The idea that ‘free’ fiction equals a substandard quality is once again debunked. This time by the U.K. site, Mythaxis.co.uk, which has been home to speculative fiction for fourteen years.
Established in in 2008, by Gil Williamson, Mythaxis.co.uk is now under the care of Andrew Leon Hudson. The advert free site continues to provide an excellent venue for superb writing and enjoyable stories.
To be fair to the team at Mythaxis, this review is now two years over due. (Thanks a lot, COVID.) In all that time, there hasn’t been a story I have regretted reading. Though Andrew Leon Hudson has a long-standing connection with and has given support of SFFWorld within it’s forums and anthologies, that isn’t the cause of my respect for the site. The care and attention the editor pays is obvious, and it’s more noticable since Mythaxis.co.uk had a redesign – yes, two years ago.
The quality and range of tales available in each quarter’s table of contents is never lacking. Perhaps this is partially due to Andrew Leon Hudson’s background in technical writing, as well as his passion for the visual image. Teamed with Marty Steer’s digital skills, the end result is an intriguing – and advert free, – layout. The current issue’s images are created with the VQGAN+ image generator. It makes for a surreal exploration of the story-verse and loans itself well to the site’s style.
It’s important to draw a very clear distinction between Mythaxis.co.uk and that of the Mythaxis.com. The professionalism within Mythaxis.co.uk is a love letter to stories that you won’t find anywhere else, unique due to their tone, their approach, their layout. What it isn’t, is pompous, preachy, or unwelcoming.
My tastes in reading will no doubt differ to yours, but here’s a few suggestions to get you started.
Going back to the easy to use layout, you can find all of these by exploring the archives tab.
Matthew Wilson’s “The Witches Curse” from the December 2020 issue. Set in a women’s prison, the very idea of witch being in prison piqued my interest, but the layout of this story was what made it work.
Originally featured in issue 23, Moustapha Mbacké Diop’s “A Curse at Midnight” explores two favourite themes of mine; family magic and changelings. The story went on to feature in The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2021) and received a Nommo Award nomination.
Turning attention to issue 28, the current edition, then. “Marciano” by Charlotte H. Lee gives us a martian based narrative that alternates between two characters and is a satisfying poke at bigotry. One via diary extracts and the other from the perspective of Scarlene Yugolio. While I, like many avid SF readers have read the what ifs of Mars colonisation, the angle of perspective makes this story sing.
Or you could try 2021’s Summer – issue 26. It opens with “Voyager” by Amanda C. Crowley. Like every other story I’ve drawn attention to, it’s the social aspects that work so hard. The science fiction is woven deeply around the simple motel setting and you could be forgiven for thinking you’re in an alternate Supernatural episode.
Mythaxis.co.uk costs the reader nothing unless they wish to donate, and I had to hunt for their Ko-fi link. It does live up to it’s tag line: Speculative Fiction without distraction.
Not only is it highly recommended, but it’s bound to be your regular read.
© Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com March 2022
