Mulder and Scully Recommend

The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories

Now on its 2nd issue, PGS is the kind of local mag I’ve been waiting for

for a long time. I’ve always thought that we have a shortage of short

story outlets here, Free Press, Graphic, and Story Phils as the only

ones coming to mind.As the first of its kind PGS is certainly a breath

of fresh air for readers and "genre" writers alike. I’ve highly enjoyed

both issues. I did find a couple of stories to be difficult to grasp,

though, which have been written, as my friend Huntress described "as if

the target audience were creative writing and lit majors", but I

understand that it’s always very tricky to balance entertainment value

and quality. The two shouldn’t be mutually exclusive in the first

place, of course, and PGS is rapidly mastering the mix. It’s nice that

there are stories written by those already established within the

literary circle, and those who are just emerging. And I like the pulp

fiction magazine format, like the ones you could fold longitudinally

and place in the back pocket of your jeans. So far a lot of the

"genres" have been covered, and I’m looking forward to stories about

mutants from outer space! Aliens! Superheroes! Quirky detectives! Nazi

cannibals! The campier the better! I think it would help the magazine’s

longevity is if they include stories in Filipino and a lot of stories

that are easy and fun to read. We know what they are–those that are

direct to the point, not too contemplative, not too descriptive, not

too thesaurus-requiring–those that aim to entertain, not impress.

Mulder and Scully’s picks: Issue 1- Insomnia; Issue 2- The Final

Interview. Let’s support this endeavor!

May 13, 2007