KZine Issue 27: Review of May 2020 Issue

There are eight short stories in the May 2020 (Issue 27) issue of KZine, a science-fiction, fantasy, crime and horror magazine for the Kindle. The stories range from the dark to the playful, with Trisha Ridinger McKee kicking off the darkness. I quite liked Kent Rosenberger’s plotting shadows, and LB Spillers finished off the issue on a very high note. DA Lewis was depressing, but in a good way, however my star for this issue goes to Charlotte Platt – a funny title and an enjoyable read to match.

“A Phone Call Away” by Trisha Ridinger McKee

A dark, very dark, start to the issue. Six-year-old Frankie has a turbulent, and sometimes abusive, home life, but who is the voice at the end of the phone? No comfort zones here.

"Till Death do us Part” by RW Goldsmith

Deb and Peter are fighting zombies on their way to the evacuation point on the beach. The plan was looking good – the walking dead were quite easy to kill – at least until they found the little girl in the car. An enjoyable story that tells us more about the relationship between Deb and Peter than should be possible in so few pages, and it does so in such a natural way. This is more a love story than a horror.

“A Godless Man” by Matthew X Gomez

Liam has been captured, shackled and caged, his only companion the strange woman in the next cage. But an attack gives both a chance for freedom. Magic and revenge drive the heart of this enjoyable glimpse into another world.

“Death Sentence” by DA Lewis

Jacob is a prisoner, and has the gruesome job in the prison hospital of sitting with terminally ill patients until they die. His current charge was Charlie, a cannibal, and the story is mostly the final conversations between the two men. Despite the odd cannibal joke, this is not a comedy but a rather sad tale with a twist at the end.

“Somebody’s Stolen Grandma” by Charlotte Platt

For Ricky, this was a straightforward grave robbery, and he was being paid for it. What he didn’t know was he wasn’t the only one after the body of the old lady; Alice and Frankie needed their grandmother or there would be hell to pay. Funny, in a chatty sort of way that carries you pleasantly through the story.

“The Bad Ones are Always the Best” by Michelle Ann King

This starts fairly normally – accountant grandson Garrett at granddad Marty’s house on the computer to sort out the older man’s banking and accounts. Marty reminisces, both out loud and to himself, about how kids were different in his day, about the rough and the tumble, and what they found in the hole in the ground. OK, that’s where it leaves normal, and maybe Garrett isn’t that different from Marty after all. The story turns out to be a little darker than expected.

“The Loneliness Patrol” by Kent Rosenberger

Dustin takes a shine to the new woman Sandy who has moved into a neighbouring apartment, but he doubts whether he will ever have the courage to do anything about it. His shadow is more confident and approaches her shadow for a late-night chat. So, oddness is the norm, and this playful tale provides amusing distraction.

“Seized Memory” by LB Spillers

Greg is off for an unusual vacation to an artificial town, where he discovers things are weirder than even he believed. He is also a little worried that his implant is not behaving and that the town boss wants to recruit him. And then there’s Alma. A good conspiracy tale to end the magazine on an SF note.

Also in Issue 27

The issue has the normal chapter with brief biographies of the authors. The magazine was edited by Graeme Hurry and the cover art was by Dave Windett. And it is available from Amazon as a print-on-demand magazine for those that do not like reading from a tablet.