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Shimmer, Number 16 is here and with stories by K.M. Szpara, Charlie Bookout, Greg Leunig, Dennis Y. Ginosa, Christie Yant, Cate Gardner, William Jablonsky, Rebecca Emanuelsen, A.C. Wise, Laura Hinkle, Nicole M. Taylor, M. Bennardo, and Helena Bell.

In the Editor's Note for Shimmer Number 16, Senior Editor E. Catherine Tobler makes note of this being their Sweet Sixteen issue. That made me think of how long I've been reviewing the magazine, so I checked. I was in there at issue #1 in January of 2006. My review began with "This is a nicely produced new small press publication. The editor states that she wants a 'particular kind of short story -- the combination of a strange and original idea, a well-developed plot and characters, delivered with exquisite writing.' Does it succeed at this? Let's see." After reviewing individual stories, I concluded with “So yes, this is well worth the $5. Buy it!” So what about this issue?

The fiction begins with "Ordinary Souls" by K.M. Szpara. A sorceress warns a man named Callam that what they are going to do is a "bad idea" but he insists that they go through with it. The scene shifts to romantic episodes between Callam and his lover, Ethan. We eventually find out what he is doing, and the price he has to pay for it. A very poignant, well-told tale.

"Goodbye Mildred" by Charlie Bookout is a brief effective tale in which an old man is speaking to his wife remembering their life together. It is not a spoiler to tell you that the wife is dead. It would be spoiler to tell you what he is reminiscing about. That's so good it really makes this story.

"Opposable Thumbs" by Greg Leunig is another unusual tale told by someone who calls himself EV91. He seems a nice sort of chap, although we eventually realize that he is not quite human. The story does a wonderful job of fleshing out his character and was another enjoyable read.

"Word and Flesh" by Dennis Y. Ginosa is taking place in a future after some sort of apocalypse and after some sort of schismatic offshoot of Christianity has taken hold in a part of New Mexico. A baby whose parents are dead is sold by bandits to an order called the Brothers of the Universidad. They begin to prepare the baby for something called the Sacramentum Incarnatus. At one year old, the tips of the baby's fingers and toes are cut off. At age six, he is castrated. His hair and teeth are caused to fall out and he is on a very restricted, specific diet. He is called "the oblacion" and "the Word made flesh". A very strange, unsettling look at a bizarre ritual.

"The Revelation of Morgan Stern" by Christie Yant is a series of entries in a diary by someone who has seen some sort of global apocalypse. He is making his way, on foot mostly, from California to find someone he cares about in Wichita, Kansas. On the way, he sees beings he calls "angels" who are taking the surviving people away. We eventually get an idea what is going on and it makes for a truly imaginative story.

"The Binding of Memories" by Cate Gardner features someone named Iris, who has the mind of a child, being brought up by elderly aunts Eglantine, Heloise and Prudence. It also features two guys named Arthur and Kenneth who want to steal people’s memories after they die. How this all works would take too much time. This story gets darker and darker until its end and certainly fit the purpose of having “a strange and original idea” and being a very good story, too.

"The Death and Life of Bob" by William Jablonsky is mostly set in an office, reacting to the death of one of their colleagues, Bob Jarmush, who collapsed while pruning his hedges. They are all surprised when he shows up, returning from the dead. His colleagues eventually warm up to him, especially because he seems a livelier guy than before. But one of his co-workers reacts negatively and this does not end well. Pretty nasty.

In "The Sky Whale" by Rebecca Emanuelsen, a young girl named Hitomi is taking a train ride with her mother when she sees a whale in the sky. Her mother does not believe her. They are going to visit her father's parents. He has been killed in the tsunami. All this develops in to a beautiful, exquisite little story about a girl dealing with the death of someone she loves.

"Tasting of the Sea" by A.C. Wise is told from the point of Ana, a woman who has lived with someone called "the clockmaker" for many years. The clockmaker has a special skill in making artificial hearts for people whose real hearts are damaged. He did so for Ana and she stayed with him out of love. But he ignores her as he makes hearts for others. Another lyrical tale, but with a dark twist.

"Lighting the Candles" by Laura Hinkle is another brief, but effective story. A woman who calls herself Rave picks men up at a bar run by a friend of hers. She takes them home for a reason of her own. More I cannot say, except this was very nicely told.

"Gemini in the House of Mars" by Nicole M. Taylor features Clark, whose pregnant wife Lora has been killed by a gun. He is initially a suspect in her killing, but Lora's twin sister thinks he’s innocent. We learn more about all of them in, yet another, very unsettling story.

"The Haunted Jalopy Races" by M. Bennardo recounts the deaths of Joe Jones and Sylvester Sneep who were racing their jalopies in 1938 in a small town called Rock Falls for their fair heart of Sadie Merriweather. While Sadie actually had already chosen Joe, Sylvester had still insisted on the race. On the first anniversary of the race, Sadies goes to where it happened and sees it re-enacted by their ghosts. On subsequent anniversaries, other people in the town are there to see it again, until one final re-enactment. A fine ghost story with a real sense of time and place.

The issue concludes with "In Light of Recent Events I Have Reconsidered the Wisdom of Your Space Elevator" by Helena Bell. Our narrator recounts the story of a boy who built his own space elevator out of "old liquor boxes and camping equipment". He takes her to meet aliens. Then, things get really strange in this fitting end to the issue.

E. Catherine Tobler, Senior Editor of Shimmer, promises more for the next issue in this now-longer magazine that I have enjoyed many times over the years. Subscribe!