NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

For over 53 years Fate has published its array of articles on the strange and unknown, with ample pictorial detail and advertisements connected with its subjects. This issue includes features on an investigation of a strange airship which sailed over a Texas town in 1897, collided with a windmill and crashed, examination of strange metal near the crash, and attempts to get permission (which failed) to open a supposed grave of the astronaut. The early date seemed to preclude the vessel was man-made — was it an alien spaceship ?

An archaeological and historical article traces the possible route of the Three Wise Men of religious tradition, a pilgrimage which was to end at Bethlehem, following a star; another item examines the predictions given in a vision at Fatima to Portuguese children in 1917 in celebration of which a basilica was built, visited by the Pope in 2000, and connection of these with the attempt on the Pope's life in 1981.

Tales of the supernatural and UFOs abound, including that of the curiously large numbers of saucer sightings over prison areas; and folklore from the Spanish Caribbean islands. The book reviews include TUTANKHAMUN: THE EXODUS CONSPIRACY (Virgin hardback, 2002) which connects the king with the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and relates the discovery of a papyrus in the tomb by Howard Carter giving the true Exodus story, which was hushed up for political reasons.

FATE has been going since 1948, which makes it, by its own reckoning, the longest running magazine in the field of the paranormal. It is a glossy, full-colour monthly, and attracts well-known contributors, like Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Loren Coleman.

Aimed at the general reader, it presents New Age piety alongside scholarly digest. Anything strange or Fortean comes within its remit. Among the contents of this issue are articles on healing yourself, on the Russian Bigfoot, on how to achieve Out of the Body experiences and on the prehistoric monuments of Ohio. There is, rather surprisingly, original cover art by the once notorious underground cartoonist, Robert Crumb.

Given Crumb's involvement, you might expect the writing to be flavoursome. It isn't. There are no rants, no purple pages. Spirituality, when it raises its head, is non-denominational. The sobriety of the house style is presumably about securing respectability for the subject matter and also about appealing to the widest possible readership.

I was hoping for eccentricity; I didn't get it. What I did get was lots of information, most of it well sourced. FATE is interesting rather than stimulating, and I put it aside having been well briefed on a number of weird and out of the way topics.

A very nice professional looking magazine this one. Kinda reminds me of Fortean Times and UFO magazine all rolled into one plasma infused ball! Aimed at people intrigued with and fans of all things weird and strange, Fate has reports from around the world dealing with odd and paranormal goings on.

One news piece about being able to turn dead relatives into jewellery was pretty amazing as was the article feature about a mass remote viewing attempt to Area 51! It even had a little points list of how to try it out yourself! And to a wannabe remote viewer like myself, this is very cool!

With a book reviews page and enough paranormal reports to get yer average X-Files fan into a tizz, Fate is a very worthwhile purchase indeed. Go remote view yerself down to your newsagent now!