Beyond Magazine

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the review by Angryshopper - and would not recommend Beyond for anyone seriously interested in the paranormal. It is simply too shallow. I also found that there are numerous factual errors within the pages, starting with those on non-paranormal topics that are easy to spot.

The paranormal magazine market in the UK is dominated by Fortean Times Magazine. This magazine, Beyond, is very much going after the same kind of market. It is very glossy and full of pictures. But that doesn't make a good magazine.

The first thing that I would say is that the subjects covered in this first edition are given a very POP/shallow treatment. If you're someone who is interested in this subject then you're very unlikely to discover anything new or unique. In fact, many of the images in the magazine are from the Fortean Times image library or from the stock libraries of various American Film Studios. Subjects covered include Spontaneous Human Combustion, UFO's/UAP's, Vampires (Yawn) and Time Travel in the guise of Back To The Future (Yes the film).

The second point I would make is that the magazine seems to depend on non-paranormal content to an excessive degree. The above mentioned Time Travel article is a case in point. The article goes on for 6 pages, liberally peppered with pictures and references from the Back To The Future film. Now that film was good fun and entertaining, but it wasn't exactly the last word in Time Travel! If you're looking for serious, informative research on the subject of Time Travel you're going to be disappointed. There was also a 3 page article on Craig Hamilton-Parker, one half of a Husband and Wife Medium Partnership, which seemed to be little more than an extended advert for their website and books.

There is an article about cats with wings. A subject that has been done to death years ago. There is an article about vampires, which seems to me to be focused on the cinematic side of the subject. Plenty of references to films and writers etc. I think that this magazine should change to a media review publication, as that seems to be very much the source of their material.

My recommendation would be to try out Fortean Times and Nexus. This magazine, Beyond, comes in at a hefty £3.99, and I cannot say that it is worth the money. My copy will be heading for the recycling.