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Challenging Destiny #17
01/05/2004 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: Crystalline Sphere Publishing. 132 page digest magazine. Price: $ 6.00 (CAN). ISSN: 1206-6656. check out website: www.challengingdestiny.com
The first thing you notice about 'Challenging Destiny' is the striking cover art by John Hancock, a wild combination of fantasy imagery that serves as a great introduction to the magazine. This magazine is yet another abode for those who follow and create the new breed of fantasy and SF. A new breed that is threatened with extinction before it can ever come to full fruition.
I'm sure lots of you have, like myself, become increasingly disturbed by recent developments in the book industry, such as the mass marketing of a few titles in preference to others and the increasing closure of independent bookstores. In the UK, we are being threatened with the implementation of legislation that will prevent publishers from putting a recommended price on their products, which could cause potentially disastrous repercussions on the ability of new and middle-range authors to be published at all.
Bearing this in mind, it's a great pleasure to experience the myriad joys of this magazine, with its kaleidoscopic approach to fantasy and its new wave sensibility that forgoes the horrors of swords and princesses (mostly) and catches us off guard with a collection of stories gathered from a variety of talented authors.
Unlike 'On-Spec' (another great Canadian fantasy magazine, a review of which can be found on this site), 'Challenging Destiny' publishes the work of authors from all four corners of the globe. The magazine is less representative of the state of Canadian fiction specifically, and more of a global barometer for the SF scene.
I can tell you that the forecast is mostly sunny, with the odd shower here and there.
The bad weather seems to occur mostly near the start of the magazine. David M. Switzer's editorial 'How Can You Use Your Computer More Effectively?' is well written, and does contain some good advice, such as concentrating more on the governing ideas behind the tools you use, rather than on specific applications. However, most of us will find the rest of the tips a little obvious. For example, he suggests using the help menu when you get stuck and, if you're interested in learning to design web pages, his advice is to buy a book. If you need to be told these facts be very, very worried indeed.
'Dark Thread' by Marissa K. Lingen also fails to impress. It is about a blind concert pianist who is transported to a magical world when night falls, a world in which she regains the power of sight. It aims at a depth of meaning that is out of its range and quickly falls into cheap sentiment with its saccharine skewed narrative.
Despite these blips on the quality radar, the rest of the magazine is decidedly better. It's ideal material to read on the way to work, to inoculate you against the mundane nature of reality with a healthy dose of Odd. Unless you drive to work, in which case I wouldn't recommend doing this. Especially not when I'm around.
Fraser Sherman's story 'Jack Be Nimble' is a fairy tale piece that gives the tale of 'Jack And The Beanstalk' a corporate twist, adding a genuine sense of humour to it and, what's more it, does this without detracting from the more serious themes of independence and free-will that pervade the story.
'Faller' by William McIntosh is set in a fragmented world that consists of a series of islands, each one existing beneath the other at varying distances. Our narrator, who is an inhabitant of what we assume must be the uppermost island, discovers these new locales by accident that starts this story of the pleasures and pains of true freedom. The author manages to turn a tale that could have felt slightly nihilistic into a grand celebration of the joy of living.
There is also a great interview with the author Scott Mackay, providing a glimpse into the life of someone who is scaling the slippery book-spine of success. It is very educational for anyone who aspires to write novels in our genre and helps to burn away some of the illusions we might have about the current state of the business.
I have not yet even mentioned the best piece, 'Robin Williams, Speaking Spanish' by A.R. Morlan, which examines the difficult subject of the disabled and their place in a society not always considerate of their needs. She does this in an SF setting reminiscent of 'Alien', with its blue-collar crew out to make a living amongst the stars. It is a perfect example of a talented author's ability to use the genre to address contemporary issues, sometimes much more effectively than authors working in other, more mainstream styles.
I would also be remiss in omitting to mention the artwork that accompanies the tales, that of Jason Walton and Chris Jouan being the most notable. Both produce some lovely pieces that help to break up the text of the magazine with their own personal visions of the author's stories.
I continue to be impressed by the wealth of relatively un-mined talent that exists out there and if you were looking to pick up a shovel and do some digging, you wouldn't find a much better place to start than in the pages of 'Challenging Destiny'.
Paul Skevington
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