Issue 8, January 2011

Speculative Fiction Stories

One Day in the Caucasus Mountains by Elizabeth Creith
Song at the End of Humanity by Joe Jablonski
When Megan Could Fly by Aaron Polson
Betula by Rachel Lieberman
Immaculate by Jack Skelter
James by M. R. Jordan
Incarceration by Kristen Lee Knapp

Introduction by Kevin Wallis

It's a word that is overused and abused. It is the nail that pins us to this Earth, and the hammer that pries us loose and sends us into the dark, sometimes lost, sometimes wrapped in bliss. It is thrown about with the carelessness and insincerity of a politician, yet the power of its four letters should be coddled and protected. It is selfless yet unfair, timeless yet fleeting, and it is the most powerful force we can know.

Love.

But as anyone who has felt its claws rip into their heart, dig into their gut, and start to tear can tell you, love has a dark side. It is grasped for by those not worthy of its blessings, and when they have it firmly in their clutches, they twist and mold and destroy its power until its capacity for evil eclipses its cravings for peace.

And then?

Well, I'll let the following stories finish that thought. Here we have tales of love gone wrong, the dark side of passion, the poisonous thorns in the enchanted rose. We have love in deepest space, implanting its will where it is not wanted. The yearning for family is played out in a contest of extreme violence. Love manifests itself in the form of the fantastic as childhood friends learn the meaning of loss. The last man on Earth finds salvation in his one true passion. A man's loyalty to his wife is tested when lust, that bane of true love everywhere, invades his home and refuses to leave. And in "James" . . . well, I'll let you discover James for yourself. His idea of love will haunt you for a long time.

So once again, thank you for visiting Liquid Imagination, enjoy the best batch of speculative fiction we have offered to date, and make sure to kiss your loved ones tonight. As these tales will show, you may not get many more chances.