Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2022

Main Index / Reviews Index / Magazine Reviews Index / Fantasy and Science Fiction Reviews Index

Rating: 3/5 Stars

An average issue with interesting stories by C. B. Blanchard, Karim Kattan, Lucas X. Wiseman, Remi Martin, with an especially interesting story by Douglas Schwarz involving the paintings in the Lascaux caves.

• “In the Dream” by Meg Elison: on a trip to Mars is a ‘designated sleeper’, a person who sleeps so that others on the ship can stay awake during the journey. But on this trip, the sleeper awakes to fulfil a desire from a dream.
• “Wolf Shape” by C. B. Blanchard: in this sharp horror tale, a girl sees a wolf, or the fairy tale shape of one. What happens next is the usual tale of her story being disbelieved by her parents, until one day, the wolf gets into the house.
• “One Day I Will” by Phoenix Alexander: a strange story about an unusual planet that ‘sings’ to an orbiting ship. The planet, which appears to be alive, wants something from the ship’s inhabitants. The story itself recalls a few other stories about planets that are alive and harbour alien organisms, but with its own significantly different ending.
• “The Witch of Endor” by Karim Kattan: a story about a subjugated people and a legend about a witch who would avenge them. Every year, the conquerors lay out a feast in hopes of luring the witch to come and to be poisoned. The years go by, the reason for the feast pass into legend itself; until the witch does come.
• “A Songstress in the Rain” by Lucas X. Wiseman: an interesting modern fantasy involving a Siren (and other mythological people) who sings in a club to give what the customers desire. One night, she sings for a man about to be married, only to be attacked by another jealous man. And her retaliation would be deadly.
• “The Cottage in Omena” by Charles Andrew Oberndorf: the story of a cottage by a beach set to be sold, and of its inhabitants, especially a woman who once stayed there and has memories of the time when unusual events occurred: events that would shape the world in the form of an unusual pandemic that would affect her family personally.
• “Déjà Vu: Eu de Parfum for Men” by Remi Martin: a widower goes to a company in grief over her dead husband. The company gives her a product that would offer her relief in the form of vivid memories of their time together to help manage her grief.
• “The Summer Dives” by Samantha Murray: in a small town, the women go on dives on certain summer days to get knowledge of the truth from the sea. But the sea claims a diver on those days in return. On this dive, a girl would learn a deeper truth about those dives and those diving.
• “Le Sourcier de Lascaux” by Douglas Schwarz: a fascinating story weaving true events (the creation of Lascaux II, a reproduction of the Lascaux caves and paintings) with fantastical elements linking a modern day painter at Lascaux II who is skilled in the art of reproduction, with one of the original creators of the animal artwork at the Lascaux caves, and the ability to recall prehistoric creatures to life.
• “You and the Wolf Boy” by Linda Niehoff: on Halloween, a rather big boy comes trick and treating. Only what he wants may not be treats.
• “The Charcoal Man” by Constance Fay: a sinister story of a boy who can see the glow that is the boundary between life and death and ‘collects’ them. As time passes, and he becomes more skilled in collecting such glows, his own appearance changes, becoming ‘fuzzier’. Then, one day, he meets a person whose appearance is ‘sharp’ and has an interest in what he is doing.
• “Tangle Her in Quicksilver” by Gerri Leen: the retelling of the fairy tale of a girl as white as snow, but from the viewpoint of the magic mirror who, in telling the truth, also makes the body of the person asking the questions toxic.
• “Les Chimères: An Ode” by Molly Tanzer: an odd tale of an adventurer who discovers a life pod in space. But what she finds in the tiny pod isn’t what she expects, and get trapped in it by exotic technology. It is only with outside help that she escapes the pod and, together, they go to piece together the story of the person who was in the pod and how he got to be trapped in it.

Magazine read from 2022/09/10 to 2022/09/22