Breach: Issue #12

Our guest editor Lee Murray ("Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Horror", "Te Korero Ahi Ka") returns for Breach #12, delivering a fresh batch of fiction from Australian and New Zealand authors.

The first of these, LL Hanley’s "The Harvest-Fly", is a military thriller that takes place in a grim post-apocalyptic future, in which the human army appears to be losing its battle against the shuffling undead. It’s in this context, while army grunt Sprog is pondering desertion, that he is nominated to be the squad’s next ‘fly’—his job to act as bait for the slobbering mob. From a fresh voice in action fiction, "The Harvest-Fly" is honest, gritty and unexpected.

In Deborah Sheldon’s "The Littlest Avian", Winston’s budgerigar Maude is evolving into her true form: a giant and vengeful goddess. Bent on revenge himself, Winston relishes her transformation, despite its unprecedented rapidity. Sheldon is an author of some acclaim in antipodean dark fiction circles, and this tightly-crafted and enchanting story of revenge is a great example of her versatility.

Tom Adams’ "Detached" presents an entrepreneurial opportunity begging to be exploited. In this intriguing bite-sized thriller set in our near-future, space-tourists Jon and Jake are headed to Mars on a sightseeing tour. But Jon has some questions, and the answers provided by the Russian crewman are hardly satisfactory. Chilling and highly plausible, "Detached" would make a great movie.

We round out this issue, and my time as Breach’s guest editor, with Tabatha Wood’s "Butterfly", a beautiful story of transformative horror which tells of a young girl who has been horribly disfigured by an unknown disease. Through pithy dialogue of the kind you might hear in any antipodean household and insightful use of internal thought, the narrative explores a parent’s spiralling desperation to make amends.

Regular contributor Claire Fitzpatrick flexes her drawing skills to give us a cover inspired by Deborah Sheldon's "The Littlest Avian".

I’d like to thank Breach for allowing me to play a small part in bringing these tales to you from our talented Australian and New Zealand creatives.

- Lee Murray, guest editor Breach #11 and #12