Magazines are odd birds to review. Do you review the overall publication, take it story by story, hit the art and content? I've decided on a mixture of some of the above. Mostly, I ramble, but I will cover the fiction and mention other content as I go. Long time Cemetery Dance magazine readers might find themselves nodding along with me—others might be irritated, but that goes with the territory of saying what you think, I think. If you are not familiar with CD—go to the above site and do yourself the favor of partaking of at least one issue.

Hearts in Atlantis is actually four separate stories that blend into a sort of interactive novel. This was okay, as far as it worked, but in the end might be the biggest flaw.

In Lee Thomas' Stained, we find a novel of depth and intensity sadly lacking in most genre fiction. While populated by child molesters, murderers, policemen, and a standard town full of standard characters, that town and those characters come to life and draw the reader in.

Waltzing With the Dead is one of the most unique short story collections I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. While the cover art, and the majority of the stories, lend this a fantasy-genre slant, don't let that fool you. WWTD is a complex puzzle of words.

There are four sections in the book, each prefaced by a long poem by the author. The sections are breakdowns of the content, and the poetry is top notch. Many of the stories then have snatches of the poetry preceding their text, adding clarity to the structural breakdown of the work presented.