The Stories:
"The Lorelei" - by Alex Irvine (Novelet) 24 pages
"Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with diverse Variations for the Harpsichord with two manuals" - by John G. McDaid (Novelet) 47 pages
"Born Bad" - by Arthur Porges (short story) 2 pages
"The Blemmye's Strategem" - by Bruce Sterling (Novelet) 33 pages
"Last Man Standing" - by Esther M. Friesner (Novelet) 24 pages

The January issue begins 2005 with a bit of a stumble. None of the stories, with the exception of Friesner's, really grabbed me that much and while they were all worth a read, none of them really stood out. They each had something that pushed me away. I think I like the magazine better when there's a mixture of shorter and longer stories. There are only five in this issue, and their all of the novelet form (except one). Thus, they're just long enough to be annoying if you're not into the story. I found the issue to be more of a grind than usual because of that. A decidedly sub-par issue that I'm still glad I read, if only because Friesner's story was so fun.

The Stories
"The Lorelei" - by Alex Irvine
A young man leaves his uncle in Maine to try and make it big in New York City in the late 1800s. He will try to make it on his own for a year, and if he can't he'll return. Charles Pelletier wants to paint, but he gets a job using his teaching degree until he can support himself with his art. He meets a seemingly insane artist who turns out to be the great artist, Albert Pinkham Ryder. Ryder becomes obsessed with painting "The Lorelei," and he thinks he has discovered an incarnation of her in his apartment building. Slowly sliding ever more into madness, Ryder insists that they're going to be married. Pelletier is on the sidelines of this and soon, Ryder's friends take him overseas. When they return, the woman is gone and little is said, at least overtly, about the Lorelei. Until, that is, the Lorelei grabs Pelletier and won't let go. Pelletier soon finds himself becoming Ryder in all but name, his obsession eerily similar, his ruin perhaps the same. I'm of two minds about this story. The prose in the story is wonderful but the subject matter did nothing for me. I have had trouble connecting to both Irvine stories that I've read now (this one and "Peter Skilling" in the September 2004 issue, so perhaps it's something in Irvine's style that turns me off. I can recognize the underlying beauty in the story, though it does tend to drag a bit long. It's interesting to watch Pelletier's decline and how his situation turns out slightly differently than Ryder's. I would say it's definitely worth a first read to see if your reaction is similar to mine. You may end up not liking it (like me) or, you may end up thinking it's a flawed masterpiece.

"Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with diverse Variations for the Harpsichord with two manuals" - by John G. McDaid
What an interesting idea!! Too bad the execution of the idea, novel as it is, gets in the way of the story. This is a story supposedly told in the form of the musical Goldberg Variations, and it's about the performance of said Variations in the near future. An annual piano competition brings contestants from all over the world, but the judge of this contest is a shrieking harpy who is rude and crude and not very tolerant of her charges. Also, the ghost of a former musical genius, Stefan Janacek, may also return on this night in 2023. This has the makings of a good story that's just masked by an almost impenetrable style that is alternately novel and annoying. There are too many asides that don't seem to have much to do with the thrust of the story, and I didn't find myself interested enough in them to avoid saying "get back to the story!" McDaid has the narrator admit that he's unreliable and has never done this before, but this admission doesn't make the story any more interesting to read. Add to this a near-future that seems much too technologically advanced as well as the seemingly pointless use of updated words and terminology to suggest a future where language has changed and you get a story that tries very hard to get your attention and not enough time keeping your interest.

"Born Bad" - by Arthur Porges
This is the short story among all these long novelets, and I have to say that I don't get it. It's about the offspring of a demon and a nymph who is simply "born bad." He's thoroughly evil and untrainable. His father left and his mother ends up giving him to a centaur to train, except the centaur gives up after eight weeks, with a proclamation that if the boy is bad now, just wait until he grows up to be Old Nick. Is this supposed to be the devil? I don't know. I've heard differing theories, but at two pages, the story hardly seems worth that kind of analysis. It didn't grab me and it didn’t let me stop and catch my breath for all the other stories in this issue. Perhaps the short short form is not for me? That's probably a good guess.

"The Blemmye's Strategem"
This is an interesting story adding a mythological element to the crusades. The Abbess Hildegart, founder of the Hospitaller organization in the crusades, is being held in a caravan of the Master of Assassins, Sinan. The two enjoy a special relationship as both former lovers (she was part of his harem) and as servants to the Silent Master, a Blemmye (some information about them can be found here. They have been working tirelessly to keep the Blemmye drowning in wealth, as well as bringing it sacrifices. It seems that the Blemmye has a mate, a demon that is voraciously hungry. When Hildegart and Sinan reach their destination, they discover that the mate is dead, the Blemmye is grieving, and demons are about to run roughshod over the world. Only a joint force of crusaders and Sinan's Moslem troops can stop them. But will they be enough? The story is entertaining, but it's marred by a bit too much distance. We hear a lot about the history between Hildegart and Sinan, but we never really feel like we get to know them very well. Also, events seem to happen around them, but never *to* them, at least not in front of the reader. Whenever something happens, we hear about it rather than actually seeing it. Instead, most of the story consists of conversations between these two. I found myself growing detached from the whole thing. The story has a poignant ending, but I think it would be more poignant if we actually cared more about the people involved. Given the story's length, the lack of interest made it hard to get through, saved only by the fact that there were a few interesting concepts to keep the reader entertained. Sterling's research into all of the myths surrounding the Blemmye, as well as the other mythological trappings to the story, do make it worth reading however.

"Last Man Standing" - by Esther M. Friesner
The issue ends with a wonderful story by Friesner, also set in the distant past but much more enticing. Gilgamesh has died and his funeral is a lavish affair. To aid him in the afterlife, many other slaves and servants are to be put to death to fulfill the same positions for him in the underworld. One of these people, Namtar, the last man in line, gets into an altercation with a soldier that's guarding the line. When the soldier almost kills Namtar (which wouldn't do Gilgamesh any good now, would it?), the soldier is told to take his place and Namtar is free to leave. He goes to the local tavern to drink to his good fortune and gets involved in conversation with Puabi, the head of the establishment. Unfortunately, her sister was one of Gilgamesh's handmaidens and has already been put to death. Namtar drunkenly proclaims that if he had recognized the woman, he would have offered to take her place, which is not something that you should say in front of a disguised goddess. Inanna whisks him to the spirit realm to make good on his promise, and the quick-thinking slave has to try to figure out a way to save his own skin. This story is a delight and the only light-hearted one in this issue. Friesner's whimsy is great and she has created a very interesting character in Namtar. Watching him in the slave's lineup at the beginning of the story was hilarious, as the arrogant soldier tries to get him to keep quiet. What is the soldier going to do, kill him? Since he's already in line to be killed, that's hardly punishment. The story takes twists and turns and Namtar ends up doing much more than he bargained for down in the underworld. Added to this is a delightful Gilgamesh when Namtar sees him in the underworld. The dialogue is crisp and witty and I just enjoyed this story to death. Considering the previous stories hadn't been my most favourite ones, this was definitely a breath of fresh air.

The Articles
"Books to Look For" - by Charles de Lint
Enna Burning - by Shannon Hale
Blackbird House - by Alice Hoffman
Dead Man's Hands - by Tim Lebbon

"Books" - by Elizabeth Hand
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell - by Susanna Clarke
One King, One Soldier - by Alex Irvine
The Moon Pool - by A. Merritt
The Best of Xero - edited by Pat & Dick Lupoff

"Plumage from Pegasus" - by Paul Di Filippo
Science fiction encroaches a little too much on Mr. Science, forcing him to see a therapist

"Films" - by Lucius Shepard
A wonderful review of Code 46, with Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. It skewers it, but compliments it for what it tried to do.