Litzine, various contributors, issue 28, Small Beer Press, 150 Pleasant St. Easthampton, MA 01027, USA, smalbeerpress.com/lcrw, $5 (US)
The latest issue of LCRW is packed with the short speculative fiction that this long-running title does best. Included are eight stories, one short poem, and a culinary column from Nicole Kimberling, the delightfully wry “Feeding Strays.” Kimberling is going to make you beans and rice, and you’re going to like it. “Should the diner respond with a statement such as, ‘the only thing I really hate is Beans & Rice,’ feel free to invite them to get a job, make some money and use it to dine elsewhere.” I think every story in this issue is genuinely good, but the standouts include Krista Hoeppner Leahy’s “Killing Curses, a Caught-Heart Quest” and Erica Hilderbrand’s “Akashiyaki (Octopus Dumplings, serves two).” The former is an incredible other- dimensional tale of an orphaned “curse killer” whose metallic jaws are the key to salvation from all kinds of dreaded blights. With a tree for a bride and a new baby daughter, everything seems beautiful until the curse killing duties get in the way. This was a gripping story, despite the fact that I couldn’t confidently visualize such strange characters. Hilderbrand’s “Akashiyaki” is my favourite of the bunch. Why? A boy befriends an octopus. They play skeeball. That’s not all, but that was enough for me. (Joshua Barton)