brigdh

imaginarybeasts is "a bi-monthly webzine dedicated to original fiction of the oneshot variety". Anyone may participate, whether you would like to write, make visual art, volunteer to help with beta'ing, or, most importantly, read and review the stories. Right, whatever, here's the tag for previous reviews.

Each edition, or "book", has a theme; September's was "School Stories". Now, I have to say that this is not a theme to which I'm particularly attracted, which is probably why I didn't get around to reading it until now. But this is one of the best editions I can remember. I liked every single one of the stories, and some of them were really exceptional. My favorites:

Making Friends by hacy morris. A simple story about two boys, but the setting is subtle and other; a slightly off hint to everything, which starts with a lunch box full of small, black spiders. I enjoyed this; it was sweeter than it seemed. Or maybe darker. I don't know, but I liked it.

Girl in the War by

xskadi, with art by

llyse. How to describe this? A high school girl starts to see ghosts, and gets caught up in a team that fights them. And yet. Nothing's quite what it seems, and everything's a little bit sharper than you expect. Also: heart-breaking ending.

Warm Where You Are by gyoku. A perfectly normal story about two high school boys, but this is subtle and lovely. I adore the bitterness in one family and the affection in the other, both done so simply it feels like a pencil sketch.

Fake Glass Skies by

rei_kurasaki. A story about a kappa, but not a fairy tale. Or rather, it is like a fairy tale, but the old ones with fangs. Gorgeous, slow imagery and language.

Hmmm, I'm really liking the creepy today. You wouldn't guess "school stories" would lend themselves to that so much. All of the stories are great, and the cover is adorable; you can see the rest here. The next book's theme is "Mythology", and will be out next week. (I managed to get this review in just under the deadline!)