I would have gotten this one read sooner, had I (a) more lunches during which to read (did a lot of flex time these past few weeks), (b) and not picked up The Merlin Trilogy from the library to read. The print is tiny, and the pages many!!!!
"Immortal Snake" by Rachel Pollack This myth retold features a kingdom in which God's will is written in the sky, and the devout Readers dictate the will to the people. Their ruler, Immortal Snake, is a series of individuals, who, when the will of God is to replace the current Immortal Snake, the Readers feed him a poisonous stew comprised of his two companions in death, which causes him to "shed his skin." The current Immortal Snake, an immature ruler, selects his sister and a storyteller slave from a distant kingdom. The sister and the slave work together, one using subterfuge, the other, stories, to overthrow the Readers, and prevent their imminent demise. The prose was engaging and amusing, never losing my attention. 5/5.
"Circle" by George TuckerA Seminole shaman who is also a construction worker helps his company rid their site of the pestering daimons that cause workers to become injured. Funny. 4/5.
"Reunion" by Robert Reed After reading the last issue, I considered Reed's "Five Thrillers" the best story in the issue. Needless to say, this led me to expect a lot from "Reunion." It tells the story of a class reunion of a graduating class of 23. Twelve of them went on to be special, ten of them went on to be normal, and one of them died. The one-who-died's daughter infiltrates the reunion, trying to determine why more than fifty percent of a graduating class from the middle of nowhere could make such amazing advancements in the world, considering that it would be statistically impossible for this to happen to each of the Twelve individually without some sort of external influence. Turns out, dealings with black magic and quantum physics are to blame, and one of the roots of the cause is the main character's late father, whose death made the whole deal possible, in a quasi-christophanic sort of way. Did I get what I expected from "Reunion"? Not fully, but that doesn't mean it was bad. 4/5
"Rebecca's Locket" by S. L. Gilbow This funny social commentary features a backwards little town that's the last to get all the technological advances, such as a locket with your deceased loved one's personality embedded on it. When Rebecca's late husband has this done, she finds that the locket doesn't act the same as her husband, and that the locket seems to like talking to the dog a bit more than her. 4/5.
"Firooz and His Brother" by Alex Jeffers This was an interesting story, which could mean a lot of things. 3/5.
"Thrilling Wonder Stories" by Albert E. Cowdrey A schizophrenic boy comes to grips with who his real dad is: not the man who raised him, or even his mother's secret lover. No, his real dad's an alien creature (a Martian) who's currently inhabiting a crocodile living in the drainpipes. It breaks the rules of writing in what you are and are not supposed to kill if you want your story to be family friendly and feel good-y. 4/5.
"Traitor" by M. RickertA logical extension of terrorism. Scary, true, and gripping. 4/5.
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker..." by Paul Di Filippo Funny but kinda creepy. Di Filippo has a way with extending humerous concepts enacted in real life. This one involves a couple who met at a speed date sponsored by a romance publisher. They married, but their marriage is falling apart, as the foundation was weak, so they make a Faust(ina)ian bargain to get their marriage back. 3/5.
Best in Show: "Immortal Snake." I just like those stories with a mythological voice.
Crossposted in
The Eventide Knave and
The Gangster of L'Oeuf.
