Shimmer-y Pirates!

I was getting a bit concerned about Shimmer Magazine. Their summer pirate issue hadn't hit my mailbox, and snow was in the air.

Well, it came in yesterday, along with an apologetic "Dear Subscriber" letter. Basically, the letter said that they were back on track, and would be releasing editions on a more regular basis. Yeah!

More to the point, I read the Pirate issue before and after getting my Bionic Woman fix for the week. J. J. Adams, the guest editor, went with a more literary and historical sensibility then I would have liked, with only one space pirate story. Having said that, I enjoyed all the stories. A couple stories of note were:

A Hand for Each by J Kathleen Cheney (j_cheney). This was a wonderful pirate slash ghost story by somebody who's becoming one of my favorite short fiction writers.

Come to the Islands by Mikal Trimm. This was an unusual tale, set in modern times, with a POV character who decides to go pirating. It's not clear if his decision is based on ghosts or mental illness, but it's quite interesting.

The Barbary Shore by James L. Cambias. This is the only space pirates story in the bunch, which as my 4 or 5 longtime readers know is my particular interest. Here the pirate in question is a keyboard jockey pirating unmanned spaceships remotely. It's a fun read.

The Sweet Realm by Jill Snider Lum. Basically, Blackbeard dies and goes to hell, which is no surprise. What he finds there and his reaction to it is the driving force of this story.

Shimmer's pirate issue is on sale now.