Lords of the Abyss (tales of supernatural horror)
Annual 1995 $4.00 + $1.25 p&h from
Stygian Vortex Publications,
6634 Atlanta St. Hollywood, Fla. 33024-2965.
Editor-in-Chief: Glenda Woodrum

If you've seen any of Stygian Vortex's other publications like Shadow Sword or Shapeshifter, you'll be familiar with the look of this full-size magazine. SV's latest outing is a 62-page b/w mag that offers a mixed bag of horror stories and illustrations. Woodrum's editorial choices usually don't leave you wondering "what the hell was that about" (as many small pressers do), though you may occasionally think "I've read this one before--only the author's names have changed." Since yours truly has a story in this one, not to mention some book and movie reviews, I can't be overly objective here--but I liked it!

There's a touching story of a father drawn together with his adopted son by the ghost of the woman they loved in Rich Powell's "White Cat Winter." And there's a somewhat surreal after-the-war nightmare from Charlee Jacob. While I usually like her work quite a bit, I found this piece a little lacking in grounding--too many unanswered questions. There's a turn on the "campers run into the endgame of an old curse" plot in David Shtogryn's "Healing Rain." My favorite piece though, was Nathan Baker's "Thinkers." This one is sci-fi horror that postulates a future society of thinking zombies and how the living deal with it. It's a thoughtful twist on a dead genre (pardon). Some decent ghoulies horror here, with a smattering of poems and a commentary on what horror is by FAYRDAW editor Lorin Emery.

--John Everson

Copyright © 1996 by John Everson. All Rights Reserved.