Sam Tomaino of SF Revu has just published a nice review of The Pirate Issue.

Also, a reader sent me an email sharing her opinion on the issue (which I’m reprinting with her permission).

Finished reading the issue […] this weekend…really enjoyed it! Overall, the presentation was excellent, and your brief intro set the tone perfectly. I liked how there was a wide range of stories, touching on different aspects of the appeal of the pirate and the various forms of piracy.

I think it’s a great idea for a little magazine to do a special issue like this. I would like to see more small press magazines doing it. The focus on one theme/topic seems much more interesting than a magazine of general spec fic stories. It felt more like an anthology, but at an affordable price.

"Captain Blood’s B00ty" and "Pirates by Adeline Thromb" are the clear standouts in the issue. They are among the most memorable, cleverest and most amusing stories I’ve read all year. I read them each a second time, and they still both made me laugh out loud.

I am still chuckling over some of the lines from "Captain Blood’s B00ty." In fact, I think that story really is the best in the issue, because, despite being entirely light and humorous, it actually addresses topical issues (i.e. Internet piracy, and what happens to all the energy we waste reading spam, watching porn, and playing online games.)

Ditto for the Flying Spaghetti Monster interview as addressing topical issues with simultaneous humor and poignancy.

The next strongest stories were "Come to the Islands" and "The Barbary Shore," both of which I enjoyed quite a lot.

Mikal Trimm’s prose stood out as the most professional in the whole issue. I liked "Come to the Islands" a lot. (I think "cunny" is my new favorite word.) Mikal did an awesome job of engaging the reader with a completely unsympathetic protagonist. Overall, the story is fabulously written, and it worked well to have a story about how a modern man might be tempted to turn into a murderous pirate.

"The Barbary Shore" was clever and emotionally compelling. Space piracy is always fun, and the remote-piloted ships controlled from captains on Earth was a nice, original, and realistic touch. The ending was satisfying. Ironically, "The Barbary Shore" seemed to have, out of the whole issue, the most historically accurate and well-researched references to piracy (i.e. references to symbolically raising the Jolly Roger at the last minute, firing broadsides, etc.) I appreciated these piratical tidbits very much.

Next, I liked Rajan Khanna’s "The Furies." The prose was very strong, and it bodes well for his career. The story was a bit predictable, but enjoyable and interesting all the same. The general premise (ship of female pagan pirates) was quite original.

"The Perfect Hook": I really liked the ending, [details redacted due to spoilers, -JJA]. It was a good idea to include a story on the romantic appeal of the pirate. (Of course, I’d have run off with the pirates, but that’s just me :) )

"The Blackguard of God": Very clever premise, about the priest and pirate switching places. Pleasant writing. I enjoyed the moral relativity aspect of it. People end up as pirates, they aren’t born evil.

Overall, great job! Arr!