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Etherea Magazine #7

Etherea Magazine, February 2022. A collection of excellent speculative fiction, from authors around the globe.

Hear from Matthew Wills, creator of the Swords webcomic

Enjoy the amazing artwork supplied by highly talented artist Jakub Rozalski

Wendy Darling by A. C. Wise is reviewed by Katie McIvor

THE STORIES:

Freedom? More like infinite ways to screw up. How had he handled it before? He’d done seven. How did anyone coming off real time handle it? – Start, by John Greer

Bert McKinney never got any crop circles in his cornfields and he was pretty darn pissed about it. Not just because the extraterrestrials ignored him, but because all of his neighbors got crop circles and they bragged about it constantly. – The Alienation of Bert McKinney, by Kelly Kurtzhals Geiger

If you cannot figure out how a thing is done, this does not make it magic; and even if you think you know how the trick works, this too does not make it any less magical. The audience knows this in its bones… – The Last Performance of the Great Doctor Ichikawa and Mister Walker, Illusionist, by Christopher Hart

She lay curled beneath the sheet like a human comma – a brief pause in the story of a relationship that was entering its final, dysfunctional chapter. You can’t stay with somebody just because you pity them… – The March Wind, by Davin Ireland

“Silly girl,” I hissed, “don’t say things like that! They kill witches. If you’re not careful, they could kill you!” – Witch’s Gambit, by Callie Cameron

It was usual for test eggs to fail the first time around, though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the dinosaur suddenly shrivelled as it dashed around the room. . – Just Add Water, by Ai Jiang

No need to go into the boring details of my investigation, but one thing naturally led to another, as it will, and we ended up in an inflatable life raft, bidding adieu to Raffi’s jolly boat as it sank under the clear blue waves. – Archibald Defeats the Churlish Shark-Gods, by Benjamin Blattberg

I try to maintain professional detachment—I really do—but it’s not every day you see the dead face of someone you love. – A Lament for Marla, by Mike Adamson

When you push those heavy, windowless oak doors open, the atmosphere that greets you is truly inviting – not to mention a wonder to the senses. Plump, leather armchairs encircle antique tables… – Review: Café des Perdus et Trouvés by M J Francis

My name is Lorenza, and I have not been able to speak since the day I died. For a while, I imagined that my voice would return, that it would well up out of the ground and echo through my hollow armor… – Lorenza’s Bones, by Rhiannon Rasmussen

The game is an addiction. Once started, players do not stop, much as they’re warned. The game is a religion. Highly personalized, soul-affirming. –  A Game Like They Play in the Future, by Christi Nogle