There has been a proliferation of pulp-inspired semipro short SF magazines over the past few years: Broadswords & Blasters, StoryHack, Astounding Frontiers, Tales From the Magician’s Skull, Cirsova, Skelos . . . am I the only one thinking that what we need isn’t another magazine but an adventure SF-focused annual best-of anthology? Anyway, I’m way behind on introducing myself to the burgeoning sub-field. I’m reading the first issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull now, but otherwise I’ve only read Cirsova (you can find my reviews of the first three issues here, here, and here) and Skelos.
Contrasting the two is a good reminder that the pulps were diverse, and two magazines drawing inspiration from the pulps can have very different visions. Where Cirsova reflects the optimism of Edgar Rice Burroughs and, at least in the first few issues, is heavy on planetary romance, Skelos reflects the pessimism of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft and focuses on the darker side of the pulps, going so far as dropping “Dark Fantasy” into the subtitles. The contrast is even reflected in the respective covers of the mags.
