ParSec #1

by Ian Whates (Editor), Redfern Jon Barrett (Contributor), Yuliia Vereta (Contributor)

A digital magazine featuring the very best in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

The latest fiction from established writers alongside the best new stories from emerging talents and debut authors.

On-point articles and regular columns, exploring genre fiction in all its forms. Interviews with leading authors and artists.

Insightful and informative book reviews by a carefully selected cadre of reviewers, assessing current titles and imminent releases from publishers big and small.

This is the blistering table of contents for the first issue.

Introduction – Ian Whates
Gunbelt Highway – Dan Abnett
Down and Out Under the Tannhauser Gate – David Gullen
Nineteen Eighty-Nine – Ken MacLeod
The Lichyard – Harrison Varley
Time Traveller’s Shoes – Yuliia Vereta
Tesla on the Grass Alas – Esther M. Friesner
We Have Forever – Redfern Jon Barrett
The Power of 3 – Anna Tambour
Nova Oobleck Surfs The Second Aether – Paul Di Filippo
Life in the Fast Lane – featuring Tom Hunter
In the Weeds – Anne C. Perry & Jared Shurin
Reviews Section
Interview with Christopher Priest

90 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2021

About the author

Ian Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).

Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.

This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.

Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.

In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).

In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.

In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.

His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!

Reviews

[Juraj Béger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately, I was thinking about going back to read a fresh issue of a Czech XB-1 magazine - which covers the international and home SFF scene very good (or at least used to). The magazine had it's problems and several years ago it almost died-off. Honestly, I think it will come to it sooner or later because I wasn't able to buy an electronic version of XB-1, I ended up looking (passively) for a substitute. Suddenly an email from PS Publishing arrives with the announcement of a new SFF magazine called ParSec and it was ready for download. So I didn't hesitate and here I am - writing a review for it. Unlike books that I buy, that have to wait in a queue for their right moment for my attention or desire to read them, I started reading ParSec almost immediately due to the short stories it supplies. Soon I realized that It needs my full concentration - nevertheless it's different to read English stories as a non-native speaker (You can see it on this text too) and some of these were really hard ones. But let's take it one by one: 1.) Down and out under Tannhauser gate - really strange and blurry sci-fi but the kind of story I'd find in that Czech XB-1 magazine too. 2.) The same could be written about 'Gunbelt Highway' but with a twist of an unorthodox wikipedia like-form. In the end I liked it as an really original approach to the matter. 3.) Nineteen eighty-nine plays in an alternative past where in the first half the protagonists are really passive and seem to be distant from the plot that's unravelling. This changes suddenly but the conclusion was in my opinion rather rushed. 4.) With Lichyard ParSec enters the horror/fantasy territory and the young authors Harrison Varley story looks promising and a bit of fun too - the ending was again a bit abrupt for my liking. 5.) Time travellers shoes has a best storytelling from the whole issue but the conclusion was a disappointment to me 6.) 'Tesla on the grass alas' made me look like I haven't read a line in English in my whole life ("Oh my beloved! Oh voice and face and form divine if that divinity surged beyond the paltry slenderness of Aphrodite to wage a Titan's assault upon my heart!") - very lyrical approach to a sad but very beautiful story. 7.) 'We have forever' handles with a possible immortality achieved by medicine and its' impact on the relationships the we built during our life up until that point when we are replenished again to our full strength. I liked it 8.) The power of 3 is by far the least likable short story in ParSec #1. The first part is a bit funny because it takes a really known matter in completely different direction but this approach continues into parts two and three which are just stupid and unlikable 9.) Nova oobleck surfs the second aether represents just what I was looking for when I recently decided to find some new short SFF stories - it takes You on a ride through multiverse You won't forget! The last third of the ParSec is devoted to book reviews - and like many of them - 27 to be exact! Talk about less is more... And how to review the reviews? I'd say there is a general problem with the most of them: They give away much of the plot (in one particular case even the ending). Why would You do that? Is this like a standard of a review to give away most of the plot and let the conclusion to the reader? Can't You just talk about it in more common way...? I think it can be done. The one positive thing is that I have now a nice short list of interesting new books (and one or two publishing houses that I didn't know about). At last - there are some interesting articles about the SFF genre from another perspective, which was fine and refreshing. All in all - I am in doubt buying the second issue when it comes out. Maybe if there is somebody from readers I could talk about the stories a bit more in detail to see it from another perspective. If so - contact me :)

[david james · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a big fan of Ian Whates' NewCon Press, so when it was announced that he was editing a new SF online magazine I snapped up a subscription for the first 4 issues.

I was not disappointed with the first. Nine short stories, a couple of features, and a load of book reviews at the end. A couple of the stories were weak in my opinion, but that's probably just personal taste. There were a couple I really liked, and there were a few new authors I discovered, so all in all a positive experience.

'Down and out under the Tannhauser Gate' was the first story and I felt set a decent standard. I read it twice as I didn't quite get it the first time, but it is a really good short story by an author I'd not known of before (David Gullen), so I'll be looking out for him in the future.

The next was Gunbelt Highway, which I was slightly disappointed with as I had heard of Dan Abnett and was looking forward to reading something from him.

The third was Nineteen Eighty Nine by Ken McCloud. This was a 'sequel' to the famous '1984'by George Orwell. I am a big fan of Ken McCloud and have most of his novels and I wasn't disappointed by this twist on the 1984 narrative.

The Lichyard by Harrison Varley was quite a short story, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the story was told - another author who was unknown to me and I shall be looking out for.

Time Travellers Shoes by Yuliia Vereta was another good story, although I felt there was too much filler and not enough story, and so struggled through it somewhat. Without doubt there is a good story-teller there, but there wasn't enough going on to keep the reader entertained, and the result was that the ending was slightly disappointing considering the length of the story.

Tesla on the Grass Alas (Esther M Friesner). What can I say? A short story of only two pages told in an 'olde English' style, similar to a Shakespearian play. I don't think I've struggled through two pages of prose like this since I was in high school, being force fed 'the classics'. I'm not even sure there was a story in there, other than a convoluted story of unrequited love and a gun, and death at the end.

The seventh story is 'We Have Forever' (Redfern Jon Barratt) which was another good story by an author I'd not heard of. A tale of the morality of immortality, how it would affect relationships and whether, if your partner chooses immortality, are you obliged to do the same?

The Power of 3 by Anna Tambour I really struggled with. It started off being a humorous take of a children's tale (3 little pigs) and then moved into another dimension with the next two parts which I must admit I only skimmed as I couldn't get interested in the story at all (the ending suggested I'd not missed anything). I've got a feeling that I'd need to be smoking the same as the author to understand it.

'Nova Oobleck surfs the second aether' was a good end to the collection of stories. Although I've heard of the author Paul Di Filippo I don't think I've read anything by him, so another author I need to look out for. A fairly straightforward SF story, a journey through space and dimensions, meeting various aliens and the story flows really well.

I've already received issue 2 of Parsec (not had chance to read it yet) so it will be interesting to see how well that fares compared to the first issue. No complaints yet though!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this subscription on a whim, and although I’m not sorry about it, I can see that short stories aren’t really my thing. I guess I personally like the longer journey of a novel. Short stories tend to be all over the place. You love some, and others, not so much. But I digress.

However, the wonderful thing about collections such as this one is that it gives you a chance to “try before you buy”. Being exposed to the imaginations and styles of a number of new (to me) authors is a good overall experience. I also must give bonus points to ParSec for including in-depth reviews and an author interview. It creates an overall experience, more than just dipping your toes into a collection of stories.

For this issue, my favorites were (in no particular order) Down and Out Under the Tannhauser Gate by David Gullen, Yuliia Vereta’s Time Traveller’s Shoes, and We Have Forever by Redfern Jon Barrett. The former is just a nice character-driven narrative with lots of alien cultures. The latter, a look into relationship and social group peer pressure. The middle story, Time Traveller’s Shoes, was my favorite. Sort of an uninvestigated time travel mystery.

I found The Lichyard by Harrison Varley, Tesla on the Grass Alas by Esther M. Friesner, and Nova Oobleck Surfs The Second Aether by Paul Di Filippo, to be good entertaining stories in a variety of styles. I’m on the fence for The Power of 3 by Anna Tambour, a retelling of three classic stories with various twists.

Finally, I found Gunbelt Highway by Dan Abnett to be repetitious. Nineteen Eighty-Nine by Ken MacLeod was an interesting idea, expanding the 1984 story, but to me it didn’t have the pizzaz as an extension of the original.

I think that there is a lot of value in this offering. I believe that the point of this type of publication is to expose readers to authors they might like, a chance to let the authors show you their wares. The stories, reviews, and interviews all work together to achieve this goal.

In summary, I didn’t like everything in the edition, but there was certainly enough to provide several evenings of entertainment. I shall be looking forward to the next installment. I give it a strong four of five stars on Goodreads.