Wyldblood Magazine Issue #1

Thank you to Wyldblood Press for the opportunity to read and review the first issue of Wyldblood Magazine. You can find Wyldblood Magazine here.

This is a great offering from some truly talented authors. I got sucked into the very first story, and looked up a moment later to realize that I had finished the entire magazine and time had flown by without my noticing.

No one story was like another. Each piece was completely unique and stunningly creative. While I enjoyed all of them, there were two that really stood out to me. The first was Thawing by JL George. This is about the Ice Princess, a frozen statue that stands in the center of a village square. Legend has it that-well, I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll just drop a hint about dragons (oh, how I love stories that contain dragons!), and say that Thawing has a perfect mix of legend and the everyday. I would love to see this expanded to a full novel, I enjoyed it so much.

The other story that really stuck with me was Souls of Smoke and Ash by Sydney Paige Guerrero. Have you ever heard someone being referred to as a “soul sucking —-“? Well, this particular entry happens to actually be about a soul sucker. It’s amazing to see an author lay out the scene, personality, and atmosphere that completely so quickly. The tale was told with confidence and ended in a way that I didn’t expect.

Not only are there some fantastic stories, Wyldblood Magazine also features interviews, book reviews, and some very skillful art. All of it added to the magazine, none of it was just filler. I’ve added a few books from the review section to my already overly large “to be read” list.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the layout. Sometimes, magazines are ordered in a way that makes transitions between pieces seem clunky, or gives a feeling of things being incomplete. Not so with Wyldblood. Each piece moved seamlessly into the next, despite every story being unlike the one before it. It’s hard to believe that this is the first issue of the magazine: it feels effortlessly well done. I am incredibly impressed, and I highly, highly suggest Wyldblood Magazine for all readers of fantasy or science fiction.