Jupiter maintains its status as a dependable small print magazine. However, in this its twentieth outing, it also maintains its faults--varying degrees of professional stories that range from the exceptional to the downright amateurish. The editing process itself also remains mediocre.
But it is dependable, and that is more than most publications these days.
David Towsey's By The River is a strong offering and a moving story set in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic American society. A tale of a daughter's love for her father is a haunting tale of a haunted people which moves steadily toward a tragic ending.
Dark and sinister aspects of marketing take place in Gustavo Bondoni's As Advertised. Humorous in all the right places, this take is a strong reflection on how the media in any form can be used for darker purposes.
Roadwalker, by Gareth Jones, is a compelling story about a farm hand who sets off to find out where a mysterious road leads (a metaphor for our lives, perhaps?). Interesting and satisfying if not all that memorable.
Philip K Lentz's The Penetration of Luna attempts to be a moral or allegorical statement about terrorism and our current paranoia with the subject. Questions on identity and a clever twist keep this tale from becoming too banal.
Despite editorial mediocrity on the part of Mr Redman, this was as solid an issue as has not been seen since the first four issues premiered over four years ago.
