The magazine has a semi-professional finish, with accomplished illustrations that suit the stylised design, mixing an almost Victoriana feel with a style reminiscent of early World of Darkness releases. Some production errors, like the glossy inside back cover being used for the text of a story, the over-use of artwork, and the childish construction of the back cover, might be holding it back from an amount of respect afforded to the less genre-tolerant, design-savvy publications on the market, which is a shame, as the magazine is filled with a high standard of writing, most of which this issue hails from the southern England.

This issue is flavoured with a distinctly animalistic theme, and is slated as the Creature Feature for the year. The opening story, ‘The Beast That Howled, by David Redd,’ is gentle enough in tone, but the immediately disturbing opening paragraph is in opposition to the bulk of the magazine's content, and considering the magazine contains a fair mix of fantasy and light science fiction, I think this grimly-tinged tale might have been better placed later on in the issue.

This is followed by a wonderful piece of whimsy, which I approached with trepidation due to the title, ‘From the Dog's Point of View.’ It is about a man who was to be the first terra-former on the moon, and how he copes with life back on the hustling and bustling terra firma.

Jennifer Dayne's ‘Fly Away’ is an effective and enrapturing short story, an allegory of self-discovery. There's also a tale from Alexander Glass, always a welcome treat, and a short fantasy by Martin Owton closes the issue, with a well enough rendered fairy tale flash piece by the suspiciously monickered Dayle A Dermatis dropped into the mix.

In addition to the six stories mentioned, there is a further tale, by the magazine's editor, Elizabeth Counihan. It was impossible for me not to feel this was the weaker story included, if only due to the fact that the editor herself had written. I was leaping on every turn of phrase and possibly inaccurate piece of research simply -- perhaps unfairly - because it was the editor who had penned it.

Counihan is careful to point out in her byline that this is only the second issue of Scheherazade to have showcased one of her own stories, but this caveat was unable to ease my feeling of somehow having been cheated out of a story by a valid contributor.

This aside, the only other issue I have with the magazine is the non-fiction feature: a rather creaky interview with Tanith Lee, by Liz Williams and Mary O'Keefe, which crashes aimlessly around the Lee's personal and fictional history. It was possibly a transcript of an interview held in the Brighton store of Borders earlier in the year, but as a piece of editorial it was lucklustre and devoid of focus. The fact that her recent young-adult release, ‘Piratica,’ quickly sold out it’s first run is mentioned but then dismissed without discussion, and yet we have 'news' of Lee's work on the long-dead ‘Blake's Seven.’ To what end?

Overall this issue of Scheherazade was worth my coinage, but I won't be shelling out for a subscription on the strength of it. I need some more convincing

Neil Ayres was born in East London in 1979. He left school with a handful of GCSEs when he was 16 and has worked at times (and in no particular order) as a warehouseman, a cattery hand, a copy-shop assistant, a barman, a professional dog trainer and a cheap alternative to a computer database. He currently works in publishing. He lives on the Surrey/Sussex border in a house without a resident cat, though if there was one it could live without fear of being swung, as there’s not enough room to do such a thing. Neil is project manager for the ‘Book of Voices,’ an anthology of short stories due to be published by Flame Books in March 2005 in an attempt to raise awareness of the work of the Sierra Leone office of International PEN. Neil is also a member of Godisin, the first TTA writers’ workshop. In between all of the above, he is trying to get round to finishing his second novel and finding a decent agent. To read Neil’s story, ‘Changeling’ on the Showcase section of this site, click here or for more reviews by Neil, visit The New Review index here.

© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.