Cyber-Psychos rang in the new millennium with issue #9, published right at the tail end of 1999, and it's one of the most diverse issues yet. The feature articles include an interview with renowned novelist Andrew Vachss whose work spans hardboiled crime, horror fiction and comics work; a likewise long form discussion with iconoclastic author, Asatru practitioner (and member of controversial neo-folk outfit Changes) R.N. Taylor; who goes far into the subjects of art, psychedelic plants, human consciousness and "magick"; ethereal / darkwave masters Black Tape For A Blue Girl sit with Brendan Merritt and discuss literary influences among other things; Little Fyodor returns with another one of his "Under The Floorboards" things where he showcases a handful of curious characters from the underground art scene, here shining his wonky light on bands and projects like Mark Gunderson's Evolution Control Committee, C.Reider and his Vuzh Music outfit, and musician and conceptual artist Naked Rabbit. Morbid Curiosities' Loren Rhoads talks "Bodily Humours" , abstract art and collage technique; an interview with author and ,em>Cyber-Psychos regular Don Webb on his interests in reality, the occult, and pan-genre writing; another piece from Loren Rhads, this one on the massive sound-sculpture shows of San Fran's Audium Theater.

The fiction includes a short-short from Machss ("Safe Sex"), the nightmare delirium of Michael Hemmingson "Toys", Robert Devereaux folk-horror hallucination "Pelle Katt And The Troll-Maiden"; William Andrew's undercurrents of violence and control in "Mist Smoke Mlood"; flash crime from Julia Matusov's "The Player" and Sean Doolittle's "Getting Home"; hideous body horror of Gregory Nyman's "Goddess" witha real sting at the tail end; M. Christian's "The Monkey's Wrench" likewise plays in the fields of surrealism, but with a dark and raw edge that makes parts of this story curiously repellant; black sexual magic in Charlee Jacob's "The Pieces of The Doll"; a painfully familiar tale of UFO obsession from Brian Geddes ("Star Cruiser"); Paul Collins forays into experimental biopunk with "The Wired Kid"; the Ellisonian social dystopia of Deidra Cox's "Act of Mercy".

After the current "Editorial Babble", each page is limned in psychedelic artwork, excellent illustrations, the latest Schism strips, more stray surreal poems from Tom Hamill, Uncle River and J.K., a retrospective rundown on the 1998 Death Equinox event (which looks like a goddamn blast), as well as an "alternative" summation of the Equinox as experienced through Don Webb and with a more "magickal" bent; edgy comics and cool collage art; a personal journal-style piece on an experience with "pain play" and temporary piercing, a controversial at the time offshoot of BDSM. There's a report on the experimental writing shenanigans of the "Postmodern Piracy Festival", a fistful of comics from the Hector collective, and Sailing's column of reviews and commentary on the intersection of sex and video in various sci-fi and horror television series, but then descends into realms unexpected from there; new "Personal Reality" essays on our disconnect from nature, and experiences with legendary Coast To Coast AM host Art Bell. "CyberCents" again pushes the boundaries of legality with this interview with column writer Arkov Kapacitor, getting down and dirty with guerilla electronics. And the reviews, oh the reviews...the scope of record review of anything from Blood Axis and Hagalaz Runedance and Sutcliffe Jugend, to Talas, Zen Guerilla and Love Spirals Downward. (As an aside, many of these record reviews are written by horror author Brian Hodge, which may interest fellow 80s'/90s horror paperback addicts like myself). Book reviews get into Lidia Yuknavitch's Her Other Mouths, other contempo lit from Lucius Shepard, Andrew Vachss, Harold Jaffe, the punk-Lovecraft decadence of W.H. Pugmire's now-classic Tales Of Sesqua Valley, rundowns on a couple of Brian Hodges novels, historical erotica anthologies, Joe Lansdale, a far-out John Yau-edited anthology called Fetish that I need to track down pronto, some Anne Rice, a whole piece on non-fiction books on necrophilia, Rudy Rucker essays, Peter J. Carroll's Psybermagick: Advanced Ideas In Chaos Magick, conspiracy tomes , looming cybercrime threats, a scattering of Loompanics titles on revenge (I really do miss the fuckin' 90s, man). And pages of reviews of great zines and underground pubs like Morbid Curiosity, Bloodsongs, Paranoia, SF/Fantasy mag Indigenous Fiction, horror brainblast Mindrot: Anthology, loads more, plus graphic novels, and other assorted small-press weirdness.

One question, Jasmine: what's with all of the Pokemon stuff? You have me baffled, there.