Mythaxis

11/04/2026

The Agentic Necklace - by Frank Baird Hughes

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/the-agentic-necklace.html

Your editor enjoys genre fiction of significant conceptual scope, and right from the off here we have that. But there is also something about short stories that effectively embrace great temporal scope that catches my attention. Spinning a tale that spans years, “against the clock” as it were, while maintaining a sense of the weight of passing time requires a deft touch, and Frank Baird Hughes shows he has just that.

Your editor enjoys genre fiction of significant conceptual scope, and right from the off here we have that. But there is also something about short stories that effectively embrace great temporal scope that catches my attention. Spinning a tale that spans years, “against the clock” as it were, w...

11/04/2026

On Miracles - by P. W. Lewis

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/on-miracles.html

I dislike the term “literary fiction” as a genre label. It smacks of pretension (to abuse Orwell, “All fic are lit, but some fic are more lit than others”) or marketing desperation (“We can't just call this thing ‘a drama’, damnit”), and it's probably both. Yet when I think about P. W. Lewis’ story, with its faintest of magic realist touches, “lit-fic” keeps popping into my head… maybe I like it after all.

I dislike the term “literary fiction” as a genre label. It smacks of pretension (to abuse Orwell, “All fic are lit, but some fic are more lit than others”) or marketing desperation (“We can't just call this thing ‘a drama’, damnit”), and it's probably both. Yet when I think about P. ...

11/04/2026

The Perfect Mother - by Jude Clee

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/the-perfect-mother.html

After I finished reading The Perfect Mother for the first time, I lay back against the submissions pile and thought, “That sort of reminds me of 'My Beloved Is Mine' from back in issue 34.” Imagine my surprise, then, when et cetera et cetera et cetera Jude Clee. They make for sharply pointed family-life bookends, these stories!

After I finished reading The Perfect Mother for the first time, I lay back against the submissions pile and thought, “That sort of reminds me of 'My Beloved Is Mine' from back in issue 34.” Imagine my surprise, then, when et cetera et cetera et cetera Jude Clee. They make for sharply pointed fam...

11/04/2026

The Negotiation - by Vanessa Fabiano

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/the-negotiation.html

Vanessa Fabiano's fiction is invariably character-driven and often grounded in her first-hand experience of various world cultures – possibly also of some spectacularly unusual people. The results are always striking and vivid, even spilling over into the surreal, if not necessarily the outright fantastical. On this occasion, however…

Vanessa Fabiano's fiction is invariably character-driven and often grounded in her first-hand experience of various world cultures – possibly also of some spectacularly unusual people. The results are always striking and vivid, even spilling over into the surreal, if not necessarily the outright f...

11/04/2026

Search History - by Jon Clendaniel

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/search-history.html

List stories are an exemplar of “format” fiction, but often result in numbered section headers that frame a longer, more detailed text, bestowing convenient creative elbow room instead of a challenging constraint. In my opinion, at their best, list stories just present The List, whatever it is, and force the reader to construct a world unseen beyond the few words the author chooses. Reader, I give you Jon Clendaniel.

List stories are an exemplar of “format” fiction, but often result in numbered section headers that frame a longer, more detailed text, bestowing convenient creative elbow room instead of a challenging constraint. In my opinion, at their best, list stories just present The List, whatever it is, ...

11/04/2026

Pultu's Lesson - by Sean Myers

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/pultus-lesson.html

Clearly Mythaxis is becoming didactic, as for the second consecutive issue we finish our fiction offering with a lesson. Somewhat less final than the previous, though, since Sean Myers provides a learning experience which, while still painful, its recipient will have more than mere seconds to reflect upon!

11/04/2026

The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez
Reviewed by Mattia Ravasi

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/the-spear-cuts-through-waterd-simon-jimenez.html

I, the editor, considered Simon Jimenez's debut novel The Vanished Birds one of the most entertaining space operas since the passing of Iain M. Banks (rather shorter than the field leader, that being the whole of The Expanse series). Interesting then to hear the perspective of Mattia Ravasi on Jimenez's continuation into epic fantasy.

11/04/2026

Short Reviews – October 2025 to January 2026

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/short-reviews-oct-2025-to-jan-2026.html

A bit of a format change. Since Mythaxis began closing each year with an all-crime issue (including a pick of that year’s short crime fiction), our quarterly round up of short speculative stories from around the web developed a gap. Therefore, our three regular issues will now cover four-month periods to encompass the whole, first reaching all the way back to last October.

A bit of a format change. Since Mythaxis began closing each year with an all-crime issue (including a pick of that year’s short crime fiction), our quarterly round up of short speculative stories from around the web developed a gap. Therefore, our three regular issues will now cover four-month per...

11/04/2026

Issue 45 of the new-look Mythaxis Magazine is out now!

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-45/

Here you’ll find 6 new stories and 2 review articles, plus a background overhaul that adds an app-like mobile reading experience and a bunch of little bells and whistles!
Many thanks to our latest contributors, who are...

Table of Contents – Issue 45

* The Agentic Necklace – Frank Baird Hughes

* On Miracles – P. W. Lewis

* The Perfect Mother – Jude Clee

* The Negotiation – Vanessa Fabiano

* Search History – Jon Clendaniel

* Pultu’s Lesson – Sean Myers

* The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez – Mattia Ravasi

* Short Reviews – October 2025 to January 2026 – Andrew Leon Hudson

Additional thanks to cover artist Narupiti Harunsong, audio producer Micah Hyatt, and techguru Marty Steer!

30/06/2025

Issue 42 of Mythaxis Magazine is out now!

https://mythaxis.co.uk/issue-42/

Six new stories in text and audio formats, and reviews too!

Many thanks to our latest contributors, plus Micah Hyatt for all the audio (except for the one story the editor recorded)!

The Table of Contents:

Tag, You’re It - Sean MacKendrick

Listen, Don’t Touch - Cheryl Ntumy

Lay-offs - Anna Ziegelhof

Swimming With Elephants - Travis Ezell

The House We Built Together, Yesterday - Charlie Winter

Someday Someone’s Gonna Steal Your Carbon - Josh Pearce

Strange Pictures, by Uketsu - reviewed by Bill Ryan

Short Reviews #10 - Andrew Leon Hudson