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    Aurealis #53
    Aurealis #53
    Aurealis #53
    Ebook90 pages1 hour

    Aurealis #53

    By Stephen Higgins (Editor)

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Aurealis is the Australian magazine of fantasy, science fiction and horror. Aurealis #53 is edited by Stephen Higgins and this issue features stories from Benjamin Allmon and Richard Kerslake, plus the return of Xtreme Science.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChimaera Publications
    Release dateAug 18, 2012
    ISBN9781922031068
    Aurealis #53

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      Book preview

      Aurealis #53 - Stephen Higgins (Editor)

      AUREALIS #53

      Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction

      Edited by Stephen Higgins, Scott Vandervalk and Carissa Thorp

      Published by Chimaera Publications at Smashwords

      Copyright of this compilation Chimaera Publications 2012

      Copyright on each story remains with the contributor.

      EPUB version ISBN 978-1-922031-07-5

      ISSN 2200-307X (electronic)

      CHIMAERA PUBLICATIONS

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors, editors and artists.

      Hard copy back issues of Aurealis can be obtained from the Aurealis website:

      www.aurealis.com.au

      Contents

      From the Cloud – Stephen Higgins

      The Karma Tree – Benjamin Allmon

      Nightsider – Richard Kerslake

      Xtreme Science: To Infinity and Beyond – Patricia L O’Neill

      Reviews

      Carissa's Weblog – Carissa Thorp

      Next Issue

      Credits

      From the Cloud

      Stephen Higgins

      I have always been fascinated at the way the speculative fiction genre is able to just keep accepting new additions and how it seems to cater for every demographic going. I was talking to some people who had attended one of the many conventions around and they were stunned at how young many of the attendees were. I was later talking to someone else who bemoaned the fact that another Con seemed to be populated by people who were, well, his age. There are of course set groups who attend conferences which reflect their interests but it is good to see that there is a healthy crossover of product if not actual support in terms of attendance at every Con. We have always managed to appeal to a pretty broad cross section of the speculative fiction readership. Though, with a small readership base here in Australia it was difficult to sell as many hard copies of the magazine as we would have liked, so we’ve had to seek ways to broaden the readership.

      I think the Aurealis Awards helped in this broad appeal simply because the name of the magazine became synonymous with quality writing (which was pretty clever marketing). Awards are important of course. They seem to dominate the SF&F landscape. Awards are a bit like books: they are designed to reward or promote; some work well to promote authors, some publishers and others promote artists and some don’t.

      I like this from Christopher Priest:

      ’Do we not seek to improve the image of the books we write? Don’t we wish to elevate science fiction and similar forms so they won’t forever be dismissed by the unthinking majority as pulp or hack books, part of a genre where the writers can safely rely on clichéd assumptions and where the readership is made up of adolescents and thrill-seekers?’

      Although to be truthful, it is good to have a readership made up partly of a younger audience, since they will the genre rolling, as it were. With this new digital magazine, the ability to appeal to a broad readership has increased. The savings made on printing and distribution costs can be passed onto the consumer, and more attention paid to promotion and to paying our authors and illustrators. In any event, we are thrilled at how we’re going in the new format. But I would love to run a survey that showed us just who you are. Keep an eye out for that in future issues.

      Back to Contents

      The Karma Tree

      Benjamin Allmon

      Illustration by Lynette Watters

      The Karma Tree

      Benjamin Allmon

      Back in '08 I lived in a share house where this crazy girl pretty much ran things. She'd been there the longest; I know that counts for something, but otherwise she was pretty fucking dumb. She had this plant growing by the front door. A Karma Tree, she told people when they first moved in. It never needed water, apparently, just grew if the housemates did good deeds and withered if we didn't.

      'How does the plant know?' I asked on my first day tour of the house.

      'It just, like, knows, you know?'

      'Right.'

      'You're full of shit, Kerryn,' yelled the Wiz from his place on the couch. The whole time I lived there he was permanently ensconced in-between the cushions. He was a psychology major, but never seemed to attend class or have assignments like normal uni students.

      'Who is the plant to determine what's right and wrong?' he continued. 'What if I did something that hurts one person but saves hundreds?' He picked up the remote and flicked through channels with blinding rapidity before coming to rest on the gleaming bonce of Dr Phil. 'Or, I dunno, run naked through the middle of town. I say it's good, but the cops'd bust me cos' the law says it's bad, and what the hell

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