TITLE: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
ISSUE: #26
WEBSITE:  smallbeerpress.com/lcrw/

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet has had a long run for such an eclectic publication. Stories of every shape and size have been published in its pages since the inaugural issue in 1996. With issue #26, LCRW has pushed out a supersized chunk of slipstream, fantasy, and historical fiction likely to satisfy even the most refined genre palates.

First thing you’ll notice upon opening the issue the amount of text on the page. I’d estimate there’s around 90,000 words of original content here for a mere $5. With eight short stories, a non-fiction article, and a plethora of poetry, it’s almost an anthology.

The opening story, “The Cruel Ship’s Captain” by Harvey Welles and Philip Raines, is a challenging fantasy in which we follow Settle as she and her shipmates are kidnapped from aboard their own vessel to satisfy the eponymous antagonist’s thirst for souls. And not just any souls. In Settle’s world, a soul is a boat that one must set sail to obtain. The imprisoned passengers are put to work as apprentices in service to the Cruel Ship’s Captain as they wait for their boats to arrive. Settle tries to hide her’s away but does she really know what, or who, she desires? The writing here is baroque, thick and full of imagery that lets the reader ride the waves with Settle and her companions. If I had a complaint, it was that the story was a bit overlong though ultimately a very satisfying read.

As if aware that the opening story was an exhausting read, LCRW follows up with a light piece of non-fiction from Ted Chiang wherein he discusses folk biology. Fold biology is a fascinating subject used by anthropologists to study cultures by their different beliefs about the human body. His contention, that science fiction authors too often fall into the trap of describing the brain as a computer, leads to the argument that SF should push the boundaries on conventional thinking and not fall into a folk biology trap. An enlightening read for both the writer and the reader.

Another standout is Patty Houston’s “Elite Institute for the Study of Arc Welders’ Flash Fever.” In this story she describes a medical study interested solely in manufacturing a result, forcing welders to breath their fumes in order to harvest test subjects. Houston treats the subject with heart and humor as the narrator tries to emerge from a rock and a hard place.

In “The Other Realms were Built with Trash” by Rahul Kanakia we are transported to a fairy kingdom that subsist on human castaways. When it becomes clear that the humans have wrought some unimaginable destruction, the caretaker of the metaphysical dump tries to tour these Other Realms with disastrous results. This story began with a theme that seemed straight forward but turned at the end and left me guessing as to what the Kanakia was shooting for.

Lindsay Vella must’ve been selected poet laureate for this issue. No fewer than five short pieces by her appear in its pages. Most of these I was unable to decipher, being too random or too opaque for me to derive any meaning. The same is true of “Alice: A Fantasia” by Veronica Schanoes, a story broken into thirds but the last devolving into a proto-poetic chanting that stripped any comprehension from this reader.

“Absence of Water” by Sean Melican is a historical fiction piece about the Civil War era submarine called Hunley. We follow the heretofore untold tale of Caleb Simpkins, learning of his past and possible motivation for boarding the doomed craft. The time shifting in the story seemed unnecessary in the end, though it was an intriguing story and caused me to look up the actual history afterwards.

In “Death’s Shed” by J.M. McDermott, a young boy loses his mother and seeks her in the afterlife. When he moves with his father to a house in the mountains, the shed out back comes with a old man who offers the lad some comfort as his father sinks deeper into his own world.  The ending in this one is sort of awkward and not in tone with the rest of the piece, enjoyable to that point.

Finally, “Three Hats” by Jenny Terpsichore Abeles is a vignette of a man scarred by the supernatural visage of his missing sister. There’s not so much a story here as a character portrait that doesn’t really have a mission or theme.

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet is certainly a horse of a different color. I can’t think of where else I’d be able to read and assembly of stories so diverse. Though some were not to my particular taste, I applaud the editors for their fearless inclusion of some pieces that would otherwise not see the light of day simply due to their noncommercial nature. Any fan of speculative fiction, or simply good writing, will find something to like in LCRW.