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Interzone # 200 - October 2005
01/11/2005 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
bi-monthly magazine: UK publisher/editor address: Andy Cox, TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 2LB. Price: £ 3.50 (UK) $ 6.00(US). ISSN: 0264-3596. Buy Interzone in the USA - or Buy Interzone in the UK  check out website: www.ttapress.com
'Interzone' has reached a landmark in its history with the release of its 200th issue. A significant event in a world where many magazines fall by the wayside long before even a fraction of this total. 'Interzone' has also radically changed with an exciting new look to attract readers and increase circulation.
The butterfly has emerged from the chrysalis! Whereas before it had crawled along like a caterpillar, it has now emerged in glorious colour throughout and will be able to fly to further heights, to new dimensions of prosperity. (Please remember my review when it comes to story selection, Interzone. Rod MacDonald is the name.)
Before they accuse me of being like Zachary Smith, taken in by superficial glossy covers and fancy colour pictures, I would simply say to them, never fear there's substance here. The stories are attractive and deliver the goods. While maybe there is a broadening of subject matter with an approach designed to capture a wider audience, there is no pandering to the lowest common denominator. Standards remain high. At any rate, 'Interzone' has certainly not dropped its standards to the extent that they would publish one of my stories.
What they have published in issue 200 is the novella 'Saving Mars' by Jason Stoddard. You may remember I reviewed his previous story 'Winning Mars' in issue 198. This is set some twelve years after and tells of the trials and tribulations of people colonising the planet, not in the old-fashioned way we've been used to but in a high-tech media-orientated style which, for an old person like myself, isn't always easy to follow.
Don't get me wrong. Jason is a good writer and one to look out for in the future for a possible novel. He's had several stories printed since winning the L.Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest in 2003 and has undoubted skills. His career started in engineering before going on to working in advertising media, the latter being obvious from the type of material he writes. Unfortunately, not much of the engineering seems to have sunk in because, as in his 'Winning Mars', there are sadly lapses in scientific accuracy and logistics of flying into space.
For many this doesn't matter but I feel the days since a writer like Bradbury could describe Mars in an erroneous way are long since gone. The planet seems to be Stoddard's vehicle for expressing himself but a little more attention to astronautics and astronomy wouldn't go amiss. Nonetheless, overall this is a good story.
What is TTA Press trying to do with 'Interzone' and its other main publication now entitled 'Black Static'? Both are glossy, colourful and popular enough to end up in large newsagents or even supermarkets! They are trying to take the middle ground without neglecting their principles, a feat which is very difficult to do. One only has to think of the British Labour Party to understand the immensity of the task. Labour may have failed but let's hope 'Interzone' succeeds.
What shall we see in a couple of years? The old purists cast out (who needs the old fuddy-duddies anyway) with crass new stories written to a banal formula? Let's definitely have boobs on the front cover, the bigger the better, and plenty sex and violence chucked into each story whether or not it is necessary. This is a possible future but only one of many. With this edition of 'Interzone' being a watershed, I hope the future won't take such a path.
The other stories, articles and reviews of issue 200 were all to a high standard which is what you'd hope for after paying good money. Artwork was an integral part of the issue, giving the stories substance and colour. If you haven't read this magazine before or maybe for some years I would definitely make an effort to get your hands on a copy. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
Rod MacDonald
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