Imaginary Beasts: Book Three Review

Hey, remember how I used to write reviews of these things back when I wasn't, you know, living without internet access and attempting to sleep under a mosquito net that was too small? Well, now I can again! (Though I remain scarred by the bug bites, no, seriously, that is not exaggeration for humor.)

imaginarybeasts is, to quote their userinfo, "a webzine dedicated to original fiction of the oneshot variety. Created in the spirit of encouraging people to write crazy original stories in as many genres as we can dubiously endorse, from cracked out fantasy to historically-inaccurate Regency to melodramatic wuxia to steampunk and cyberpunk". Each issue is called a book and centers around a theme, and contains both stories and art; the third book came out on June third and was focused on "Cyberpunk". Which is awesome. Because, as you might all know, I adore cyberpunk. And this book had some good stuff. My favorites:

How the Light by lacewood. Zombies! In cyberpunk! Two great tastes that I did not know go together. Along with a fantastically creepy atmosphere, excellent writing, a compelling ending, and the Chesire Cat I might see while high on opium, this is most certainly a story you should not miss.
Character Shield by hazard_us. Gorgeous imagery, particularly in the ending scene, and a take on virtual reality that's very different from the average cyberpunk story. Once upon a time people were killed on the world-wide; now someone gets revenge.
Dragonvirus by thornsmoke. Private detectives after bank thieves in cyberspace! You could not get a story that is more fun. Exciting plot, action scenes, and a character named Lady Pirate. You know you want to read it.
You Can Only Live Twice by diamond_dazzler. A hard story to write a recommendation for, because it ended up going an entirely different place than I expected from the beginning, and I don't want to spoil it. But it features very nice writing, hot sex, interesting genderfuckery, and some lovely images.
One night in Kowloon by redplasticglass. A really lovely piece of art; the bright colors and style of this piece reminds me of a piece of advertising poster.

You can read all the stories and see all the art here. If imaginarybeasts sounds interesting to you, they are currently looking for submissions for Book Five (because, uh, there's still a Book Four I have not yet reviewed), the theme of which is 'Ghost Story'. You can sign up here, but the post is locked to members of the community.