Challenging Destiny # 20 - July 2005
01/08/2005 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
E-mag: pub: Crystalline Sphere Publishing. Price: $5.00 (US). check out website: www.Crystallinesphere.com
Readers of this website may remember that I gave 'Challenging Destiny' #18 a review which labelled one of its stories as the worst I've ever read. The rest weren't much better either. With #20 displayed on my computer's Microsoft Reader, I resolved to give it my reasoned and unbiased attention. Well, I'd certainly say #20 is slightly better than #18 but, using a football league comparison, I wouldn't give it a rating any higher than half-way down the third division.
Let's look at the magazine. The editor, David Switzer, kicks off with the first part of his game of two halves, 'Great SF And Fantasy TV Shows'. He starts by saying, 'I didn't call this the 15 best because I haven't seen every show. It's certainly possible that there are others that would find themselves on this list if I were to watch them.' Fair enough, I'd say, but then he tells us he hasn't watched much of 'Stargate' or 'The Dead Zone'!
He has watched 'Star Trek' and 'Babylon 5' you'll be glad to discover but he doesn't say anything about them that anyone else wouldn't know and doesn't even qualify his reasons for selecting them to any extent. All things said, he'd be just as well giving a list of the shows with no comment but then that wouldn't take up much space whereas his waffle does. Bet you can't wait until the second part! No, I think a bit of an own goal with this piece.
Fortunately, in his 'Review Of Graphic Novels', James Schellenberg draws the scores level with intelligent description and comments of the Batman books and a few others. I was caught up in his comments on 'Dark Knight Returns' and 'Watchmen' - books almost twenty years old but of timeless quality.
Six short stories can be found in this issue. 'Reciprocating Wind' by someone called Uncle River is a colloquial piece which meanders through events occurring in the Wild West sometime in the 19th century. While this isn't an alternative reality story it isn't, with a couple of minor exceptions, based on actual events. Though difficult to judge what the point to the story is, there is the feeling that there isn't supposed to be one anyway. Witty at times, we are immersed in the flavour of the era - a period piece which doesn't deserve to score either way.
'Lonesome Cosmologist' by Ian Creasey tells about a physicist nerd and his nocturnal thoughts of a female associate. Working alone in the observatory buildings, neither absorbed nor disinterested in his SETI duties, he thinks about her in the same sort of way. This isn't a love story - no passion here, not even sex. No wonder she doesn't want anything to do with him! Clever paragraph titles become tedious and lose their impact as does the story itself. A goal against, I'd say.
'Murder In The Shadow Of Exile' by Steven Mohan Jr. from Colorado left me shaking my head in amazement at its bad taste. Crazy Muslims, bampots (to use a Scottish word) and nutters in general are involved in holographic goings-on. The stereotypical characterisation is not intelligent to say the least. Mohammed bashing is just one part of it - the Europeans don't appear wholesome either. I was going to make some comment about the politics of this story but thought better of it. Basically it's rubbish and isn't worthy of much consideration. In my football game, it's five goals let in.
With many scores against #20 so far, it's probably best not to compound the embarrassment and continue with the remaining stories. I don't think this magazine can really be classed as Science Fiction or fantasy. It has probably an odd little niche somewhere otherwise it still wouldn't be going on at #20 but then, there's no accounting for taste. The editor will be pleased to know that I certainly won't be reviewing it again.
Rod MacDonald |
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