Grim Death, my son and foe, who set them on,
And me, his parent, would full soon devour
For want of other prey, but that he knows
His end with mine involved, and knows that I
Should prove a bitter morsel, and his bane,
Whenever that shall be: so Fate pronounced.
–John Milton, Paradise Lost, book II
What is Son and Foe and what does it did it do?
Son and Foe is a quarterly magazine run on volunteer labor. We publish fiction in all genres of writing, a little poetry, and sometimes, reviews and articles. We are entirely electronic, and so we also include illustrations, music, and video whenever possible. Primarily interested in the form of short fiction, we have also begun including complete music albums with each issue of our magazine (starting with Issue #2 and the album One State Two State). Another interesting facet of our second issue is that it consists almost entirely of a complete fantasy novel by Lawrence Watt-Evans, as opposed to our usual eclectic mix of short fiction.
Each issue of Son and Foe is released online. The full issue, including all multimedia extras, is always made available in e-book form through The Store, the Son and Foe marketplace. Currently, each issue is priced at $3. However, you don’t have to pay to enjoy the issue: we release a substantial portion at no cost on the internet. Each week, we “unlock” fresh content from the issue, until the quarter is over and it’s time to start anew with the next issue.
We firmly believe that in doing so we are helping create readers of short fiction and, perhaps, enriching the world. No one should never have to choose between buying a book or a meal to eat.
What don’t we release for free? Generally speaking, just the album that comes with the issue. Doing this would unfairly devalue the album, due to social differences in how people interact with short fiction online and how they interact with MP3s.
Who is was Son and Foe?
Jeremiah Sturgill is the publisher and editor of Son and Foe. He is a recent graduate from the University of Mary Washington, and he has a story coming up in the new, also electronic publication, Baen’s Universe.
Carole Lanham is the publicity manager of Son and Foe. She began volunteering with the magazine shortly after our first issue, in which her story, The Reading Lessons, was published. We think that story was one of the best in an excellent issue. You can read her story here. She also publishes articles upon occasion in Our Adventrous Song, the staff blog. She has a personal website here, and you can e-mail her directly at this e-mail address.
Richard D. is a slush reader for Son and Foe.
Josh Sturgill is the brother of Jeremiah Sturgill, and he writes movie reviews for Our Adventrous Song. He recently got a new job in Real Life, so he’s missed a week or two. But he should be back in the saddle again pretty soon.
Brandon J. Carr is the resident illustrator for Son and Foe. He did some really good stuff for our first issue, and if it weren’t so darn complicated, we’d have posters of it all already. But we’ll get to that–and the t-shirts–soon enough. Go read the archive of his comic, The Kenmore, so you’ll be caught up when he starts rolling again on that.
Andrea Staton is the resident cover artist for Son and Foe. In case you have seen it, check out her covers. They are amazing.
Where does the name come from?
Son and Foe receives its name from a line in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which you see quoted at the top of this page. In this passage, Sin is speaking to Satan and describing her relationship with Death, their son. All three of these characters are juxtaposed in opposition to one another. They are also bound together by kinship and fate.
Son and Foe is this journal’s title because the complex relationship between Satan, Sin, and Death manages to echo the incestuous and tempestuous relationships which exist between all creative peoples and endeavors, both inside and outside of the literary world. Every artist gives birth to ideas and experiences in other people and artists. In the process, artists take from that which inspired them. In a way, every artist and piece of art is comparable to Sin, Satan, and Death: they are each other’s mothers, fathers, and children–willing or not, though of course we hope more willing than these three!
The poem’s development of this relationship is often quite dark:
Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far,
Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed,
And, in embraces forcible and foul
Engendering with me, of that rape begot
These yelling monsters, that with ceaseless cry
Surround me, as thou saw’st–hourly conceived
And hourly born, with sorrow infinite
To me; for, when they list, into the womb
That bred them they return, and howl, and gnaw
My bowels, their repast; then, bursting forth
Afresh, with conscious terrors vex me round,
That rest or intermission none I find.
It is presented as a cyclical relationship that is fraught with tension and a struggle for dominance. The relationship is also surprisingly fertile. While not exactly the most pleasant (or even the most accurate!) abstraction of a person’s interactions with his or her influences, we find the power of Milton’s description riveting and, in its own way, illuminating.
If you have any questions or comments about what Son and Foe is, or should be, or whatever, send ‘em to us at sonandfoe@gmail.com.