Electric Velocipede Fall 2006. Not my first issue of EV, and that should tell you something right there. Mmm hmm. I did find this issue surprising, surprising in a good way. Thirteen tales of fiction (seven of those tales by women) and four poems (two each from Christina Sng and Catherynne M. Valente). Genre. I suppose that should go without saying.

EV is a good zine and this issue is an good issue. I'm hard put upon which stories to discuss and at what length. Especially with my time restraints. So, I am going to be much too brief and skip around, or skip entirely, some pieces that deserve mention.

First, I have a love (that is small and bright like a spark, but, at a moment's notice can flame suddenly like a solar flare) for stylistic, fancy prose. Such is the stories by Catherynne M. Valente and Sonya Taaffe. Ms Valente's "Milk and Apples" is an examination of the wicked step mother in Snow White, but it isn't the mother's fault, especially when the mother is a child turned into a crone but conditions of which she has no control. A sad tale. Ms Taaffe's tale is a very short piece examining the "Bar Golem." It is a love story of sorts.

Marly Youmans. Her name should be becoming popular right now. I know I enjoy her work. In this issue of EV, her story, "The Geode" adds a piece of the magical in a realistic story told from the mother's point of view. Poignant. Beautiful.

"Quitting Dreams" by Matthew Cheney and Jeffrey Ford is a tale of a futuristic disaster, with individual salvation, although that salvation is also a type of curse.

And, Tobias Buckell has a very strong story where American history and a futuristic society blend. "The Duel" is one of the strongest stories I've seen from Tobias. Recommended.

I'd like to add, almost as an afterthought, but not really. I loved the poetry in this issue. I usually have little to say about poetry selections, but these works are very noteworthy.