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What with Interzone being in 'reduced circumstances', Spectrum SF effectively mothballed, and 3SF failing to last a year, the state of British SF magazine publishing could be seen as being in the doldrums. This would be at odds with the fact that in terms of writers, British SF is in a particularly strong state of health. The 3rd Alternative is now at issue #36, and leads off this issue with a Lucius Shepard novella, no less.

Lucius Shepard. The Park Keeper.

A small Honduran park is the setting for a humidly atmospheric tale of ancient mysteries, and modern passions.

Richard is an artist, sketching the park, its trees, the visitors and the small town in which it lies. That is, he is sketching in between heavy drinking sessions and langorous, passionate afternoons with Sharon, a married women with whom he is having one last fling before she returns, finally, to her loveless marriage and passionless existence.

The aforementioned trees in the park are mysterious - strange to look at, and also because the park keeps is in the habit of placing various objects in the trees. There is an old story about the park - is there truth in it?

Richard explores the trees - finding hismelf drawn in, literally, to the ancient Mayan magic contained within the trees. But a final conflagration, and several confrontations, see Richard and Sharon brought together.

Not Shepard's best, but still a strong, vivid story.

David Ira Cleary. The Automatic Circus.

A further story in the author's 'Jaromir Stavan' series, which were primarily published in SF Age, none of which I have read.

In a Steampunky setting, Professor Stavan is intrigued by an 'Automatic Circus' which has come to town. Surely the claims about the aotomata are bogus, and the circus acrobats are men in suits rather than robots? But no, the robots are very much of metal and steam, including one lady who very much takes his heart. Upon losing her, the Professor resolves to renew their acquaintance.

Karen Fishler. Miko.

A first published story from a Clarion West '98 graduate, and one that is most promising. Miko is offworld, using her 'social skills' to communicate (ahem) with other alien visitors to Gateworld, built on a planet millenia ago by an ancient, vanished race. Miko uses her geisha skills with an enigmatic alien, Ajjer, and Fishler provides some convincing halting conversations, and strange alien sex (resonances from 'The Man Who Fell to Earth').

The relationship between Miko and Ajjer is well-wrought, and the main beef for me is that the dramatic resolution is at odds with the subtlety of the rest of the story.

Andrew Humphrey. Grief Inc.

East Anglia is the setting for a tale of civil unrest, in which the local government in this part of rural England, as elsewhere in country, has been ruling with an increasingly iron fist. Against this background is Carter, a man with a strange, sought after talent - the ability to draw grief from others. He has someone on his tail, but is able to turn the tables and manages to flee with his girlfriend, heading towards London.

An interesting combination of stories, although both elements (the civil unrest and the empathic grief drawing) could to my mind have been given more attention - perhaps in their own story?

Martin Simpson. Phantom Limb.

Losing an arm once is unfortunate, but to do so several times must surely be criminally negligent?

The protagonist is a young man who uses his misfortune to carve a career in the movies - not in star roles, but those in which the absence of a limb can be used to good (special) effect. Having had SFX arms destroyed in a variety of film roles, he begins to find pains from his phantom limb beginning to haunt him.

Other stuff:

• Allen Ashley's 'The Dodo Has Landed' column
• Andrew Hedgecock interviews Trevor Hoyle
• Christopher Fowler's 'Electric Circus' film review column
• John Paul Catton's column on matters Oriental
• Jaspre Bark considers the films of Sam Raimi
• books reviewed : Shaun Hutson's 'Hell to Pay', Nick Sagan's 'Idlewild', Simon Clark/Tim Lebbon's 'Exorcising Angels', Steve Redwood's 'Fisher of Devils', 'Trampoline' edited by Kelly Link, Panton Di Villa's 'Doctor Moore', Neil Ayres' 'Nicolo's Gifts', Jeff Vandermeer's 'Veniss Underground', Dan Simmon's 'Ilium', Steven Sherrill's 'The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break', JG Ballard's 'Millennium People'
• Saudy Auden Interview's Paul di Filippo with particular focus on 'Fuzzy Dice'

Conclusion.

The issue is stronger at the beginning, with Shepard, Cleary and Fishler providing some vivid and three-dimensional settings and characters, which Humphrey and Simpson don't quite match.

The production quality continues to be of the highest order, and the illustrations throughout are of a generally high standard - but what's the fixation with illustrations of shaven-headed women with bare boobies? Illustrations of this have featured in each of the three issues I've seen!