SUNDAY SHORTS: Three From Giving The Devil His Due

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. I’ve considered promising to review a short story every day, but that’s a lot of pressure. And while no one will fault me if I miss days, I’ll feel guilty, which will lead to not posting at all. So better to stick to a weekly post highlighting a couple/three stories, as I’ve done in the past.

Three From GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE

Giving The Devil His Due, edited by Rebecca Brewer, is a charity anthology published by the Pixel Project comprised of stories in which the men who abuse and kill women and girls get their just desserts, usually through supernatural means. There are 16 stories in the anthology. Here are my thoughts on a few of them:

Nisi Shawl’s “The Tawny Bitch” is an epistolary story with endnotes, one of my favorite types of stories to read. Belle is imprisoned by her paternal cousin John after she has “inappropriate liaisons” with a female classmate at school. She writes letters she knows her lost lover may never see, telling of her abuse, neglect, and sexual assault by her cousin and the married couple he hires to mind her. A tawny-colored female dog plays a key role in the story. The “end-notes” are those of a later historian trying to piece together the true identities of the people Belle mentions. This is a classically Gothic story: lost love, a woman locked in a dark tower room, a slight supernatural vibe. Shawl pulls all those elements together with a narratorial voice that is warm and inviting and which never makes us doubt the experiences the narrator is relating. (I also enjoyed the mention of a visiting doctor named Hesselius and the implication that someone is impersonating the “real” man by that name whose adventures were made famous by author Sheridan Le Fanu.)

In Kelley Armstrong’s “Happy Birthday Baby,” Lisette meets her friend Roger for dinner to celebrate the birthday of Lisette’s late sister. The sister has been dead for three years and the police have not been able to prove that her estranged abusive husband was the one who killed her. Lisette tells Reggie she’s hired a private investigator, has uncovered the truth of that night, and is ready to murder her sister’s killer since the police can’t seem to catch him. Of course, there are more twists to the story – and it’s a fair-play type of story in that the clues to what’s really going on are well planted from the very beginning. The story is wonderfully paced, moves very fast, and hits all the right “revenge on the killer who got away” vibes and notes. It’s one of the few stories in the anthology in which the supernatural element is almost non-existent until the key moment, which also makes it stand out from the crowd.

“The Moon Goddess’s Daughter” by Lee Murray is described by the author as a “prose poem.” The language used is poetic; I’m inclined to describe it as ethereal. Even concrete details are given a certain weightlessness, or perhaps dreaminess is a better descriptor, by the way the words are used. This makes this story of a young woman in an abusive marriage different from the more direct and detailed looks at surviving abuse that surround it in the anthology – but no less, and perhaps even more, powerful. Stories that are ethereal/dream-like are not necessarily lacking in impact, as this story clearly demonstrates. Also interesting is the structure of the story, using the phases of the moon as a chart for the protagonist’s journey. The story is based on a legend of the Chinese moon goddess Princess Chang’e, and thus leans more into the fantasy side of the supernatural than the horror side that the previous two stories dwell in.

Giving The Devil His Due is still available as an e-book. Other authors featured in the anthology include Kaaron Warren, Stephen Graham Jones, Angela Yuriko Smith, Jason Sanford, Linda D. Addison, and Christina Henry.

Sunday Shorts: Two By Octavia E. Butler

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. I’ve considered promising to review a short story every day, but that’s a lot of pressure. And while no one will fault me if I miss days, I’ll feel guilty, which will lead to not posting at all. So better to stick to a weekly post highlighting a couple/three stories, as I’ve done in the past.

First released in e-book form in 2014, Unexpected Stories collects two previously unpublished Octavia E. Butler stories discovered among her papers after her untimely passing in 2006. I finally read the book, in the beautiful hardcover edition released by Subterranean Press, in February of this year.

“A Necessary Being” takes place in an alien culture that is based on societal caste and skin coloration. The Hao are revered and installed as rulers of each tribe/village, often whether they like it or not. If a tribe is lacking a Hao, they are willing to kidnap one from someplace else and torture/mutilate them to keep them from escaping, which is what happened to Tahneh’s father, the Hao of the Rohkahn. Tahneh has been unable to produce a Hao heir, so when a Hao named Duit and his companions stumble into their drought-ruined domain, a plan is put in place to keep this Hao from returning to his own people. Butler’s deft interplay of the conflicting wants and needs of Tahneh, Duit, and the people who surround them is absolutely wonderful and thought-provoking. There are no absolute good guys or bad guys here – the antagonist is the moral conflict, if that makes sense. In other hands the reader might be guided to take Tahneh’s side over Duit’s, simply because we are introduced to her and get a feel for her quandry first, but Butler makes sure that we understand and feel for Duit’s situation just as much as Tahneh’s. The story really touches on how societal blinders (“this is the way it’s always been,” “these are the things we need and our needs come first,” etc.) can sometimes keep us from seeing a path forward out of danger and into relative safety. Sometimes complacency is deadly and the ability to change is what enables us to survive.

The author herself described “Childfinder,” the second and much shorter story in Unexpected Stories, as pessimistic, and I can’t really disagree with her. Set in a bleak near future on Earth where The Organization recruits kids with potential for psionic ability, main character Barbara has left the Organization to find the pre-psionic kids The Organization doesn’t want – which means low-income kids of color. The story starts with her encounter with one such kid, and we can see that she really cares about their development and that they don’t get lost or chewed up by a system weighted against them. Of course, The Organization comes looking for her, understanding what their former employee is up to – and Barbara has to make a hard, one might even say brutal, decision. We see the immediate effect of that decision, but never get to see the long-term results. However, the quotes that bookend the story do imply that it doesn’t go as well as Barbara hopes. This is a much darker story than “A Necessary Being,” and yes, it feels pessimistic. It also leaves me hoping for more “Barbaras” (regardless of gender) helping low-income and other marginalized youth in our own world.

Unexpected Stories is available in e-book. Subterranean Press’s limited edition hardcover is currently sold out.

READING ROUND-UP: January 2022

The first monthly summary of what I’ve been reading and listening to in 2022!

BOOKS

I read 9 books in January: 4 in print, 5 in e-book format, and 0 in audio format. They were:

1.       The Autumnal by Daniel Kraus, Chris Sheehan, Jason Wordie, Jim Campbell. Trade paperback collecting an 8-issue comic series I missed in monthly format. Following the death of her estranged mother, Kat Somerville returns to her childhood home in Comfort Notch NH with her young daughter. She remembers being sent away, but not why. Kraus crafts an intriguing slow burn of a story, made all the moodier by Sheehan’s artwork and Wordie’s nuanced use of autumn colors. Excellent folk horror. (PRINT)

2.       Giving The Devil His Due edited by Rebecca Brewer. An anthology of genre stories in which abusers of women actually pay for their crimes, usually through some supernatural means. Authors include Linda D. Addison, Stephen Graham Jones, Nisi Shawl, Christina Henry, and more. (E-BOOK ARC)

3.       Servant Mage by Kate Elliott. Brilliant novella about a society in which mages are an oppressed class and the main character is conscripted into a rescue mission that puts her life and safety at risk. FULL REVIEW HERE. (E-BOOK ARC)

4.       Lightspeed Magazine #140 (January 2022 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual great mix of science fiction and fantasy short stories, author spotlights, and book reviews. Favorite stories this month included N.K. Jemisin’s “Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death,” Aimee Ogden’s “Dissent: A Five Course Meal (With Suggested Pairings),” Leah Cypess’ “On the Ship,” and Vanessa Fogg’s “An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words.” (E-BOOK)

5.       Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda by Jim Zub, Lan Medina, Scot Eaton, Craig Yeung, Sean Parsons, Marcio Menyz, Federico Blee, Erick Arciniega, Joe Sabino, Jorge Molina, David Nakayama, Sara Brunstad, and Wil Moss. Collected issues 1-6 of the monthly comic run. A pair of characters I love (Ka-Zar! Gorilla-Man!) are shown on the cover and barely appear in the story within. On the other hand, Man-Wolf isn’t on the cover and plays a significant role in the first story. The stories were decent and did nice work with the characters that did appear. (PRINT)

6.       Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor’s Guide to the Underworld (InCryptid #11) by Seanan McGuire. It’s time for the Price family matriarch, Alice Price-Healy, to take center stage and tell us what she’s been up to while her family save Cryptids and fights the Covenant. I really loved hearing Alice’s story in her own words and really getting a look into how trauma has shaped her. There’s lots of fight scenes and other dimensions to explore as well. FULL REVIEW HERE (E-BOOK ARC)

7.       Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney. Cooney returns to the world of her novella Desdemona and the Deep to explore other aspects of the “thrice-wrapped worlds” of Athe (humans), the Valwode (Gentry/fae), and Bana the Bone Kingdom (goblinkind) through the eyes of a painter, a writer, a sculptor, and an investigative reporter. Such beautiful language. FULL REVIEW HERE (PRINT ARC)

8.       Death Follows by Cullen Bunn, A.C. Zamudio, Carolos Nicolas Zamudio, Simon Bisley. Collects an online comic originally published as “Remains.” Combines folk horror with body horror to tell the tale of two sisters on a farm and the new farmhand who has a deadly secret. Great pacing, perfect art for the story being told. Also includes the original short story by Bunn that the comic was based on. (PRINT)

9.       The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate. We all know I’m a major fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and will read just about anything connected to it. This novella was originally published in Mexico in Spanish, unavailable in English until this translation by David Bowles was published. It focuses on the Captain of the Varna, the ship that unknowingly brings Dracula to England. The Captain’s loneliness, his attraction to his crew, and his internal conflict over childhood sexual encounters are stunningly captured. (E-BOOK)

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “Dissent: A Five Course Meal (With Suggested Pairings)” by Aimee Ogden, from Lightspeed Magazine #140 (January 2022 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Up Falling” by Jendayi Brooks-Flemister

3.       “On the Ship” by Leah Cypess

4.       “Cale and Stardust Battle the Mud Goblins of Hudson Valley” by Lincoln Michel

5.       “In the Beginning of Me, I Was a Bird” by Maria Dong

6.       “In the Cold, Dark Sea” by Jenny Rae Rappaport

7.       “An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words” by Vanessa Fogg

8.       “Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death” by N.K. Jemisin

9.       “The Mirror Test” by Moses Ose Utoni, from Fantasy Magazine #75 (January 2022), edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg

10.   “Markets: A Beginner's Guide” by Shalini Srinivasan

11.   “Pest Control” by Saswati Chatterjee

12.   “Free Coffin” by Corey Flintoff

13.    “Long Way from Home” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.

14.   “The Moon Goddess's Granddaughter” by Lee Murray, from Giving the Devil His Due Special Edition, edited by Rebecca Brewer

15.   “The Kindly Sea” by Dana Cameron

16.   “Just Us League” by Angela Yuriko Smith

17.   “American Murder” by Peter Tieryas

18.   “As We Stand and Pray” by Jason Sanford

19.   “Finding Water to Catch Fire” by Linda D. Addison

20.   “Escape From Pleasant Point (An Evelyn Northe-Stewart Origin Story)” by Leanna Renee Hieber

21.   “Daughter of Echidna” by Nicholas Kaufman

22.   “The Devil's Pocket Change” by Hillary Monahan

23.   “The Tawny Bitch” by Nisi Shawl

24.   “Happy Birthday Baby” by Kelley Armstrong

25.   “Devil's Hollow” by Errick Nunnally

26.   “The Little Thing” by Christina Henry

27.   “A Better Way of Saying” by Sarah Pinsker, from Tor.com website, edited by Ellen Datlow

28.   “And Behold, It Was Very Good” by Scott Edelman, from Kaliedotrope Winter 2022 issue, edited by Fred Coppersmith

29.   “The Skin Inside” by Richard E. Gropp

30.   “Thermophile” by Jack Klausner, from The Dark #80, edited by Sean Wallace

31.   “Intrusions” by Margot McGovern

32.   “Funny Faces” by Seán Padraic Birne

33.   “The Lending Library of Final Lines” by Octavia Cade

34.   “The Breaker Queen” by C.S.E. Cooney, from Dark Breakers, edited by Mike Allen

35.   “The Two Paupers” by C.S.E. Cooney

36.   “Salissay's Laundries” by C.S.E. Cooney

37.   “Longergreen” by C.S.E. Cooney

38.   “Susurra to the Moon” by C.S.E. Cooney

39.   “And Sweep Up the Wood...” by Seanan McGuire, novella included in the paperback of her InCryptid novel Spelunking Through Hell

40.   “Remains” by Cullen Bunn, short story included at the back of the graphic novel Death Follows

So that’s 40 short stories in January. A bit more than “1 per day.” (January 31st was, of course, the 31st day of 2022.)

Summary of Reading Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 0 of 24 main titles read.

RoofbeamReader To Be Read Challenge: This month: 0 read. YTD: 0 of 12 main titles (0 of 2 alternates)

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  40 read; YTD: 40 of 365 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 3 read; YTD: 3 of 52 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 9 read; YTD: 9 of 125 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 0 of 24 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 book read; YTD: 0 of 9 read.

                                                          Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned

Monthly Special Challenge:  I haven’t set a specific “mini challenge” for January, other than to work on staying on track or getting ahead on the yearly challenges. I didn’t really get ahead but made partial progress on the graphic novel challenge while getting ahead on the 365 Short Stories and keeping pace on the Goodreads Challenges.

February is Black History Month and Women in Horror Month, so my challenge, as usual, is to read as many Black authors as I can and as many women horror writers as I can, and hopefully a few who overlap.

Book Review: THREE LEFT TURNS TO NOWHERE

TITLE: Three Left Turns to Nowhere

AUTHOR: Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, and ‘Nathan Burgoine

235 pages, Bold Stroke Books, ISBN 9781636790503 (paperback; also in e-book)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): Three strangers heading to a convention in Toronto are stranded in rural Ontario, where a small town with a subtle kind of magic leads each to discover what he’s been searching for.

Ed Sinclair and his friends get stuck in Hopewell after their car breaks down. It’s snark at first sight when he meets local mechanic Lyn, but while they’re getting under each other’s skin, the town might show them a way into one another's hearts.

Rome Epstein is out and proud and clueless about love. He’s hosting a giant scavenger hunt at the convention but ends up in Hopewell. When the town starts leaving him clues for its own scavenger hunt, he discovers a boy who could be the prize he’s been searching for.

Fielding Roy has a gift for seeing the past. His trip to reunite with friends hits an unexpected stop in Hopewell, but a long-lost love letter and two local boys give him a chance to do more than watch the past. This time, Fielding might be able to fix the present.

Authors Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, and ‘Nathan Burgoine believe getting lost is a perfectly legitimate way to find yourself, but suggest you pack snacks.

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: The contents of “Shared World” short story or novella anthologies, with multiple authors working ostensibly in the same setting, can be notoriously hit/miss depending on factors as varied as the depth and breadth of the world-building before the authors start on their own stories, how all of that information is communicated from editors to authors, faithful to the shared setting the individual authors are. Typically, the more writers working in the setting the more likely it is to find “outlier” stories that don’t fit the setting or match the mood of the majority of the stories in the anthology. I’m happy to be able to say that Three Left Turns to Nowhere, a collection of novellas all set in the magical small town of Hopewell, is far more hit than miss despite, or perhaps because of, the quite different tones of the novellas. What all three stories have in common is the set-up of a slightly grumpy out-of-towner stranded in Hopewell meeting a local (or locals) who help lift the out-of-towner’s mood.

Jeffrey Ricker’s “Roadside Assistance” is a great lead-off: a sweet meet-cute of a romance between the grumpy out-of-towner (Ed) and a friendly local mechanic (Lyn) that doesn’t let the grumpy guy stay grumpy for too long. The attraction between the characters is clear from the start and nudged along by forces both human (Lyn’s BFF Josh) and not (a local ghost that only Lyn can see). I could try to count the number of times I found myself smiling at a geeky exchange or adorable moment, but there were too many. Ricker also does a wonderful job setting up the shared world in which these stories operate: by the end of the story I had a solid mental image of the “downtown” of Hopewell, a good sense of the character of the townspeople as a whole, and a total acceptance of the town’s subtle magic and how it works.

“The Scavenger Hunt” by J. Marshall Freeman is still a romance, but not as sweet meet-cute as Ricker’s. It’s a bit darker – homophobia rears its ugly head early in the story and stays a threat throughout in a way that doesn’t quite fit with the other two stories herein – but still centers a budding romance between an out-of-towner (activist Rome) and a local (artist Darcy). I liked the pacing of the story, I liked the way the town’s magic expresses itself (by sending Rome on the same type of scavenger hunt he’s designing for the Con all these out-of-towners are on their way to), and I loved Darcy’s found-object sculpture art. In fact, I loved Darcy – awkward, artistic, possibly neurodivergent Darcy – from the moment he’s introduced. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Rome, who I found self-centered beyond likeability even at the end of the story. (Your opinion, of course, may vary.)

The third novella, “Hope Echoes” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, doesn’t center romance for the lead character at all but still hinges the plot on one. The out-of-towner in the equation is Fielding, who can see echoes of the past, and the locals are adorable boyfriends who show him around town and help him resolve a mystery he’s stumbled into thanks to the echoes he can see. The romance is one that occurred well before any of the young men in the story were born, and I won’t spoil how the mystery of the love letter is resolved other than to say there’s a happy conclusion for all involved. The fun of this story is Fielding’s growing friendship with Josh and Logan, a nice interpretation of the way the town’s magic works. The town recognizes that what Fielding needs isn’t a boyfriend or romance – it’s supportive friends and a way out of his depression.

As one would expect, characters from one story pop up in the background or are mentioned in the other stories. But the authors also do an excellent job populating the story with interesting local characters: bed and breakfast owner Candace, used good store owner Mrs. Tremblay; Lyn’s mother; Josh’s father; Logan’s grandmother and her fellow residents at a nursing home; and auto shop owner Sloan and her wife the town Mayor. They make the shared setting of the stories consistent.

I do hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of the magical town of Hopewell. In fact, I’m putting in a request right now for a second anthology with perhaps a focus on lesbian characters – and please, Bold Stroke Books, let one of those be the story of how Sloan and Dina met!

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review: SPELUNKING THROUGH HELL

TITLE: Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor’s Guide to the Underworld (InCryptid Book 11)

AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire

352 pages, DAW Books, ISBN 9780756411831 (paperback, also in e-book and audio)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): Love, noun:

1. An intense feeling of deep affection; may be romantic, filial or platonic.

Passion, noun:

1. A strong or barely controllable emotion.
2. Enthusiasm, interest, desire.
3. See also “obsession.”

It’s been fifty years since the crossroads caused the disappearance of Thomas Price, and his wife, Alice, has been trying to find him and bring him home ever since, despite the increasing probability that he’s no longer alive for her to find. Now that the crossroads have been destroyed, she’s redoubling her efforts. It’s time to bring him home, dead or alive.

Preferably alive, of course, but she’s tired, and at this point, she’s not that picky. It’s a pan-dimensional crash course in chaos, as Alice tries to find the rabbit hole she’s been missing for all these decades—the one that will take her to the man she loves.

Who are her allies? Who are her enemies? And if she manages to find him, will he even remember her at this point?

It’s a lot for one cryptozoologist to handle.

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: Spelunking Through Hell, the eleventh book in Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series chronicling the adventures of a family of cryptozoologists (the Prices), is an action-packed emotional rollercoaster that caps off a long-running subplot and bodes a momentous change in the family’s status quo going forward. Oh, and it just happens to be the first book in the series narrated by nominal family matriarch Alice Price-Healy.

I say “nominal” because in the preceding ten novels, Alice has been more conspicuous in her absence and its effect on her children and grandchildren than in her presence. She’s been travelling between dimensions in search of her stolen husband, and that has absolutely put a strain on her relationship with her descendants. Most of the important things that have happened in this series? Alice has been absent for, and whoever is narrating a particular book (grandchildren Verity, Alex, and Antimony; extended family member Sarah) usually comments on it. It’s been an effective way to build interest in Alice and her quest, a great slow boil sub-plot that finally pays off as we get to see Alice in her element and hear her voice.

And that voice is straightforward, no nonsense. Alice is committed to her path. She will find her lost husband if it kills her (and it comes pretty darn close several times), even if it damages her familial relationships (as we know it has), even if it means she never returns to Earth (a distinct possibility). We’ve seen this commitment, this willingness to risk all for the right cause, in her grandkids – especially Antimony – so clearly Alice has been an influence on them. But it becomes clear there is so much Alice has not told her loved ones, that she has done Things of Which the Family would Not Approve (as the Aeslin mice would say, pronouncing all those capital letters along the way). Those things are just the latest trauma that has made Alice the woman she is.

This book is a wild adventure with fight scenes galore and fascinating world-building (the way dimensions work and dimensional travel happens is fascinating and not like any other version of such I’ve read) but it is also a treatise on the way repeated trauma informs who we are as well as how we can become inured to it. Those who have read the short stories chronicling Alice’s childhood, teen, and college years on McGuire’s website and Patreon know just how much emotional and physical trauma Alice has experienced: several near-death experiences, the loss of her mother at an early age (which also caused her father to become emotionally distant and controlling), the later violent losses of the grandparents who helped raise her as well as her father, and of course the taking of her husband by the Crossroads. Any one of those events is traumatic enough to cause one to seek therapy; a lifetime of them would be more than many of us would survive. Alice could not rescue her parents or grandparents, so rescuing her husband becomes not just a goal, but a mission, an obsession. As long as she’s focused on that, she can justify the further trauma she experiences, both self-inflicted (abandoning her son and daughter to the care of family friends, as well as something else I won’t spoil because it’s a major plot point) and inflicted by others (she starts the novel with another near-death experience). I haven’t been through anywhere near as much trauma as Alice has, but I recognized some of the language she uses and some of her coping mechanisms as similar to my own. McGuire understands trauma, understands coping mechanisms, and understands that sometimes the latter fail and we’re left raw. And she does not back away from or soften those moments. Nor should she.

If there’s a downside to this book, it’s a minor one: because Alice spends most of her time (and thus most of the book) away from Earth, any on-going plots regarding the Price family’s relationships and danger from the Covenant get put on hold. It’s a little jarring at first, but McGuire has more than earned the opportunity to veer off from the main narrative to finally tell the story she’s been anxious to tell from the start. It’s not a total disconnect, as events from the previous books are mentioned – especially those of Antimony’s novels which had a direct effect on Alice’s decisions at the start of this book.

The book also contains a novella that chronicles a key moment in Alice and Thomas’ shared past. It is both sweet and horrific at the same time. Which is something Seanan McGuire does so well.

I received an electronic advance reading copy for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Spelunking Through Hell releases on March 1, 2022.

SUNDAY SHORTS: Three From The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction 2021

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. I’ve considered promising to review a short story every day, but that’s a lot of pressure. And while no one will fault me if I miss days, I’ll feel guilty, which will lead to not posting at all. So better to stick to a weekly post highlighting a couple/three stories, as I’ve done in the past.

2021 saw the release of what will hopefully be many volumes to come of The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction, edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. The inaugural volume includes stories by twenty-five authors from across the breadth of the African diaspora. The stories are, as one would expect, all top-notch. Here are my thoughts on just a few:

“Egoli” by T.L. Huchu features an old village woman on a sometimes precarious pre-sunrise walk, reminiscing about how much technology has changed since she was a little girl, when it was unusual for a village to have even a wireless radio to listen to news. Now there are smart phones and people not only leaving village life behind but leaving the entire planet behind. She’s out and about because her grandson has told her to watch the southern sky around dawn to see something remarkable. I don’t want to spoil what that something is or why it matters, but it is tied up in what makes the story at turns wistful, nostalgic, lonely, and almost elegiac. I’ve commented many times in the past about how I’m usually not a fan of “second person” narrative, where “you” are the character (I find it creepy most of the time), but Huchu is such a deft touch with emotional and sensory elements that I found myself invested in the story and not creeped out at all.

Pemi Aguda’s “Things Boys Do” focuses on three quite different men about to become fathers, and the fear and loss they experience upon the arrival of their sons. Wives get sick, die, or just leave; friends and family drift away; jobs are lost. It turns out the three men have a common past although they have not seen or thought of each other in years, and that past is haunting them. The story is obviously horror from the start, but the creepiness of the small details bio-accumulates – you notice them at first but they don’t seem so “horrific” until they start to add up. Aguda’s interspersing of each man’s travails in the present with a slow reveal of their shared past is perfectly paced. Even if you figure out early on where the story is going (and I don’t think I’ve spoiled anything big in this description), the path is twisty and will leave you thinking.

In “The Thought Box” by Tlotlo Tsamaase, a woman in an emotionally abusive relationship with a man who takes advantage of her begins to learn the depths of his control and infidelity after he brings home a “thought box” so that they can review each others’ thoughts and thus have “total trust” in each other. The truth of her situation is so much worse than she, or the reader, initially suspects. The SFnal element (a box that records and plays back thoughts) is just the wedge into what is really a psychological horror story. Tsamaaase slowly moves the main character from being concerned she’s just paranoid and overworked to the recognition she’s been gaslit, and it is masterfully done; I believed every turn in the main character’s emotional state. This is one of those stories where the final twist is a brutal gut-punch that the author has absolutely earned.

Book Review: DARK BREAKERS

TITLE: Dark Breakers

AUTHOR: C.S.E. Cooney

291 pages, Mythic Delirium Books, ISBN 9781732644069 (hardcover, also in trade paperback and e-book)

DESCRIPTION: (from the publisher): A young human painter and an ageless gentry queen fall in love over spilled wine—at the risk of his life and her immortality. Pulled into the Veil Between Worlds, two feuding neighbors (and a living statue) get swept up in a brutal war of succession. An investigative reporter infiltrates the Seafall City Laundries to write the exposé of a lifetime and uncovers secrets she never believed possible. Returning to an oak grove to scatter her husband’s ashes, an elderly widow meets an otherworldly friend, who offers her a momentous choice. Two gentry queens of the Valwode plot to hijack a human rocketship and steal the moon out of the sky.

DARK BREAKERS gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella DESDEMONA AND THE DEEP.

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: C.S.E. Cooney’s Dark Breakers collection has been a long time coming (she self-published two of the novellas herein in 2014 and 2015), but it has been worth the wait. These stories beautifully illustrate the overlapping layers of creativity, love, ambition, and self-identity that propel us as individuals and thus as a society.

The “thrice-enfolded worlds” mentioned in the book’s description are Athe (the World), home of humans, which is in the midst of an industrial revolution and all the societal upheaval that comes with it; the Valwode (the World Beneath), home of the Gentry, which is in the midst of a political upheaval; and Bana the Bone Kingdom (the World Beneath the World Beneath), home of goblinkind, which doesn’t figure heavily into any of the stories in this volume. The ways between these three worlds were once open but are now sealed off, travel between them limited to certain powerful individuals like Nyx the Nightwalker (Queen of the Gentry) and Kalos Kantzaros, king of all the koboldkin. And even for them, the crossing can only be done at certain times and certain places (as in the titular Dark Breakers / Breaker House). To most people in Athe the other realms are fairy stories and cautionary tales, the stuff of authors and artists.

It is not accidental then that the lead human characters of these stories are creatives: Elliot the painter, Ana the author, Gideon the sculptor, Salissay the investigative reporter. In their own way, each tap into the old beliefs, molding those tales into paintings, books, and sculptures that bring change, as art so often does. Change to Athe and change to the Valwode (and by extension, to Bana), although the extent of those changes is not immediately evident to the characters or to the reader.

So much of the characters’ creativity is tied up with their ability to love not just others but themselves. It is Elliot’s instant connection with an unassuming maid who goes by “Nixie” on the night of a grand party at Breaker House that sets the first novella in motion, but it’s the friendship between Elliot, Ana, and Gideon (and later Nixie) that underpins everything. Even when they don’t believe in themselves (and low self-esteem runs rampant among these three), they believe in each other, and at key moments that support makes all the difference in what they are able to accomplish with and for each other. I recognized a lot of myself in each of them: Elliot’s social anxiety in large crowds, Ana’s fears that her work isn’t as good as people say it is, Gideon’s attempts to hide what he really feels behind a bit of witty repartee (okay, I use dad jokes, but same thing), Nixie’s dislike of one she thinks is unworthy of the woman she comes to love like a sister. But also their unwavering support for each other even when they’re not getting along, their teasing and gentle prodding, their willingness to deprive themselves to help their loved ones out of tight spots. Along the same lines, I recognized in Salissay’s sense of social justice some of my anger at the way things are in our own world and my urge to make things better. (Salissay also seems to lack any self-doubt, which works against her a bit, but hey, no one is perfect!) The best fantasy books are centered around people we can relate to and recognize despite the otherworldly or supernatural setting, and Dark Breakers is very much among the best fantasy.

You do not have to have read Cooney’s novella Desdemona and the Deep to enjoy these stories, but if you have (or when you do), you’ll pick out the connections easily enough. They all stand alone very well, and all feature Cooney’s trademark love of language. If you’re like me, you’ll be so invested in the stories that you won’t notice the amazing craftwork, but it will hit you afterward how amazing is Cooney’s knack for the right descriptive word in each moment.

I’ll say again here what I said at the end of my review of Desdemona and the Deep: the stories of Elliot, Ana, Gideon, Nixie, and Salissay may or may not be concluded, but I hope we still have many more visits to the worlds of Athe, the Valwode and Bana in our future. I think there are many stories left to tell.

I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SUNDAY SHORTS: Two from Kaliedotrope

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. I’ve considered promising to review a short story every day, but that’s a lot of pressure. And while no one will fault me if I miss days, I’ll feel guilty, which will lead to not posting at all. So better to stick to a weekly post highlighting a couple/three stories, as I’ve done in the past.

I haven’t read all of Kaleidotrope’s Winter 2022 issue yet, but the first two stories in the issue are absolutely stand-outs.

Scott Edelman’s “And Behold, It Was Very Good” is a slightly comedic and very topical story about what “really” went on in the Garden of Eden between Adam, Eve, God, and the Snake. Edelman posits that there were multiple trees of knowledge throughout the Garden, each a different type of knowledge, and that the First Man and First Woman had access to all of them and experimented a lot. He’s not the first to suggest that Adam and Eve eating fruit of the one tree they were forbidden from eating was part of God’s ineffable plan all along, but he puts a fun and thought-provoking spin on the idea. He also never names the characters the way I have: they are “The Man,” “The Woman,” “The Voice,” and “Snake” because Adam and Eve don’t know themselves yet and therefore have not named themselves, nor do they know anything about the Voice other than what He commands. Of course, Adam was in charge of naming everything, so it makes sense Snake would be the only one with a “name.” I have somehow managed to discuss this story without spoiling anything important about the way the story twists.

“The Skin Inside” by Richard E. Gropp starts off with a scene reminiscent of the pre-credits scene of a murder mystery or horror flick: one man wheedles information out of another man regarding a mysterious set of masks and then things take a turn for the gruesome. But the majority of the story is not as action-packed and is in fact a wonderful slow burn as we find out why the man (Winston) was questioning the other man and then follow him on his quest to find the current owner of the masks and deal with the threat they pose. The story feels in many ways like a Victorian or pulp supernatural mystery. The masks are powerful and easily misused, the people who possess them selfish and yes, rich. The shift in pacing and tone are totally appropriate for the story being told, and Winston’s reasons for doing what he does are full of rich emotional detail that made me want to know where his life goes after this story is over.

Book Review: COMFORT ME WITH APPLES

TITLE: Comfort Me with Apples

AUTHOR: Catherynne M. Valente

103 pages, TorDotCom Publishing, ISBN 9781250816214 (hardcover, also available in e-book and audio)

DESCRIPTION: (from publisher): Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze...

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

MY RATING: 5 of 5 stars

MY THOUGHTS: This is one of those reviews where I’m at a loss for exactly how much to say. Yes, I know the book has been out almost three months as of this writing and some folks reading this have probably already read reviews that have spoilery details. On the off chance you have not, though – I’m not going to reveal the big twists.

So what can I say?

Any fan of Cat Valente’s beautiful use of language to propel story should love this for the words alone. The structure of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters, the repetition of words and phrases – it’s all crafted with care towards keeping the reader invested in the story, and I loved every moment of it.

The pacing of Comfort Me with Apples is about as perfect as one can get in a story of this style. No time is wasted trying to lull the reader into thinking everything is fine before the big twist. From the beginning, there is no doubt that something is very wrong in Arcadia Gardens; if the language of the opening paragraphs of the residents’ agreement doesn’t tip you off, Sophia’s first thought (I was made for him) should. The question of course is: just what is wrong with Arcadia Gardens? Is this a Stepford Wives situation? Has Sophia been brainwashed and stuck in a village where no one is who they seem, ala The Prisoner? Is Sophia even a reliable focal character, or is she imagining much of what she sees? The story could plausibly go in any direction, but readers who are paying attention will figure out where it’s going around the time I did if not earlier. (And for me, it was only a few pages before what’s happening is made explicit.)

The in-story action is broken up occasionally with quotes from the Arcadia Gardens Housing Association’s Rules. They give the reader a moment to breath, to think, and they are highly effective. They’re also increasingly controlling and creepy as they continue, and really make me glad I don’t live in a gated community.

One more recommendation: if at all possible, read Comfort Me with Apples in one sitting. It’s only 103 pages in hardcover. Carve out the time. It’s worth it.

I received an electronic advance reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Book Review: NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH

TITLE: Nothing but Blackened Teeth

AUTHOR: Cassandra Khaw

128 pages, Tor Nightfire, ISBN 9781250759412 (hardcover, also in e-book and audio)

DESCRIPTION: (from the publisher): A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company.

It’s the perfect wedding venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends.

But a night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare. For lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart.

And she gets lonely down there in the dirt.

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: Cassandra Khaw’s novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth is lushy written, full of physical and sensory detail. The horror starts out subtle – just a whisper the narrator thinks she hears – and by the time it turns obvious the reader knows more about the characters involved than they probably realize about themselves.

Narrator Cat is unsure of her place in a group of friends she used to lead, back when they were a sort of “Scooby gang” investigating haunted houses, abandoned hospitals, and any sewage pipe large enough for a body to crawl down. She’s been absent from the group for several months, working on her own problems, and has been drawn out to attend a wedding of two other members of the group (Faiz and Nadia) organized by a fourth member (Philip). There’s some question about whether the fifth member of their group, Lin, is even going to show up. There are a lot of dynamics at play here: the characters either seem to like each other too much or not at all, and their interpersonal histories turn out to be easy for the ghost haunting the house to use to her own ends. I must admit, I didn’t find any of these characters particularly likeable. They’ve all treated each other badly in the past and in the present. But I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to like everyone – or even anyone – in a horror story. I enjoyed watching their personal issues play out against a growing sense that the evening spent in this house is not going to turn out well for some, if not all, of them.

The house itself is just as much of a character as the group of friends renting it, and Khaw’s descriptions of the rooms the characters move through are at turns beautiful and disturbing, especially as the actual threat – the ghostly bride and those that surround her – become more apparent. At points, the mansion reminded me of the house in Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves: hidden depths, extra hallways and rooms that endlessly loop on each other, that aren’t discovered unless an occupant makes just the right turn at just the right time, none of which are visible from the mundane exterior of the building.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a fast-moving but deeply immersive reading experience in which a group of unhappy people barrel blindly towards an overwhelming supernatural presence. To say too much more would be to spoil the twists the story takes.

I received an electronic advance reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley, although this review is long over-due.