Flytrap is a twice yearly zine from Tropism Press, except when it isn’t because the editors were on their honeymoon (see the pictures of Hawaii which illustrate this issue). Such eclectic elements are part of what makes this zine so reminiscent of the early days of SF zines.
Another element that evokes the lure of zines is the often playful tone of many of the works. Most of the contents are one to three pages in length, allowing one the casual variety of a summer picnic. However, since I am concentrating on short stories, I will mention three that stood out for me. In “Sailing to Utopia” by Ruth Nestvold, a series of emails provides the record of a female character who has set out to explore an alternate world which is comprised of not one utopia, but multiple utopias. Since each of these utopias is based upon a particular literary work (most notably Herland), the story becomes a critique of how any ideology, no matter how seemingly perfect, can ultimately prove to be “too much of a good thing.”
Meanwhile, in “The Apocalypse: A Pamphlet,” by Meghan McCarron, we follow the attempts on the part of a self-published “culture critic” to distribute her pamphlet on apocalyptic literature. As the pamphleteer points out in her analysis, apocalyptic literature, concerned as it is with “the end of things as we know them,” proves to be a lively method for examining “the evangelical crazy in each of us.” Another lively work from this issue is the regular feature “Life Among the Obliterati,” in which Nick Mamatas provides one of the best answers to the question of “where do writers get their ideas?” — namely, unashamed eavesdropping.
(Tropism Press, 2006)
