Disclaimer: I apologize for any mistake, convoluted sentence structure and other assorted "bugs" in the following text.
English is not my first language, and this is the best I can do...

Overview

I really like "generalist" RPG magazines. Despite this, I was able to read just one Valkyrie issue before this one (I had too many fine RPG magazines die "in my arms": Imagine, The Lost Province, Arcane, Shadis... now a sad and embittered old man, I'm reluctant to subscribe, and this one is not available at local newsstands...). It was issue 14, and I am happy to say that the magazine has improved since my last perusal.

The magazine is printed on good quality b/w glossy paper. I think that the general impression is of a good product. There are occasional typos, and someone else could find the general layout a trifle spartan and some of the illos look a little amateurish, but overall I like it.

At the moment the magazine is published four times a year. This obviously impacts on the timeliness of some of the features (especially news and some of the reviews). This is reasonable, but I wonder if a new section is still needed in such a magazine, especially considering that most of its audience can probably get them through the net.

As many other magazines did, Valkyrie staff has decided to build each issue around a specific theme. This time it is History, according to the cover blurb. I'll touch on the relevance of the various features in a specific section of the review.

Regulars

Short annotated list of regular features.

Nightshift

This is the actual news and press releases section. As an element to gauge the relative "newness" of the items, it lists De Profundis and Gurps WWII:Hand of Steel. I do not intend to slight Valkyrie, though. It is a quarterly publication, after all, and you must also take in account that this specific issue had to reach USA (i.e. RPG.NET) and then go back to Europe, where I live, before being reviewed.

Preview

This section covers recent (or imminent) releases in a little more detail. This issue has Darkwood (Tower Games) and the Celtos line of miniatures. Each one gets one page.

News From the Trenches

Written by Bill Walton, it is a sort of soapbox for his own projects and ideas; the author is the chief editor of The Escapist and is committed to gaming advocacy.

Furtive Fumblings

Johnny Nexus (Critical Miss editor) expounds a little about this issue theme (History). Basically: resist the temptation to make people from other times (worlds) to act/think/look too much like we do.

News From the Trenches

Written by Bill Walton, it is a sort of soapbox for projects and ideas from Walton, who is the chief editor of The Escapist and is committed to gaming advocacy.

Saints & Sinners

Subtitled: "Where Gaming Meets the Real World", it is again a Walton soapbox, where he adapts stuff from his The Escapist web site. I personally do not care too much about the hobby standings in the media, for example, but you could disagree with me. Just one page, so even if you do not care, it is no big deal.

Soldiers of Fortune

The inevitable miniatures page.

Dark Worlds

I doubt this is a regular feature, so perhaps I should have placed it in the next section. Anyway, it is an overview of the Call of Cthulhu game, with brief descriptions of various editions, and a short review of the 20^th Anniversary edition (the leather-bound, 320 pages, buy-it-only-if-you-are-a-collector one).

Reviews

10 pages of reviews, detailing new games, supplements and one PC game. The format is the classic "capsule review", without numerical ratings, but just a short summary at the end of the review. Titles covered in this issue are: Weep, Guide to Traditions, Necromancy, Bitter Crusade, Marakush: Treachery, Harvest of Darkness, Dark Side Sourcebook, Maiden Voyage, Heart of Chaos, Sins of the Blood, 2^nd Book of Worlds, Fool s Paradise, HKAT! 2^nd Edition, Deadlands D20, StuperPowers Adventure, The Xro Dinn Chronicles, Weird Wars II, Sorcerer, Dark Continent and Arcanum.
As you can see, an interesting mix, including a couple of fairly obscure picks. Apart from the Arcanum review, which has a full page, and includes the opinions of two distinct reviewers, the other are of variable length (around half a page, on average). They are competently written, and reviewers don't seem afraid to actually criticize the games.

Comics

Both Yamara and Dork Tower appear here as regular features.

 

Features

I'll just list the various articles here, and comment briefly on each of them.

The Travelling Company of Kakita Mariko (L5R)

A two-pages article on an itinerant theatre troupe in Rokugan. Kakita Mariko is a female playwright, currently travelling around while she works to the "definitive" play for the Crane Daimyo.
The article describes the history of Mariko, and gives stats and briefer notes on other six NPCs travelling with her. The piece offers five adventure seeds to use the group with. It is competently written and could be of some use to spark your GM's imagination even if you do not play in Rokugan, but most of the NPCs background would need some adjustment if you want to move them to another background.

The Serpent of Pont-Y-Tawe (C&S)

Nominally for Chivalry and Sorcery, the 4 pages scenario is practically system-less. The PCs arrive in a small Wales village (currently garrisoned by a small group of English men-at-arms) unaware that it will soon be the scene of a three-way struggle.
Magic and other standard fantasy elements are suitably downplayed in favour of interaction with NPCs; this is probably the most historical of the scenarios.
Nice maps, too...

Sands of Death (D20)

A three pages addendum to the "Gladiator: Sands Of Death" D20 book by Mongoose Publishing. A collection of extra feats, rules and whatnots which were left out from the original work.
To be specific, half of the last page is taken by a copy of the Open Game License text. I don't know much about the D20 so I don't know if this is really required or not. Works only if you play D20, and already own the aforementioned product.

The Wooing of Enerin & Maniski (Hero Wars)

A 6 pages scenario: Enerin mad Maniski are two young from different clans. They are in love, but the consequences of their attempts to "woo" each other will strain the relationships between the two tribes, the PCs should try to avoid the worst. Plenty of ideas and NPCs. I suppose that you could fit it in another context, much like the C&S scenario, but works best in a tribal/clan based society.

Travelling in Stages (Deadlands)

Part History, part inspired by the Deadlands world, a good treatment of stagecoach lines in the old west, including scenario ideas and a short but interesting bibliography.
Thanks to the historical background, could work even in a "below- the-top" version of the Old West.

Bogglins - School for Young Faeries (Changeling)

5 pages: strongly "inspired" by the Harry Potter books, the article details a school for would-be fays. The setting allows both for humor-themed ("Chimerical Pokemon"?) and more serious adventures (infiltration of the school by various unsavoury characters).
I liked the idea, but it has plenty of specific Changeling stuff, and to be honest, I think that people who wanted a dose of HP in their campaigns probably have already done something similar on their own.

The Marilaque Nation (7th Sea)

The article describes a group of villages in the mountains between Eisen and Montaigne, inhabited by a tall, dark people with a peculiar streak of magic.
The description of the Marilaque people is fairly good, and should work fine in most fantasy worlds.

Gypsies: The Road That Never Ends

A fairly long article (5 pages) about Gypsies. It covers historical, modern and archetypes. It is fairly interesting and paints a vivid picture of an interesting (and often misunderstood) culture. Being systemless, it is a good resource (it even includes some notes on modern-day gypsies).

A Martian Trilogy (Space 1889: Soldier's Companion)

A scenario for the miniature game set in the original Space:1889 setting. Actually it is a trilogy of short scenarios. Set in 1893, it details a series of interlinked battles between English troops and Martian insurgents. The actual reasons for the battles is not bad at all, and could perhaps give you some ideas for other worlds.

The Russ: Mr Slayer's Chosen People? (SLA Industries)

A short description of "Russ", a group of families (of Russian descent) that seem to have played an important role in ancient events in the SLA Industry history. This is too rooted in the background to be recycled elsewhere.

Summing Up

All in all, I am pretty happy with Valkyrie. I would perhaps drop some of the news section, but for the rest I liked it. It covers many "minor" systems, which provides diversity, and the contents are of good value. The cover suggests a mature audience, but I honestly do not think this is really needed, at least for the issue I reviewed.