Brush and keyboard
As we can read in the introduction written by the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Mariusz Sobkowiak, the latest issue of “Imaginarium” does not have a specific subject. Of course, it still focuses on broadly understood fantasy, but the stories it contains are both visions of the future, elements of horror, as well as typical fantasy with fancy races. However, it all starts with a short legend about the Wrzesin witches, which explains what we see on the cover of the magazine. It is a fascinating picture because it was generated by artificial intelligence and supplemented by a human hand. Very interesting combination, and it’s already on the first page. Further, we can also see other illustrations created by the computer. A description of the beast featured in one of the stories in the previous issue was typed into the program, and the machine did the rest. The effect is really amazing. If you want to try it yourself, you can check it outwww.midjourney.com and play with the graphics yourself. Of course, man does not live by technology alone, and the artists decided to show that they do not intend to give up their passion. So we can see the works of Leszek Kostuja and Łukasz Prządek. All mysterious, slightly disturbing, surreal and taking us to alien worlds. It is definitely something to look at!
Goblins and machines
However, the graphic design of “Imaginarium” is more of an addition. The most important here are stories, and these in turn are provided to us by people who are just starting their adventure with writing. Four stories await us this time. Among them we will find Kacper Kamieniarz’s whole world . The author already has some experience, and his work has been published in e.g. in New Fantasy. This time it takes us back to the city of Poznan, where we have the opportunity to meet the warriors who live there, harassed by the ghosts of the past. You can feel a rather gloomy and heavy atmosphere here, as well as an aura of mystery and anxiety. The Golden Snake is also quite enigmaticMarta Harat-Tórz, although not immediately. At first, the story seems to be an ordinary story from the life of a certain Agata, a shy and dissatisfied woman who finds herself in an esoteric circle, looking for respite and escape from everyday life. A completely different world is offered to us by RA Olek in his Jarim . We meet a young goblin who no longer intends to work in the mine and wants to become an artist. The road to the surface, however, is not a bed of roses and he faces a lot of adversity. An interesting adventure in which a lot of action awaits you, worries about the fate of the hero, but there will also be an opportunity to smile in a few moments.
I never make rankings of stories from a given magazine issue, but I always choose the one that appealed to me the most. This time it was Eye for an Eye by an absolute literary debutante Mateusz Cheater. There is a lot going on in it, there are plenty of surprising moments and a good plot twist. In addition, it is memorable and even leads to some reflections. Great science fiction that I recommend you read for yourself!
Behind the punch
As in the case of the previous issue or the magazine “LandsbergON”, also published by the NOVUM Association, here too we are dealing with selected stories that are a pleasure to read. We will also be delighted with the drawings, both those created by humans and artificial intelligence. Maybe there were shortcomings or errors, such as missing spaces between words in one of the lines. However, both creators and publishers can be satisfied with the second issue of “Imaginarium”, and more importantly – we, the recipients, will enjoy it!
