Eclecticism Issue 4 April 2008

Sex :
Violence :
Editor Craig Bezant
Publisher Eclecticism
Length 36 pages
Country

Review

Issue 4 of Eclecticism while being light on pages certainly makes up for it with some explosively good content. Editor Bezant went with a theme of “Worlds of the Past or Future” and managed to rope in some very solid Writers from New Zealand and Australia to put pen to paper and interpret the concept. As normal we also get an Editorial, a featured Artist, and a fist full of poems including one of fairly epic dimensions. Lets get down to some world building.

Strangely, and completely off the beaten path of magazine reviewing but hey Bezant brought it up, the Editorial for Issue 4 introduces the concept of Hog's Breath Cafes and their mega steaks of death. What the hell is Bezant doing! Hog's Breath sucks, they wouldn't know how to make a decent steak if a zombie cow leaped through the window and bite them on the arse. Which in a round about fashion introduces the notion that each issue of Eclecticism arrives with an editorial that outlines what's been going down with the Issue and points out the way forward with the next Issue. I'm actually digging those as they are well written and remarkable thoughtful, although Bezant needs to clean the steak sauce off a couple of them.

I was somewhat disappointed that our Editor of mayhem didn't get his Cthulhu mythos on in Issue 4 given the theme going down. Maybe he didn't receive any submissions in the tentacled horror neck of the woods or something? Worrying signs for dark genre readers, the tropes are being mislaid somewhere along the line, I want a real down in the trenches yarn to be honest and recently Eclecticism has been wide of the mark, and seemingly is getting into no ball territory. Line and length Mr Bezant, line and length does it every time.

On the bright side of the harbour we do get some cracking yarns that match the theme, though I would suggest lip service being paid rather than a full dial in yo. Brian G. Ross opens with Footprints, a Martian landing discovers something they weren't expecting. To be honest a bit more work was needed there to make a cracking story, but I grooved to Ross's Sci-Fi leanings flash piece. Mind Games, Myra King, didn't work for me. That's not to say the story isn't well written, it has it's own style and beat going down, but I didn't dig the plot at all I have to say. Either I've read a few too many similarly themed stories, or the twist is overused in the dark genre, or hey, maybe I'm hard to please over here.

Off the beaten track of the theme and rounding out the prose lineup is Julia Brannigan's Lost in the City which was poignant but slightly on the predictable side of the equation. The story is a mood piece that hits the right feelings and atmosphere. One of the highlights of Issue 4.

As we would expect Issue 4 of Eclecticism stands out from the crowd due to the excellent art work through out. Even if you don't dig the stories, can't imagine why, you'll still have some fun times in the Cross with the excellent and detailed illustrations and page decorations. Thus far I've got on board Bezant's groove train with the art being used in each Issue, and number four is no different. Stunning achievement, I've no idea how each Issue comes up with completely different vibrant visual styles, it's a highlight for mine kids.

The featured Artist for Issue 4 is the vibrant HB aka Sofia E. Apparently among her influences are H. R. Giger, Dali, and Bosch, making HB an instant favourite around the ScaryMinds bunker. Having checked out a gallery of HB's work, right here, I have to say the Bezant has kicked a winner with this Aussie Artist. Captivating, unique, and disturbing, were some of the words that came to mind while viewing HB's work.

As well as stocking Issue 4 with enough prose to keep me entertained Bezant also adds a fair swag of poetry, wish he wouldn't it only encourages them to write more, Contributor details, and an attention to detail that continues to grow Eclecticism's already glowing reputation. I simply can't say enough about the professionalism being displayed with this magazine, so hey it's professional and matches the literary high price journals gathering dust down your local news agent.

Another Issue and another great read, Craig Bezant continues to produce one of the best online magazines available Downunder. I'm digging each issue and highly recommend the magazine to folks who like them some quality reading. I still don't get how Bezant can continue to put in the amount of work he clearly does for each issue without charging something. Dude, take some advertising or something!

I'm picking Julia Brannigan's Lost in the City to grace the pages of An Eclectic Slice of Life. A few weeks out from reviewing that anthology and man am I looking forward to digging in there.

If after a copy or three of Eclecticism then dial into the official site, the magazine is free and every issue is available. Happy reading folks.

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...

  Solid Issue with some decent content.