never heard of before, were of just as high a quality. Throw in a series of insightful features ranging from reminiscences of life lived with a writer to thoughtful dissections of the state of SFF publishing, a passionate and well-informed reviews section, and an interview with Xueting Christine Ni, the editor of Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction, and you have a wonderful and entertaining issue that should appeal to all fans of the cutting edge of genre fiction.

First of all let’s tackle the nine original stories, which justify reading the magazine by themselves. As the issue’s striking cover art of a monstrous snowman by Vincent Chong suggests, there is a loose yuletide theme to issue #2, most pronounced in Whiteley ‘s and Campbell’s stories, but the magazine isn’t afraid to leave the theme aside in favour of including more great stories, which proves a good tactic. Following editor Whates’ welcoming introduction, the magazine opens with Angela Slatter’s story ‘The Summer Husband’. This is classic Slatter, delving into the dark hearts of folklore and fairytale to tell a tale that uses the uncanny to explore feminist concerns. The story is told from the perspective of an old witch whose headstrong young apprentice gets more than she bargained for when she magically creates a summer husband from a tree. Like all of Slatter’s best work, it feels at once both as old as the oral tradition and shockingly new. It is followed by Neil Williamson’s ‘The Neighbourhood Watch’, which showcases Williamson’s talent for exploring the lived reality of our dystopian near-future. The story explores how an introverted data harvester who makes a living siphoning data off her fellow apartment dwellers becomes embroiled in a struggle with a mysterious new neighbour who can beat her at her own game, and brilliantly explores the paranoia that is becoming part of our daily lives as the surveillance power of Big Tech grows every more prevalent. Next up is Aliya Whiteley’s ‘Lovers on the Yuleton Lip’, which refracts Santa Claus and his jolly toymaking elves through a disturbing prism of the Weird. As always in her work, Whiteley finds the tragically human in characters thrust into utterly bizarre and frightening situations. After reading it, I may never think of those cheery children’s Christmas films the same way again. Ramsey Campbell’s ‘But Once a Year’ shows the modern grand master of the Weird tale in fine form, as a Christmas visit from extended family awakes the young protagonist’s burgeoning sexuality at the same time as a seasonal haunting reveals uncomfortable truths about the past lives of his own parents. It’s a masterclass in characterization and tension, as Campbell expertly sets up the family dynamics and proceeds to explore the strains in the family relationships. 

‘Portuguese Essay’ is the first story publication for new author George Tom, and I was pleased to discover that this was my favourite story of the nine. Tom’s story about a person who reads an impossible novella entitled Portuguese Essay which acts as “memetic malware”, rewiring his brain’s understanding of language and leading him to undergo bizarre experimental bran surgery to physically replicate the process, is bold, original and powerful. Its experimental and metafictional form take exciting risks, leading to a story that attempts to deconstruct language as effectively as its eponymous memetic malware. It recalls the work of Borges and Calvino whilst still very much being its own thing. I look forward to seeing more of Tom’s work in speculative fiction magazines soon. ‘Portuguese Essay’ is followed by Mike Carey’s ‘All That’s Red Earth’, a wonderful fantasy story about a young person who finds themselves apprenticed to a witch after their apprenticeship to a wizard doesn’t work out. The story brilliantly explores the gender identity of its protagonist, and Carey expertly paints a picture of an entire fantastical world using only the distinctive voice of his main character. Gareth D Jones’ ‘Five Ways to Accidentally Save the Earth from Alien Conquest’ is a brief but amusing celebration of the mundane and the surprising outcomes it can have. Next we have Sean McMullen’s ‘The Elektron Mill’. The longest story in the magazine, McMullen’s bizarre tale of an attempt by the Romans to harness electricity so they can wield the powers of the gods morphs through several impressively-handled changes in perspective and tone across nested stories to become an intriguing modern-day urban fantasy about people attempting to turn themselves into gods via electrocution. The final story is Karen Brenchley’s ‘A Bayesian Analysis of Wishes’, a dark and unsettling story about a man who is discharged from the army when he contracts MS and who tries to force the hand of chance through a Faustian bargain with a mysterious wish-granter. Brenchley keeps the reader hooked as she drives her characters to their sinister fates, in a story that both entertained me and disturbed me greatly.

As I said earlier, these stories are enough of a reason to read this issue, so the quality of the features is an added bonus. In ‘Life In The Fast Lane’, Jenny Campbell reflects on her life with husband Ramsey Campbell, and their writer friends past and present. ‘In the Weeds’ by Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin takes a detailed look at the publishing industry’s failure to support PoC at every stage in the industry. This theme is picked up on and expanded in Stewart Hotston’s ‘Stepping Towards New Voices in SFF’, in which he looks at data collected from the Clarke Award to see the true level of diversity in current SFF publishing. The takeaway from both pieces, which are rigorously researched and passionately argued, is that at all levels of publishing, from acquiring editors to reviewers to promotors, we all need to do better to make sure that we see the diversity of voices the genre deserves and needs.

The reviews section covers an admirably wide array of texts, from big tentpole genre fiction publishing events like the latest Joe Abercrombie to award-nominated books coming out in the small presses to non-fiction explorations of Mars or collections of genre-relevant obituaries. The reviews team, which includes Nick Hubble, Graham Sleight, Donna Scott and Maureen Kincaid-Speller, is well-informed and engaging. The closing interview, in which Andy Hedgecock speaks with Xueting Christine Ni about translating and publishing Chinese science fiction, is informative and timely, and provides valuable insight into the massive field of modern Chinese SF and how it is beginning to interact with and influence Anglophone readers and writers. It brings to a close a wonderful issue of ParSec that is sure to please any fan of genre fiction writing and leave them wanting more. 

Follow the next stop on the blog tour with Alex’s review of issue #3 at Spells & Spaceships.

Each review on the blog tour includes a discount code for 25% off PARSEC issues #1 – #9. Just copy and paste the discount code 25PARSEC at the checkout and download for £4.49 each. Compatible with all e-readers.