Etherea Magazine #7

<p><strong>Etherea Magazine #7</strong></p><p>Etherea Magazine February 2022. A collection of excellent speculative fiction from authors around the globe.</p><p>Hear from <strong>Matthew Wills</strong> creator of the <strong><em>Swords </em></strong>webcomic</p><p>Enjoy the amazing artwork supplied by highly talented artist <strong>Jakub Rozalski</strong></p><p><strong><em>Wendy Darling </em></strong>by <strong>A. C. Wise</strong> is reviewed by Katie McIvor</p><p><strong>THE STORIES:</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Freedom? More like infinite ways to screw up. How had he handled it before? He'd done seven. How did anyone coming off real time handle it? - <strong><em>Start</em></strong> by<strong> John Greer</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Bert McKinney never got any crop circles in his cornfields and he was pretty darn pissed about it. Not just because the extraterrestrials ignored him but because all of his neighbors got crop circles and they bragged about it constantly. - <strong><em>The Alienation of Bert McKinney</em></strong> by <strong>Kelly Kurtzhals Geiger</strong></p><p><br></p><p>If you cannot figure out how a thing is done this does not make it magic; and even if you think you know how the trick works this too does not make it any less magical. The audience knows this in its bones... - <strong><em>The Last Performance of the Great Doctor Ichikawa and Mister Walker Illusionist </em></strong>by <strong>Christopher Hart</strong></p><p><br></p><p>She lay curled beneath the sheet like a human comma - a brief pause in the story of a relationship that was entering its final dysfunctional chapter. <em>You can't stay with somebody just because you pity them</em>... - <strong><em>The March Wind </em></strong>by <strong>Davin Ireland</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Silly girl I hissed don't say things like that! They <em>kill</em> witches. If you're not careful they could kill you! - <strong><em>Witch's Gambit</em></strong><em> </em>by <strong>Callie Cameron</strong></p><p>It was usual for test eggs to fail the first time around though so it wouldn't be a surprise if the dinosaur suddenly shrivelled as it dashed around the room. . - <strong><em>Just Add Water</em></strong> by <strong>Ai Jiang</strong></p><p><br></p><p>No need to go into the boring details of my investigation but one thing naturally led to another as it will and we ended up in an inflatable life raft bidding adieu to Raffi's jolly boat as it sank under the clear blue waves. - <strong><em>Archibald Defeats the Churlish Shark-Gods</em></strong><em> </em>by <strong>Benjamin Blattberg</strong></p><p><br></p><p>I try to maintain professional detachment-I really do-but it's not every day you see the dead face of someone you love. - <strong><em>A Lament for Marla</em></strong> by <strong>Mike Adamson</strong></p><p><br></p><p>When you push those heavy windowless oak doors open the atmosphere that greets you is truly inviting - not to mention a wonder to the senses. Plump leather armchairs encircle antique tables... - <strong><em>Review: Café des Perdus et Trouvés</em></strong> by <strong>M J Francis</strong></p><p><br></p><p>My name is Lorenza and I have not been able to speak since the day I died. For a while I imagined that my voice would return that it would well up out of the ground and echo through my hollow armor... - <strong><em>Lorenza's Bones</em></strong> by <strong>Rhiannon Rasmussen</strong></p><p><br></p><p>The game is an addiction. Once started players do not stop much as they're warned. The game is a religion. Highly personalized soul-affirming. -  <strong><em>A Game Like They Play in the Future</em></strong> by <strong>Christi Nogle</strong></p>